Denis P. Mendoza wrote:
On behalf of the Toga team, let me answer again your inquiry and add some important infos for you and others concerned:
Toga 3.1.2SE MP is not a recognized official Toga engine released last January'08 by an unknown source. Many users liked it because it still has Multi-pv enabled. Multi-pv option was disabled starting with Toga 1.4 beta5c to favor the much improved MP implementation by Thomas.
It was based on the older Toga 1.4 beta4a (old MP version but not publicly released) with 3.1.2SE modifications. Yet it plays well like the latest Togas. Using Winmerge, it will be easy enough to see the difference on the codes.
The latest official version is Toga 1.4 beta 5c (from Thomas Gaksch) and the latest development has reached beta7.
The last released SE (Special Edition) version is Toga 1.4.1SE (by Chris Formula) with latest development at 1.4.1SE12.
The latest JD (Jerry Donald) version is Toga 1.4.3JD beta with latest development at 1.4.3JD beta4.
Other Togas being developed were the LearningToga, and Toga 1.4 beta5 series by William Mowery Jr. - not released yet.
Because of this continuous development, only a few will be allowed to test these beta builds till we see a determined improvement. Releasing beta versions publicly is just an option of the author.
Since 3.1.2SE MP is unofficial, there is no fixed location to get it.
But you can have additional infos if you type 'Toga 3.1.2 SE MP' in the Google search box.
The nearest stable/improved version of 3.1.2SE MP are his big brothers 1.4.1SE and 1.4.2JD. My advice is just use the latest versions and visit the official sites. CCRL forum hosts the SE/JD releases and Superchessengine.com for Thomas' builds.
With regard to special engine settings, there's no known strongest setting yet except the default. Though there was a setting made by Eduard Nemeth that plays well against Rybka (VS=4, TLEM=225) as reported. Eelco de Groot was also known to discover some promising settings.
There are other recognized releases like Toga CMLX series by Teemu Pudas which can play Chess960. Google it at Rybkaforum. Other special Toga Checkov versions by Eelco de Groot can be found also at CCRL forum. There maybe others hiding somewhere, but it is in your own perusal.
I hope this long 'wordy' narration helped.
Denis
Hi Denis,
So my understanding is that Toga II 3.1.2SE is okay whereas Toga II 3.1.2SE MP is not?
Just clarifying.
chesstango wrote:i wish to get help to know if this is the latest version; who is the compilator? how could i contact him? what kind of Toga is this? Which are the differences between this and the 1.4 beta5c?
Which are the best setttings?
Where from to download the latest versions of this compilation?
Thx in advance.
Dr Wesler
I have a feeling that this version is not a legitimate one Bernardo.
Why is it not legitimate? Is it provided without sources? Does it break the GPL?
If Denis hasn't made it clear in his earlier post, he'd be the best to ask.
I do know that some MP code was stolen from a private Fruit beta that Ryan entrusted to a select handful of testers. One of them betrayed his trust and gave a copy to somebody who wasn't supposed to have it. You can figure out the rest.
If a Toga version is provided without the sources, then my understanding is that it's not legitimate.
Denis P. Mendoza wrote:
On behalf of the Toga team, let me answer again your inquiry and add some important infos for you and others concerned:
Toga 3.1.2SE MP is not a recognized official Toga engine released last January'08 by an unknown source. Many users liked it because it still has Multi-pv enabled. Multi-pv option was disabled starting with Toga 1.4 beta5c to favor the much improved MP implementation by Thomas.
It was based on the older Toga 1.4 beta4a (old MP version but not publicly released) with 3.1.2SE modifications. Yet it plays well like the latest Togas. Using Winmerge, it will be easy enough to see the difference on the codes.
The latest official version is Toga 1.4 beta 5c (from Thomas Gaksch) and the latest development has reached beta7.
The last released SE (Special Edition) version is Toga 1.4.1SE (by Chris Formula) with latest development at 1.4.1SE12.
The latest JD (Jerry Donald) version is Toga 1.4.3JD beta with latest development at 1.4.3JD beta4.
Other Togas being developed were the LearningToga, and Toga 1.4 beta5 series by William Mowery Jr. - not released yet.
Because of this continuous development, only a few will be allowed to test these beta builds till we see a determined improvement. Releasing beta versions publicly is just an option of the author.
Since 3.1.2SE MP is unofficial, there is no fixed location to get it.
But you can have additional infos if you type 'Toga 3.1.2 SE MP' in the Google search box.
The nearest stable/improved version of 3.1.2SE MP are his big brothers 1.4.1SE and 1.4.2JD. My advice is just use the latest versions and visit the official sites. CCRL forum hosts the SE/JD releases and Superchessengine.com for Thomas' builds.
With regard to special engine settings, there's no known strongest setting yet except the default. Though there was a setting made by Eduard Nemeth that plays well against Rybka (VS=4, TLEM=225) as reported. Eelco de Groot was also known to discover some promising settings.
There are other recognized releases like Toga CMLX series by Teemu Pudas which can play Chess960. Google it at Rybkaforum. Other special Toga Checkov versions by Eelco de Groot can be found also at CCRL forum. There maybe others hiding somewhere, but it is in your own perusal.
I hope this long 'wordy' narration helped.
Denis
Hi Denis,
So my understanding is that Toga II 3.1.2SE is okay whereas Toga II 3.1.2SE MP is not?
Just clarifying.
Regards, Graham.
Toga II 3.1.2SE is okay
Toga II 3.1.2SE MP seem okay, it is based on toga 3.1.2SE and toga II 1.4 beta4a, although the author is unknown you can find the source and is okay, although I do not know how they found source code of toga II 1.4 beta4a if it was not public. Perhasp by this, Denis not recommended, I saw a comment from someone who said that the engine also lost time.
I have been able to find toga III 3.1.3SE MP but without source, this version, yes, it would be illegal.
So my understanding is that Toga II 3.1.2SE is okay whereas Toga II 3.1.2SE MP is not?
Just clarifying.
Graham,
Toga 3.1.2SE MP is also ok with me, as it is an interesting engine. And we learned some things in its code. Actually, this partly contributed to the development of Chris' Toga 1.4.1SE. We really don't know where it came from, except for a download link. IMO, It was probably a private build for some individuals, and was later leaked with the builds and source. I remember Thomas gave us info that somebody had leaked his betaMP engine somewhere. I only meant that it is an unofficial Toga version, and the manner that it was acquired was questionable. And based from what I understand 'here', it is not worthy to be tested in an entity like CCRL and/or CEGT. Either way, it's still a nice engine to play with privately.
This is just my own opinion Graham and no offence to anyone.
OK, that makes sense. I'm just getting tired of all of the forks. Somebody needs to set up a sourceforge project, and unify the version numbering scheme. Maybe if we set this up, then that could be the source of "official" Togas.
Zach Wegner wrote:OK, that makes sense. I'm just getting tired of all of the forks. Somebody needs to set up a sourceforge project, and unify the version numbering scheme. Maybe if we set this up, then that could be the source of "official" Togas.
Thanks Zach. Even I am confused of this 'ocean of Togas' ! Your suggestion is highly appreciated.
Thanks to Shaun Brewer and Thomas Gaksch, we already started a Toga Developer Discussion Board here: http://www.computerchess.info/tdbb/phpBB3/
It is just new, and needs some updating in the 'Public Forum'. We gathered all the known Toga modders there for this purpose.
With this at hand, I'm sure the 'unification' of the Togas will happen someday.
That's pretty cool. I think it should be tied to a source repository too, so that all the modifications can be seen easily and merged when necessary. Anybody can create their own branch, and they can all experiment in patching the revisions together. I think this would make Toga's strength improve a lot. It will also increase code quality. For example, I would feel fine contributing to the mainline Toga, the real "official" ones. On the other hand, I would not want to work on a Toga mod, even though it might be stronger, that was some unofficial version released by an anonymous person. That's just my take on it, but I bet others feel the same way. The fact that Thomas has basically retired from CC makes the situation difficult, as their is no central force. There are many improvements possible to the mainline Toga, but each one gets reimplemented several times in its own fork. So we just create a community that decides what the mainline is. The community is the developers of course, and I think testers should be tightly integrated so we know which version is best. Just a big democratic process, ruled under the notions of code cleanliness and strength.
However, you forgot to add me to the developers! I was the one that started the YBW-based SMP support in Toga that got extended by Teemu Pudas. I only spent a few days on it, and it's still buggy, and I don't think anyone is working on it anymore, but it was the first such effort I believe...
! Your suggestion is highly appreciated.