Install Openingbase, but it won't work. Engine still won't deviate from same initial moves

[schwei...@gmail.com]

A great app, but a fatal flaw I can't get around. The Engine, no matter which I install, only ever plays the same openings with no variation. I've loaded several .bin files onto the phone, and installed them all through "Set Openingdatabase" but it has no effect on opening play by engine. Is something wrong? Can we really make the engines use the .bin files as opening books like in Arena? 

[Jeroen Carolus]

Hi,

The Chess app has it's own opening database file format, which is not the same as for Arena. The native engine or installed engines both use this opening database.

Maybe this should be made more explicit in the help section, where it says that you can create your own opening database and import it.

Best regards,

Jeroen

On Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 12:20 AM, <schwei...@gmail.com> wrote:

A great app, but a fatal flaw I can't get around. The Engine, no matter which I install, only ever plays the same openings with no variation. I've loaded several .bin files onto the phone, and installed them all through "Set Openingdatabase" but it has no effect on opening play by engine. Is something wrong? Can we really make the engines use the .bin files as opening books like in Arena? 

--

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "jwtc" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to jwtc+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[schwei...@gmail.com]

Still absolutely no luck, after a delete and reinstall. I loaded a .pgn file with 25,000 games with a variety of openings, having even looked at the tree of the pgn database in Chessbase. I went to "create openingdatabase" and loaded the pgn file. After several minutes, it finished, and I set this new .bin file, created from the pgn, as the opening database. The engine still will not do anything but make the same opening moves. 

I am not using the default engine, I went to "install engine" and "Komodo 9" came up. So I wanted to use him. But this engine, nor any of the 5 or 6 others I have installed, will utilize any of the opening books, which are all .bin files, as specified that they need to be. They simply all play the same opening moves without the ability to utilize the opening book. 

Is the only way to get the app to play real openings is from the default install and nothing else? When you install it, and just start playing it will say "From Opening Book" and play proper opening moves. But what engine is the dafault, and how do you get other UCI engines to use any of the opening books? 

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to jwtc+uns...@googlegroups.com.

[Jeroen Carolus]

I was wrong, the UCI engines do not use the opening database.

Configuring Komodo and checking "Ownbook", it seems that it does variate it's opening. For manually installed engines, configuring an opening database will not work.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to jwtc+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[schwei...@gmail.com]

Ahh, I have it. I configured the engine, Komodo, itself, via it's own UI. I don't know how it would work for an .exe that you can use on a PC, but I bought Komodo 10 for 3$ on Google play, and he came with a UI to configure him. So now, I have a good engine inside this UI, and adjustable settings. That will work! 

I do have a suggestion that would make the app incredible. Along with the ability to accept most UCI compatible engines, and allow them to use .bin polyglot books effectively, would it be possible to be able to customize the background to entirely black, and finally, make the chess pieces slide, bouncy and elastic-like, similar to the Stockfish App for IOS iPad or Mobialis Chess? I understand the code for elastic animated piece movement must be nightmarish, but hell, I'd pay $10 for an app such as that. 

[schwei...@gmail.com]

Well crap, that is devestating, but at least I get some closure, and I'm not making an effort at a futile goal. If we can offer suggestions here, the ability to set .bin opening book for all compatible engines would be HUGE and something I don't think is available on Android. Some GUIs have it, but they either have crap graphics, only one or two engines work with adjustable settings, (Droidfish.., Acid Ape) and so forth. 

Now this is going to make me sound dumb...but I can't quite figure it out. How do I "configure" an installed engine, like Komodo, in the app? 

On Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 2:53:52 AM UTC-4, Jeroen wrote: