Comments by ChessShogi

I noticed one last set of mistakes involving flipped pieces in the Mnemonic Seireigi set file, which escaped my attention during the earlier inspection. I have corrected that in the zipped folder below.

/membergraphics/MSchuseireigi/seireigi-mnemonic-set-file-corrected.zip

It seems that the File Manager's Delete function is not working. I tried to delete my Seireigi graphics (at membergraphics/MSdaiseireigi) so I could upload updated graphics to the site. However, instead of deleting the files, the File Manager returned the following error (for each attempted deletion).

Deletion failed! /home/chessvariants/public_html/membergraphics/MS<dir>/<filename> still exists.

Ex: Deletion failed! /home/chessvariants/public_html/membergraphics/MSdaiseireigi/wp.png still exists.

This occurs on all files that I try to delete, and is not directory-dependent (though thankfully it does not prevent updating existing files). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I second Paco Shako. It's a rather unique take on the classic game.

I also second Kyoto Shogi. It's a unique game with mechanics not seen very often in Chess variants.

As a last resort, I tried uploading new imagess to the /membergraphics/MSdaiseireigi directory while replacing the old images, and that did not work.

The new version of Dai Seireigi is ready.

The File Manager is still broken. Bob Greenwade and I cannot delete or upload images.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to convert 'Conquer II' into an interactive diagram, so I have to rely on the help of experienced programmers. The conversion in GC seems to be successful and works in the test games so far.

It is very much possible. You just don't know how to do so (see this page for details). The Conquer II Pawn can be described as fWncD or fWfafcW.

Dai Seireigi's Rules page needs re-published, as I deleted and re-posted as a last resort it during the File Manager fiasco.

@Bob Greenwade,

Here is my response to your two critiques, in the order that they are listed in your comment.

1. In keeping with the Running Wolf and Running Leopard, the Running Rabbit probably should have the Wind modifier behind it (rabbit--wind).

1A. Now that I think about it, I think it may actually make more sense to not have modifiers on unpromoted pieces where possible. The most important part of the graphics are the animals (except when pieces are not animals, such as with the Rook and Bishop) for obvious reasons.

2. I'm not sure that a piece should promote (when promotion is at the far end of the board) to something whose primary move is forward, as the Gold General does into the Great Elephant. (I'd suggest Phoenix instead, but then you'd probably have to change Silver General to promote to Kirin for symmetry's sake.)

2A. The main refutal of this critique comes from H. G. Muller in his critique of an early version of Seireigi. In that comment, he quotes Hidetchi in a response to an old proposal to have Golds promote to non-royal Kings. Hidetchi replied that this was pointless because it doesn't provide anything of substance with which to check the enemy King with, and the act of dropping a general in the zone, promoting it and then moving the resulting promoted piece takes unaffordably long. Hidetchi's point is that he King tends to stay in the back for the majority of the game, and would never expose itself willingly. As such, forward-facing moves are needed in order to force the enemy King to an area where he can be checkmated.

Also, having such pieces is perfect for promotion chains, as they can serve as an intermediary between a weak piece and a strong piece that exclusively appears with promotion. For example, in Dai Seireigi I can have the Free Pup and Treacherous Fox in the initial setup and promoting to something stronger.

However, even if both of these reasons were to be completely untrue, the pieces that promote to them mainly serve as defensive pieces since their moves are weak but maneuverable and are effective at stopping Lion attacks, so they are unlikely to occur anyway.

The preset for Chu Seireigi you and wdtr2 are playing on is outdated. I have a new preset for Chu Seireigi that you and wdtr2 can try. This current version of the game is way better than the one you are playing in my opinion, as the movesets of the pieces more closely resembles standard Shogi and the pieces are simpler to learn overall.

The preset for Chu Seireigi you and wdtr2 are playing on is outdated. I have a new preset for Chu Seireigi that you and wdtr2 can try. This current version of the game is way better than the one you are playing in my opinion, as the movesets of the pieces more closely resembles standard Shogi and the pieces are simpler to learn overall.

@Fergus

I have updated set files for the Seireigi graphics. Unless I made a mistake in the sets, this should be the final update, as Dai Seireigi is no longer in flux (though it still needs updated, which I will take care of soon).

https://www.chessvariants.com/membergraphics/MSchuseireigi/seireigi-set-files-final.zip

@Fergus

It seems I made a slight mistake in my Seireigi set files. Here is the corrected version.

https://www.chessvariants.com/membergraphics/MSchuseireigi/seireigi-set-files-final-corrected.zip

The simple Bear icon works just as well in my opinion, but that Strong Bear icon is a perfect alternative. As for the Wizard Stork, we could just use the Ibis icon combined with a Wizard icon. Ibises and storks are closely related.

However, for now I am focused on making an up-to-date version of this game's the GC preset. Updating graphics is easy. Not so for GC Presets with full rule enforcement and display of legal moves.

@Fergus,

When finalizing Dai Seireigi, I renamed one of the pieces and changed its ID to match. Here are the updated set files that reflect this change.

https://www.chessvariants.com/membergraphics/MSchuseireigi/seireigi-set-files-final-corrected-final.zip

The original Unashogi is quite interesting, but has a fatal flaw. Because King drops are unrestricted, impasses are easily attained by dropping the King into the promotion zone, making draws very common, as most pieces have a forward bias to them making a King on the far side of the board very difficult to mate, especially if surrounded by friendly pieces.

I thought up with variant of Unashogi, called Unashogi II in this comment, which is the has the same rules as standard Shogi plus the following additional rules.

• The board is initially empty and the players start with the usual 
• A piece cannot capture or move into the promotion zone in any way unless the friendly King is on the board.
• If the friendly King is in the hand, Pawns and Lances cannot be dropped on the last four ranks, and Knights cannot be dropped on the last five ranks.
  • This is a corollary of the restriction against dropping where you cannot move.
• The King can only be dropped on the first three ranks.

Edit: This solves the problem of impasses, but allows for easy checkmates if the first player drops his King early.