FIBS vs GamesGrid
Majnoon
What is the difference between FIBS & GamesGrid?
Any infor would be appreciated
Majnoon
Daniel Murphy
On Wed, 28 May 1997 05:23:26 GMT, kena...@mindspring.com (Kenneth M.
Arnold) wrote:
>There are between 4000 and 5000 rated players registered with fibs and the
>online population ranges from 75 to 145 players most of the time. A
>large percentage of fibs players seem to use unix and mac platforms and be
>involved with computers professionally.
>
[snip]
Because FIBS is not limited to a particular operating system, FIBS
players may use the default interface (which is not pretty but works)
or one of several freeware and/or shareware interfaces available for
Windows, Win95, Unix and Mac operating systems. Many FIBS Windows and
Win95 users use FIBS/W, an interface written by Robin Davies, who I
understand later developed Games Grid's proprietary Win95 interface.
For players without Win95, Games Grid also has a telnet interface.
There are currently 9148 players registered on FIBS. (The FIBS command
"stat" shows this). Of these, 4187 are rated players with 50 or more
experience points. (The command "ratings robot" finds number 4186).
As of ... now .. there are 65 users logged onto FIBS and 55 logged
onto Games Grid (3:00 a.m. PDT is not a high volume time for either
server). A usual on-line population estimate of 75 to 145 seems about
right. At almost any time I've looked, FIBS and Games Grid have had
approximately the same number of players logged on.
Player "robot" and celebrity endorsements excepted, better players
seem to be much more abundant on FIBS, although many players play on
both FIBS and Games Grid.
Daniel Murphy rac...@cityraccoon.com San Francisco, CA
____________________________________________________________________
Backgammon on-line: telnet fibs.com 4321; Backgammon in
San Francisco, annotated games and more: http://www.gammon.com/bgbg/
Kenneth M. Arnold
Majnoon <mas...@erols.com> wrote:
>What is the difference between FIBS & GamesGrid?
>Any infor would be appreciated
>Majnoon
Here is one point of view.... I started the development of GamesGrid
because I enjoyed fibs a great deal, while also feeling that there was a
lot of room for improvement.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
Fibs provides online backgammon via telnet connection and has done this
for several years. The native interface is crude (consisting of x's and
o's and requiring arcane commands), but several people have designed
graphical front ends for each of the different operating systems. Even
with these graphical front ends, it is not entirely intuitive to install
and learn fibs. Those who master the interface really love the site and
some players have played over 10,000 games there.
There are between 4000 and 5000 rated players registered with fibs and the
online population ranges from 75 to 145 players most of the time. A
large percentage of fibs players seem to use unix and mac platforms and be
involved with computers professionally. The population may be more
representative of the internet several years ago, versus the net today.
There are also a large number of skilled and serious bg players.
Up until the summer of 1996, the fibs server was very laggy and unreliable
and this newsgroup was filled with postings asking for another bg server
to come online and do a better job. Since moving the fibs server to San
Francisco, it has run much, much better.
Fibs is the creation of Marvin (Andreas Schneider) who programmed the
server as a graduate student and has put a great deal of work into it, but
not very much since he entered the workforce a couple of years ago.
Marvin owns the copyright to the source and has stated that he is
committed to keeping fibs online as a free bg server for the net.
.............................................................................................................................................................................................
GamesGrid consists of a client and server which offer a broad feature set
and higher capacities then other servers. The first beta version of
GamesGrid was published in June of 1996.
The Version 1.0 beta4 client offers many advanced features not possible
with the fibs server....
Position printing with a single mouseclick
Recording and playback of games via a record button on the toolbar
The ability to replay matches in standard , quiz or edit formats
The ability to backup a match and view any previous position or play
3D graphics, with fully scalable renderings, textures and colors....
or a 2D board
Drop-and-drag objects
Sound effects
Affinity lists that notify a player when favorite opponents arrive or
leave... and ignore lists for players who you would rather not see
Separate public and private chat areas
Many more features not found in other game environments
A new version of the GamesGrid client with many more features will be
published within a week, providing no major problems during a semi-public
alpha which is underway.
GamesGrid backgammon is installed from a self-extracting archive using the
Install-Shield technology which deals with both the client and the server,
creates the appropriate directories and prepares desktop icons.
GamesGrid currently has 17,250 rated users from all over the world. The
server can accomodate 300 simultaneous players. The 300 mark has been
achieved each day for the past several days, and there are immediate plans
to raise the capacity of the server to 500 players. There are usually one
or more sysops online to assist players.
Many of the players on GamesGrid are 'gamers' first, and have come to the
site because they like the look, feel and features of the product, not
because they are tournament bg players. The advanced learning features
and intuitive easy to use interface have attracted many top players
including World Champions Bill Robertie, Paul Magriel (often incognito),
Mike Svobodny and Frank Frigo to the GamesGrid as their preferred online
venue and the level of competition is increasing quickly. Lessons are
available from several top players as are private matches for stakes.
The population averages 200 simultaneous players. There are various
tournaments for cash and glory, and the largest fills up a 256 bracket
each month with plans to expand to a 512 bracket.
GamesGrid was founded as a commercial venture to offer an advanced games
environment for the millions of people who are attracted to the internet
as a new communications and entertainment medium. It is aimed primarily
at Windows and NT users. The intention is to charge members a modest
annual or monthly fee, roughly equal to the cost of one movie ticket per
month, and to provide a superior gaming environment.
Following a free beta period of one year, GamesGrid is on the verge of
installing a fast ATM Frame Relay T-1 line and is looking to its players
to subscribe to the service and help to keep it moving forward.
There are a staff of 4 fulltime engineers plus consultants located in
Canada and trained in the most advanced Microsoft technologies who are
devoted to this project. Almost $1,000,000 Canadian has been invested in
this software to date. GamesGrid intends to keep pushing the envelope on
the backgammon product, and look forward to adding other games of skill to
the Grid.
Majnoon
Dear Mr. Arnold:
I want to thank you for your full answer to my question.
I found out about Games Grid about 10 days ago, and have become addicted to
it. I simply love it's interface and features.
Since being on GamesGrid, I had heard so much about FIBS, but was not able
to connect ot telnet. Before going further to find out how to connect to
FIBS, I decided to ask the difference, to see if it is worth trying to find
out how to connect to FIBS. The Number address given for FIBS has not
helped.
I like to congratulate you and your coleagues, for having done a great job.
In the last 10 days, I have been denied access once, because the server had
300 signed on. But on a third try within 4 minutes I was able to sign on.
Last night from 10:00pm to 11:00pm EST, I was not able to connect and
received the message "you have been disconnected from the server, please
try again later". I checked the cyberarts web page and saw a message about
some 16 bit systems not compatible with 32 bit applications might give a
similar message. But after I connected I heard from 2 other people saying
they had the same problem.
In article <5mgfe6$d...@camel3.mindspring.com> Kenneth M. Arnold wrote:
>Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 05:23:26 GMT
>From: kena...@mindspring.com (Kenneth M. Arnold)
>Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
>Subject: Re: FIBS vs GamesGrid
The GamesGrid features are excellent.
>A new version of the GamesGrid client with many more features will be
>published within a week, providing no major problems during a semi-public
>alpha which is underway.
>
>GamesGrid backgammon is installed from a self-extracting archive using the
>Install-Shield technology which deals with both the client and the server,
>creates the appropriate directories and prepares desktop icons.
>
>GamesGrid currently has 17,250 rated users from all over the world. The
>server can accomodate 300 simultaneous players. The 300 mark has been
>achieved each day for the past several days, and there are immediate plans
>to raise the capacity of the server to 500 players. There are usually one
>or more sysops online to assist players.
>
I have to admit that the GamesGrid sysops online are most informative and
friendly people I have met anywhere on the net.
Every question posed by me has been answered fully and with a friendly
helpful attitude.
>Many of the players on GamesGrid are 'gamers' first, and have come to the
>site because they like the look, feel and features of the product, not
>because they are tournament bg players. The advanced learning features
>and intuitive easy to use interface have attracted many top players
>including World Champions Bill Robertie, Paul Magriel (often incognito),
>Mike Svobodny and Frank Frigo to the GamesGrid as their preferred online
>venue and the level of competition is increasing quickly. Lessons are
>available from several top players as are private matches for stakes.
>
>The population averages 200 simultaneous players. There are various
>tournaments for cash and glory, and the largest fills up a 256 bracket
>each month with plans to expand to a 512 bracket.
>
>GamesGrid was founded as a commercial venture to offer an advanced games
>environment for the millions of people who are attracted to the internet
>as a new communications and entertainment medium. It is aimed primarily
>at Windows and NT users. The intention is to charge members a modest
>annual or monthly fee, roughly equal to the cost of one movie ticket per
>month, and to provide a superior gaming environment.
>
I think any fee decided by GamesGrid should be limited to less than $50.00
per year. Anyone who would like to connect to the Grid, must also pay for
an ISP.
>Following a free beta period of one year, GamesGrid is on the verge of
>installing a fast ATM Frame Relay T-1 line and is looking to its players
>to subscribe to the service and help to keep it moving forward.
>
>There are a staff of 4 fulltime engineers plus consultants located in
>Canada and trained in the most advanced Microsoft technologies who are
>devoted to this project. Almost $1,000,000 Canadian has been invested in
>this software to date. GamesGrid intends to keep pushing the envelope on
>the backgammon product, and look forward to adding other games of skill to
>the Grid.
>
Thank you again
Mashadi
Phil Shulkind
Majnoon <mas...@erols.com> writes
>
>I think any fee decided by GamesGrid should be limited to less than $50.00
>per year. Anyone who would like to connect to the Grid, must also pay for
>an ISP.
Not to mention the phone calls, at least here in the UK :-(
Phil Shulkind
PHILDEE ENTERPRISES
Professional Play By Mail since 1990
Wanna talk PBM? "subscribe" to pbm-foru...@tightbeam.com
visit our web site : http://www.tightbeam.com/phildee
Patti Beadles
In article <5mgfe6$d...@camel3.mindspring.com>,
Kenneth M. Arnold <kena...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Since moving the fibs server to San
>Francisco, it has run much, much better.
Just to be nit-picky, FIBS is located in Cupertino, CA, not in San
Francisco, and is colocated at Concentric Network's data center. (It
was previously housed in Mountain View at Best Internet, but was moved
for a myriad of reasons.)
Concentric has been very generous and helpful in supporting FIBS,
and I encourage people to consider them when looking for a new ISP.
They can be found at http://home.concentric.net/ for regular dial-up
services, and http://www.concentric.net/ for web hosting.
-Patti
--
Patti Beadles |
pat...@netcom.com/pat...@gammon.com |
http://www.gammon.com/ | "I trust you. It's just
or just yell, "Hey, Patti!" | that I'm scared of you."
A.H. Osthoff
Kenneth M. Arnold <kena...@mindspring.com> wrote:
Hello,
> Fibs provides online backgammon via telnet connection and has done this
> for several years. The native interface is crude (consisting of x's and
> o's and requiring arcane commands), but several people have designed
> graphical front ends for each of the different operating systems. Even
> with these graphical front ends, it is not entirely intuitive to install
> and learn fibs.
What you describe as fault of fibs, I value as an asset. The telnet
connection assures that everybody can log on, irrespective of their OS
and their hardware.
There is actually no installation to be done. All one has to do is type
telnet fibs.com and to follow the instructions, which need no university
degree to be understood. Understandbly, for real-life bg players those
numbers and X and Os look impressing but as soon as you get the say
command going expect other fibsters, i.e.your opponents, to support you
with your first steps in the game.
Secondly, I personally have stuck to the basic X and O layout, as I felt
that my whole perspective of the game changed that way. One takes a much
more "mathematical" approach to the game, plus once you start reading
backgammon books and articles you certainly know what is meant, when a
move is described as 24/22 18/15. I have tried the graphical front end
for my OS MacFibs -which is excellent- but discarded it for the
aforementioned reasons. Online backgammon is IMHO just a whole different
game than real-life backgammon, so why bother about the sound of the
rolling 3d dices??
ciao,
aki
P.S. I have never had a look at GamesGrid, but why should I as a Mac
user?? :-)
--
There is only one war, and it's not between the whites and the
blacks, Labour and the Conservatives, Macintosh and Windows, or
the Federation and the Romulans, it's between those of us who aren't
complete idiots and those of us who are.
jcd...@concentric.net
Apparently in rec.games.backgammon a person purporting to be
pat...@netcom.com (Patti Beadles) authored the following:
>In article <5mgfe6$d...@camel3.mindspring.com>,
>Kenneth M. Arnold <kena...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>>Since moving the fibs server to San
>>Francisco, it has run much, much better.
>
>Just to be nit-picky, FIBS is located in Cupertino, CA, not in San
>Francisco, and is colocated at Concentric Network's data center. (It
>was previously housed in Mountain View at Best Internet, but was moved
>for a myriad of reasons.)
>
>Concentric has been very generous and helpful in supporting FIBS,
>and I encourage people to consider them when looking for a new ISP.
>They can be found at http://home.concentric.net/ for regular dial-up
>services, and http://www.concentric.net/ for web hosting.
oops!
I think I confused Patti with our 2 website addresses. The above
addresses both go to the same website with information about our
standard dial-up access, with links to our other services.
Our newest service, ConcentricHost, with dial-up access and hosting
together in one account, and very cool account management tools online
(can you tell I am a proud mama? :-) has it's own website, located at:
jc
JC Dill - Web Hosting Product Manager
Concentric Network Corporation http://home.concentric.net