Royal Game of Ur (old thread)

[+Vorticon]

This is pretty neat. Makes me want to get the game and program the AI into my Sharp PC-1500. :-)

 

 

Go for it although you will likely need the 4K memory expansion module What I like about using these minimalist devices for such games is that I get to physically manipulate the game pieces rather than stare at a computer screen. The same goes for chess. I have a small collection of computerized chess sets, including the Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 which started it all back in the late 70's

[matthew180]

Well, I just happen to have the 4K RAM expansion. :-) What I am missing is the game board itself, and probably the patience to type in the program. I wonder if there is any way to load a program via the serial port? It must have a serial port of some sort... !?

[+Vorticon]

There is a port to connect the tape and parallel interface. Check this out http://www.pc1500.com/technical_reference_manual.html

With that info, I'm sure you can come up with something

[SIO2]

https://tinyurl.com/ybqddn6b

 

for a printable game board.

 

I typed a line into my Sharp PC 1500A then turned the Sharp off, removed a battery and waited 30 seconds. Put the battery back, turned it on and listed and the program was still there. Maybe it stores it to flash memory? Not sure.

 

[matthew180]

There is a port to connect the tape and parallel interface. Check this out http://www.pc1500.com/technical_reference_manual.html

With that info, I'm sure you can come up with something

 

Wow, thanks for the link! I have not opened the file yet, but that looks like a really nice manual to have. I love how the old computers would include the technical information about the machine. The main page on that website also has quite a few games and utility software, like assemblers, compilers, etc. They even have a way to move files between a modern computer and the PC-1500 via the tape interface (nothing unexpected, the method uses the sound card to record a WAV file, or playback a WAV file). There are even utilities to create and convert WAV files to/from binary files.

 

http://www.pc1500.com

http://www.pc1500.com/pc-pocket-transfer.html

 

 

https://tinyurl.com/ybqddn6b

 

for a printable game board.

 

I typed a line into my Sharp PC 1500A then turned the Sharp off, removed a battery and waited 30 seconds. Put the battery back, turned it on and listed and the program was still there. Maybe it stores it to flash memory? Not sure.

 

 

Thanks for the link. A printout might not be as fun as getting a real game board though. Maybe I'll make one... Hmm, like I don't have enough projects already... Something about the game board though, the tiles have very busy graphics on them and seem to have no role in the actual game play. The graphics are also seemingly unrelated. Does anyone know what the graphics are supposed to represent?

 

Something else that I was thinking about related to the alternate rules that were mentioned a few posts back, specifically the variation where stacking was not allowed. Based on the layout of the board I don't think that would have been an original rule (realizing now (after researching the game) that the original rules and origin of the game are over 4000 years old and not completely known). Vorticon mentioned modifying his A.I. because "controlling" the central rosette has a tactical advantage because you can't be captured on that tile and it makes it harder for the opponent to hop over. However, if you can't stack your own pieces, it makes it just as hard for you to hop over that tile as well, thus eliminating the advantage of controlling the tile. Of course this is just complete conjecture on my part, having only just heard of the game and spending a total of 20 minutes researching its origins and history.

 

The more I read about the game the more interesting it becomes. It is very overwhelming to me that we are still playing a game that was created over 4000 years ago, and apparently played in many places and forms (like a game board scratched onto a stone wall). Could anyone 4000 years ago have even been able to imagine people still playing the same game thousands of years later? I wonder if any games created and played today will still be around in 4000 years (assuming we don't blow ourselves up first)? I wonder if a 99/4A would still work in 4000 years?

[+Vorticon]

OK so I broke down and converted the game to run on the TI 99/4A, but using the British Museum rules . I reused the excellent graphics created by ramidavis, adding animation, sound and speech. The AI seems to work just as well with these rules, and the central rosette in my view remains very important strategically.

 

 

 

GAMEOFUR.dsk

 

The user interface is very simple. The dice are rolled automatically, and when it's your turn, assuming you have a move, a green cursor will appear on the board. Move it forward or backward using the S and D keys. Press ENTER to select a token on the board and it will be moved to its destination automatically. To introduce a new token from the stack, press N. That's it! Remember, with this version of the game, you cannot stack pieces, and if you roll a zero or if you have no valid move then you pass your turn.

 

Start the game by typing RUN "DSK1.UR". Press ENTER to exit the intro screen and load the main game. Please let me know of any bugs.

 

Here's the code...

 

 

 

1 REM GAME OF UR - GRAPHICS BY RAMIDAVIS, ENGINE BY WALID MAALOULI - DECEMBER 2017
2 CALL SCREEN(12)
3 CALL COLOR(10,5,16,11,7,1,13,2,1,14,16,1)
4 CALL CHAR(120,"FF818181818181FF") ! CURSOR PATTERN
5 CALL CHAR(96,"00000000183C7EFF") ! DICE PATTERN
6 CALL CHAR(104,"66E7FF2424FFE766") ! STANDARD BOARD SQUARE PATTERN
7 CALL CHAR(128,"3C7EE7C3C3E77E3C",136,"3C7EE7C3C3E77E3C") ! BLACK AND WHITE TOKEN PATTERNS
8 CALL CHAR(106,"0000000018000000") ! TOP DICE DOT PATTERN
9 CALL CHAR(107,"0000000000000081") ! BOTTOM DICE DOT PATTERN
10 CALL CHAR(112,"C381183C3C1881C3") ! ROSETTE SQUARE PATTERN
11 RANDOMIZE::OPTION BASE 0::DIM CP(15),PP(15),PCX(15),PCY(15),CCX(15),CCY(15)
12 FOR I=1 TO 7::CALL SPRITE(#I,128,2,200,1)::NEXT I ! BLACK TOKENS
13 FOR I=8 TO 14::CALL SPRITE(#I,136,16,208,1)::NEXT I ! WHITE TOKENS
14 CALL SPRITE(#15,32,16,169,97) ! DICE
15 CALL SPRITE(#16,32,16,169,113)
16 CALL SPRITE(#17,32,16,169,129)
17 CALL SPRITE(#18,32,16,169,145)
18 CALL SPRITE(#19,120,13,200,1) ! CURSOR
20 FOR I=1 TO 14::READ PCX(I),PCY(I)::NEXT I
30 DATA 14,11,14,9,14,7,14,5,16,5,16,7,16,9,16,11,16,13,16,15,16,17,16,19,14,19,14,17
35 FOR I=1 TO 14::READ CCX(I),CCY(I)::NEXT I
36 DATA 18,11,18,9,18,7,18,5,16,5,16,7,16,9,16,11,16,13,16,15,16,17,16,19,18,19,18,17
40 REM DISPLAY PLAYING BOARD
50 CALL CLEAR
60 GOSUB 200
70 REM INITIALIZE VARIABLES
80 CN=7::PN=7::CB=0::PB=0::RF=-1::RP=-1::CSN=7::PSN=7::CW=0::PW=0
90 FOR I=0 TO 14::CP(I)=0::PP(I)=0::NEXT I
100 REM DETERMINE WHO GOES FIRST
101 GOSUB 300::R1=ROLL::GOSUB 300::R2=ROLL
102 IF R1>R2 THEN 105 ELSE IF R2>R1 THEN 110 ELSE 101
105 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:" MY TURN"::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D::GOSUB 5100::GOTO 120
110 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:"YOUR TURN"::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D::GOSUB 5700::GOTO 160
115 REM CHECK FOR WIN OR START NEXT TURN
120 IF CW=0 THEN 140
130 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:" I WIN!!"::GOTO 190
140 IF RP=-1 AND RF=-1 THEN 110 ELSE 105
160 IF PW=0 THEN 180
170 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:"YOU WIN!!"::GOTO 190
180 IF RF=-1 THEN 105 ELSE 110
190 REM PLAY AGAIN CHECK
191 CALL KEY(0,K,S)::IF S=0 THEN 191
192 DISPLAY AT(24,9)BEEP:"PLAY AGAIN?"
193 CALL KEY(0,K,S)::IF S=0 THEN 193
194 IF K<>89 THEN STOP 
195 FOR I=1 TO 14::CALL LOCATE(#I,200,1)::NEXT I
196 GOTO 40

200 REM DISPLAY BOARD ROUTINE
201 RESTORE 211::PRINT
202 PRINT "BLACK                 WHITE N  LEFT   hhhhhhh   MEN  LEF          hph hph           "
203 PRINT "          hhhhhhh                     h h h h                     hhhhhhh           "
204 PRINT "          h h h h                     hhhhhhh                     h hph h           "
205 PRINT "          hhhhhhh                       h h                         hhh             "
206 PRINT "            h h             N HOME    hhhhhhh   MEN HOME          hph hph           "
207 PRINT "          hhhhhhh                     h h h h                     hhhhhhh           "
208 PRINT
209 PRINT "          ` ` ` `           "
210 PRINT
211 DATA 4,1,77,4,2,69,4,31,84,16,1,77,16,2,69
213 FOR FILL=1 TO 5
214 READ Y,X,CH
215 CALL VCHAR(Y,X,CH)
216 NEXT FILL
220 FOR I=2 TO 8
230 CALL HCHAR(6,I,128)::CALL HCHAR(6,I+22,136)
240 NEXT I
250 RETURN

300 REM DICE ROLLING ROUTINE
335 ROLL=0
340 FOR I=1 TO 4
350 X=INT(RND*4)+1
360 IF X>2 THEN X=0 ELSE X=1
370 ROLL=ROLL+X::CALL SOUND(50,700,0)
380 NEXT I
401 IF ROLL=0 THEN 402 ELSE 406
402 FOR Y=1 TO 4
403 CALL PATTERN(#14+Y,107)
404 NEXT Y
405 GOTO 500
406 FOR Y=1 TO 4
407 CALL PATTERN(#14+Y,107)
408 NEXT Y
409 FOR Y=1 TO ROLL
410 CALL PATTERN(#14+Y,106)
411 NEXT Y
500 RETURN

600 REM PLAYER MOVE CURSOR AND SELECT TOKEN ROUTINE
620 P=1
630 CALL LOCATE(#19,PCY(P)*8-7,PCX(P)*8-7)
640 CALL KEY(0,K,S)::IF S=0 THEN 640
650 IF K<>78 OR PSN=0 OR PP(ROLL)=1 THEN 670
660 CALL LOCATE(#19,200,1)::STARTSQUARE=0::GOTO 730
670 IF K<>68 OR P+1>14 THEN 690
680 P=P+1::CALL LOCATE(#19,PCY(P)*8-7,PCX(P)*8-7)::GOTO 640
690 IF K<>83 OR P-1<1 THEN 710
700 P=P-1::CALL LOCATE(#19,PCY(P)*8-7,PCX(P)*8-7)::GOTO 640
710 IF K<>13 OR PP(P)=0 OR P+ROLL>15 OR (P+ROLL=8 AND CP(=1) THEN 640
715 IF P+ROLL<15 AND PP(P+ROLL)=1 THEN 640
720 STARTSQUARE=P::CALL LOCATE(#19,200,1)
730 RETURN

5100 REM *** COMPUTER PLAY ROUTINE ***
5105 REM CHECK FOR TOKEN EXIT
5110 GOSUB 300::CALL SAY(STR$(ROLL))::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D::IF ROLL>0 THEN 5115
5111 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:"  PASS!"::CALL SAY("UHOH")::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D::RF=-1::RP=-1::RETURN
5115 RP=-1::RF=-1
5120 IF CP(15-ROLL)=0 THEN 5180
5130 CP(15-ROLL)=CP(15-ROLL)-1::CB=CB-1
5135 CALL TOKENLOC(15-ROLL,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5136 CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,CCX(15-ROLL),CCY(15-ROLL),31-CN,18)
5137 CALL HCHAR(18,31-CN,136)::CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,200,1)::CN=CN-1
5140 IF CN=0 THEN CW=1
5150 RETURN
5170 REM CHECK FOR CAPTURE OF OPPONENT TOKEN
5180 IF CB=0 THEN 5310
5190 FOR I=1 TO 11
5200 IF CP(I)=0 THEN 5270
5210 IF I+ROLL<5 OR I+ROLL>12 THEN 5270
5215 IF I+ROLL<15 AND PP(I+ROLL)=0 THEN 5270
5220 IF I+ROLL=8 THEN 5270
5230 CALL TOKENLOC(I,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5231 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,I,ROLL,CCX(),CCY())
5232 CALL TOKENLOC(I+ROLL,1,SPRNUM,PCX(),PCY())
5233 CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,PCX(I+ROLL),PCY(I+ROLL),PSN+2,6)
5234 CALL HCHAR(6,PSN+2,128)::CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,200,1)
5240 PB=PB-1::PP(I+ROLL)=0::PSN=PSN+1
5250 CP(I)=0::CP(I+ROLL)=1
5260 I=12::FLG=1
5270 NEXT I
5275 IF FLG=1 THEN FLG=0::RETURN
5310 REM CHECK FOR ROSETTE SQUARE
5320 FOR I=1 TO 13
5330 IF CP(I)=0 THEN 5360
5340 IF I+ROLL=8 AND PP(=0 AND CP(=0 THEN RF=I
5350 IF (I+ROLL=4 OR I+ROLL=14) THEN IF CP(I+ROLL)=0 THEN RP=I
5360 NEXT I
5370 IF RF=-1 THEN 5375
5371 I=RF::CALL TOKENLOC(I,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5372 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,I,ROLL,CCX(),CCY())::GOTO 5390
5375 IF CB<>CN AND ROLL=4 AND CP(4)=0 THEN RP=1::CB=CB+1::I=0 ELSE 5380
5376 FOR N=8 TO 14::CALL POSITION(#N,Y,X)::IF Y>199 THEN SPRNUM=N::N=15
5377 NEXT N
5378 CALL HCHAR(6,23+CSN,32)::CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,23+CSN,6,CCX(4),CCY(4))
5379 CSN=CSN-1::GOTO 5390
5380 IF RP=-1 THEN 5420
5381 I=RP::CALL TOKENLOC(I,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5382 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,I,ROLL,CCX(),CCY())
5390 CP(I)=0::CP(I+ROLL)=1
5400 RETURN
5410 REM MOVE TOKEN IF >2 ON BOARD
5420 IF CB<3 THEN 5550
5440 FOR I=13 TO 1 STEP -1
5450 IF I+ROLL>15 OR CP(I)=0 THEN 5520
5455 IF I+ROLL=8 AND PP(=1 THEN 5520
5456 IF CP(I+ROLL)=1 THEN 5520
5460 IF CP(I)=1 AND I=8 THEN RF=1::GOTO 5520
5480 CP(I+ROLL)=1::CP(I)=0
5490 CALL TOKENLOC(I,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5491 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,I,ROLL,CCX(),CCY())
5510 FLG=1::I=0::RF=-1
5520 NEXT I
5525 IF FLG=1 THEN FLG=0::RETURN
5530 IF RF=-1 THEN 5550
5540 RF=-1::CP(8+ROLL)=1::CP(=0
5541 CALL TOKENLOC(8,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5542 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,8,ROLL,CCX(),CCY())
5543 RETURN
5545 REM INTRODUCE NEW TOKEN
5550 IF CN=CB OR CP(ROLL)=1 THEN 5590
5560 CP(ROLL)=1::CB=CB+1
5570 FOR N=8 TO 14::CALL POSITION(#N,Y,X)::IF Y>199 THEN SPRNUM=N::N=15
5571 NEXT N
5572 CALL HCHAR(6,23+CSN,32)::CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,23+CSN,6,CCX(ROLL),CCY(ROLL))
5573 CSN=CSN-1
5580 RETURN
5585 REM MOVE TOKEN IF NO OTHER MOVE AVAILABLE
5590 FOR I=13 TO 1 STEP -1
5600 IF CP(I)=0 OR I+ROLL>15 THEN 5630
5605 IF I+ROLL=8 AND PP(=1 THEN 5630
5606 IF CP(I+ROLL)=1 THEN 5630
5610 CALL TOKENLOC(I,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5611 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,I,ROLL,CCX(),CCY())
5620 CP(I)=0::CP(I+ROLL)=1
5625 FLG=1::I=0
5630 NEXT I
5635 IF FLG=1 THEN FLG=0::RETURN
5640 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:"  PASS!"::CALL SAY("UHOH")::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D
5641 RF=-1::RP=-1::RETURN

5700 REM *** PLAYER MOVE ROUTINE ***
5710 GOSUB 300::CALL SAY(STR$(ROLL))::IF ROLL>0 THEN 5720
5711 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:"  PASS!"::CALL SAY("UHOH")::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D
5712 RF=-1::RETURN
5720 RF=-1
5740 FOR I=1 TO 14
5745 IF PP(I)=1 AND I+ROLL=8 AND CP(=1 THEN 5760
5746 IF PP(I)=1 AND I+ROLL<15 THEN IF PP(I+ROLL)=0 THEN FLG=1::I=15::GOTO 5760
5750 IF PP(I)=1 AND I+ROLL=15 THEN FLG=1::I=15
5760 NEXT I
5765 IF FLG=1 THEN FLG=0::GOTO 5800
5770 IF PN<>PB AND PP(ROLL)=0 THEN 5800
5780 DISPLAY AT(24,10)BEEP:"  PASS!"::CALL SAY("UHOH")::FOR D=1 TO 300::NEXT D
5781 RF=-1::RETURN
5800 GOSUB 600
5810 IF STARTSQUARE=0 THEN 5980
5815 IF STARTSQUARE+ROLL=15 THEN 5920
5820 IF CP(STARTSQUARE+ROLL)=0 THEN 5880
5825 IF CP(STARTSQUARE+ROLL)=1 AND (STARTSQUARE+ROLL<5 OR STARTSQUARE+ROLL>12) THEN 5880
5830 CALL TOKENLOC(STARTSQUARE,1,SPRNUM,PCX(),PCY())
5831 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,STARTSQUARE,ROLL,PCX(),PCY())
5832 CALL TOKENLOC(STARTSQUARE+ROLL,2,SPRNUM,CCX(),CCY())
5833 CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,CCX(STARTSQUARE+ROLL),CCY(STARTSQUARE+ROLL),24+CSN,6)
5834 CALL HCHAR(6,24+CSN,136)::CSN=CSN+1::CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,200,1)
5840 CB=CB-1::CP(STARTSQUARE+ROLL)=0
5860 PP(STARTSQUARE)=0::PP(STARTSQUARE+ROLL)=1
5870 RETURN
5880 PP(STARTSQUARE)=0::PP(STARTSQUARE+ROLL)=1
5890 IF STARTSQUARE+ROLL=4 OR STARTSQUARE+ROLL=8 OR STARTSQUARE+ROLL=14 THEN RF=1
5900 CALL TOKENLOC(STARTSQUARE,1,SPRNUM,PCX(),PCY())
5901 CALL TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,STARTSQUARE,ROLL,PCX(),PCY())
5910 RETURN
5920 CALL TOKENLOC(STARTSQUARE,1,SPRNUM,PCX(),PCY())
5930 CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,PCX(STARTSQUARE),PCY(STARTSQUARE),9-PN,18)
5940 CALL HCHAR(18,9-PN,128)::CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,200,1)
5950 PP(STARTSQUARE)=0::PN=PN-1::PB=PB-1
5960 IF PN=0 THEN PW=1
5970 RETURN
5980 FOR N=1 TO 7::CALL POSITION(#N,Y,X)::IF Y>199 THEN SPRNUM=N::N=8
5990 NEXT N
6000 CALL HCHAR(6,1+PSN,32)::CALL SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,1+PSN,6,PCX(ROLL),PCY(ROLL))
6010 PSN=PSN-1::PB=PB+1::PP(ROLL)=1
6020 IF ROLL=4 THEN RF=1
6030 RETURN

7000 REM SPRITE MOTION ROUTINE
7010 SUB SPRMOVE(SPRNUM,SX,SY,TX,TY)
7015 CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,SY*8-7,SX*8-7)
7020 STARTX=SX*8-7::STARTY=SY*8-7::TARGETX=TX*8-7::TARGETY=TY*8-7:=STARTX::Y=STARTY
7030 IF TARGETY<STARTY THEN INCREMENT=-1 ELSE INCREMENT=1
7040 IF Y<>TARGETY THEN Y=Y+INCREMENT
7045 IF X=TARGETX THEN 7060
7050 IF STARTX<TARGETX THEN X=X+1 ELSE IF STARTX>TARGETX THEN X=X-1 
7060 CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,Y,X)
7070 IF X<>TARGETX OR Y<>TARGETY THEN 7040
7080 SUBEND

7100 REM LOCATE TOKEN SPRITE ON BOARD
7110 SUB TOKENLOC(BOARDPOS,SIDE,SPRNUM,POSARRX(),POSARRY()) ! SIDE=1 FOR BLACK, SIDE=2 FOR WHITE
7120 IF SIDE=2 THEN 7160
7130 FOR I=1 TO 7
7135 CALL POSITION(#I,Y,X)
7140 IF Y=POSARRY(BOARDPOS)*8-7 AND X=POSARRX(BOARDPOS)*8-7 THEN SPRNUM=I::GOTO 7190
7150 NEXT I
7160 FOR I=8 TO 14
7165 CALL POSITION(#I,Y,X)
7170 IF Y=POSARRY(BOARDPOS)*8-7 AND X=POSARRX(BOARDPOS)*8-7 THEN SPRNUM=I::GOTO 7190
7180 NEXT I
7190 SUBEND

7200 REM MOVE TOKEN ON BOARD ROUTINE
7210 SUB TOKENMOVE(SPRNUM,BOARDPOS,MOVENUM,POSARRX(),POSARRY())
7220 FOR I=1 TO MOVENUM
7230 CALL LOCATE(#SPRNUM,POSARRY(BOARDPOS+I)*8-7,POSARRX(BOARDPOS+I)*8-7)
7235 CALL SOUND(50,250,0)
7240 FOR D=1 TO 100::NEXT D
7250 NEXT I
7260 SUBEND 

 

 

[+Ksarul]

It is unfortunate that Ramidavis bowed out before the programming urge for this one reached critical mass. Thanks, @vorticon!

[+Vorticon]

It is unfortunate that Ramidavis bowed out before the programming urge for this one reached critical mass. Thanks, @vorticon!

 

Yes it is but his graphics were a huge help nonetheless.

Here' s a video of the gamplay. A real nail biter!

 

https://youtu.be/nokCLwDM8G0

[notwhoyouthink]

Excellent. It is enough to do RUN "DSK1.URMAIN" to bypass the load screen.

I transfered it to a .TIDISK using TI99Dir, and used Win99/4a Sim's disk manager to export it to tape.

Loads and plays fine on non-expanded setup.

ur.zip

[SIO2]

I don't even have a TI computer but, I am so very glad the TI version of this game got made and TI owners will now be able to play it.

 

You did a great job Vorticon. Not only is the program excellent but so are your postings with the images, source code and video. Very nice.

 

Seeing this come to life makes me realize the advantages of the Ramidavis board layout. Clearly a lot of thought went into those graphics.

[+OLD CS1]

Since someone here apparently has not gotten the point across that he does not want to be a part of the forum any more I am locking this thread. An entire thread loses its context when people throw tantrums like this.

 

@Vorticon has started the new thread here.