Great!
I hope it gets released very very soon.
Pricing is not mentioned on Hiarcs.com or Hiarcs.net.
It does say it comes with a rebate towards other Hiarcs products, much like there was with Shredder for iPhone. Perhaps we can infer comparable pricing?
there are only a few apps for more than $10 - if HIARCS will be max $10 it will be instant buy for me...
... and if it will be less than $10 it would be overkill to all other chess apps in appstore ;]
there are only a few apps for more than $10 - if HIARCS will be max $10 it will be instant buy for me...
... and if it will be less than $10 it would be overkill to all other chess apps in appstore ;]
Actual Shredder is also a fantastic app. "Overkill" is too much in my opinion ;)
> Actual Shredder is also a fantastic app.
Good - ok. Fantastic - not too much. For example it can't force mate (king and 2 bishops vs king) even at it's strongest setting...
See here, posts no. #138 and #139:
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/best-iphone-chess-app?page=7
Interesting link KHRoN. As I read on your link Shredder do force mate not on playing mode but on analysis mode.
Up till just now, I'd missed the link that goes to the current draft of Help for the app...
http://www.hiarcs.com/iHiarcsChess_help.htm
I'm not seeing anything here about support for 960 or variant lines yet (both of which are supported in the Palm version), but I still think this is going to be a fantastic addition to the world of iPhone chess. And who knows what future versions will bring... 
LOL! Yeah, I hear that. I'm considering a hunger strike. Nobody would care, but I could afford to lose a few lbs anyway. 
judging from my experience from toucharcade.com forum, approval proces can be as long as 2-3 weeks now... for example approval of new version fritz took approximately 2 weeks...
IT'S HERE AT LAST!!
Hiarcs Chess is now available in the App Store, and by golly it's.. well, it's pretty good, actually.
Graphically, it seems a little rough around the edges compared to Shredder, Deep Green, or Chess Genius. I find the board colours a bit too saturated, and I'm not head-over-heels in love with any of the piece-set options. (Actually, the game looks, sounds & acts a heck of a lot like Glaurung..)
On the plus side, it plays a great game of chess, and strength-wise should be among the strongest apps on the platform.
The organization of move/analysis/openings data presented below the board is the best I've seen yet. Really nice.
The Elo picker you use to set the computer's strength is very well done. I also like the Engine Room controls, and (apart from the fact that the "Move Now" command is accessed by the "HIARCS" menu instead of the "Move" menu) the menus and UI are pretty nicely organized.
Anyway, if you're looking for another computer opponent (and can't wait till the chess.com app debuts - probably in September), it's $9.99 at the moment.
link: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=327708154&mt=8
I'm starting testing now ^^
@DeepGreene
> "Move Now" command is accessed by the "HIARCS" menu
isn't it the first buttun from the right?
[edit]
First impressions:
- HIARCS is based on Glaurung's GUI, however it's somehow tweaked
- there is no engine vs engine option ( :( it's Chess Genius only feature as for now)
- it does not show full analysis line, say it shows "mate in 3" but it displays only 3 ply
[edit2]
It has the same bug as Glaurung 1.0 (which was later fixed):
when you go to say settings (ie. engine room) and enter submenu (playing style), after tapping "engine room" to go back you still see submenu you were at and only thing you can do is tap "done" and enter settings again.
[edit3]
after restarting game I can't recreate that...
however, like in Glaurung, there are some problems with trying to review moves list (after sliding it can be unreadable - you can't see it at all or it is skewed)
@DeepGreene
> "Move Now" command is accessed by the "HIARCS" menu
isn't it the first buttun from the right?
That's the short-cut. The item is also represented by a button on the HIARCS menu. Obviously (I think), it belongs not here, but with its fellows on the 'Move' menu.
That's the short-cut. The item is also represented by a button on the HIARCS menu. Obviously (I think), it belongs not here, but with its fellows on the 'Move' menu.
I can see your point, however - apart from having shortcut - that way there is no "too big menu problem" in HIARCS (like it is in Shredder) where menu is so overcrowded, that it is changed from "button mode" into "list mode" (once I was curious how iPhone will handle such an event, where there is more menu buttons than space on the display, now I know).
Also it somehow affects responsibility of the interface - there is distinct lag in Shredder when you try to use "list mode menu".
Furthermore "move" menu is dedicated to handle moves list, while "hiarcs" menu is dedicated to handle engine... and "force move now" is one of engine's features hence "hiarcs" menu.
Anyway the real issue is ugly (sorry) icon by no means connected to the chess as such. One can think - judging from icon - it is homeopathic-lucid-dream-relaxation app... O_o And why? Palm had such a nice icon...
Hi all.. I'm a bit of a chess newbie. Played it on and off over the years but never consistently. Joined chess.com a few days ago after having my interest in chess rekindled by my new iPhone. Enjoyed 'Chess with Friends' and bought Shredder. So of course I had to buy HIARCS as well... though I would be grateful if someone could tell me why... since I can now be humiliated by my mobile phone in 2 different ways
. There's a serious question under there somewhere - is there any value for newer players in one app over another or any good reason to have more than one?
HIARCS seems to do the humiliation process as well as Shredder, but I find I prefer Shredder's UI. I like the latter's indicator needle, which offers occasional hope, and the material lost icons. I don't particularly like any of HIARCS piece sets and really dislike the speed with which the computer pieces move - very intimidating, the piece moves even before mine stopped the overshoot - which I also dislike.
But I guess that all window dressing and I look forward to the experts' assessments.
Oh - and I'm not overkeen on the icon either .. says nothing about Chess..
Hi all.. I'm a bit of a chess newbie. Played it on and off over the years but never consistently. Joined chess.com a few days ago after having my interest in chess rekindled by my new iPhone. Enjoyed 'Chess with Friends' and bought Shredder. So of course I had to buy HIARCS as well... though I would be grateful if someone could tell me why... since I can now be humiliated by my mobile phone in 2 different ways . There's a serious question under there somewhere - is there any value for newer players in one app over another or any good reason to have more than one?
HIARCS seems to do the humiliation process as well as Shredder, but I find I prefer Shredder's UI. I like the latter's indicator needle, which offers occasional hope, and the material lost icons. I don't particularly like any of HIARCS piece sets and really dislike the speed with which the computer pieces move - very intimidating, the piece moves even before mine stopped the overshoot - which I also dislike.
But I guess that all window dressing and I look forward to the experts' assessments.
Oh - and I'm not overkeen on the icon either .. says nothing about Chess..
Nice. Welcome to the gang, Barnie.
I can't speak for everyone, but the reason *I* have seven or eight chess apps is because I have a sickness. I'm not sure it's contagious, but I do know that a number of folks in this group are fellow sufferers.
All of my apps can kick my butt - no exception. But I like different things about each of them from a design and/or features perspective, so... on it goes.
I agree, Shredder seems to be a bit more polished, visually, than the first release of iHiarcs. I've often said that if I could have only one chess app (heaven forefend!) it would be Shredder - although not everyone shares that opinion.
But fwiw, here's what I think newer players could get out of Hiarcs that would not be as easy with Shredder: it's a better app with which to explore opening lines (tChess Pro is also strong in this regard, although its UI is somewhat different).
Cheers
The end of our long wait is near!
http://www.hiarcs.com/iHiarcsChess.htm
The link has some lovely screenshots.