Frequently Asked Questions¶
General¶
What is Conquer Chess?¶
Conquer Chess is a real-time strategy game that is a mix between chess and some classic real-time strategy games.
There is a chess variant called Conquer, which has nothing to do with this game.
Why the name 'Conquer Chess: Battle for Liberty'?¶
The name 'Conquer Chess: Battle for Liberty' is a mix of classic real-time strategy games:
- Command and Conquer
- Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis
- Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty
Mix those names and you'll get 'Conquer Chess: Battle for Liberty'.
How did you get the idea for Conquer Chess?¶
As a Dutch Starcraft II fan, I regularily watch videos from Simon 'Lowko' Heijnen (e.g. at Lowko). He sometimes calls Starcraft II 'high-speed chess'. Because I incompletely agree with him, I pondered on what high-speed chess would look like. Conquer Chess is the result of those thoughts.
What are the three races in Conquer Chess?¶
These are the three races in Conquer Chess:
| Race name | Description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | A human-like species |
| Rooxx | An advanced alien species |
| Spawn | A primitive alien species |
Why did you not pick the classic Starcraft races?¶
To avoid problems in areas I am unfamiliar with, i.e. copyright and intellectual property.
Why did you not pick the races from the Starcraf 2 Scion mod?¶
Because the people from the Starcraft 2 Scion mod preferred me not to.
Game rules¶
What are the rules of Conquer Chess compared to chess?¶
Conquer Chess follows the rules of chess in such a way that regular games can be played with it.
All rules can be found in the rulebook.
Where did you get you example games from?¶
From https://database.lichess.org/.
There I took the earliest games played in january 2013
from (the now expired link)
https://database.lichess.org/standard/lichess_db_standard_rated_2013-01.pgn.bz2.
Game settings¶
What is the game speed?¶
In a game of Conquer Chess, time unit is measured in chess moves
(rulebook article [1.1.CC.0]).
For example, one can say that 'it takes 8 seconds per chess move'.
Controls¶
Each player can control the game with a keyboard or a mouse, with a maximum of 1 mouse user.
Keyboard controls¶
The keyboard has 4 action keys.
The game shows what each key does in a certain context.
Are 4 action keys enough?
Almost always yes.
A keyboard player cannot promote to a knight if a piece is selected.
It is possible to have 5 possible actions, for example, when the cursor is on a selected pawn that is ready to promote. The actions will be:
- Unselect
- Promote to queen
- Promote to rook
- Promote to bishop
- Promote to rook
The fifth action, hence, cannot be chosen.
Mouse controls¶
The mouse has 2 action buttons.
The game shows what each button does in a certain context.
Are 2 action keys enough?
Almost always yes.
A mouse player cannot castle queenside if a piece is selected.
It is possible to have 3 possible actions, for example, when the cursor is on a selected king that can castle both king- and queenside. The actions will be:
- Unselect
- Castle kingside
- Castle queenside
The third action, hence, cannot be chosen. This can be solved by moving the cursor to an empty square.
Additionally, it is possible to have 5 possible actions, for example, when the cursor is on a selected pawn that is ready to promote. The actions will be:
- Unselect
- Promote to queen
- Promote to rook
- Promote to bishop
- Promote to rook
The fifth action, hence, cannot be chosen.