I don't quite like the idea of 'either way forward' for pawns. I would
define 'forward' as 'towards the river' in the friendly territory, and
'away from the river' in the enemy territiry.
I also don't quite understand the Rook's move. I think that the Rook can
cross the river if snd only if it was moving in a straight forward
direction (that being defined by the territory they're in,) am I correct
?
An idea for this game and the original TriMac, why not distinguish the
Palace visually by drawing the movement lines of the Guards ? (The lines
may be dotted.)
Another suggestion for the Opening array would be to switch the middle
Guard with the middle Rook so all Guards are restricted to the same
'color' as in original Xinagqi. Just a though.