This is a preview of the version that I am going to release soon, after updating web page, documentation, creating a few more personalities and perhaps adding some more stylistic options.
After I complete these steps, this will be the last engine from Rodent line. I write it with a sense of accomplishment, and with a good drink in my hand, so please treat it like a good news. The project is nearing completion, personality system works as intended, most of style-deteriorating effects of Texel tuning have been reverted, UCI options have been simplified and you are guaranteed loads of fun with much less hassle.
Chief reason for that decision is that now I work as a game developer at Chess & Checkers Games, a company run by Łukasz Oktaba. I can say that Rodent landed me that job, but doing the same thing at work and as a hobby has no appeal for me. Also I feel that I am developing rapidly as a programmer, which has a side effect that I came to dislike my pet engine’s source code. It is perfectly possible, even likely, that I will start another chess-related project in the future, but with this one I’m almost done.
In short, Rodent is entirely yours now. If you create interesting personalities for Rodent IV, I will add them tot he package. If you fix bugs, I will add these bugfixes. If you improve engine’s play (especially multithreading on more than 16 cores), I will gladly make another official release.
There is a short pdf document in docs subfolder, telling what has changed. The most important thing is that playing style has been decoupled from strength. The former is now defined by loading personality files, the latter – by setting UCI_Elo parameter. This way you can play against weaker equivalents of Nimzowitsch or Tal. The cost of this decision is that personality files from earlier versions of Rodent do not work anymore.
I'd recommend using Rodent with Arena - download the folder, unzip it to Arena engine's folder, install engine and enjoy.
As of now, there's only a download link:
http://www.pkoziol.cal24.pl/rodent/Rodent_IV_beta.zipThere are two new options that may be of interest for a casual player. By disabling PrintPv you can play a fair game, without looking at engine evaluations. If you tick Taunting and your GUI prints info string messages, Rodent will give you some gentle verbal abuse, ranging from skulking and squeaking in lost positions, through self-motivating gibberish, mild suggestions of superiority, gloating with every captured piece, calling your blunders and asking you to resign. Mobility Rebalancing is an option that does not add strength, but you can turn it on to see if you like engine’s play better.
Pawel Koziol
http://www.pkoziol.cal24.pl/rodent/rodent.htm
