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BGonline.org Forums
Backgammon Sites (was: Are there other bots?)
Posted By: Terje Pedersen In Response To: Are there other bots? (OpenWheel)
Date: Sunday, 18 June 2023, at 9:16 a.m.
Hi!
If you are not that sensitive to having everything look very polished you could give Heroes a try. https://heroes.backgammonstudio.com/
I'd like to think it has more unique features than the rest of the sites put together! Perhaps a bit of an overstatement but I think it is close!
Of the more unique features is the automated error database which I think has been promised at other sites for years? It has been available on Heroes for I think 4 years now? This allows you to play along and gradually compile a collection of past blunders. I had an interesting observation recently where I discovered I had been playing an opening reply move consistently wrong. I had 4 errors and 3 of them was the same position. oops.. :-)
Basic stuff like checker animation is there! It looks painful to watch a match without it and it doesn't reflect actual play much having the position jump from start to completed move. I think you can learn something about your opponent by looking at which plays the opponent tries out.
It is perhaps more geared towards tournament play (lots of tournaments are run on the server) with the extra security that every move is saved so if the server should crash (not much of an issue nowadays versus in the beginning...) your match isn't lost but can be resumed where you left off. No match is resolved based on a disconnect which you'd never want in a "serious" tournament.
The flip side of saving everything is perhaps that it doesn't handle casual gamers who would never dream of completing a lost match well. You pile up incomplete matches like this unless you learn how to avoid them to begin with.
Not sure about that instant analysis part? Have you tried playing consultation matches on Heroes? Instant feedback after a play. This is an educational format and separated from Competition format matches with no computer feedback.
Custom boards are pretty cool I think and I often run across a new board look that I haven't seen before. Gammon Go runs a Youtube channel with various interesting matchups played on Heroes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8hk03OQk5M and I see he has just made a new board which looks pretty good! Custom boards allows you to use a custom.css file so in theory you could change the look of everything.
This video also displays another unique feature with error highlighting and running PR (for observers). I find that a lot more interesting than observing a plain match with no computer feedback at all.
In the past someone could ask about something they would like added on a Monday and it was available in the next update on Tuesday... perhaps a bit risky but I found it a fun trick to pull off! Most of the time it didn't involve an emergency update on Wednesday! :-) I have slowed down update cycle to once a month which is a bit safer I think and it also allows me to work more on Backgammon Studio 2: https://studio2.backgammonstudio.com/
Perhaps no site is perfect just yet but there are several options available which is good I think.
Best regards,
TP
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