RE: [Bug-gnubg] Please convince me GNU does not cheat!

[Ian Shaw]

Hi Paul,

I think most of simply use the default Mersenne Twister settings. Pick
any seed you like.

If you really want to see cheating, go to Settings...Options...Dice and
select the Dice Manipulation option! Have a play with giving each side
better or worse rolls.

If you're still sceptical, you can download the source code and get you
favourite C programmer to have a look at it.

In truth, in a year you've probably learnt a lot, but there's still a
long way to go. Just remember, it's very easy to overlook your own
miracle rolls, because, hell, you deserve them! Also remember that a
better player will give you less chances to have a miracle roll, and
will generally be looking to make more of his/her/its own rolls good
ones. In fact, this is probably the very essence of backgammon strategy.

Complaints about bots cheating should generally be submitted using the
standard complaint form http://www.bkgm.com/rgb/rgb.cgi?view+546, but
you can be forgiven this once :). There's lots of other good stuff on
Backgammon Galore, too. I learnt loads from it when I first started
taking backgammon seriously.

Regards,
Ian Shaw 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: address@hidden 
> [mailto:address@hidden 
> On Behalf Of Paul Harstad
> Sent: 27 July 2005 22:34
> To: address@hidden
> Subject: [Bug-gnubg] Please convince me GNU does not cheat!
> 
> I can't help but believe that GNU backgammon rolls itself 
> lucky dice!  I have been playing for about a year now, and 
> have improved my game.  I have also read from various 
> web-based sources that the game absolutely does not cheat, 
> and I can't imagine why it would.  BUT...  I simply cannot 
> believe the rolls that it gets, frequently hitting 1 in 18 
> and even 1 in 36 odds, not to mention higher-probability shots!
> 
> I almost always check the "hint" and revise my move 
> accordingly, and it still beats me regularly.  I cannot allow 
> myself to believe that I can lose this frequently, and this 
> badly, particularly when I play entire matches (up to 7) by 
> following the recommended moves. I have tried to but do not 
> quite understand the various settings I can choose for 
> "random" dice.  At the very least, could you please advise me 
> on which settings to choose for dice to assure that it 
> actually randomly rolls dice. I know I can roll manually, but 
> I would much rather not do so.  
> 
> Thank you to all of you who have made this program!
> 
> 
> Paul Harstad