From now on, all the patches that will be released for Chessmaster 10th Edition will only address existing bugs - no new features will be added.

This thread was created to let you tell us what features you want to see in the next installment of the series. It might seem early, (and yes, it is... ) but we needed to clarify this issue.

So, please tell us what do you want to see in a future Chessmaster game.

Thank you for your support,
The CM Team

1) Better 3D animated characters/sets. Like, a full 3D high polygon version of the old Amiga Battle Chess game.

2) Player statistics window that includes at least LAN games if not Internet game results/players.

3) More skin options.

4) Better avatar art (sorry, the girls looked great, but the guys were awful). Support for custom user avatars visible online and on LAN.

5) Gamma control.

6) More sounds for game events like checkmate.

7) Ability to play Infinite Time against LAN opponents.

8) Pausing the timers while illegal move commentary is made or not restricting piece movement while the commentary is made. Not sure if this is a bug or a feature.

Multumesc mult!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: HardWired,

Stronger engine.

Zero

First great program! Nicely done and well improved from 9000.
I would like to see a more intuitive annotator window (more room)
Better interface for variations
Downloadable tutorials and lessons would be a great plus even if they cost extra by getting a gm or like to help create. (custom modules)
But like i say i am happy thus far with the current - keep up the great work

Well I really want to say.
Please pardon me.
That:

Could you please let me play the game more easily IF I DO NOT CRACK THE GAME SO THAT I WOULD'T HAVE TO PLACE A CD INTO DRIVE VERY UNREGULARLY WHENEVER THE GAME WANTS ME TO? You know I don't have a CD/DVD drive in my Vaio PCG X505 and I think many players won't like to be asked for CD very unregularly if they are in a journey outside or something like that.

You can see how Microsoft does in Windows XP. Or how Commandos 3 gose protecting Copyright.

I'm sure that there must be a way to avoid pirate and you don't have to ask for CD.
You konw, and I konw, and everybody knows, that a Crack WILL always be there(even for update,I have one if you want I can show you). AND those who use a NONLICET COPY VERSION of game will play MORE comfortalbe than those who has spent $40,don't you think this is unfair?

Right off, let me say I have really been enjoying CM 10--you guys done good. I have two suggestions:
1) You need to provide a selectable resignation option for the 'puter opponents.
2) For people who are practicing for over the board tournaments, it might be helpful to provide a selectable clock that must be hit to start your opponent's time running. (To help people get in the habit of physically starting/stopping a chess clock.)

That's a good idea - about the 'realistic physical' clock play.

Zero

With my primary outlet of chess being play against the computer I'd like to see the following enhancments to the game.

1. A way to make the Predefined tournaments rated.

2. A Dynamic playing world like the PS/2 version has (so the AI players in the rated tournaments will have their ratings go up and down also).

3. A way to Automate these tournaments but pause when a Human player is selected to play. I personally like to watch the AI players duke it out but I'm not happy with having to manually start each game. The Quick result is OK but again I'd rather watch the computer play (watching the Jon personality draw the GM personality Short during one tournament I ran in CM 9K by saccing his rook to get a stalemate was incredible).

4. I'd also like to see the ability to add more than 128 players to Tournaments.

Virtual rooms....that would be interesting, probably based on the cafe de la regence or the London chess club from the nineteenth century ( my fav chess period). It can be done for certain snooker and pool games, so why not for chess?

quote:

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Originally posted by LivingDeadMan:
Virtual rooms....that would be interesting, probably based on the cafe de la regence or the London chess club from the nineteenth century ( my fav chess period). It can be done for certain snooker and pool games, so why not for chess?

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Snooker IS pool

Zero

Wishlist Item #1)
ADAPTATION IS MY #1 WISHLIST ITEM:

I have been waiting for this since Chessmaster 6000. I am really surprised adaptive learning has not been implemented yet in CMX. CMX goes one step further though in the "post game analysis" window by 'suggesting' an opponent for you.

I would like to see it truly adapt to your style and keep a running analysis of every game you play (wherever you play it), take into account the time control, and quiz you on the things you need the most help with. I see this as a major challenge for any developer but it's the next stage in the evolutionary process of all learning type games these days. All one has to do is go to any computer store to find all kinds of Disney games dedicated to teaching kids writting, reading, and arithmetic. Take a look. They are nearly all "adaptive" these days. They adapt themselves to teaching the child what he/she needs practice with without waisting time where he doesn't. There is no reason IMHO why Chessmaster shouldn't be able to take the same approach eventually. Very specifically, take a group of games played in Chessmaster and "adapt" a short practice session of a chosen length based on what I (trpenner) still need to learn. I could come back as often as I wanted and do another session.

Now the "post game analysis" window not only lets you see a brief synopsis of what happened during the game you just played but as stated above; it does go a step further toward adaptivity by letting Chessmaster suggest a new player based on how well you played. Let's hope they go a little farther in the next version.

Wishlist Item #2
Improve the "post game analysis" function.
I can't get even get the "post game analysis" window back once I closed it. This window gives some great information! Throughout the different CM versions, I have never used the "analyze game" function and can't use it here either. It simply gives too much information and wastes time going over the entire game that could be better spent going over only "highlights". The "post game analysis" window gives more infomrmation than similar tools in previous versions (regarding blunders, the opening that was used, etc). Wouldn't it be great if we could make "quick" use of that information going over ONLY the blunders or "highlights" of that game and move on. The key here is quickly. Press "go over game higlights" (3 min of audio/video tops) or something along those lines.

Wishlist Item #3
Suggest openings (also adaptive)
I really like how I can see the history of games and how often a particular opening was played. What about using the adaptive method for oppenings also.
A) Suggest an opening that is likely to best fit my style of play
OR
B) Suggest an oppening that Chessmaster really thinks I would benefit from learning.

Wishlist Item #4
Windows still don't fit right
Annotation windows in particular (used for game analysis) need to fit neatly next to the board while analyzing it. They did a much better job with the windows this time but they still need some work.

Wishlist Item #5
Chess Notation
This was taken out of CM in a previous version. I am not sure why? There are two primary styles of Chess notation in use today. There should be some lessons on those.

CONCLUDING STATEMENTS:
Overall, I think Chessmaster is the best tool for learning Chess from the groud up available today. Some adaptation will take it a step further before someone else comes along and figures out how to do that. As a PC Tech, database designer, LAN technician, etc.; I guarantee you the day someone does that and does it well (just look at Disney), is just around the corner.

Thanks Chessmaster staff for putting out such a well done program for so many years. I have always been a fan and can't imagine my life without the latest version of Chessmaster.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trpenner,

First off, let me say that I would be enjoying Chessmaster 10th Anniversary if it would actually work on my dual-monitor box. Chessmaster 9000 worked perfectly, which is why I wasn't hesitant to buy the 10th Anniversary edition. Boy did I screw up. Fix that in 10th Anniversary first.

Once that's fixed, features fox the next installment would be an elimination of random CD checking. This is a great game to slap on the laptop when travelling for business and to be asked at an inconvenient time for a CD that isn't around is frustrating, to say the least.

I haven't had a chance to get into what is currently available for 10th Anniversary (that whole dual-monitor thing again) but I'd like to see fully resizable and moveable windows on every box to allow the user to rearrange and maximize his space as warranted.

That's all I've got here - I'm going to go find more threads where I can be irate regarding this lack of dual-monitor support...

First let me say I great program! I was hesitant to buy it becasue I just got the 9000 less than a year ago but it was worth it.

1) I have to agree with another poster, The male avatars are terrible unless your a fat middle aged man, (I'm a slim middle aged man)

Ioan: Ahh, OK, we'll see what we can do to correct this in this current version...

2) If you could get the AI to resign once in a while that would be nice. Having to grind out a mate everytime is aggrivating when the computer is in an obviously lost position. The AI could resign and then a box could pop up asking if you would like to continue the game. Answering yes would let you finish the game with no time restrictions, and if you really messed up and lost, it wouldn't count because the AI had already resigned. At least this way you would have the option of playing on.

Ioan: Doable but not an easy thing. It will be done for CMXI.

3)All of the chess sets are nice, but for the serious player they are really just eye candy. Chess players use Staunton sets 99.9% of the time. Good renderings of a few of the staunton sets that are available would be nice. (Standard Plastic Set, the triple weighted set, est, with a few diffrent vinyl boards)

Ioan: We kept releasing Staunton sets for download, didn't we We'll continue to do that...

4) GM pictures for GM avatars, or if it's too costly allowing players to add pictures to personalities would be a nice feature. That way I could download a pic of Gary Kasparov and add it myself, keeping Ubi soft safe from any liability. (I can't imagine there should be a problem getting pics, half the GM personalities are dead anyway!...Alekhine, Stienitz est.) Besides, if I was a Gm I'd let you use my pic for free, more exposure for me!

Ioan: We made available this option in CMX through the 1.02 patch. Now you can change or modify the pictures of the AI perso by yourself.

5) Fixing what I call 'The Bishop Bug' if I type bg3 the computer should know I mean bishop to g3 not pawn to g3. In any 3 character move, the computer should realize the first character is always a piece, regardless of whether it is capilized or not.

Ioan: Fixed in 1.02 patch for CMX.

And now, the one we've all been waiting for....
Drum roll please....

LESSONPACKS - - -
I use bookup for opening study, for around 10 bucks I can buy an e-book, written by a GM on all kinds of diffrent subjects that bookup can open up. If I could download or buy for 10 bucks or so, animated lessons like those by Josh, that would be killer. Ubisoft could make some good money doing that alone. If I could download 'IM Silmans Imbalances in the Middlegame' and get Jerry Silman teaching me on the computer, you could make a fortune. Or' Winning with the Najdorf' by GM King, or Pal Benko's Basic Engame Course' est, you get the idea. Interactive animated lessons with them masters could be a major hit, as long as the price is kept reasonable. You could set up profit sharing with the GM's that write just like a book deal, or pay them commission based on sales of there "books'. Watching lessons on DVD or using the e-books is one thing, but an interactive enviroment where we can make choices, and have them explained to us would be awesome.

Ioan: This is truly a very interesting idea that I'll have to discuss with marketing dept.
The interactive lessons CM features in the tutorial section are quite difficult to make and the chess celebrities which created the topics are quite expensive to hire also so we must make sure that we'll have enough customers for this kind of product. Thanks for pointing that out!

And lastly, updating the interface on the database would be nice. The branches are hard to read, and not very pleasing to look at. Enlarging the branches or using a column format like the ECO's would be better.

Thanks for listening, and if you want to put me on salary as a consultant or software designer let me know, I've got great Ideas for Silent Hunter 4, a Battleship Sim and a sim based on the classic Anime series 'Starblazers' too!

Ioan:

PS having to put the CD in EVERY time I play is a pain in the ..well you know, how about putting it in once in a while instead.

Ioan: This is corporate policy. We, the Chessmaster team can't do anything about it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ioan-really,

Augam, the 1.02 patch fixes the dual monitor problem.

Trpenner, thank you for your most valuable contribution on what CMXI should be. We really appreciate your suggestions and agree that your 'adaptation' idea must be one of the main directions CMXI should follow in order to become a better chess program.

Cheers,
Ioan

Ioan,
Thank you for editing your answers into my previous post, it's nice to know that you guys listen! CM is a great program. Sorry I wasn't more up to date on some of the patch fixes though!

Hi!

1) Stronger engine.
2) The MOST important: more interactivity! I mean, I can ask Chessmaster, why not example: 26 Qxb6, why O-O.
3) More 2D and fixed 3D skins. In CMX, full 3D skins are kiddy. When someone plays chess, he or she might be serious, not a kid. Or make it, but in CM XI JunioR edition.
4) Divide the program to editions. Like Professional, JunioR, advanced.

And sorry for my english, I'm a hungarian 16-year-old boy.
D.

One feature for future versions that is needed is a more globalized player rating. That is, my rating in single player games should affect my rating in LAN games and vice versa. Ideally, I would only have one rating across single play, LAN, and Internet modes. Why hasn't this been done already? At least combine LAN and single play! Thanks!

quote:

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Originally posted by Ioan-really:
Augam, the 1.02 patch fixes the dual monitor problem.

Trpenner, thank you for your most valuable contribution on what CMXI should be. We really appreciate your suggestions and agree that your 'adaptation' idea must be one of the main directions CMXI should follow in order to become a better chess program.

Cheers,
Ioan

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I appreciate your response Ioan. Thanks very much. I'm glad I could contribute. I assume you also read my post on rolling nocd and 1.0.2 into one for the next patch. Now all I have is 1.0.2 with the 1.0.1 version of game.exe (nocd hack included). If this can be rolled into one, it would be of benefit to many others as well. My computer has absolutely no burning or cloning software on it whatsoever. I know others have that same issue and Chessmaster out-of-the box or with 1.0.2 always asks for the CD no matter what. AND... I have tried it on 2 competely different machines with the same result. I am sure this is a problem for many peoplel.

Thanks again for your comments. I'm glad I could help.

A working, tested version would be fine. Release a game when it´s done and not your first build.

You guys started it! ;-)
(In no particular order)

1) No CD-check

2) 2nd time controls.
E.g.: 120'/40 +60'/20+60'

3) If a mate is in the air, even 1000- players defend like a GM.

4) Extra lessons plug-in

5) Improved auto-annotation. It's hilarious sometimes.

6) ***MUCH*** better manual. ( Even if only PDF)

7) Analogue clock

8) MIDI-background music (+option to turn off)

9) Rated tournaments

But CMX is still the best <g>
I used Fritz8 for a while and I came back... running!

Regards,
Nb4

One more thing I'd add. Make Chessmaster 11th edition compatible with CMX as far as online play goes. There is no need to cut off thousands of users from the online community just becasue they don't want to upgrade. As far as online play goes the versions just have to syncronize clocks, and recognize each others moves.

Making it avaliable on DVD would be nice. Like Ubisoft did with Farcry, wasn't really any problems with that. And how many can't run a DVD today?

Add a seperate chat window for kbitzers only, online. The solution of having to choose wheather the viewers can chat with the players or not is no good. There should be a chat window for all (players and kbitzers) and a chat window only for kbitzers.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KremlinWall,

The game analyzer.

I just played with my girlfriend in her first tournament! I am so proud of her! I decided to plug the game into CMX and let it analyze.

........Back and Forward (audio/video seamlessly)
Man! I have to say this feature is even worse than the one in CM9000. At least CM9000 played the commentary all the way through. This one, you have to start the commentary on CMX for each and every move. Now you can watch the moves being made with just one button press but no commentary. Ideally I would like to see it seemlessly integrated as it sort-of was in CM9000. It also needs to be able pause and resume the commentary as I watch it make the moves. If I see it make a move as it comments on that move, I may want to pause, or even go back just a second or 2. This analysis feature is so cumbersome that it's virtually useless in IMHO. I touched on this issue a little more earlier with my suggestions. To illustrate a bit further, a programmer could start right inside of what you already have and make the thing actually usefull with little effort. I see a pause button, increment buttons (or better, and easy to use 'slider' of some sort), and perhaps even an option to automatically filter out the stuff that isn't commented on. The default analysis should be 1 for each move and not 10. Masters can set a deeper analysis if needed but keep the default at 1. It takes long enough to analyze a game as it is.

.........Draw Lines
I also think that during the commentator analysis and playback, there needs to be better lines, piece blinks, circles etc to describe what is being commented on. Pause, 2 seconds back>forward, etc, should be seemless enough to control all of this without effort on the part of the player.

BTW I think CMX is AWESOME!

First of all I wuld like to say like many people have that CMX is the best chess software on the market, even if it doesn't have an engine of 2900 or whatever i'm never goin to beat that.

(1) Well anyway here I go firstly I would like to say that the adaptive learning idea posted by trpenner was an absolute fantastic idea, and I hope that other people think this too because it would help so much your ease to learn.

(2) As also many people have said it would be a good idea to improve the analysis function in the game (this is the only thing i think lets down the game)

(3) I don't think that anyone else has said this but I think that it would be absolutely FANTASTIC, if (like in Fritz 8) you would be able to watch key chess games live with commentary, even if this costs more it would be I think a good addition

(4) This isn't an addition but what I think you should not addon. I don't think thvat you should spend too much time on improving the engine. I don't know ANY people that can conquer chessmaster who aren't GMs and most GMs go for Fritz i think CMX is more for the casual players.

So thats it really.

Good luck!!

Dear CM Support,
Here are my points for your future work on pathces, versions...
1. 32-bit color depth
2. An option to disable animations - like flipping board animation.

I have always wished to be able to go through games using only the arrow keys on the keyboard.

Left/Right to go back and forth between moves and Up/Down to select variations. (Take a look at Fritz/Chessbase!)

Shaun