RIP Excalibur Deluxe Talking Touch Chess?

[JonP01]

I have just noticed that this unit has been completely removed from Excalibur's product listing. Additionally, I have seen it disappear from the inventory of some Excalibur wholesale customers after they in turn had run out of stock.

Perhaps it is the end of the road for this very short-lived product....

So...what is the story behind Deluxe Talking Touch Chess? I know it had a significant number of sofware and hardware bugs that I reported to Excalibur, but I doubt that would have been any incentive on their part to pull the plug.

Perhaps it did not sell well.

In further Excalibur news, looks like the Grandmaster is on the skids as well. They sold out long ago and the due date for replacement has well and truly come and gone. Infact, looking at their website, one could be forgiven for concluding that almost everything to do with chess is in sell-out mode (or already "sold out"!).

I do notice, however, that the new version of the Touch Chess is now listed on the websote, though I would hardly consider this to be a replacement, since it is a much lower quality unit in terms of materials and display quality.


Mystified Regards

Jonathan

[Robert Weck]

I have just noticed that this unit has been completely removed from Excalibur's product listing. Additionally, I have seen it disappear from the inventory of some Excalibur wholesale customers after they in turn had run out of stock.

Perhaps it is the end of the road for this very short-lived product....

So...what is the story behind Deluxe Talking Touch Chess? I know it had a significant number of sofware and hardware bugs that I reported to Excalibur, but I doubt that would have been any incentive on their part to pull the plug.

Perhaps it did not sell well.

maybe it played too strong for most people (like the Grandmaster)

I do notice, however, that the new version of the Touch Chess is now listed on the websote, though I would hardly consider this to be a replacement, since it is a much lower quality unit in terms of materials and display quality.

Do mean Model No. 404ET? I don't think, it's that bad! The touch screen is much more responsive than DTTC's! And the program is the same; but TC has less than half the speed of DTTC, which i find very annoying.

Ok, it is plastic, but the format is... let me call it: refreshing!

Or do you know another round-shaped chess computer?

I like my TC II...


Robert

[JonP01]

Hi Robert,

I agree the TCII really isn't that bad as a chess program, although it's possible the one I possessed had a faulty display. The display was barely readable - it was impossible to get the contrast correct and the best viewing angle was so narrow that the slightest movement ruined the image! Does that sound like mine was faulty?

If your theory that DTTC was too strong is correct, then that would explain the TCII. I would rate the DTTC somewhere in the high 1500s to low 1600s. Actually - the TCII is the most debugged program I've seen from Ron Nelson. Before the display died on mine I had not actually been able to find a single bug. It is indeed a pity about the slow speed.

Mine did not last very long though Does it think on it's opponent's time? I never tested this aspect of the unit.

Inquisitive Regards

Jonathan

[Steve B]

hi Jon

i think the rumors of the DTTC's death are somewhat exaggerated
a quick glance reveals Hallsworth still has them in stock

he also still has the Star Sapphire(which has been discontinued)

while i dont think the DTTC is officially discontinued ..oddly ..i always have mixed emotions when a decent chess computer is discontinued


sad..because it means it did not sell well
happy..because it instantly becomes a collectors item and the value skyrockets accordingly
Fickled Regards
Steve

[Robert Weck]

I agree the TCII really isn't that bad as a chess program, although it's possible the one I possessed had a faulty display. The display was barely readable - it was impossible to get the contrast correct and the best viewing angle was so narrow that the slightest movement ruined the image! Does that sound like mine was faulty?

Hmm, the LCD of my TC II is not so good readable as DTTC's, because it is not dot-matrix, but for such a cheap one, it is ok in my opinion.

If your display died early, i would say: yes; it was faulty!

If your theory that DTTC was too strong is correct, then that would explain the TCII. I would rate the DTTC somewhere in the high 1500s to low 1600s.

I would estimate it even a little higher at about 1650 (old SSDF). So the TC II could be a high 1500.

Actually - the TCII is the most debugged program I've seen from Ron Nelson. Before the display died on mine I had not actually been able to find a single bug. It is indeed a pity about the slow speed.

Ah, yes, i can remember, that you listed some bugs of the DTTC, correct? But they were well hidden; i did not get in touch with them until now.

Mine did not last very long though Does it think on it's opponent's time? I never tested this aspect of the unit.

Sadly, no; no pondering! This could have been easily implemented and would surely give DTTC and TC II some additional points...


Robert

[JonP01]

Hi Steve,

Well of course merely because a retailer still sells a machine does not necessarily imply it is still current or even manufactured anymore. Any customer of Parr knows that his shop is a haven for new but obsolete stuff

I still suspect the DTTC has gone the way of the Dodo. Otherwise why completely remove it from the official website and yet keep all the other machines there (plus add a new entry for the TCII).

And when a major wholesale customer had the machine listed as "out of stock" and has since actually deleted it, the case for DTTC being alive and well is looking shaky.


Get them while you can Regards

Jonathan

[Steve B]

hi Jon

oh i thought you meant you cannot find the DTTC anywhere for sale

my mistake

i suspect however that the DTTC will be resurfacing in a new and improved edition
therefore its sudden disappearance

anyway..i have fired off an email to those in the know


Stay Tuned Regards
Steve

[JonP01]

Thanks for that feedback Robert. From my short testing of the TCII, it seemed to resolve the time control bug that the DTTC had - the TCII always used it's time near perfectly - it always had a couple of minutes on the clock at the end of the control.

That alone would add strength over the older program (i.e LCD Talking Chess), since the early ones with time controls such as LCD Talking moved far too fast. Of DTTC had the opposite problem - it always loses on time - 100% of the time in my experience - unless the game is over before the time control occurs

Yes, I did compile a list of the hardware and software bugs in the DTTC. I bought a second one with a much later serial number (it was clearly a later production run), however all the bugs were still there. The bugs were unfortunately serious enough to prevent the use of the machine in serious tournaments at slow time controls - but this does not seem to be a problem with the TCII.

One interesting thing I have found with the recent Nelson programs. They seem to find the move they want relatively quickly and don't change their mind very often after that. For example, at 40 moves in 2 hours, nearly all the moves were "decided" by about the 90 second to 2 minute mark. I can barely remember a situation where it actually changed it's mind after that. So possibly the TCII is closer to the DTTC in strength than the actual slowdown in speed would imply.

Jonathan

[JonP01]

anyway..i have fired off an email to those in the know

Hi Steve,

I would be extremely interested to know anything about this. I know that some - including myself of course - have been a little "put off" by the hardware and software issues in the original DTTC, since it makes it very difficult to use the machine in classical time control tournaments without major compromises. If there was some improved version on the horizon, this would really be excellent news.

Possibly Excited Regards


Jonathan

[Steve B]

sure Jon


if and when i learn something i will be more then happy to share that informatin here

A Working Scorpio Sends Its Regards
Steve