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I started developing software as a kid on a Commodore 64, and I thought we were pretty clever if we were able to accomplish interesting things using only 32KB o

I started developing software as a kid on a Commodore 64, and I thought we were pretty clever if we were able to accomplish interesting things using only 32KB of RAM. But the idea that somebody was able to develop a full chess engine using only 128 Bytes of RAM boggles my mind.

Drakim 3y ago
I wonder if it "looks ahead" anything at all, or if it's just evaluating the current turn's piece trade potential. If it does look ahead, I wonder how many bytes per turn of lookahead is needed.
flohofwoe 3y ago
Think of the 128 bytes RAM to be only used for your dynamic gameplay state variables. C64 (and other home computer) games had to load all code and data into RAM, which usually accounts for most RAM usage. Game consoles like the Atari 2600 stored the code and static data in a ROM cartridge. For simple arcade-style games (like Pacman), 128 bytes of RAM is more then enough to manage the gameplay state. (still of course: a chess engine in 4 KByte ROM and 128 bytes RAM is pretty damn impressive)
- danmaz74 3y ago
  Fitting a chess game state in 128 bytes is for sure doable; what is really impressive is being able to use the same memory not just for the current position, but also to compute the next moves in a decent way.
haburka 3y ago
Imagine how easy it would be to tell people “Hey sorry we can’t include that feature, there’s not enough RAM” and then you could just build what you wanted to, exactly.
- samstave 3y ago
  [flagged]
danmaz74 3y ago
By the way: right now I'm working on a chess training project(1), and I'm thinking that a marketing cofounder could really help. If anybody is interested, my contact info is in my profile. (1) https://chess.braimax.com https://chess.braimax.com
- soegaard 3y ago
  Looks neat. Better call the puzzle training something else than Puzzle Rush though.
  - danmaz74 3y ago
    > Looks neat. Thank you. > Better call the puzzle training something else than Puzzle Rush though. Why? I think it's the most recognised name for the sequence of puzzles becoming harder and harder, even if I removed the time limit (as that leads to not learning much :)
    - soegaard 3y ago
      It’s trademarked.
- croshan 3y ago
  I tried it out, was enjoyable to play a few puzzles. My feedback is a) that the ring sound (when you win a puzzle) was too loud, so I ended up muting the tab, and b) that the logo looks like "BraiMax", and doesn't stylistically fit with the rest of the site theme.
  - danmaz74 3y ago
    Thank you for your feedback! By the way, you can disable sound from the little cog icon just above the chessboard.
    - zikduruqe 3y ago
      I'd recommend changing the sounds up a bit. The piece moves sound more like doors locking or unlocking from FPS games in the 90's. And the bell... just doesn't sound "successful chess puzzle" to me. I'm no UX engineer at all, but the sounds just do not sound chess-y. Just a thought.

Drakim 3y ago

I wonder if it "looks ahead" anything at all, or if it's just evaluating the current turn's piece trade potential. If it does look ahead, I wonder how many bytes per turn of lookahead is needed.

flohofwoe 3y ago

Think of the 128 bytes RAM to be only used for your dynamic gameplay state variables. C64 (and other home computer) games had to load all code and data into RAM, which usually accounts for most RAM usage. Game consoles like the Atari 2600 stored the code and static data in a ROM cartridge. For simple arcade-style games (like Pacman), 128 bytes of RAM is more then enough to manage the gameplay state. (still of course: a chess engine in 4 KByte ROM and 128 bytes RAM is pretty damn impressive)

danmaz74 3y ago
Fitting a chess game state in 128 bytes is for sure doable; what is really impressive is being able to use the same memory not just for the current position, but also to compute the next moves in a decent way.

haburka 3y ago

Imagine how easy it would be to tell people “Hey sorry we can’t include that feature, there’s not enough RAM” and then you could just build what you wanted to, exactly.

samstave 3y ago
[flagged]

danmaz74 3y ago

By the way: right now I'm working on a chess training project(1), and I'm thinking that a marketing cofounder could really help. If anybody is interested, my contact info is in my profile. (1) https://chess.braimax.com https://chess.braimax.com

soegaard 3y ago
Looks neat. Better call the puzzle training something else than Puzzle Rush though.
- danmaz74 3y ago
  > Looks neat. Thank you. > Better call the puzzle training something else than Puzzle Rush though. Why? I think it's the most recognised name for the sequence of puzzles becoming harder and harder, even if I removed the time limit (as that leads to not learning much :)
  - soegaard 3y ago
    It’s trademarked.
croshan 3y ago
I tried it out, was enjoyable to play a few puzzles. My feedback is a) that the ring sound (when you win a puzzle) was too loud, so I ended up muting the tab, and b) that the logo looks like "BraiMax", and doesn't stylistically fit with the rest of the site theme.
- danmaz74 3y ago
  Thank you for your feedback! By the way, you can disable sound from the little cog icon just above the chessboard.
  - zikduruqe 3y ago
    I'd recommend changing the sounds up a bit. The piece moves sound more like doors locking or unlocking from FPS games in the 90's. And the bell... just doesn't sound "successful chess puzzle" to me. I'm no UX engineer at all, but the sounds just do not sound chess-y. Just a thought.