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M Winther wrote on Thu, May 18, 2006 12:21 PM UTC:

I have been experimenting with yet another pawn, the 'Harpy'. It can 'unfold its wings' and fly to any empty square on the board, except the first and last rank. Its value is 1.5. I have implemented it in Harpy Chess (zrf). I suppose it can be introduced in many chess variants. It works because, after it has landed, it costs a move to 'fold its wings', and become a normal Harpy pawn again. In the mean time the Harpy cannot move.
(BTW, my 'Shamanic Chess' has been much improved.)
--Mats

Jeremy Good wrote on Thu, May 18, 2006 01:48 PM UTC:

Did you design that piece? It's quite lovely. I'd like to see it uploaded
and used in a preset.

Joost Brugh wrote on Thu, May 18, 2006 04:48 PM UTC:

The Harpy is not just a piece, but a whole idea. Like in Shamanic Chess,
the piece can go in move-mode or in fight-mode. In move-mode, they are
more mobile and in fight mode, they can capture. You can make a whole
chess variant (or a 'Chess with Different Armies'-army. For example,
strong fighting pieces that can't move to any square in move-mode, but
for example just like a queen. Or pieces that have an effect when
deployed, but can't move then (fight-mode), for example the
Ultima/Rococo/Maxima-Immobilier (that does not immobilize in move-mode and
does not move in fight (immobilize)-mode. There are many possibilities.

M Winther wrote on Thu, May 18, 2006 05:55 PM UTC:

Joost, you have a strong point there. There is an immense number of
interesting possibilities. A piece could be a rook in its fight mode, but
it can in an instant turn into some kind of long-leaper, for instance. Why
it works is because it costs a move to return it to its rook-state again,
which is necessary, because it cannot capture in its long-leap state. The
Harpy was implemented so that it must return to fight state before being
again able to move like a Flying Harpy. But it's also possible to
implement the double mode piece so that it can remain in the
transport-mode, and make several non-capturing leaps in that state. It
depends on the game context which is best, I suppose.
--Mats

Jeremy Good wrote on Fri, May 19, 2006 12:38 PM UTC:

Tony Quintanilla's Net Chess operates somewhat like this, with the teleportation of pieces through a 'Net' and then the extra move to activate them.

M Winther wrote on Sat, May 20, 2006 05:44 AM UTC:

Net Chess: It's an interesting concept, but the Z engine plays it very badly. Zillions programmers should know that there are simple methods of tweaking which makes the program play much better. Most of my chess zrf:s have been tweaked in order to function. It's a great waste that programmers implement chess varaints but don't bother to make them play well. In this case the engine always puts pieces on the intersections because they cannot be captured there. On the other hand they are useless there. So, for instance, one could punish this move by flipping an invisible piece beside the board.
(BTW, I have now tweaked my Harpy Chess to play better.)

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