I've just uploaded Patsolve version 3.0. You can find it here:
http://members.tripod.com/professor_tom/archives/index.html
http://members.tripod.com/professor_tom/archives/patsolve-3.0.tgz
(The archive contains a Windows command-line executable as well as the
Unix source code.)
Features of this release:
* Completely redesigned memory system. Patsolve uses
much less memory than before, and can be told how much
memory to use through a command-line flag (-M).
* New pile hashing and tree storage for positions. Positions
are now stored in a forest of trees instead of a splay tree.
The FNV hash is used for piles (not whole positions).
* Speed mode. The -S flag causes Patsolve to find solutions
as fast as possible, instead of looking for short solutions.
About 35 games/second for Freecell on my workstation (over
125,000/hr). Seahaven is even faster, about 150 games/sec.
* Auto range solving. For example, "-N1 1001" will play the
first 1000 games using the MS Freecell numbering.
* Stubborn mode (-E) won't exit after finding the first
solution; it will keep looking for even better solutions
until you run out of memory.
* Fully restartable (useful for inclusion in other programs).
* All parameters were trained using a genetic algorithm, code
for which is included (it's in Python). Performance has
improved for both speed and quality over previous versions.
Note that optimized parameters are included for only six variants:
Freecell, Seahaven, Seahaven where only Kings can start a pile, and
the speed mode versions of the above. Other modes (for example,
variants with other than 4 free cells) will still work but the
parameters may not be as optimal. Training new sets is possible but
the GA takes a long (really long) time to run. The defaults should
work pretty well but I haven't tested this much.
Also, I'll be out of town for a week starting in a few minutes so I
won't be able to respond to bug reports and other comments until next
Wed. :-)
Dr. Tom Holroyd
"I am, as I said, inspired by the biological phenomena in which
chemical forces are used in repetitious fashion to produce all
kinds of weird effects (one of which is the author)."
-- Richard Feynman, _There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom_
Received on Tue Feb 26 2002 - 22:12:49 IST