home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Loadstar 237
/
237.d81
/
t.jetan
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
2022-08-26
|
4KB
|
139 lines
u
J E T A N
or "Martian Chess"
by David M. Moorman
LOADSTAR will go to ANY length to
find quality programs for your C-64.
On a recent excursion to the Fourth
Planet, (via Edgar Rice Burroughs'
classic tales), Fender observed John
Carter, adventurer extraordinaire,
playing a unique form of chess. The
intricately carved and exquisitely
bejeweled pieces (20 to a side) faced
each other across a 10 x 10 board,
with Orange to the north and Black to
the south. The origins of Jetan are
lost in the red sands of time, but
the book explains much about the
history of the game, as well as
providing a rollicking good read.
John Carter was kind enough to
supply Fender with a list of the
rules, which he sent to me. The
moves are quite different than
earthly chess, so the instructions
module of the game will "show and
tell" better than any words.
THE GAME
--------
This is a two-player game, with
both the joystick in port #2 and the
keyboard working. Have one player use
the joystick and the other use the
keyboard -- or both can use the same
input device. Black goes first. All
opponent's possible 'next' moves are
displayed on the board as cyan
squares. Move the flashing cursor onto
a piece and press FIRE or RETURN to
select. The legal moves of the chosen
piece are displayed as yellow (safe)
squares and green (vulnerable)
squares. Move the second, non-flashing
cursor to the desired square and press
FIRE or RETURN. To deselect a piece,
move the cursor back onto the chosen
piece and press FIRE or RETURN. Then
choose another piece.
The game is won when a player
captures the opponent's Princess, or
a Chief takes a Chief. If both players
are reduced to five or fewer pieces
for five complete rounds, the player
with the highest capture value is
considered the winner.
The Princess may not move onto a
threatened square, nor may she take
an opposing piece. She is entitled,
once during the game, during either
player's turn, to move to any
unoccupied space on the board. This
move is called the ESCAPE. Orange
presses F1, Black presses F7). Only
the Princess may be moved during the
ESCAPE. When finished, play resumes
where interrupted.
Whereas chess is a game of vectors
and lines of force, JETAN involves
spheres of influence and zones of
power. The patterns of combined power
constantly shift from side to side.
Beware of the Fliers. Dwars are
important. And remember, Panthans may
look a lot like pawns, but they can
move AND capture forward, sideways, or
diagonally, though not backward.
A MODEST PROPOSAL
-----------------
Though I haven't put in a computer
driven player, I hereby challenge ML
mavens to the task! There is plenty
of room under ROM and between BASIC
and the music. I will be glad to
send specifications to anyone sending
me a mailing label. And, should we
find two or more computer players,
we'll have to have a contest! First
prize probably will not be a trip to
Mars! But who knows!
DM
[FENDER'S POSTMUMBLE:] If anyone is up
for figuring out how to make an
intelligent Jetan-playing program,
LOADSTAR is definitely up for
publishing it. I congratulate Dave
Moorman for capturing the spirit of
Martian Chess and providing a valuable
service for mankind. Can you imagine
how traumatic it would be for the
human psyche if, when we finally make
it to Barsoom (as the Martians call
their planet), they ridicule us
because we can't play a decent game of
Jetan?
FT
[DAVE'S REHASH:] I hope you enjoy
these commentary conversations over
decades of time. Jetan was published
in 1993. I was still learning about ML
and such, so I am amazed at how well
it turned out! The deal for an
Artificially Intelligent Jetan is
still on. (Lance Thomas, are you
interested?) I no longer remember what
is inside the program, but I would be
happy to help anyone parse it out. I
do remember creating very specific
ways for an Intelligence to play the
game!
DMM