AmzPlayer
AmzPlayer is A Modern Player for Zillions.
Zillions is a player of board games according to rules specified in a ZRF rules file. Mostly games are for two players, human against computer, although single player games (puzzles) are possible too. The Zillions rules file is highly flexible, covering games from simple tic-tac-toe (or noughts and crosses) through to chess, go and anywhere in between. Zillions can handle many games of chance, but they must games be of perfect information, so games with hidden cards like poker or bridge are not allowed.
Zillions includes a powerful artificial intelligence, which provides a strong opponent across a wide range of games. AmzPlayer provides a modern player that can be published to just about any platform.
Getting started
- Download and unzip the software. See https://github.com/david-pfx/AmzPlayer/releases.
- Change directory to Engine and run the AmzEngine.exe. There is a BAT file which does that.
- This should start the player. Enjoy!
Using the Program
This is the original Zillions with a modern player built on the Unity platform, and comes with the same standard library of 48 games and many variations. This version was built from a later unreleased version of Zillions 3.0 and there may be slight differences in behaviour. The Zillions Language Reference should be consulted for any questions about the language and how it works.
Technical Details
Zillions was released as a Windows program around 20 years ago. This is the original Zillions program heavily modified to run as a server engine, with an all-new Unity player. The original MFC user interface has been removed and replaced by an API, so it should play exactly the same as the v3.0 version from which it was derived. The essential features of the user interface have been re-created in Unity, but this has been a complex process, and there will be omissions and differences.
Release
This is still an alpha release, with some changes and limitations. It is intended to identify what still needs to be done. Later releases will add core features and platforms.
Licensing
This is free software. You are free to download it, free to use it and free to create games with it, at no charge. In return, you are expected to provide feedback and report bugs by:
- submitting an issue to https://github.com/david-pfx/AmzPlayer
- email to david@polyomino.com.