From: ortl@quads.uchicago.edu (james andrew ortlieb)
Subject: DragonChess
Reply-To: ortl@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 17:46:46 GMT



	Wow! Talk about quick responses. No sooner had I posted
the DragonChess idea and FOURTEEN minutes later I received email
from a guy who built his own board and has played the game
before. And I thought a lot of people watched the Super Bowl! ;-)

	Here's the deal -- I am going to (future hopeful tense)
write a version of DragonChess this summer. I will probably be
writing it in C on my 386. The graphics will be crappy. The idea
is not to create a game which people will look at and go "Wow!
that dragon looks really cool!". The idea is to create a game in
which the net will become littered with postings like "He ran
the Holy-Unholy Defense on me, and it ripped me to shreds." :)
I am writing the game with the intention of posting the code on
the net so people can compile it, run it, change it, etc. (Hence
my interest in putting it in rec.games.design.) But, and if I can
manage to pull it off, the ultimate idea is to run a tournament
with players doing games and playing against one another similar
to other net games like empire, xtank, etc. But, please be patient
with me, because I have classes this quarter which could rip me in
two. :-(

	The board would be represented in a text fashion, not
unlike the rnbqkbnr
           pppppppp
           --------
           --------

etc. representations that people use on rec.games.chess. Don't worry
it'll be a LITTLE easier to read, but there will be no 3-D dragons
breathing fire on scarlet-clad bishops on the level below. Let's
face it, the only way to talk about this game and play it on the net
effectively is too make it look stupid. Sue me. I like strategy. ;-)

	I'm currently making a copy of the rules, so give me a couple
of days to complete them and check them over. The rules are subject
to change, and THEY WILL! I have noted some slight problems with a
couple of pieces (the dragon and the cleric most notably) and I need
to change them. But, first I'll post the real rules, append my
personal changes and wait for your responses. That way I can use your
ideas as well to make modifications where necessary. After that, I'll
repost the changes and write up some sample scenarios. I'll let people
discuss, or possibly play them, with each other and over the news.
This will end the aplha testing phase. I'll use the summer to code and
get rid of the wrinkles. Then, we'll see what happens in October when
I get back to school (I go to the University of Chicago and we're on
the @#$@#$ quarter system, which everyone here just LOVES ;-} )

	In the meantime, if this following gets big enough I'll see
if we can't get a rec.games.chess.dragon or rec.games.dragonchess for
our exclusive use. If anyone knows how to do this well enough, could
you let me know?

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Jim Ortlieb          -- "Only the weak get piched, the strong survive"
ortl@midway.uchicago.edu -- "Never put your finger in that part of       
---                           the doggy" - Dave Barry "American at large"