Weini 0.0.24 release

[xr_a_y]

The 0.0.24 release is finally here but with less addition than I expected and only +30elo in self play.

https://github.com/tryingsomestuff/Weini/releases

It is anyway a good basis for the next one

[Graham Banks]

Thanks Vivien.

[tpoppins]

More features and bugfixing is good, Vivien, it's not all about Elo. Hey, if Arasan, for example, gained 30 Elo with every release John would have probably had to retire 10 years ago.

I have a couple suggestions on improving Weini's Xboard compliance and useability. Please consider taking advantage of CECP feature option commands (the syntax is detailed in the specs linked to at the end of this post), so that the most important Weini options could be configured via GUI. The likely candidates:

- Debug Mode ("modedebug" in the config file)
- Contempt (same)
- Memory ("allTtSize")
- Disable Pondering ("forceNoPonder")
- Random ("do_randomNoise")
- Use Internal Book ("with_smallBook")
- Use External Book ("with_bigBook")
- Book Filename (same)
- Book Depth ("maxBookMoves")
- Cores ("threads")

Note that "memory" and "cores" are the standard CECP names and should be used as such. To enable the GUI's use of the former requires "memory=1" to be declared with the feature command, the latter needs "smp=1".

Currently Weini sends "otim=0" along with "time=1"; this is neither necessary nor CECP-compliant. The GUI should still send the otim command along with time as long as "time=1" has been declared with the feature command; if Weini does not use or understand otim it should just ignore that command.

Here's a link to CECP protocol specs:
https://www.gnu.org/software/xboard/engine-intf.html

That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope you will find at least some of the above useful.

[xr_a_y]

Thanks a lot for this suggestion, i'll work on that soon.

I think it will be quite easy, because Weini already implements the "setoption" xboard command for every parameter !

Best regards

[CMCanavessi]

It doesn't work for me in Arena when starting from a book position. It works when playing from "startpos".

Also, in UCI mode it crashes in my system.

[xr_a_y]

Indeed UCI mode is not working, I shall desactivate it for now.

In xboard, how the book position is imposed ? the setboard command shall work well.

[Gabor Szots]

Indeed UCI mode is not working, I shall desactivate it for now.

In xboard, how the book position is imposed ? the setboard command shall work well.

Using 'force' mode.

[xr_a_y]

So we go to force mode and then use setboard or usermove ?

Sorry I have never used Arena and won't have time to test it quickly.

[tpoppins]

I just had Weini 0.0.24 play two games (one with each color) vs. Absolute Zero using a 6-move PGN book in Arena 3.5.1.
Absolute zero problems.

[Gabor Szots]

So we go to force mode and then use setboard or usermove ?

Sorry I have never used Arena and won't have time to test it quickly.

I am not particularly familiar with the CECP protocol. My guess is that you enter force mode, feed the book moves, then you start the game using the 'go' command. In force mode the engine should just make the moves and start to calculate after go has been issued.