Hnefatafl: The Viking Board Game (download on page 7)

[DJ Omnimaga]

Looks great.

I like the changes you made to the readme since I last checked it out. The BG color is definitely more fitting.

I'm wondering if this will also be hosted in Omnimaga's downloads section. Might make it easier to find, for those who don't regularly browse the forums.

yeah I thought about it, it will be much easier to find. I don't know yet for the AI version, it would most likely need to include the multiplayer one, contain code from it or be by an Omni staff, but since jsj is working on it it will most likely land in there. I might upload the multiplayer version earlier, though.

[jsj795]

Okay, seriously, I'm working on it. I intend to put in the menu for the custom rules, make A.I., save games, etc.
Also, I changed the board design a bit, and the king piece. Here's the screenshot of the board.
Tell me if you like it. If many like the older one, then it's not hard to change it back^^

Also, there's the screenshot of the menu.

Edit: lol I just found the spelling error on the Hnefatafle rules... there's not supposed to be extra 'e' at the end. Just changed it^^

[DJ Omnimaga]

I love how this looks like, nice job guys so far

[Zera]

I originally included dots along the board grid to help the player discern each tile, but AP left them out for some reason. I assume there was probably a reason for that. Not really sure. Either way, I do like that you added them back in. (ableit, in a slightly different fashion than what I originally produced)

I can't say I'm too fond of the new king design, though. In games where the pieces weren't represented as actual figurines, I've noticed the king's piece usually had a cross to differentiate him from the other pieces. I tried to follow in that method, but it's difficult to produce something very detailed with such a small resolution. On the other hand, your version does seem easier to discern than mine.

I attached some of the working ideas I had for an A.I. script, if this could help in any way. I was thinking one way to handle the A.I. is to give it a list of various moves. It would cycle through this list, from priority of first entry to last, until it came across a move that could be executed; then it would execute it. If it couldn't execute any of the moves on the list, then it would select a "random" piece and move it to a "random" location. (within the confines of the game's rules, of course) The moves list I created details what I think would be the most essential moves a player could make in order to win the game. It would create a very deterministic A.I., and the A.I. would make a few dumb moves or set itself up for a capture. It would be *some* form of A.I., though.

[jsj795]

I made the king like that, because when I first played it, it looked more like black's piece, not white's. So I took out two pixels... and thanks for the AI text! It will help me immeasurably!
After researching, I intend to include these custom rules:

Castle- Affects the nature of the central square
King Capture- Affects how the king is captured, either with 2 pieces or 4 pieces
King Strength- Either Armed or Weaponless
Shieldwall
# of rounds

[Zera]

I haven't heard of the first two rules. The "armed king" rule, to my knowledge, is just a house rule someone else created which doesn't fall into common use.

Just me, personally - I would only include the shieldwall on / off rule, the king movement rule, (king needs to make two moves in order to reach a burg) and the round type. (either a single round, or require players to switch sides and play a second round) The others would just be too uncommon. If you're taking over the code, though, what you include is your prerogative.

If you want to do some testing on the A.I., I can help with that, since I'm very familiar with the game. The notes I included earlier are just some essential moves I've thought of. If we get into testing, I might be able to examine the A.I.'s behavior and define some additional movement rules. It's kind of hard to create rules that would allow the A.I. to actively capture opponent pieces, but some of the rules I already included will capture according to a few common exploits and oversights that most human players would set themselves up for.

[jsj795]

oh okay^^ but I don't get the king movement rule, what do you mean by making two moves in order to reach a burg? isn't the king automatically making two moves to get there? like, going all the way to the edge, and then corner?

[Zera]

This rule means that the king must first position himself next to the burg, as opposed to moving directly into it in a single turn - that is, as he is moving toward the burg, he must stop immediately next to it and end his turn. On white's next turn, he can move into it and end the game.

This rule tries to balance the strategy between attackers and defenders, as it's fairly simple for the king to find a safe, unobstructed route of escape.

As for the movement you detailed above - the king's movement is like that of any other piece: He can move any number of spaces in any straight direction. He does not need to leave the board in any specific number of moves. (that is, he doesn't have to shoot straight for the boundary of the board, and then a burg) The king can, in fact, be chased all around the board and back while he's attempting to escape.

By the way - if you want to get in touch with me about any specific rules or details, you can always hit me up for a PM conversation. I'm also on AIM, Yahoo, Google Talk and IRC.

EDIT: Upon further research, I would give more consideration to the "unarmed king" rule, as well. Apparently, there are a sizable number of sources that know about this rule. It even appears in some computerized versions of the game.

[jsj795]

Oh okay! Those won't be too hard to implement^^

The rules that I wanted implement was from the java version of this game. So I figured it was variant in many sources, but apparently not... And I'll implement the unarmed king rule. They are not that hard to do.

I think I'll finish this either by tomorrow or tuesday lastest. Wait... I have to make the AI and test it, so it might go upto wednesday.

[DJ Omnimaga]

Good luck! I hope you don't have too much speed problems

[jsj795]

Okay, I got the "King's Escape" (meaning the king has to take 2 turns to get to burg) and the weaponless king implemented. When I finish the king's capture along with shieldwall and the AI, it is pretty much done.

Also, I implemented the saving feature. Coming along very nicely, way better than I expected

[DJ Omnimaga]

glad to hear it's going nicely , keep up the good work

[Zera]

Good work, indeed. I didn't expect you to put this much detail into it.

[meishe91]

So this is pretty off topic (but related to the game) but how do you even pronounce it? I skimmed and didn't see anything so sorry if I missed it

[DJ Omnimaga]

It's pronounced like Hentai-Fatal I think