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iNemesis Internet Chess

Version 3.0 The Mentor

 

Version 2. 7 Pieces at War

iNemesis is a graphical interface for playing chess over the internet on one of the primary chess servers,  Free Internet Chess Server (FICS)hlpFICS or the Internet Chess Club (ICC)hlpFICS.   iNemesis would be able to communicate with any chess server that uses Style 12 for move positions, however, many advanced features would work only on FICS or its derivatives.

At FICS, the atmosphere and quality of play is much better than service like Yahoo or MSN. As registered member,  you can play rated games. The server keeps track of your record, and give you rating points depending on the outcome of the game and strength of your opponent. So you can keep track of your progress. Many variants of chess are offered there, including standard chess (time > 15 minutes), blitz (3 to 15 minutes), lightning (bullet, 0 to 3 minutes), Bughouse, Crazyhouse (version of bughouse that is played between 2 players instead of 4), Atomic, Losers, Suicide, and Wild.

FICS is free, and ICC is a paid service. For ICC, the primary interface is BlitzIn that is developed by ICC itself.  At FICS, many people have written free software to provide a graphical interface, and these interfaces are free. Many commercial chess applications are now providing FICS and ICC support.
 
While it is possible to play on either server without an interface, doing so requires the memorization of a large number of commands and playing on an ASCII board—I.e., a board where pieces are represented by letters, like Q for queen.  CClient automates many of the commands in a graphical user interface, and provides3 D and2 D boards to play on.

iNemesis code is based on CClient  version 2.0 (Public Domain) from James D. Barnet.  iNemesis offers a completely revamped user interface, plus these addtional features.

iNemesis Contains All Features of CClient 2.0. Scroll down to see CClient documentation. You can configure and run iNemesis in exactly in same mode that CClient uses, with exactly same look and feel. Go to Settings menu, and configure to your taste. However, one feature is missing. When you Left click on a terminal window, it would NOT execute the default action on the player name as CClient did. It would simply get the player name (Target Player) from the current mouse location, and it can be used by either right-click menu, or by green colored iNemesis Info Buttons.

There are many additional features.

• o. You can execute multiple commands on the same line. To execute multitple commands, seperate them by ^. For example,

    finger ^ vars TinPin ^ assess ^ history tinpin

•  Auto-Execute commands. These commands can be configured through Settings, General, Commands menu, and would automatically execute on login.

• . Customizable fonts and colors for channel tells and personal tells. Go to menu Settings, General, Font and enter/customize channel and user names.

• . There are many Board Enhancements.  Interactive time has been added. Many helper buttons are available. There are two buttons, labeled i and p. p would

send a PING command to server to check if other player is connected to the server (ping may not work if other player is behind a firewall). i button would display finger for the  player, his history, assess points for the current game. This information is helpful to know about your current opponent, or player whose game you are watching.

• . New Piece Sets.  There are many new piece sets in iNemesis. CClient had only 4 piece sets. There are 18 sets in iNemesis. You can configure pieces and board looks by right clicking on the board, and selecting Properties in the appearing menu.
  

• . Firewall/Proxy Support: iNemesis can use SOCK Proxy, so if your office connection provides a socks proxy then you can play chess from comfort of your office ;-)

• . You would notice that there are New Green Colored buttons on top button bar. These are iNemesis Info Buttons. There are 5 of these buttons, namely

    Variables, Chat Filter, Journal, History, and Stored.  Pressing any of these buttons would display a new window with appropriate commands.

Variables:
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When you press this button, a new window would appear that would contain variables of Target Player. To see variables of another player, enter his name in the
box next to Show Var button (on the new window), and press Show Var button. You can modify values of your own variables in that window, and save them by pressing Set Variables button.

Chat Filter:
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You can create new windows that contain only those messages that you desire.  In Window Title field, enter anything that you'd like to appear on top of that new window. Now select filter for the messages that should appear in this window.  Everything Chatty would log all shouts, cshouts, tells, channel tells etc that you receive. All Users Tells and Says would display only tells and says directed at you from all players.  Alternately, you can enter a user list, with user names seperated by spaces, whose tells and says should appear in the new chat window.    All Channel Tells would receive all text that appears in any channel that you have joined. Alternately,  you can enter channel numbers seperated by spaces in Channel List. For example, if you want to monitor 1 and 4 only in the new window, enter 1 4 in Channel List. Shouts and CShouts determine if these messages should appear in this chat window.  You can create as many filtered chat windows as you like.

Journal:
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This would show the Journal (library) of the Target Player. You can view games from there, or take other actions. To view journal of another player, enter his handle
in the appropriate field and press Show Journal button.

History:
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This would display last 10 games of the Target Player.  There are help buttons in this window to view position or examine games etc on this window.  You can view history of another player by entering his name in appropriate edit box, and press Show History button.

Stored:
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This would display stored (adjourned) games of the Target Player. You can view position or examine game from this window. To view another player's stored games, enter his name in the appropriate edit box, and press Show Stored button. If you are viewing your own stored games, then you can offer abort, offer draw, resign, or send game for adjudication.  Select a game, and press appropriate button. To request adjudication, enter message in the appropriate box, and replace default "DESIRED_RESULT your messages to adjudicate here" message.

Chess Client Documentation

Chess Client Topics

 

Overview

     What is CClient?hlpWhatIsCClient

     What are FICS and ICC?hlpFICS

     What do I need to use CClient?hlpRequirements

     Feature ListhlpFeatureList

     New in This VersionhlpNewinThisVersion Please read.

     Contacting MehlpContactingMe        

 

My First Game

     Getting ReadyhlpGettingReady

     Getting ConnectedhlpGettingConnected

     Finding an OpponenthlpFindingOpponent

     Playing a GamehlpPlayingGame

 

Reference

     Main ScreenhlpMainScreen

     Main Menu and ToolbarhlpMainMenu

     Terminal AreahlpTerminalArea

     List AreahlpListArea

     Board AreahlpBoardArea

     MoveListhlpMoveList

     Connection DialoghlpConnectDialog

     Match/Seek DialoghlpMatchDialog

     Chat WindowhlpChatWindow

     Hot KeyshlpHotKeys

     Sought GraphhlpSoughtGraph

 

Options

     Customizing CClienthlpCustomizingCClient

     Customizing BoardshlpCustomizingBoards

     Customizing Mouse ActionshlpCustomizingMouseActions New

     Customizing SoundshlpCustomizingSounds

     Customizing ListshlpCustomizingLists

     Customizing CommandshlpCustomizingCommands

     Customizing Chat AliaseshlpCustomizingChatAliases

 

Tasks

     Getting Help on the ServerhlpServerHints  

 

Helpful Hints

     CClient HintshlpCClientHints

     Server HintshlpServerHints

 

Time Stamp

     Using Time StamphlpUsingTimeSeal

What is CClient?

 

CClient is a graphical interface for playing chess over the internet on one of the primary chess servers,  Free Internet Chess Server (FICS)hlpFICS or the Internet Chess Club (ICC)hlpFICS.  CClient itself is not associated in any way with either server.

 

While it is possible to play on either server without an interface, doing so requires the memorization of a large number of commands and playing on an ASCII board—I.e., a board where pieces are represented by letters, like Q for queen. CClient automates many of the commands in a graphical user interface, and provides 3D and 2D boards to play on.

 

What are FICS and ICC?

 

FICS (Free Internet Chess Server) and ICC (Internet Chess Club) are both Internet Chess Servers.  They are places where you can play chess or chess variants against other internet users or computers, observe and discuss games, etc.  You can use either or both with CClient.

 

Both servers implement similar TELNET interfaces, similar to old terminals.  Without an interface, they simply display text screens and permit you to type various commands, like “P-Q4” to move a pawn or “help commands” to display a list of commands. 

 

Both servers will permit you to log on and play unrated games now as an unregistered user.  To use all the servers’ features, however, you must register with them.  In the case of FICS, this involves simply selecting a handle (the name you will use on the server) and sending an email to the administrators—there are no costs involved.  For ICC, however, you must pay to register, though they are currently offering a 7 day free trial period.  Typing the command “help register” on either server will display details on registering.

 

Which server to use is up to you—CClient is affiliated with neither and works with both. It is recommended you sign on to both as an unregistered user to try them both out. 

 

What do I need to use CClient?

 

Required

·         Windows 95 or Windows NT

·         A 32-bit TCP/IP Internet connection--i.e., a Wsock32.dll.  16-bit Winsock.dll's will not work.  The Windows 95 'Dial-Up Networking' will work.

Recommended

·         At least 800x600 resolution—the higher, the better.

 

Note on TCP/IP (Winsock)

 

If you can use 32-bit Netscape or Internet Explorer, you probably have an 32-bit TCP/IP stack.  If you use the Window 95 Dial-up Networking, you have one.  If you are not sure, or do not have one, contact your internet connection provider.

 

If you have a terminal or shell-style internet connection without a TCP/IP stack, look for the Dos-based ZIICS interface by Andy McFarland, which supports these types of connections, on the ICC FTP site—ftp://ftp.lm.com.

CClient Features

 

·         Hyper-text web page and email links.

·         Interactive move list.

·         Ability to save and load games in CClient format, or export in PGN format.

·         Customizable wave file sound for many events.

·         True 3D board and pieces, with 2D option, both fully sizable.

·         Real-time (i.e., self-updating), customizable lists for things like games played, players available, games sought, server commands, players in a certain channel, messages, etc.

·         User-definable mouse click actions for matching, tells, observing, assessing, etc.

·         User-definable colors/fonts for Says, Tells, etc.

·         Full Bughouse chess variant support, with display of pieces held and click-and-drag to drop.

·         Full Suicide variant support, including selection of Kings as promotion piece.

·         Built-in Time Stamp for ICC and Time Seal for FICS.

·         Easy configuration of connections and match/seek options.

·         Automation of many common commands.

·         Observe up to 4 games simultaneously without having to manage multiple windows.

·         Popup chat system activated by clicking on handles or receiving tells or says with 16 user-definable messages.

·         Unlimited number of user-definable commands accessible from a combo-box.

 

Main Screen

 

 

The main screen is consists of the following distinct areas:

 

Main MenuhlpMainMenu

Along with the Toolbar, provides access to CClient’s features.  Items followed by a hot-key specifier (like “Say   F4”) can be accessed quickly by pressing the key specified.      

 

ToolbarhlpMainMenu

Buttons which provide quick access to CClient features. 

 

List TabshlpDisplayMenu

      Tabs to show Lists, view boards, etc.

 

BoardshlpBoardArea / ListshlpListArea Area

Chess boards or lists of games, players, etc., are displayed here depending on the current Display Mode.

 

Splitter Bar

Click-and-drag the splitter bar to adjust the relative size of the board and list areas to the terminal area.

 

Terminal AreahlpTerminalArea

Incoming messages from the chess server will be displayed here.

 

Command Area

Type commands here, and press the <ENTER> key to send them to the server. The drop-down area contains common commands.

 

Status/Help Line

Displays a brief help message on whatever the mouse is currently over.  Pay close attention to this area while learning to use CClient.

 

Scroll Lock Indicator

Clicking here toggles Scroll Lock for the terminal area.  When Scroll Lock is off, the terminal area will automatically scroll to display incoming messages.

Main Menu and Toolbar

 

 

FilehlpFile

 

DisplayhlpDisplayMenu

 

ActionshlpActionsMenu

 

SettingshlpSettingsMenu

 

GamehlpGameMenu

 

File Menu and Toolbar Buttons

 

      Connect/Disconnect

 

Connects or disconnects from the chess server.

 

Load

 

Loads a game saved with CClient.

 

Save

 

Saves the currently selected game in CClient format.

 

Export PGN

 

Saves the currently selected game in PGN format.

 

AutoSave\CClient Format

 

Automatically saves games after completion CClient format.  Game files are named Date_White_Black.cc.

 

Export PGN

 

Automatically saves games after completion PGN format.  Each new game is appended to the end of the selected PGN file.

 

Logging

 

Turn on loggint to the CClient.log file.

 

Exit

 

Closes CClient.

 

Mouse Actions

 

The mouse actions system has been revamped.  The mouse actions menu and icons have been replaced by a user-definable pop-up menu accessed by right-click on a target—i.e., player’s handle, a seek number, a game number, etc.  Left-clicking on a target will use the last action used on that target.  To copy or copy and paste, Left-click and drag to select the area you wish to copy, the right-click to pull up the menu and select Copy or Copy and Paste.

 

You can change the existing mouse actions and add news ones—see Customizing Mouse ActionshlpCustomizingMouseActions for details.

 

Mouse actions are an important part of using CClient effectively.  For instance, you might use the Sought Tab and notice Bob is seeking a 2 12 game.  Then you might right-click on Bob and select Finger to get some more information on him.  Once you’ve decided you do want to play him, right-click on the seek number on the Sought tab to play.

 

The default mouse actions are:

 

Tell: Sends a tell to the target.

Message:Sends a message to the target.  Unlike tells, the target may be offline when a message is sent.

Match: Displays Match DialoghlpMatchDialog to challenge target to a game.   

Play: Responds to a Seek Ad posted for a game by target.

Finger: Provides general information on the target.

History: Provides a history of the target’s last few games.

Observe: Observes game being played by target.

Assess: Show the ratings consequences of playing the target.

Variables:Shows variable settings for target.

Pstat: Shows your record in wins, losses, and draws against target.

Partner: Requests target to be your bughouse partner.

Follow: Automatically observes all games played by target.  Do not use this with your bughouse partner, and that is implemented automatically.

Help:Shows help on target.

Hello:Tells target “Hello.”

Salute: Shouts “I salutes target.”

Goodbye:Tells target goodbye.

Display Menu and Tabs

 

 

The Display menu control what is shown in the Lists/Boards portion of the Main ScreenhlpMainScreen. 

 

Example:  You want to play a game.  You click on the Sought tab and a list of ads for games is displayed.  With the Mouse ActionhlpMouseAction set for Play, you then click on the play handle or ad number to respond to that ad—i.e., begin playing the game advertised.

 

You can customizing how many and what tabs are show, and even define new ones—see Customizing ListshlpCustomizingLists.

 

Terminal Only

 

Enlarges the Terminal Area to fill the entire screen.

 

Boards

 

Displays the chess board(s).

 

Sought

 

Displays a list of games sought by other players, which updates itself every few seconds.  See Sought GraphhlpSoughtGraph.

 

Who

 

Displays a list of players available for games, witch updates itself every few seconds. 

 

Games

 

Displays a list of games being played.  Click on a handle or game number with the mouse action set to Observe to watch a game.

Actions Menu and Toolbar Buttons

 

 

 

     Accept

 

Accepts the last offer made to you (for a match or whatever).  If you have more than one pending offer, the server may ask you to be more specific.

 

      Decline

 

Declines the last offer made to you.

 

      Shout

 

Sends server wide messages.  Depending on the setup, uses either Shout (Plotinus shouts x), Cshout (Plotinus cshouts x) for chess related shouts, or It (à Potinus x’s).  Right-clicking the icon allows you to select the type of shout to use.

 

      Seek

 

Clear Messages

 

Deletes your messages.

 

Settings Menu and ToolBar Buttons

 

 

 

      Open

 

Toggles whether you are open or closed to receiving match requests.

 

     Silence

 

Toggles hearing of server wide messages.  Right-clicking the icon will allow you to select what types of messages are affected.

 

Game Menu and GameBar

 

Different Game Menu options and GameBar buttons will be enabled and visible depending on whether you are playing, observing, or examining a game.

 

       Say

 

Sends a message to your current or last opponent.

 

        Kibitz

 

Sends a message to all players and observers of the current game.

 

       Whisper

 

Sends a message to all observers of the current game.

 

       Draw

 

Offers your opponent a draw.

 

       Resign

 

Resigns the game.

 

       Abort/Close

 

Request to abort a game you are playing, or closes games you are observing or examining.  It may take a moment to close games, as the server must be notified first.

 

       Accept

 

Accepts the last offer.

 

       Reject

 

Rejects the last offer.

 

       Autoflag

 

Toggles auto-flagging on and off.  When auto-flag is on, your opponent will forfeit the game if he runs out of time.

 

       Back

 

Goes back 1 move.  For examined games, actually moves the examined games backwards.  For other games, starts a local examine mode that can be ended with Revert, or by just going forward to the most recent move.

 

       Pause

 

Requests to pause the clocks.

 

       Revert

 

Issues Revert command in examine mode, or return to main line in local examine mode.

 

       Forward

 

Goes forward.

 

       Fast Forward

 

Goes forward 3 moves in an examined game.

 

       Congratulate

 

Tells your opponent, “Good game.”

 

       Flip

 

Reverses the boards.

 

       Observers

 

Displays a list of the game’s observers in the Terminal  Area.

 

       Promotion

 

Changes the setting for future pawn promotions.  Pawns will automatically be promoted to the selected piece.

 

Getting Ready

 

Before you play your first game, you will want to make sure the chess board displays in a way you are comfortable playing on.  The display of the board can vary radically dependent on resolution size, etc. 

 

·        Click on the Display Menu, then the Boards menu item to display the chess board.  Adjust the size of the main window and drag the Splitter Bar below the board until it looks right for you.

·        If you are still not happy with the board, click on the Settings menu, then the Boards menu item.  The Board Properties window will display.  Play with different combinations of Perspective, colors, and 2D board and/or pieces until you like what you see.

·        When you’re happy with the board, click on the Display menu, then the Terminal Only menu item to put away the board for now

·        Click the >> button at the top of this help screen to continue.

Getting Connected

 

The first step in playing a game is to get connected to one of the chess servers. 

 

·        Click the File Menu, then the Connect menu item.  This will bring up the Connect Dialog.

·        Enter a handle you will go by in the Handle Field.  Try to use one noone else would be using.  Leave the password blank for now, unless you already have an account on FICS.

·        Click the OK button.  Your internet dialer should start up if you are not already connected.  If it doesn’t, you may have to start it up manually.

·        After a minute, you should see a message in the Terminal Area informing you that you have connected to the FICS server.  You may also sees lots of other messages you don’t understand if you’ve never connected before—just ignore these for now.

·        Click the >> button at the top of this help screen to continue.

Finding an Opponent

 

The second step in playing a game is finding an opponent to play.  There are many ways to do this in CClient, but we will focus on only one for now.  If you are not registered with FICS, you will only be able to play unrated games for now.

 

·        Click on the Sought tab.  The games sought graph will appear.  To answer a seek, click on it, or right-click to find out more information about it.  See Sought GraphhlpSoughtGraph for more information.

·        Click the Seek button to the right of the Sought Graph.  The Match Dialog should pop up. 

·        Click OK without changing anything.  This will post an ad for an unrated game with 2 minutes starting on the clock, and 12 seconds added to the clock each move (the default game).

·        Wait.  Most people prefer to play rated games and registered players, so it may take a while for someone to respond. 

·        When someone responds to your add, you will get a message like “Creating unrated Blitz Match” and the Boards area will display.  Click OK to clear this message.

·        Click the >> button at the top of this screen to continue.

Playing a Game

 

When a game starts, a message like “Creating unrated blitz match” and the Boards area will display.  Click OK to clear the message.

 

At this point, you are playing a game.  The area to the right of the board shows you and your opponents handles and clocks, and will display pieces as they are captured.

 

If you are white, you need to move immediately.  Otherwise, wait for your opponent to move.  To move, Click-and-Drag the piece you want to move to the square you want to move it to. 

 

If you wish to resign or offer a draw at some point in the game, use the Draw or Resign icon on the Gamebar (the tool bar under the board).  Click on the Lips icon here to say something to your opponent.  You will be notified if your opponent resigns, one of you is mated, etc.

 

Note:

 

Due to the nature of the internet, you or your opponent may experience “lag” while playing.  “Lag” here refers to a time delay in the sending and receiving of messages to and from the chess server.  This can be a significant problem when playing, because the time it takes these messages to travel is counted against your clock as time it took you to move.  Proprietary but free programs exists for both servers to prevent this time from being counted against you.  If your opponents clock gets down to -0:30 then jumps back up to 1:30, he is experiencing lag and is using such a program.  See Time StamphlpUsingTimeSeal for more information.

 

Terminal Area

 

The Terminal Area of the main screen displays incoming data from the server.

 

Mouse ActionshlpMouseAction can be executed in the Terminal Area by clicking on a player’s handle.

 

A different color and font is associated with Says, Tells, etc.

 

The font and color of the Terminal Area can be modified in the Options WindowhlpCustomizingCClienthlpCustomizingCClient.

List Area

 

The List Area is displayed above the Terminal Area whenever the display modehlpDisplayMenu is set to Sought, Who, or Games.  This area displays a list of games sought by other users, a list of users available for games, or a list of games being played.

 

Mouse ActionshlpMouseAction can be executed in the List Area by clicking on a player’s handle.  For instance, you might use the Play mouse action to click on an ad number in the Sought list to begin playing a game.

 

The Lists update themselves every few seconds. 

 

You can edit and add Lists by right-clicking in the List area and clicking Options, or selecting the List menu item below the Settings menu.  See Customizing ListshlpCustomizingLists.

Boards Area

 

The Boards area will be displayed whenever you begin playing or observing a game, or when you select Boards from the Display menu.

 

The Boards area will display between 1 and 4 boards, depending on how many games you are observing.

 

To move a piece, simply click-and-drag it.

 

When more than one board is displayed, a gray boarder will be displayed around the active board (i.e., the board the Gamebar and Game MenuhlpGameMenu will affect).  Clicking on another board will make it active.  Whispers, kibitzes, etc., will go to the active board.

 

Much about the boards can be customized on the Board PropertieshlpCustomizingBoards dialog.

 

The area to the right of the board will display the players’ handles and time remaining, as well as pieces captured, except in bughouse games.

 

To the right of this move list will be displayed if you have it turned on.

 

Bughouse Note:

     

When playing or observing bughouse games, the area to the right of the board displays your piece holdings, not the pieces you’ve taken.  To drop one of the pieces on the board, simply click-and-drag to the square, or right-click on the square and select Drop from the pop-up menu.

 

Connect Dialog

 

 

The Connect Dialog displays whenever you select Connect from the File menu, or click on the Connect button.  It is used to determine which server to connect to, and then to actually establish the connection.

 

Add

Adds a new connection profile to the server tabs.  You will be prompted for a name for the new connection—enter something descriptive of the connection here.

 

Remove

Removes the currently selected tab.

 

Address

Enter the address of the server here, like Chess.onenet.net for FICS or ChessClub.com for ICC.

 

Port

Enter the server’s port here.  This should be 5000 for FICS, and any number between 5001 and 5999 for ICC.

 

Handle

Enter your registered handle for the server here if you have one.  If not, enter a name noone is likely to be using for FICS, or “g” for guest for ICC.

 

Password

Enter your password here.  If you do not have a registered account on the server, leave this blank.

 

Protocol

Select ICC when connecting to ICC, FICS when connecting to FICS.

 

OK

Establishes a connection using the currently selected profile.

    

#$K+Match/Seek Dialog

 

 

The match seek dialog displays whenever you select the Seek menu item on the actions menu, or whenever you use the Mouse ActionhlpMouseAction on a player.  In the first case, it is used to post an add for a game.  In the second, it is used to challenge the targeted player to a match.

 

Up to 9 profiles may be stored on the Match/Seek Dialog.  When you click OK, a seek or match is posted using the currently selected profile.

 

Rename

Change the name of the currently select profile.  Proceeding a character in the name with an “&” sign will allow <ALT> + that character to be used as a hot-key for that profile on the Seek/Match dialog.

 

Type

Selects the type of game to request.  “Blitz” will change to “Lightning” or “Standard” depending on the selected time controls.  If  “Other” is selected, enter the game type parameters in the box next to it, like “w2” for wild 2.  Not all game types are available on all servers.

 

Time Controls

Each player will begin the game with “Time” minutes, and “Increment” seconds will be added to their clock each move.

 

Rated

Selects Rated or Unrated game.  You must be registered with the server in order to play Rated games.

 

Color

Selects the color you wish to play.

 

Additional

Enter additional parameters here, like “f” to use your formula to screen responses to a seek ad.

 

Customizing CClient

 

Many options in CClient can be set by right-clicking on objects.  Options can also be set by using the General Options Dialog, accessed by the General menu item on the Settings menu.

 

 

Font Tab

      Allows you to set up different fonts and colors to use on the Terminal, Lists, and Chat screens.  Select the type of message to change the font for then click “Change”.  Set All will set all fonts to whatever is currently selected.

 

Terminal Tab

This tab allows you to specify background color used by the Teminal area, the Lists area, and the Chat Window.  Ignore Thanks After Move will prevent you from seeing “thanks” messages from your opponents.

 

Chat

Pop up on Say and Pop up on Tell

Displays the chat screen any time you receive tells or says.

Include Shouts and Include Channel Tells

Displays shouts and channel tells on the chat screen.

Echo

Displays tells, says, etc., send by you on the upper portion of the chat screen.

 

Messages

Allows specification of the messages sent by the “Hello” and “Congratulate” buttons on the game toolbar.

 

Mouse Actions

Allows specification of the user-defined mouse actions.

 

Commands

Shout Type

Selects the default shout type generated by the Shout menu item and button.

Silence

Selects the types of messages affected by the Silence menu item and button.

 

Customizing Mouse Actions

 

The Mouse Actions setup window is access under the Settings Menu, Mouse Actions menu item.  It is used to alter existing or add new mouse actionshlpMouseAction.

 

The Label field is the name the action will have on the pop-up menu.  An “&” in this field will cause the next letter to be underlined.

 

The Definition field define what the mouse action will do.  “*” is used in the definition in place of the target.  I.e., the definition “Tell * Goodbye” will send the ICS command: Tell target Goodbye.

 

Customizing Boards

 

One way to customize the appearance of the board is simply to resize the main window, or click-and-drag the Splitter Bar that seperates it from the Terminal Area.  The 3D board’s appearance will vary radically dependent on the relative size of its height to its width.

 

If you wish the boards to appear in separate windows, simply select the “Boards in Separate Windows” menu item under the Settings menu.

 

Another way is to change the board’s options.  The Board Properties dialog can be access using the Settings menu, Board Options menu item, or by right-clicking on the board and selecting the Properties menu item.

 

 

The follow fields on the Properties menu have the following effects:

 

White Space, Black Space, White Piece, and Black Piece Colors

Clicking on the colored bar next to these will pop up a dialog allowing you to change the colors.

 

Perspective

A number between 0 and 100 that controls the 3D effect of the board.  The lower the number, the longer the board appears, and the more oblique the angle from which it is viewed.

 

Move Speed

Controls the speed at which other people’s moves are displayed.  Higher is faster, but 0 means the moves won’t be displayed at all—the pieces will just “jump” to their new squares.

 

3D Board and Piece Set

As they sound.  It is perfectly permissible to mix 2D pieces with a 3D board and vice versa.  Multiple board setting allow you to select a different look and feel when multiple boards are displayed on the screen.  For instance, you might wish to use 2d boards for multiples and 3d for singles.

 

3D Board and Piece Set

Controls whether a move list is show to the right of the board.

 

Drag Pieces

When selected, pieces are moved by clicking-and-dragging.  When deselected, pieces are moved by clicking-and-clicking.

 

Manual Promotion

When selected, you will be prompted for what piece to promote to whenever a pawn promotes.  Otherwise, pawns will be promoted to whatever piece you last promoted to.

 

Show Coordinates

When selected, shows coordinates around the edges of the board.

Using Time Stamp and Time Seal

 

Both FICS and ICC support encrypted protocols, known as Time Seal and Time Stamp respectively, which adjust the game clocks to reflect ‘lag’ time during play.  This prevents you from losing the time it takes moves to travel through the Internet from your clock.

 

To use Time Stamp or Time Seal, simply click the Use Time Seal/Stamp checkbox on the Connect ScreenhlpConnectDialog.

 

Both Time Stamp for ICC and Time Seal for FICS are built-in to CClient.  Shells such as TMSEAL.EXE are not needed and should not be used.  This means faster connections and support for winsocks without listening capability.

CClient Hints

 

·        Learn the hot-keys, especially for things you do often.

·        Use the mouse actionshlpMouseAction, especially in combination with the Who and Sought listshlpDisplayMenu.

·        Use the Scroll Lock key to freeze the Terminal Area, but remember to turn it off.

·        If your unhappy with the boards, try out the Perspective and 2D settings in Board PropertieshlpCustomizingBoards, as well as moving the SplitterBarhlpMainScreen.

·        Try right-clicking on just about everything.

·        Press F1 on screens for context-sensitive help.

·        Drag pieces from the right side of the board in Bughouse.

·        Setup the Fonts under Settings\General if they are too big for your screen.

Server Hints

 

·        For a list of the commands on the server, type ‘help commands’.

·        For help on a specific command, type ‘help x’, where x is the command.

·        Type “+chan 1”, then “tell 1 Someone help me” for human help.

·        Type “Set Seek 0” or use the Silence button if your screen is filled with Seek messages all the time.

·        Type “Set Shout 0” or use the Silence button if you’re seeing too many Shout messages.

 

Chat Window

 

 

The Chat Window display can be displayed from the Display menu, Chat menu item.  It also displays whenever you use Tell, Say, Shout, etc.  By default, it will also display whenever you receive a personal Tell, or whenever an opponent Says something to you in a game—this can be shut off on the Chat tab of the Options WindowhlpCustomizingCClient.

 

The upper portion of the Chat Window will display any Tells or Says directed to you, as well as any Kibitzes, Whispers, etc., for a game you are involved in.  Shouts and channel tells will display only if you have these options turned on—right-click this portion to set options.  You may click on players handles in this area to execute Mouse ActionshlpMouseAction just as in the Terminal AreahlpTerminalArea.

 

The middle portion of the Chat Window is where you enter the message you want sent, be it a Tell, Say, or whatever.

 

At the bottom left of the Chat Window is a series of tabs which control the chat mode—i.e., the type of message you are sending.  These are:

 

Say:  Sends the message to your current or last opponent.

Whisper:  Sends the message to observers of the current game.

Kibitz:  Sends the message to observers and players of the current game.

Shout:  Sends the message to the whole server, in the form “x shouts …”.

Cshout:  Like Shout, but intended only for chess-related messages.

It:  Like Shout, but in the form “à x …”.  Ex: If Plotinus sends an It message “thinks out loud”, other users

will see “à Plotinus thinks out loud”.

Ptell: Sends a message to your bug-house partner.

 

Tell & Message:  In general, sends a message to a specific person.  However, Tell works a bit differently in the Chat Window than the other message types.

 

When Tell or Message is the current mode, you will see a drop down list immediately above the tabs. Clicking the arrow icon will display a list of people you have already talked to—you can select these to tell them something again.

 

Use tell to send messages to people online and not involved in a game.  Use Message for people offline or playing a game.

 

If the text box portion of this drop down list is empty, sending a message in tell mode isn’t going to do anything.  You get something into the text box portion by selecting it from the drop down list, entering text in it (like “Plotinus”), or clicking on someone’s handle while the Mouse ActionhlpMouseAction is set to Tell.

 

At the bottom right of the chat screen are the Chat Alias buttons.  Use must define these yourself—see Customizing Chat AliaseshlpCustomizingChatAliases.  Once defined, pressing one of these buttons will send the message you defined immediately as a Say, Tell ‘x’, etc., depending on which chat tab is selected at the time.

 

The chat window will remember different positions and sizes based on whether you are playing a game or not.

Hot Keys

 

Mouse ActionshlpMouseAction

 

CTRL-E      Assess

CTRL-F      Finger

CTRL-H      History

F4               Tell

 

DisplayhlpDisplayMenu

 

CTRL-T      Terminal Only

CTRL-B      Boards

CTRL-S      Sought

CTRL-W     Who

CTRL-G      Games

F7               Chat

 

ActionshlpActionsMenu

 

F2               Accept

F3               Decline

F5               Shout

F6               Seek

 

SettingshlpSettingsMenu

 

CTRL-O     Open

CTRL-I       Silence

F11             General

F12             Boards

 

GameshlpGameMenu

 

CTRL-Y      Say

CTRL-K     Kibitz

F10             Abort/Close                

 

     F1               Help

 

Contacting Me

 

Bug reports, comments, etc., may be sent to jbarnett@centuryinter.net.

New in This Version

 

New in 1.41

 

·         Games sought graph (on the Sought tab).

·         Autosave games in CC and/or PGN format.

·         Ability to define multiple profiles with passwords.

·         Option to turn off "game over" messages (Settings\General\Terminal tab).

·         Indication of piece being dragged in bughouse.

·         Improved ICC compatibility.

·         Auto-popup of chat window disabled when viewing the board tab.

·         Minor bug fixes.

 

Important Note: If you are upgrading from 1.4 and using profiles, the Default profile will be the one containing your previous CClient options.  If you want to copy these options to a new profile, copy the Default.ini file in the CClient directory and rename the copy to the profile name + .ini—i.e., Plotinus.ini for a profile named Plotinus.

 

New in 1.4

 

·         Revamped mouse actions—up to 30 customizable actions now accessed by right-clicking, with improved copy & paste support.  SeeMouse ActionshlpMouseAction for more information.

·         Hyper-text for web pages and email address.  Just click to browse or email.

·         Show coordinates option for boards.  See Customzing the BoardhlpCustomizingBoards for more information.

·         Word-wrapping instead of horizontal scroll bar.

·         Ignore “Thanks” after game option.  See Customizing CClienthlpCustomizingCClient for more information.

·         Stay-on-top properties of Chat Window and Boards in Separate Windows can be turned off by right-clicking.

·         Ability to turn off sounds for all but the first board.

·         Fix for PGN Export—standardized headings (i.e., [Event “ICS Game”] instead of [EVENT: ICS Game].

·         New default sounds for tells and moves.

 

New in 1.3

 

·         Interactive move list.

·         Ability to save and load games in CClient format, or export in PGN format.

·         Customizable wave file sound for many events.

·         Bug fix for occasion repaint problem in chat window.

·         Kibitzes, whispers, etc., will now go to the selected board if multiples are displayed.

 

New in 1.23

 

·         New 2d Staunton piece set (similar to Chess Master).

·         Option to have boards in separate windows.

 

New in 1.22

 

·         Built-in FICS Time Seal.

·         Updates for changes in FICS server messages.

 

New in 1.2

 

·         Ability to pick up pieces before your opponent moves—requested by lightning players.

·         Minor bug fixes.

 

New in 1.1

 

·         Add, remove, and edit and unlimited number of self-updating lists: defaults include sought games, who available, games, who’s in the bug channel, bug who, server commands, messages, and who’s in your notification list.  Lists moved to tabs to allow unlimited numbers.

·         Customizable and new mouse actions: finger, tell, message, play, match, history, assess, pstat, partner, help, observe, variable, +notify, and -notify any user or thing on the screen with a single click.

·         16 alias buttons send user-defined messages automatically to chat target.

·         Auto-promote on/off option.

·         Chat window remembers playing/not playing positions.

·         Ptell and message added to chat window.

·         Unlimited number of user-defined commands in drop-down box.

·         User-definable ‘hello’ and ‘congrat’s’ messages.

·         Different board properties/positions remembered for number of games observed.

·         User definable fonts & colors for tells, says, ptells, shouts, etc.

·         FICS timeseal port different with each session for multiple simultaneous sessions using timeseal (not needed for ICC).

·         A second 2d piece set.

 

 

Customizing Lists

 

 

To customize lists, Select the “Lists” menu item under the “Settings” menu.  The above dialog should display.

 

You can change any lists shown by clicking it, except Terimal and Boards, since these aren’t really lists.

 

Label

      The name of the selected list show on the tabs of the main window.

 

Command

      The command sent to the server to create the list.

 

Automatic Update

      How often the list is updated.  Lists are only updated while they are being viewed, not all the time.

 

Add

      Adds a new list.

 

Remove

      Removes the selected list.

 

Up/Down

      Moves the list up or down—controls which tab the list’s label is displayed on.

Customizing Commands

 

 

To edit commands, select the “Commands” item under the “Settings” menu.  The above dialog should display.

 

These are the commands that will be available in the Main Screen’s drop-down box.  Enter commands hitting the <ENTER> key after each.

Customizing Chat Aliases

 

 

To edit Chat Aliases, select the “Aliases” menu item under the “Settings” menu.  The above dialog should display.

 

The tabs at the bottom of the screen correspond to the alias buttons on the Chat WindowhlpChatWindow.  Name is the name that will be displayed when you hold the mouse over the button for a second.  Message is the message that will be sent when you click the button.

 

Customizing Sounds

 

 

CClient sounds can be edited for a variety of events.  To do so, go to the Settings menu and select the Sounds menu item to display this dialog.  Next, select the Event you wish edit the sound for.

 

You can turn the sound off by selecting None, set it to a Beep that will play your Windows default sound, or select a Wave File (i.e., a file with the extension “.wav”).

 

For Wave Files, you will need to enter the full path and filename of the file you wish to use.

 

Select No Soundcard to play all sounds not set to None as beeps through your PC’s internal speaker.

 

Move List

 

The Move List can be turned on and off at the Board PropertieshlpCustomizingBoards dialog.

 

When on, it displays a list of any games (observed, played, or examined) to the right of the board.

 

You can go back to any move simply by clicking on it in the move list.  Once the move list has focus, you can move through the list with the arrow up and arrow down keys.

 

Clicking on the move list while observing, playing, or examining a game initiates a local examine mode.  While in this mode, new moves received from the server will be added to the move list, but not immediately displayed.  To return to displaying moves are they are made, simply click the last move in the list.

 

Note:

     

The move list will not always be complete.  If you begin observing a game after the start, it will list only moves made since you started observing.  If you are examining a game a skip forward several moves (with a “forward 5” command, for example), there will be a corresponding gap in the move list.  If you want to see all the moves, use the server’s copygame command (type “help copygame” in the command area).

 

Sought Graph

 

 

The Sought Graph is accessed by clicking on the Sought Tab.  It displays a graphical representation of the games being sought by other users.  The X-axis represents time, and the Y-axis represents ratings.

 

Hold the mouse over one of the dots to display information about it.  To answer an ad, left-click it.  To execute a mouse action on the person seeking the game, right-click on the dot, then select the action you want to perform (finger, tell, history, etc.).

 

Click the Seek button to post an ad of your own.

 

Click the Options button to display the Sought Graph Options WindowhlpSoughtOptions to change the range of ratings shown, etc.

Sought Graph Options

 

 

The Sought Graph Options Window is used to set the range of ratings used for the Y-axis of the sought graphhlpSoughtGraph, and to specify whether to use the graph or to just display text.

 

Profile Window

 

 

The Profiles Window is used to select or add the profile to use in this session of CClient.

 

Each profile has its own list of connections, login handles and passwords, and CClient options.

 

To add a new profile, click the Add button, and enter a name for the profile.  If you wish to use password protection for the profile, enter a password in the Profile Password area.

 

If you always want to use the same profile, click “Do not show this window again”, and the currently selected profile will always be used.

 

Do not confuse profiles with ICS handles.  A profile is a set of CClient settings, including ICS handles.

 

See Important Note under New In This VersionhlpNewInThisVersion if you are upgrading from CClient 1.4 and using profiles.