GoPanda 2 browser client

[EdLee]

We will probably post a preview link here, and you could do us a great favor if you gave it a try and told us how it worked out.

Happy to test it!

[golem7]

Yesterday I tried it out (my first igs games since god knows when). I really like the eye candy and ease of use though it's definitely a tad slow.

But what bothered me most: no way to replay my own games? The social plaza link doesn't work either. I hope this will be added in future updates. Oh, and one more thing: when watching multiple games it's kinda irritating to hear stone clicking sounds from all the boards, should be just the active tab/window.

Looking forward to the new version!

[xed_over]

The social plaza link doesn't work either.

http://my.pandanet.co.jp/index-e.htm

[golem7]

thanks, but same result as before: after login it redirects me to an obscure page in japanese...

[oren]

It works for me. Can you provide a screen shot?

[golem7]

this is the page I get after(!) submitting the correct login. the button doesn't do anything. lost in translation

[oren]

Hmm, you're somehow ending up on the page for Japanese users where they need to have a user number as well. Only thing I can think of is entering wrong username or password and getting to a page you shouldn't. You should try to contact the admins.

[lobotommy]

We will probably post a preview link here, and you could do us a great favor if you gave it a try and told us how it worked out.

Happy to test it!

Where's the link? Where's the link!?

[bearzbear]

At the risk of being stoned to death here. Good pun, eh?

To the developers.

Yes, the page you show has wonderful "eye candy".

However, please spend the time on utility first, then worry about the aesthetics.
By utility, I mean that the client or program, whatever it is, should incorporate ALL of the various
functions and capabilities of now ancient IGS clients, not a partial subset.

I use WinIgc on a daily basis because it is vastly superior in so many ways to Glgo, and GoPanda1.
It is more flexible, more customizable, and I am able to work and do things MUCH faster and with less
messing around with pop-ups,tabs or overlayed windows (all of which I despise in this application) that show up in the wrong place, take up too much screen real-estate and do NOT allow multitasking in ONE window.

I DEFINITELY do not EVER want a pop up to tell me that my time is low in a blitz game!! Right?

Right now I can either play a game AND/OR chat, look at stats, channels, who is on, do a shout, to a tell, etc. all without touching any buttons or tabs, merely by typing (rapidly) in commands on the command line at the
bottom of the terminal window.

Can NOT do this in Glgo. No chance, it doesn't configure that way. It is unable to do this.

Plus I can modify the sound file(s) to those of my preference. I recorded my own real stone click, for example.
It's just a .wav file not something hidden.

The software permits the user to write scripts, and modify events and actions that normally occur, like the sound of a game offer, have a sound or not, have a pop up or NOT. Literally all of the possible IGS actions and events have a set of options that the user can choose. You can choose the sound of an event, put your own sound file in if you wish...

There are even some options that I never fully understood that seem to offer even greater personalization.

Who, Users, Games all sort and display easily, and do not interfere with all the other interactive tasks and activities - it's all up at one time in two basic windows. No pop ups.

Also, although I may be odd, I prefer to not have the distraction of a "fancy" board or "3D" rendered boards or stones. I have it set for what would be the equivalent of the diagrams we see in typical Go textbooks.

Gentlemen, this is now software that is about 15 years old. Its development was truncated prematurely. Yet it still
has far greater functionality than anything has come since. There's something awry if that is the case, and it is.

Perhaps a good close look at what WinIgc offered is the first step in defining and building a new platform or client, whatever it actually is? I would be happy to send a copy (unregistered, but it will work) to any developer who does not have it for reference.

While most users will "make do" with whatever they get and have to use, it does make a difference, and more sophisticated users would likely prefer to be able to arrange things more to their personal preferences.

I hope this gives some food for thought.

Regards,

_-_-

PS. the image of the bowls and the like is very pretty, but I personally do not need or prefer the distraction, or the use of the extra screen area. Others may well like it fine. But the option of having it or not would be the most preferable.

[EdLee]

bearzbear, could you post a screenshot (or, a few, if time permits) of WinIgc --
mainly, of what it looks like on your screen when you are playing a game. Thanks.

[bearzbear]

I have attached two screen grabs in what is my screens full res, as I see it.
It's 1480 wide on this laptop.

The first is the "normal" screen without a game up, showing unfiltered player list, and
not many things happening on the main terminal screen. That could include shouts, tells, and channel chat, plus
stats and other related things...

The second shows a game window up.
One can- but I did not think to - put up the SAME things in the window next to the board, but it would include Kibitz, etc... for the game. One can put up more than one board to observe...

I also opened the menu pop up that does the various "customizations" just to show...

I'd strongly suggest getting a copy of the program.

Thanks.

WINIGC-2.jpg (326.71 KiB) Viewed 12295 times

( I put both of them under Hide tags, but inadvertently deleted WINIGC-1.jpg without saving it first. Sorry! -- Ed )
( After you upload the photo via "Add the file", click the button "Place inline" next to "Attachments".
Then, use the Hide tags to hide the inlined text. )

[bearzbear]

whoa!

I did not want them inline... user error? Dunno.

Sorry, if there was another way to do it, I missed it

[direwolf]

Like my earlier post said and I agree, wingic was a great client. To bad development was stopped on it. I paid for it, but no longer use it because I am on a mac. glgo is so limiting. There was a sister program to it winmgt, that was nice to replay sgf files and comment/create tree variations.

[EdLee]

bearzbear, Thanks for posting the two screenshots.
I was trying to help by hiding both of them inside Hide tags,
but in the process inadvertently deleted WINIGC-1.jpg before saving it first. Sorry!

I remember using WinIGC about 10 years ago when I first discovered IGS,
but stopped using it very quickly after I found gGo, because --

(The stones, board, and the GUI of WinIGC in general are very ugly to me.
I cannot stand looking at any of it even for a moment, let alone having to watch or play a game with it.
I cannot use it even if its functionality is much better than gIgo's.
So that's another angle (user base) to consider. Thanks.)

[Charlie]

Here are some things I like about that screenshot. Things that should be taken into serious consideration in the development of a new client:

• Komi and Captures are readily visible. (I have not yet found a client that makes it easy to see the komi.)
• Event customization is a GREAT feature.
• The board and stones take most of the available real-estate, as they should.