Re: gnome blackjack questions..

[William Jon McCann <mccannwj pha jhu edu>]

Jeff Warnica wrote:
> Sorry if there is a mailing list or something that this should go to,
> google only turned up cvs logs.

games-list gnome org

> Anyway... I have some suggestions/questions about gnome blackjack, and
> rather then try to form them into a coherent essay, Ill just spew them
> out point form: 
>
> Number of decks: How many in the shoe? (or is it re dealt each time?)
> This should be configurable, and the hints provided should reflect this.

The number of cards left in the shoe is displayed in the status bar at 
the bottom of the application window.  The number of decks used by the 
various sets of rules can be viewed in the Preferences dialog under the 
Rules tab.

The shoe is reshuffled when the number of cards in the shoe is less than 
52 at the beginning of a hand.

> UI having actual buttons might be less confusing for the various
> actions. click 'somewhere' else to stand? WTF? :)

We experimented with using buttons during the early design phase.  It 
just didn't look right or work very well.  You can also use keyboard 
controls.  Which are actually quite nice since you can play the game 
really fast.  Unfortunately, I forgot to document those keys for the 2.4 
release.  The updated documentation is in CVS as of a month ago or so.
<http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai/cvsview2.cgi?diff_mode=context&whitespace_mode=show&root=/cvs/gnome&subdir=gnome-games/blackjack/help/C&command=DIFF_FRAMESET&file=blackjack.xml&rev2=1.3&rev1=1.2>

> Hints: Toggle as a window; show me what to do all the time. Possibly as
> a chard with the current situation highlighted.

I am not sure what you mean.  If you turn on "Display Hand 
Probabilities" in the Preferences it will always show you the expected 
outcomes.  For the purposes of this game, the best move is the one that 
maximizes the expected outcome.  Actually, that is exactly what the hint 
popup does for you.

> Training mode / Log/score: keep track of how I played compared to how I
> was 'supposed' to play (based on the hint data)

That is what the Balance is for :)  If you are winning, you are doing well.

> counting training: 'understand' a few of the counting strategies
> (http://www.conjelco.com/faq/bj.html#B18), and have a toggle that tells
> me the count (so I can compare it to what I have in my head)
>
> multi player / multi hands: Should be able to play multiple hands,
> against computer players, with different levels of AI (random, always
> basic strategy, counting with X method, etc).. AI players shouldn't
> effect a player but as a training tool, remembering that other players
> can screw up is an important lesson. (And yes, I know it can go either
> way :))
>
> Sounds: Want some voices? I suppose I could even drop by the local
> casino and talk to some dealer friends of mine, not that anyone would
> know :)

Could you file these last three (counting, multi-player, sounds) as 
separate enhancement requests in bugzilla <http://bugzilla.gnome.org/>? 
 That will make sure I don't forget about them.

Thanks,
Jon