Yotta (1105)    22 May 2018 18:29:45

We would like to share with you guys what we have planned for upcoming features.

In no particular order:

* Round Robin Tournaments.
* Flip board.
* Analyse board positions.
* Show player online status.
* List captured pieces.
* Back button on puzzle chess boards.
* Emoji's for forum discussions. :-)
* Emoji's for private chess game discussions. :-)
* Invite friends for a game via email.
* Sound effects.
* Chess960 games.

We would love to hear from you, which of these features do you think is most important?

If there is any other features you can think of that would improve the user experience of the website, please post them here.

 Yotta (1105)    23 May 2018 06:05:14

I forgot to mention two other important features on our roadmap:

* Conditional moves.
* Anti-cheating mechanism.

 Corvidae (1142)    23 May 2018 08:23:14

different board colours, please.

 ketchuplover (1254)    23 May 2018 17:32:47

Private Messaging too, please

For colors I prefer 1. white and dark green 2.wooden theme)

 guss (2043)    23 May 2018 23:54:58

The following are very important:
1,) Flip board
2.) Analyze board positions
3.) List captured pieces
4.) Sound effects
5.) Conditional moves

 ketchuplover (1254)    24 May 2018 20:59:54

ability to edit forum posts

 helly (1338)    26 May 2018 04:08:09

One important feature was left out.

Download PGN archive games / games in progress

 Yotta (1105)    30 May 2018 19:57:49

Thank you for all the feedback everyone... we are prioritising our development accordingly.

Feel free to add more ideas and suggestions in this conversation if you think of anything else.

 ketchuplover (1254)    1 Jun 2018 20:02:40

I think it's time for Yotta to invite back the former members. Thoughts?

 Yotta (1105)    2 Jun 2018 18:39:04

I was thinking to first implement the following three features before inviting all the existing players to try out the new website:

1. Flip board.
2. Conditional moves.
3. Analyse board positions.

I have one shot at convincing players to come back, and I want to make it count.

 Corvidae (1142)    3 Jun 2018 05:44:55

You have my vote! three good choices.

 ketchuplover (1254)    3 Jun 2018 17:17:56

I agree with Corvidae :)

 marandreo (1224)    4 Jun 2018 16:43:34

Anxiously waiting for the new features (!!!), may I suggest an e-mail alert when it's my turn? Thank you and hello fm Turin, venue of the 2006 Chess Olympiad!

 Yotta (1105)    4 Jun 2018 18:45:00

I've created a ticket for email move reminders ;-)

A bit off topic Marandreo, but I'm busy reading the biography of someone from your country... Leonardo Da Vinci. What a fascinating and creative man. It's also interesting to get an idea of what Italy must have been like during the 1500s.

 Yotta (1105)    14 Jun 2018 19:05:33

The flip board feature is now implemented.

 Corvidae (1142)    15 Jun 2018 10:52:00

I flipped the board three times then couldn't remember what colour I was to start with - must be getting old!

 ketchuplover (1254)    15 Jun 2018 13:11:32

I think it'd be cool if the flip dislodged all the pieces :)

 vasyl_puzanov (827)    15 Jun 2018 18:07:58

The flip board function works well. Than you, Yotta!

 ketchuplover (1254)    26 Jun 2018 14:00:11

Have incentives for forum participation and or a playing activity if possible. Thank you.

 Yotta (1105)    26 Jun 2018 18:25:20

Good idea KUL... I'll think a bit about how we could reward participation and activity.

Any ideas welcome...

 Corvidae (1142)    26 Jun 2018 18:30:07

This could be the first chess club in history where the owner pays the members to play!

 Yotta (1105)    30 Jun 2018 11:11:47

LOL... I think the idea would rather be to put some kind of achievement acknowledgement in place that rewards activity and participation.

 Yotta (1105)    30 Jun 2018 11:13:57

Now that conditional moves and board analysis is in place, we will start a campaign in the coming weeks to invite back old players to check out the new ChessConquest website.

Hopefully players will find the new website a pleasant upgrade to the previous CC website.

 Corvidae (1142)    30 Jun 2018 12:06:35

Two very useful additions. The site is looking very professional!

 Yotta (1105)    30 Jun 2018 12:44:37

Thank you Corvidae :-)

 Corvidae (1142)    30 Jun 2018 13:22:19

Just used Conditional Moves in two games so wait to see the outcome....

 ketchuplover (1254)    30 Jun 2018 15:06:03

If possible I think the former players should be invited back in order of games played. Either that or fewest time-outs. Hope they all return asap. Piece out.

 Corvidae (1142)    30 Jun 2018 19:04:31

The 'Conditional Move' works perfectly!

 ketchuplover (1254)    1 Jul 2018 15:27:50

Is there a limit on the number of CM per move?

 Yotta (1105)    1 Jul 2018 17:10:05

Currently there are no limits... But this could change in the future.

 helly (1338)    2 Jul 2018 03:25:43

CM feature is very useful. Thanks a lot.

 Yotta (1105)    4 Jul 2018 07:26:38

How would you guys feel about a "Remember me" feature for sign in?

 Corvidae (1142)    6 Jul 2018 09:43:58

Hello Yotta, Yes, that would be very useful. Also, a little light that appears next to a player's name to show when he, or she, is on-line would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 ketchuplover (1254)    6 Jul 2018 13:14:04

Have you sent those email invitations yet? If not please consider this a gentle reminder :)

 Yotta (1105)    6 Jul 2018 18:00:34

I plan to start sending the emails this coming Monday ;-)

There is just a problem with the chat feature on Android tablet devices that I would like to sort out before sending out the emails...

 Yotta (1105)    7 Jul 2018 14:08:38

You would be pleased to know KUL, the "come back" campaign is now underway. The system has been set up to invite back 120 players each day. To cover all the non-active registered players in the database will take about 75 days, at 120 players per day.

I had to limit the number of invites we send out each day, to prevent our domain from being flagged as spam.

 ketchuplover (1254)    7 Jul 2018 19:39:57

Sounds great. Thanx. Will that include those who have dropped off the site rankings list since March 30th? Please publish the invitation letter at your earliest convenience. Thanx.

 ketchuplover (1254)    7 Jul 2018 19:43:04

I hope everyone is spreading word of our site (aka recruiting)

 Yotta (1105)    8 Jul 2018 09:50:55

The campaign list includes everyone who made their last move before 1 May 2018 (about 8800 registered players).

 Yotta (1105)    8 Jul 2018 09:56:16

I've started a new conversation with an example of the published invitation.

 Corvidae (1142)    21 Jul 2018 10:51:09

It's the green board for me. The blue and red are too dominant and 'sharp'.

 Yotta (1105)    21 Jul 2018 15:00:46

First tried the blue board but also found it too sharp. The green is nice on the eye.

 ketchuplover (1254)    29 Jul 2018 17:40:17

Please list all the features lurking in the pipeline somewhere. Then remove them as they come to fruition. Thank you

 Yotta (1105)    30 Jul 2018 18:26:46

In no particular order, these are all the feature requests, tasks and issues we currently have tickets for:

* Last move not highligting
* Prev/Next buttons not working correctly on analysis and conditional boards
* Swiss tournaments
* Invite friends by email
* User levels (earned through activity)
* Improving ChessConquest visibility on Internet
* Indicate player online/offline status
* List captured pieces
* Email reminders
* Private messaging
* Automatic timeout
* Chess960
* Edit last post
* Support for emoji's in messages
* Quote other users in forums
* Explore puzzles
* Better "Contact us" mechanism
* Mechanism to do questionnaires and polls on ChessConquest
* Sound effects
* Speed chess (e.g. 5min, 10min and 20min games)

 ketchuplover (1254)    31 Jul 2018 18:42:59

Please add computer opponent and or partner to the list at your convenience. Thank you

 Yotta (1105)    7 Aug 2018 18:30:46

Roadmap update:

The following issues are now fixed...

* Last move not highligting
* Prev/Next buttons not working correctly on analysis and conditional boards

 ketchuplover (1254)    21 Aug 2018 04:11:06

Membership is stagnant for now. Yotta have you been working on site promotion? Perhaps in those invites you could/should ask why they aren't coming back if applicable. Oh and also ask them to tell others about our site. Piece out.

 Corvidae (1142)    21 Aug 2018 10:47:24

How do I show a list of moves - I like to see where I went wrong!

 ketchuplover (1254)    21 Aug 2018 14:59:21

Aren't your moves shown by your game board? You also have an analysis board .I can also see my moves of my archived games.

 Corvidae (1142)    21 Aug 2018 18:19:24

I also get the moves shown on archived games ( where the chat box normally goes) but not on games in progress. I play on a laptop. I've tried moving the chat box without success.

 ketchuplover (1254)    21 Aug 2018 19:01:51

I'm on laptop using chrome browser. No problems yet.

 Yotta (1105)    21 Aug 2018 20:16:55

The list of moves is automatically shown or hidden depending on your screen size, to try and maximize the space available for the chessboard.

If you don't see the list of moves, you can still navigate through the game using the back (<) and next (>) buttons.

 Corvidae (1142)    22 Aug 2018 09:14:41

I've expanded the chess board and now have the move list, so problem solved. Many thanks.

 ketchuplover (1254)    22 Aug 2018 13:41:05

conditional move button has disappeared from my games. please fix asap. thank you.

 Yotta (1105)    22 Aug 2018 14:35:45

I've just checked and that conditional move button is visible on my games?

Keep in mind, that this button is by design only visible while it is your opponent's move...

 ketchuplover (1254)    22 Aug 2018 18:18:22

I see said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.

 ketchuplover (1254)    25 Aug 2018 21:24:52

I think the clock should be counting down when you challenge someone. Starting time should equal game time. If time runs out the game is deleted..

 ketchuplover (1254)    30 Aug 2018 02:15:07

How are the new features coming along?

 Yotta (1105)    30 Aug 2018 06:41:50

Thank you for asking KUL,

We had a few support queries that needed our attention, but are still moving forward with new developments.

I will make sure to post announcements as we release new features ;-)

 ketchuplover (1254)    31 Aug 2018 00:39:56

What would happen if all those items from your July 30 post are implemented but you don't have/get enough money to implement/maintain them?

If some must be removed I think the players should be polled. Hopefully money isn't/won't be an issue.

Piece out :)

 Yotta (1105)    1 Sep 2018 09:27:17

Eventually we will implement all the features. Money is not an issue. Our biggest challenge is time.

We definitely try to prioritise our development priorities according to which features will generate most value for players. Now that we are busy putting together a proper marketing campaign, this process might also influence the priority of features.

 ketchuplover (1254)    6 Sep 2018 19:24:20

If possible please add file and rank numbers and letters around the boards or give us that option. Thank you

 Yotta (1105)    7 Sep 2018 19:01:00

Absolutely, file and rank numbers are now added. ;-)

 Corvidae (1142)    7 Sep 2018 19:07:08

They look nice but are they optional, (personally, I don't use them).

 Yotta (1105)    7 Sep 2018 19:18:25

Currently they are not optional, but if you could give us a day or two we'll add a setting for it.

 Corvidae (1142)    7 Sep 2018 22:01:01

That's great, thanks.

 Yotta (1105)    8 Sep 2018 20:32:50

Board notations are now optional :-)

 Yotta (1105)    17 Sep 2018 13:36:31

UPDATE:

We are busy implementing Chess960 games. This requires that we make a few changes to our game engine to handle Chess960 moves correctly, and will delay the development of other features for a while.

Just providing you guys with an update, to indicate we are still working hard behind the scenes.

 ketchuplover (1254)    17 Sep 2018 16:38:20

Last week there was a big chess 960 event in St.Louis. If you missed it you can see it on youtube.com under "2018 Champions Showdown Chess 960"

Hope you enjoy it :)

 Corvidae (1142)    17 Sep 2018 16:42:52

Had not heard of Chess960 before so Googled it; became intrigued; downloaded freebie app; enjoyed my first game; (which I won - somehow), and will welcome its addition to CC.

 Corvidae (1142)    18 Sep 2018 13:32:35

Having now played several online 960 games against a computer, I find the transition from ordinary chess quite difficult at times. If when it starts up on CC, could I suggest a set number of weeks (or months!) when 960 games are not rated.

 Yotta (1105)    18 Sep 2018 18:22:33

I was thinking that we should have separate ratings Chess960, as well as a separate Chess960 rankings. This way Chess960 games won't ever affect your standard chess rating and ranking.

Any thoughts?

 ketchuplover (1254)    19 Sep 2018 18:27:18

So let it be posted. So let it be done.

 vasyl_puzanov (827)    20 Sep 2018 21:01:04

Fischer Random Chess (Chess960) is a separate from classiacal chess game. No doubt we need a separate rating and ranking for it. I think we need also Capablanca chess, Gothic chess and Antichess (chess giveaway game) on the website too. Maybe some world famous and popular traditional Asian varieties of chess like Makruk (Thai chess), Xiangqi (Chinese chess) and Shogi (Japanese chess).

 ketchuplover (1254)    21 Sep 2018 05:10:14

Speaking of variants I use to own an Omega Chess Set. Please try to add it here if possible. Thanks.

 ketchuplover (1254)    28 Sep 2018 17:29:50

If possible please add move number next to game chat message. tyia

 Yotta (1105)    29 Sep 2018 08:51:45

Hi KUL,
This feature has now been implemented. When you post a game message, the move number is automatically added to the message.

These numbers are also clickable... and when you click on the number, it will automatically take you to the board position when the message was posted.

I trust this was what you were looking for?

 ketchuplover (1254)    30 Sep 2018 21:05:07

Regarding Conditional Moves I think the moves should be shown after they are applied or disallow repetition of previous lines if possible. tyia

 vasyl_puzanov (827)    4 Oct 2018 04:45:57

IMHO. We must show Top 20 players on a main page. It's more logical than Top 10 or Top 15.

 Yotta (1105)    4 Oct 2018 19:18:26

Changed it to Top 20 ;-)

I've also added a list of live games (sorted by most recent move) to the front page.

 vasyl_puzanov (827)    5 Oct 2018 04:40:56

In my opinion the live games block must be as big as Top 20 block and must show top rated games only just like on the best websites like ICCF...

 paco12348 (723)    5 Oct 2018 16:36:50

I would like to see CAMELOT Chess on here.

 Yotta (1105)    5 Oct 2018 19:02:47

Are you referring to the game variant described at?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_(board_game)

 Yotta (1105)    12 Oct 2018 20:20:46

Just a note about our development priorities... you guys probably noticed that some player's feature requests are implemented very quickly, while other's are placed in a development queue.

Like any other business we have limited development time available, and need to prioritise our tasks according to our resources available. Some features requests are "low hanging fruit" that we can implement quickly, while others are more involved and requires proper planning and scheduled time.

We trust that in time we will be able to get all the features you guys would like to see on ChessConquest, so please continue to post your ideas and suggestions on the forum.

 ketchuplover (1254)    13 Oct 2018 13:24:51

If possible please list the low and high hanging fruit developments at your earliest convenience. Thanx.

 Yotta (1105)    22 Nov 2018 05:07:04

Just an update on our development,
Currently we have to maintain two chess engines, one server-side (written in PHP) and one client-side (written in JavaScript). This effectively doubles our work each time we want to add a new feature to the engines, e.g. Chess960.

So we have now built a new chess engine for ChessConquest that can be used both server and client side, and requires that we only have to maintain a single code base. This is going to make things much easier for us. This engine is now in its final testing phase, and we should install it on the main system during the next few weeks.

The development of this engine set us back a bit, but once this engine is in place we will easily make back the time, since our workload on the engine will be dramatically reduced.

KUL, I will revisit the current list of hanging fruit developments once this new engine is place.

 ketchuplover (1254)    22 Nov 2018 16:28:33

VROOM VROOM!

 ketchuplover (1254)    26 Nov 2018 17:14:39

Looks like Corvidae posted and then deleted his post but his name is still showing as last poster

 Yotta (1105)    26 Nov 2018 18:51:31

Thank you for pointing this out KUL.

We've fixed this issue... when a player now deletes their last post, the forum will correctly update the last poster to the previous player that posted.

 ketchuplover (1254)    26 Nov 2018 21:15:12

Must you always have the last word? :)

 Corvidae (1142)    26 Nov 2018 21:35:50

I sometimes write in haste and my pen moves quicker than my judgement. Then it's time to delete.

 IDontCastle (855)    3 Nov 2022 00:27:55

Please add 4, 8, 12 & 20 player Round-Robin tournaments.

 masteryeo (964)    22 Nov 2022 16:21:53

Yes Yotta please do a remember me fot the sign if not already done!