Chess Kingdom · published · build 26383552
Hi everyone, A lot has happened since my last post on October 22nd, so here is everything that is now live.
There is now a Feedback button in the bottom-left corner of the main menu (and a Report a bug / Suggest an idea row in Settings). It opens a short form right inside the Steam overlay, so you never have to leave the game. And it works: the first two things you sent in were fixed or improved within a day:
"Put my active games on the front screen." Done, see the new main menu below.
"My online move sometimes doesn't show on the board." Fixed. A move could appear to jump back to its old square until you left and came back to the lobby. The server always had your move; the board now never rolls back.
Please keep it coming. Every message is read.
An In progress row shows your running matches: online games, your saved match, tournaments, eliminations and league fixtures, each with a mini board of the real position.
Continue now tells you what it resumes ("Last match: Bumble, move 7", or "Your move" for an online game).
A much calmer layout: the big buttons on the left, your matches on the right, and the open-lobby count right under Play.
Bots reply 3 to 6 times faster. Especially the hard and expert bots, which could take 20-40 seconds in some positions. They also search deeper in the same time now, at the same strength.
Bots from Relaxed upward always play mate in one when they have it. Only the very weakest bots can still miss one, like a real beginner would.
No more pointless king walks in the opening (like Ke7 with every piece still on the board).
Bots now accept your draw offer in a locked, level position where nobody is making progress, instead of shuffling pieces forever.
Every bot can now offer a draw itself in those positions.
When the position looks drawn, the Offer Draw button lights up.
You now get 30 seconds to answer a bot's draw offer (was 15) and 60 seconds online (was 30).
Knockout cups: you could be crowned champion after your very first game. Fixed, and cups that were already broken repair themselves when you continue them.
Online lobbies: the list could wrongly say "No open lobbies" when you opened it quickly or switched filters. It now always shows the real lobbies.
Windows: removed a hitch of about 6 seconds right after the game started.
Controller: the D-pad and stick now follow the board as you see it, also when you play Black or flip the board.
Learning: Next Lesson now follows the real chapters, and the Learn hub shows your actual progress out of all 63 lessons.
Friendships with bots now count draws too.
"Show piece labels" and "Show square names" are now remembered in Quick Match games.
Bot descriptions in the opponent list are no longer cut off mid-word.
Lots of screens were reworked so they fit without scrolling on smaller windows and on the Steam Deck: Match Setup (the Start button was half off the screen), Play, Profile, Collection, Leaderboards, Codex, Elimination and the Online lobby.
A clean black-and-white board, free from level 1. Black pieces get a thin white edge on the dark squares so you can always see them. Thanks for playing, and for every bug report and idea. Keep using that Feedback button!