[Kde-games-devel] Module policy for kdegames4

Mon Feb 5 03:31:29 CET 2007

I think this game would fit better in Board than Puzzles. See, to me puzzles
are most of the time single player. If some includes multiplayer option, the
classic version is usually single player. Plus, puzzles usually present a
user with a "maze" to solve. While this game present a blank board and the
"maze to solve" (if any) is created by the players during the game. like
Chess. I think its definitely a board game, although usually played on
paper.

On 2/1/07, Ian Wadham <ianw2 at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 05:12 am, Matt Williams wrote:
> > On Wednesday 31 January 2007 00:42:34 Ian Wadham wrote:
> > > On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:53 am, Matt Williams wrote:
> > > > On Tuesday 30 January 2007 02:08:43 Ian Wadham wrote:
> > > > > On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:42 pm, Matt Williams wrote:
> > > > > > I was wondering if it would be possible for KSquares to be
> looked
> > > > > > at for inclusion in KDE Games 4? ... <snip> It's currently
> residing
> > > > > > in /trunk/playground/games/ksquares and is fairly mature
> already.
> > >
> > > I'll build it and try it out.
> >
> OK, I've done that.  I checked out /trunk/playground/games, made a
> games_build directory, entered it and did "cmakekde".  KSquares
> compiled, built and installed perfectly ... even the Handbook got
> installed ... so you obviously have a good grasp of such things,
> much better than mine ... ;-)
>
> The rules of the game are very simple and are stated in the
> two-line description, but the game itself is quite tricky and
> addictive, as Mauricio has confirmed ...  You can also play a
> 4x4 game in under a minute, but presumably the length of
> a game goes up proportionally to the area of the board.
>
> As a game ... it is fun, exercises the mind, can be played in a
> short time, is a classic, has a long history and has a background
> in recreational mathematics, so I think it would be a worthy
> candidate for inclusion in KDE Games.  I'm not sure if it should
> go in Board Games or Puzzles, but probably the latter, along with
> KJumpingCube.  Attached is a screenshot.
>
> The game is not complex, so it has a simple user interface.  That said,
> I think there is quite a bit of room for improvement.
>
> 1. In KDE Games, Game->New means a new round of the same game
> and there is often another menu item to choose a game with different
> parameters or rules (see Solitaire, KMahjongg, KShisen).  It is irritating
> to have the dialog box come up every time you hit New.
>
> 2. KSquares seems to be using KConfig to remember settings between
> sessions and that's good.
>
> 3. Light bulb is the standard icon for Hint, so should not be used for
> "AI" in Settings->Configure KSquares.  Also "AI" is not a good term from
> a translator's or user's point of view.  We seem to use "Computer Player"
> in other games.
>
> 4. Re hints, it might be nice, but not vital, to have a Hint action.
>
> 5. I think your settings menu items and startup dialog could be revamped
> and
> re-organised somewhat.  KJumpingCube has quite a good example, though
> others might disagree ;-)  It is also nice to have commonly-changed
> settings
> on a line by themselves in the Settings menu, even if they also appear in
> Settings->Configure KSquares.  BTW, I prefer "KSquares Game Settings"
> to "Configure KSquares".  I think it would be more understandable to
> end-users, such as my wife or grandchild.
>
> 6. When the computer plays, it would be nice if it would appear to take
> some time and highlight its move (e.g. by blinking for a second).
>
> 7. In the score dialog, I could not work out what "Global Score" means.
> Don't tell me, but please make it something anyone could understand.
> Also, that column gets chopped off when the dialog box opens.
>
> 8. A High Scores facility would be good, but I am not sure how you would
> organise it when there are so many possibilities for board size and
> players.
>
> 9. Network play would be possible, but I have no feel for this, having
> never played a game on a network.  It might be an overkill.  Would you
> really hook up with someone just to play a game of KSquares?  What
> do others think?  Dmitry ... Mauricio ... how about a 3-cornered contest:
> Australia, Russia and Brazil? :-)
>
> 10. Save and load games might be an overkill.  Games do not last long.
>
> 11. Some specifics re the UI:
>       a. "Fit board to view" is unnecessary.  It should be always on, IMO.
>       b. "Draw lines in player's color" doesn't seem to do
> anything.  Should
>           it be possible (desirable) for each player to draw lines in a
>           different colour?
>       c. I'd like players to have a choice of what colour, symbol, initial
> or
>           whatever, to use as a marker for the squares they have captured.
>       d. Should there be a keyboard mode of play?  I'd say no, but then
>           I like to use the mouse for games ... :-)
>
> 12. Some specifics re the code:
>      a. I hate the use of tabs for every indentation.  Some people in KDE
>          use all-spaces, but it gives me RSI.  I prefer tabs with the UNIX
>          default of 8 spaces and 4 spaces for indentation in between, but
>          that is probably heresy ... ;-) NO correspondence entered into!
>      b. You seem to have done Doxygen stuff, which is good.
>      c. You seem to have i18n where required, which is good.
>      d. I believe #include <config.h> is deprecated.
>      e. You can use "foreach" to scan QLists now, but it is not mandatory.
>      f. Have you done a "valgrind" check for memory leaks lately?
>
> 13. There's a Handbook (incomplete) in XML Docbook, as required.
> I could not get it to open, but that's probably because of my incomplete
> KDE4 setup.
>
> All in all, a good job, Matt, and it should not be very difficult to
> polish
> it up if the other KDE Gamers agree to accept it into the collection.
>
> All the best, Ian W.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>

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Mathieu
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