Ergo Documentation

Ergo can be run as an application which you install on your local machine, or it can be run as an applet in a web browser. (Click here for the applet.) Some features, such as saving SGF files, only work when Ergo is run as an application due to security restrictions implemented by most web browsers. Throughout this documentation such features are marked with the words "[app only]".

[app only] Please see the installation instructions if you haven't yet installed Ergo on your system.

See the release notes for information about changes in a specific version.  Note that this documentation doesn't exaustively cover all menu items like most documentation seems to these days.  I assume you can figure out what most menu items do by their names.  This documentation tries to only cover those features that aren't immediately obvious.  However, if you find something to be unclear do let me know.

Contents:

1. Getting started
2. Once you're connected
3. Browsing a game
4. Scoring a game
5. The Who View window
6. The Games View window
7. Reviewing games
8. Smart Go Format (SGF) support
9. Kitchen sink

Getting Started

It's important that you be in the directory containing the Ergo.ini file and all the Ergo class files when you invoke Ergo.  Once you're in the right directory, type the following at the command line:

jre -cp . Ergo

or

java Ergo

depending on whether you're using the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or the Java Development Kit (JDK).  This will bring up the main Ergo window. You may then choose a server from the File -> Connect menu or just play a local game by choosing Play -> Local Game.

Ergo supports several command-line arguments for use in shell scripts or if you need to connect to the server via a firewall machine:

-server

The domain name of the go server you want to connect to.  Example: igs.nuri.net

-port

The port number to use when connecting to the go server.  For IGS this should be 6969 or 7777 and for an NNGS compatible server it should be 9696.

-init

The complete filename of the Ergo init file.  There is a default init file provided in the Ergo installation directory.

-nngs

Short for "-server nngs.cosmic.org -port 9696".

-igs

Short for "-server igs.nuri.net -port 6969".

-debug

Installs a "Debug" menu which can be used to enable debug messages and viewing the server protocol.

Any command-line arguments must follow the class name passed to jre (in this case "Ergo").  For example:
    jre -cp bin Ergo -init c:\users\joeschmoe\ergo.ini -nngs

Once You're Connected

Ergo should always function normally whether you use the menus or type commands from the command line. For example, you can use the Play -> Observe Game menu item or you can type "observe 5" at the command line. You can type "match sigue 19 1 10" or use the match dialog.  There are many commands that can only be invoked from the command line, such as "help" and "admins".

Browsing a Game

You can browse and modify the game tree at any time, whether playing, observing, or scoring.  Press the buttons in the browsing panel to the right of the board to move backward and forward:

moves backward. Right-click to go back 20 moves.
Keyboard equivalent: Alt+LeftArrow.

moves forward. Right-click to go forward 20 moves.
Keyboard equivalent: Alt+RightArrow.

moves to the beginning.

moves to the end, always choosing variation 'a' at branches.

moves to the previous branch. If there are no branches it moves to the beginning.
Keyboard equivalent: Alt+DownArrow.

moves to the next branch. If there are no branches it moves to the end.
Keyboard equivalent: Alt+UpArrow.

moves to the previous kibitz. If none it moves to the beginning.

moves to the next kibitz. If none, it moves to the next branch or the end, whicheven comes first.

Variation letters indicating the next moves in the game tree are displayed on the board while browsing.  If playing or observing a game on the server (as opposed to a local game) the variation marked with an 'a' is always the actual move received from the server.  Clicking on one of the forward buttons will always select the 'a' variation by default.  To select a different variation you may choose it from the Variations menu or just click on the variation letter on the board. If you right-clicking on a variation letter you'll see two extra commands in the popup menu: "Delete variation" and "Insert variation as kibitz". The latter is intended to make kibitzing long variations much easier than if you had to type them in by hand. Play out a variation locally, click on the button, right click on the variation and choose "Insert variation as kibitz".

During a server game, any time a move is undone via the "undo" command, the moves that are undone are stored in a variation, along with any kibitzes that were made during the undone moves.

You may click the right mouse button on any stone to get a menu of commands.  What appears in the menu depends on the current context. Normally the only command is "Browse to position", which will browse backward in the game to the point where that stone was played. While scoring a game a second command, "Remove groups in region", is also present. This will remove all groups that are the same color as the stone you clicked on. Only use this if you're sure the territory is fully surrounded by the opposite color, or else it will end up deleting some live groups too!

Scoring a Game

There are two different kinds of scoring: server scoring and local scoring.  Server scoring is when you are playing a server game and you and your opponent are telling the server which groups are dead.  Local scoring is when you are playing a local game or when you choose Game -> Calculate Score from the menu.  See below for the differences between the two types.

While scoring:

• Click on a group of stones to remove it from the board.  The dead stones are added to the appropriate player's score.
• As you score a game the current score is displayed in the game status display.  The displayed score includes komi, captured stones, and fully surrounded territory.
• Right-click on a group of stones to get a popup menu.  Choose "Remove groups in region" to remove all groups of the same color in the same territory as the group you clicked on.  (This can be a great help when you have many disconnected groups that you know are dead, but if the territory isn't completely enclosed the command may remove more groups than you intended.  So be careful, and don't blame me!)
• You can always undo mistakes during scoring.

Server Scoring

Server scoring mode is entered when the right number of PASS moves have been received from the server.  NNGS requires two consecutive PASS moves and IGS requires three.  While server scoring you can still browse, but it will not affect the game on the server, so it is not advised.  If you or your opponent uses the UNDO command Ergo will undo back to the correct place to remain in sync with the server.

Local Scoring

You can use local scoring at any time during a game by choosing Game > Calculate Score from the menu.  To stop scoring just choose Game > Calculate Score from the menu again, or use the browsing panel to backup to where scoring began.  While scoring locally you can place stones on the board to fill in dame or finish off territories that aren't quite surrounded.  You may use the browsing panel during scoring to undo mistakes or just explore different scoring possibilities.

Games View Window

The Games View window displays a list of all the games on the server.  Double click on a game to observe it.  Click right to get a menu of commands.

Who View Window

The Who View window displays a list of everyone connected to the server.  Double click on a player to display that player's stats.  Click right to get a menu of commands.

Who View can be invoked via the Windows menu or by typing the "who" command.  If you pass arguments to the "who" command the Who View will remember those arguments when it is refreshed.  For example, if you type "who all l" only those players looking for games will be listed in the Who View.  To list all players again choose View -> Refresh All from the menu or type "who" (with no arguments) at the command line.

Game Reviewing

[mention lkib command, default kib mode on load of SGF file, saving of undone moves, delete variation]
 

Smart Go Format (SGF) Support

Ergo has very basic support for SGF. It writes correct SGF (version 4) files but at this point can only read basic SGF files such as those created by the Go servers, which contain only legal moves and no complicated markup properties. Full SGF support is very high on the priority list to get fixed.

Note that if you are using Ergo from within a web browser you should use the "Copy (as SGF)" menu item to copy the game to the clipboard, and then paste it into your favorite editor. Because of Java security restrictions when running in a browser, the File > Save menu item doesn't work unless running as an application.

Other features

Command History

Press the up/down arrow keys to access commands you entered previously.

Context Menus

Right click on stones, variation letters, items in the Who/Games windows, etc., to get a menu of commands for that object.

Viewing Kibitzes

Ergo has two ways of displaying kibitzes.  The first way is to display a cumulative list of kibitzes below the game board.  The user must use the scroll bar in the kibitz window to view kibitzes for previous moves.  The second way is to display only the kibitzes for the current move.  This can be useful for reviewing games, and is the default mode set when a game is loaded from an SGF file.

Currently some debugging output is displayed by default. Use the Debug menu to disable it.