Chessmaster 4000 Turbo
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The Chessmaster chess engine is called The King, written by Johan de Köning of the Netherlands. It was introduced in Chessmaster 4000; the first edition featured a chess engine written by David Kittinger, who went on to develop the engines for Interplay's USCF Chess, WChess for the German company Millennium 2000, and Sierra Entertainment's Power Chess, Majestic Chess and Disney's Aladdin Chess Adventures. The second edition had an engine designed by Kate and Dan Spracklen of Sargon fame.
To date, various versions of Chessmaster have appeared on Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, DOS, PC, Macintosh, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Sega Genesis (as a Sega Channel exclusive), Sega Game Gear, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and mobile phones.[13] Early Macintosh versions Chessmaster 3000 and 4000 were developed by Sebastian Rapport and Troy Heere that leveraged the Kittinger and de Koning engines respectively.[citation needed] Later Macintosh versions were ported by Feral Interactive, and the latest Macintosh version available is Chessmaster 9000. Ubisoft also offers a downloadable version of the game, Chessmaster Challenge, which differs from Chessmaster 10th Edition in its simplified interface and scaled-down tutorials.[14]
In 1989, Computer Gaming World found Chessmaster 2100's features "the clear winners" over Sargon 4,[18] in 1992 reported that Chessmaster 3000 had added "a lot" to its predecessors, with new tutorial features and a variety of computer opponents making the game "a truly impressive sequel",[19]and in 1994 approved of Chessmaster 4000 Turbo's new AI "personalities" based on historical chess players.[20] 4000 Turbo received a perfect 10 out of 10 score from Electronic Entertainment.[21]
In 1994, PC Gamer UK named Chessmaster 4000 Turbo the 20th best computer game of all time, calling it the best of the series so far and accessible to all skill levels. The editors wrote, "A chess game? In the Top 50? Well, why not?"[36] In June 1994 Chessmaster 4000 was a finalist for Computer Gaming World's Strategy Game of the Year award, losing to Master of Orion The editors wrote that "Software Toolworks still has the capacity and the will to improve their best-selling chess engine".[37]
The classic game of chess is revived again in this latest addition to Software Toolworks' famous Chessmaster series. Chessmaster 4000 MPC sports a new Windows design and full multimedia support. With gorgeous SVGA graphics and a huge speech library, this game has all of the bells and whistles of games which seem to dominate the industry today. However, above all, Chessmaster 4000 is still a great chess game, utilizing an all new 32-bit chess engine to give it one of the best AI's of chess games on the market.
Sometimes in chess, you can have a difficult time finding the right opponent. With Chessmaster 4000, this is no longer the case. Its detailed computer AI settings allow you to fully customize and develop a opponent suited to your ability level and style. For example, not only can you adjust the degree of difficulty, you can control the computer's aggressiveness, defensive style, its favourite pieces, etc. You can even set the computer to play in the style of many of history's greatest chess masters. For two players, the same computer can be used, or the game can be played through a modem or network. In this situation, both ends must have seperate copies of the game. I have not experienced any problems with modem play, however, I have yet to use the network option.
Chess has always been a game which takes only a few hours to learn, but a lifetime to master. Chessmaster 4000 is for people of all ability levels, able to challenge even the best of players. It is also perfect for people who do not play chess, but want to learn. The game comes with a complete tutorial which covers piece movement, piece development, and stategy. This comes in a series of easy to understand audio and visual lessons with animated chess pieces. For the intermediate to advanced players, there is a Rate My Play option, which puts you in the middle of some of history's greatest games. Depending on your move selection and the actual moves played, you are assigned an estimated USCF rating. Although this is not a very accurate rating, even an approximate one is fun to carry around. Another function which allows a player to advance in skill, is the Practice Openings funtion. There are well over 100 classic openings for players to learn and practice. This, along with the audio hint function, allow you to develop in skill and experience while enjoying a challenging game.
Chessmaster 4000 lacks somewhat in the area of music. The onyl music is found in the option to loop playback a number of midi files that come with the game. These midi's are not poorly done, but I find this option pretty much useless as I can play my own music with a program running in the background. The sound however is very well done. Sound effects play after every moves, with special sounds after castling, checking, capturing, etc. In addition to the sound effects, there is a ton of speech in the game. I was very impressed by the function called Natural Language Advice. This makes the computer analyze your current situation, form a multi-move plan and present it in plain English by forming sentences from words found in its speech library. This cut and paste method is not seamless, however, it's still amazing and especially useful for younger or beginning chess players.
Do not be fool by the relatively low minimum system requirements. To run this game smoothly you need more than just a 386SX and 4 megs of RAM. Even on my 486DX2-66 with 8 megs of RAM and a 20 meg+ permanent swapfile, I have to wait constantly for the game to load and screen to refresh after new graphics have been requested. I can attribute this problem to my slow video card which is a 1MB VLB with a Trident chipset and the use of windows as the platform for the game. I my opinion, Chessmaster 4000 could run much better as a DOS program with a dos-extender. People with faster computers do not have to worry, however, for those of you with slower 386's, this might come into consideration. I also find that on a 3D board, pieces are frequently blocked and hidden by one another. For example, often when I go move a pawn which has a taller piece in front of it, I pick up the taller piece instead. This makes a game of chess in 3D, also a test of hand-eye coordination. This can be helped somewhat, but not solved, by adjusting the angle of the board. Basically, I prefer sticking the the less extravagant, but easy to use two dimensional boards.
Chessmaster 4000 is a great game for chess players of all ages and skill level. The game is beautifully crafted and the user interface was designed with players in mind. The many options are easy to control and change to fit individual needs. It is a good way for a chess player to progress in skill and experience, and also for people to learn the game. Younger children might be lured by the beautiful graphics into this game which develops math and analyzing skills. Most importantly however, long after the pretty colours wear off, Chessmaster 4000 will still be a great chess game.
The first 32-bit title in the Chessmaster series, Chessmaster 4000 Turbo offers features designed around the processors of the time. Modem and LAN play is available for the first time. Boards are viewed in 2D or 3D, and include many custom sets, with game options selected from surrounding windows and drop-down menus.
When released in 1993, Chessmaster 4000 Turbo was at the leading edge of commercial software for computer chess games. Featuring nearly total customizable controls and a huge array of options, the game incorporates an amazing level of sophistication and capability.
A wide range of chess sets is available from basic wood to marble, including 3D views that are thankfully adjustable as some of the defaults are difficult to use. Multiple settings of the major window options are available through the setup process in the nerve center of the game, the War Room. One of the more interesting features of Chessmaster 4000 Turbo is the ability to create and customize chess opponents to play at any level, whether it be a famous past grandmaster or your neighbor down the street.
As an added bonus, a wonderfully written piece on the history of chess and an equally impressive 18-page rundown of past World Champions with emphasis on their styles is included in the Owner's Manual. Additionally, the game includes a perspective on "Chess and Machines" and an enjoyable selection of chess related brain-teasers. The game contains a comprehensive on-screen help system both auditory and text based. Chessmaster 4000 Turbo is a powerful tool for both the serious player as well as the patzers among us interested in improving or practicing their game.
The Chessmaster series has a long history and a reputation for friendliness to beginners. The latest is Chessmaster 4000 Turbo which differs from Chessmaster 3000 in that there are more opponents, easier controls and a better chess engine.
Always a strength of the Chessmaster series, Chessmaster 4000 Turbo takes its teaching role seriously. The 'mentor' options will take you from complete hand-holding to expert adviser. 'Teaching' will highlight threatened, pinned and skewered pieces, isolated pawns, promotion threats and control of the board. 'Tutorial' covers chess basics, strategy and moves.
From the 'Mentor' menu Chessmaster 4000 Turbo lets you practise a wide variety of openings -nine variations of the Caro-Kann defence alone. You will be prompted for each move and faced with the sort of reply to expect. Ideal if you're not quite sure how the two knights variation goes (1E4 c6 2NC3 D5 3NF3). 781b155fdc