Single Comment

OK, great! I have changed the design wizard in the interactive-diagrams article to now use alfaerie as default. (This seems most suitable for this web-site, as it seems the most extensive set, and uses 'cut-and-paste' pieces for compounds, which is very good for presenting new variants, as it makes it more obvious how they move.) By using the list.php in the user-selected directory, it now displays the very extensive list of alfaerie images in response to the 'Pick' button for adding pieces. <p> A few minor problems that popped up by this: <br> The wizard has two ways to add piece types to the diagram other than typing their image filename by hand: the Pick button, which shows a list of all images in the selected directory, which on clicking them are then put in the 'image name' field of the piece description (so the user can type the move and other info he want to use for the piece before adding it). And there is the 'Stock' button, which shows a list of checkboxes for the more common pieces. So that you can add them all at once by just ticking the checkboxes of the pieces you need, and pressing 'Stock' again when you are done. In this case the names and moves of the pieces are all defaults. <p> The problem now is that for these default pieces the name listed with the checkbox is supposed to coincide with that of the image. For the orthodox Chess pieces this was not a problem. I also put the better-known fairy pieces in the 'stock' list, however: Capablanca pieces, Xiangqi pieces, Shogi pieces, Omega pieces, Nightrider, Grasshopper, Lion, Griffon, Falcon. (The latter three because the description of their moves in XBetza notation is cumbersome.) For some of those the name was not the same in the alfaerie set as in the set I used before. And when the names are not the same, the checkbox for that stock piece would not work in the set where it has a different name from what it assumed, and this is of course undesirable. <p> Well, no big deal. Alfaerie uses man instead of commoner, goldgeneral instead of gold, horse instead of mao, gryphon instead of griffon... I can live with that, and will simply rename the pieces of my own set to conform with alfaerie. There are two cases where I have some misgivings, however: <p> Alfaerie does use 'cardinal' for the image of the BN piece, and 'chancellor' for the RN. The best known names for these pieces are 'archbishop' and 'chancellor', though, due to Capablanca. Games that use 'cardinal' for the BN usually use 'marshall' for the RN. Neither a 'marshall' nor an 'archbishop' image exists in alfaerie. <b>Would it be possible to add duplicates of the w/bcardinal.gif files with the names w/barchbishop.gif?</b> <p> A second point is that there is no image for 'wizard', although there is one called 'champion'. I am not sure what the recommended alfaerie image is to use for the Omega-Chess Wizard. Is it 'mage'? I have never seen that name used before, certainly not in the context of Omega Chess. <b>Could duplicats of an applicable piece be created in the alfaerie directory under the names w/bwizard.gif?</b>