Hi!

Backgammon Studio keeps improving and today I have updated the version number to 3.3 with these fine improvements:

Backgammon Studio 3.3

Improvements since 3.2:

• New actiontags:
  • Make 9pt or not.
  • Make prime or not.
  • Move last point foward or not.
  • Jump homeboard gap or not.
  • Jump opponent anchor or not.
  • Give up 18point or not.
• New training tracks:
  • Late Hit Show! Your oppnent has started to bear off but you got a hit! Cubeaction?
  • Forwards! Should you move your last point forward or keep it where it is?
  • Prime directive! Hit or prime? The right answer can often be surprising!
  • 4pt vs 9pt! Sometimes it is tricky to pick the right point to make.
• Backgammon Studio is now using https.
• Backgammon Studio moved to new server (more disk/memory/cpu).
• You can search for positions using pipcount.
• Your best score is displayed below highscore list if needed.
• You can scrollwheel through moves when viewing a match.
• You will get a notification when logging in if someone has send a friend request.
• Rearranged home screen latest news section.
• In my matches you're first in all entries. You can also click on an opponent to get h2h info instead of manually typing it in.
• Pip count is now displayed for most challenges/training tracks except pipcount challenge and timed challenges.
• Bugfixes:
  • Chat fullscreen toggle triggers on height (<800) and not width.
  • Fixed problem with cube evaluation in consultation match.
  • Fixed problem with dragging checkers from bearoff. Now you can clear board and place out some checkers and get an eval on the position.
  • Fixed not including invalid positions in training tracks.
  • Fixed going from play as white to training tracks getting reversed position (Thanks negheonegu!).
  • Removed some impossible cube actions in gnu score plays.
  • Fixed focus issue when searcing for players/tournaments.
  • Fixed space problem in search for players/tournaments (kept getting removed).
  • When playing an opponent your chat is private but you can send a public message by prefixing it with /all.
  • My matches section didn't use missed cube equity loss (Thanks tnt-foxtrot!).
  • You can now cancel old friend requests (Thanks tnt-foxtrot!).
  • Unfocus an chat input field should not submit message only return key should.
  • A notification is displayed if the board doesn't fit the screen.
  • Fixed the users list dialog you can access from server chat dialog (this can also be used to start matches/duels).

Some images



More training tracks to enjoy! Current total is 56.



Training tracks needs new action tags which can be used in any number of wonderful ways!



Google/Chrome (and I suspect other browser vendors will follow) will start to complain about sites not using secure connection early next year so I have switched to using this. You should update old links to point to:

https://www.backgammonstudio.com

to avoid problems. On desktop you should be redirected to https:// but on devices if you have added Backgammon Studio to the home screen these will not automatically redirect and you have to delete/add these links again. If you get a blank screen on your phone/tablet this is likely to be the problem. Also if you have a really old link using backgammonstudio.tk you need to update as this now points to Backgammon Studio test server.



Tore Fredriksen wanted to be able to search for positions using pipcount and suggested one usecase: "One practical application is to use this tag for finding cubeactions in short bearoffs".



If you have a very wide screen the board may end up being larger than the screen (it can't be stretched to fit the screen as that would look wrong) you can do some tricks to make it fit the secreen. I guess it might have been possible to force the size to be lower in order to make it fit in these cases but I suspect it can be tricky and error prone.



The users dialog that you can open through the server chat dialog (Other actions/Chat) is now working as a launchpad for playing matches/duels against other players or chatting with friends. It stays up regardless where you are on Backgammon Studio so you could have it open and then watch for your friend to log on...



If you haven't been able to enter the top 5 highscore list (It is very hard!) your best score is displayed at the bottom to give you a quick input on how far you are from making the top 5. Suggested by Hall.

In other news

Backgammon Studio has moved to a new and bigger server. You probably won't notice anything as the old one was able to deal with the current level of traffic but I'm optimistic that Backgammon Studio could increase in popularity! :-)



Backgammon Studio now has over 5000 matches in the database and it keeps growing! I'm pretty happy about that.

I have been working a bit on fixing the last remaining problems with the consultation match feature and it now looks like all serious problems are resolved. There was a problem with displaying cube action errors where it turned out gnu bg (which evaluates the position on the server) had a tendency to swap the position it received making the result wildly off.

https://www.backgammonstudio.com The swiss army knife of backgammon!

Best regards,
TP