Decent Sound on KGS with cgoban2

The two things that have bothered me most about KGS are both related to the cgoban2 java client program: sound and graphics. Considering that go is such a beautiful game played on equipment unmatched (IMO, of course!) by any other game for its aesthetic value, it always stuck me as odd that I'd be clicking down virtual stones on a drab lifeless board with dull thunks.

For reasons unfathomable to me as a programmer (considering that there is such a broad user support base around the application), the author of KGS has decided that there will be no graphical or sound-related options. So, I decided to take a closer look at the jar file in hopes of finding a simple structure of sounds and graphics which I could then replace at will.

Well, one fix is better than none...sounds are clearly to be seen inside the jar structure. Board and stone graphics are not, so I am guessing that they are embedded xpm code inside the class files. :( Oh, well. At any rate, after a bit of trial and error, I have changed the stone placement sound! If you are interested, here is a brief step-by-step.

Prework:

• Find a stone sound you like. Personally, I love the stone click sound from MultiGo (beware, Windows only). Any wav file (or 8-bit u-law sun audio file, I think) should do just fine.
  
• Make a copy of your cgoban.jar file for safe keeping. If you break anything, you can simply copy it back. For unix people, I assume you know where you installed the cgoban directory. For Windows users, check out C:\Program Files\kiseido\cgoban. The cgoban.jar is right in there.
  
• Make a temporary directory and copy cgoban.jar into it.
  

Steps:

• Open up a terminal window (or command prompt for Windows users) and navigate to your temp directory.
  
• "unjar" the cgoban.jar file with the command:
  

  
  jar xvf cgoban.jar
  

  
  This will extract the contents of the jar file.
  
• From there, copy your good sound file as:
  

  
  org/igoweb/client/swing/sounds/stone.au
  

  
  Don't worry if your file is .wav...changing the extension to .au will not hurt anything as java will still be able to open it.
  
• Update your cgoban.jar file:
  

  
  jar uvf cgoban.jar org/igoweb/client/swing/sounds/stone.au
  

  
  This will replace the existing stone.au in the jar file with your new stone.au file.
  
• Copy the new cgoban.jar file into place in your cgoban installation directory (where you found it in the first place).
  

That's it! Hopefully, when you run the app your dull thunk sounds will now be melodious. :)

PS: I would love to simply place an updated jar file here that you could download, but that would probably go against both the cgoban and MultiGo distribution terms. :(

UPDATE:

The BETA of version 3.0 has been released. Unfortunately, it includes no improvements to the graphics or sound. Fortunately, though, this procedure will still work. The only change is that, now, the path for the sound file is:

org/igoweb/igoweb/client/swing/sounds/stone.au

Note the extra "igoweb" directory.

Bubble Breaker Game High Scores

I've been asked a few times about Bubble Breaker high scores...unfortunately, the game shipped with Pocket PCs and smartphones does not have a convenient means to share high scores. The Bubblet version does, though, so you can easily compare:

Bubblets for Pocket PC High Scores

I do question a few of the top scores, but most look reasonable.

Bubblet Confusion

On a completely unrelated note,

There seems to be a lot of confusion around Bubblet, Bubblets, Jawbreaker, and Bubble Breaker. Namely, because some people have copied the game and not even had the common decency to change the name. One developer/copier even refused to change the name of his clone after repeated requests based on documented customer confusion. I suppose it's always easier to trick customers into buying fakes of a well-known brand than to legitimately interest them with a new product. Sigh.

The original version of the game and all other legitimate versions of the game come ONLY from oopdreams software. This includes Bubblet for Palm OS, Bubblets for Windows CE, Jawbreaker for Pocket PC and Smartphones, and Bubble Breaker for Pocket PC and Smartphones. The latter 2 ship built-in to all recent Windows-powered handhelds and smartphones.

Here are links to the "real deal":

Bubblet for Palm OS

Bubblets for Windows CE Pocket PCs and Handheld PCs

Bubblet for Windows Desktop

Update: August 2008

Our game has been ripped off a few times already by bad fakes on the Apple iTunes App Store! They try (and have succeeded in their own way) to capitalize on all the work I've done over the years by cloning the app and stealing the name. Some people have gone so far as to clone our new tilt functionality. I'm amazed and disgusted at how dishonest and thieving these scumbags are. Some people will stoop incredibly low to make some money. They don't care who they hurt along the way.

Our game is called Bubblets Tilt:

Bubblets Tilt for iPhone

JawBreaker for iPhone

Bubble Breaker for iPhone

Please do not purchase or support the fakes!