Cyberoro Getting Started
bucko: I decided since many people on the Cyberoro page seem confused that it's probably worth giving a brief tutorial on how to work with their signup page etc. based on my first day there. It's also an attempt to make a more structured description of the server.
It's the first page I've written here so I'm sure I've made lots of mistakes; also I've only been using the server a day so I don't understand some things. If a regular there could come and tweak this page I'd be most happy. :)
Downloading
Links for registration and a download of the client software are on the English CyberOro page.
Signing Up
Sign-ups are done on the registration page. Linux users be warned - even if the client works in WINE or something, this page doesn't want to load; claiming "The users of Korean, Chinese or Japanese Windows cannot join the membership." You'll probably have to load it in Internet Explorer under Windows. I found the page wanted to install some ActiveX controls. I let it, because I was installing onto a virtual PC that I'll only use for Oro, so I don't know if you can get away with refusing.
Changing Password
Once you have registered, Cyberoro will send your password to the email address that you provided. You can change your password. To do so, go to the main page ( http://world.cyberoro.com/main.asp) and click on the Correct Userinfo button located on the lefthand side. This brings up the member edit page (
http://world.cyberoro.com/edit_member.asp). On this page you can enter your new password.
Rank
I've played 3 games on Oro; won 2 lost 1, and I signed up with my KGS rank of 10k. So they're probably reasonably close.
ilan: That is approximately true, as my KGS rank is also the same right now. However, there is much more variation in Cyberoro, as you can gain or drop ranks in four or five games. For example, I recently gained back 6 ranks in one week, and dropped about as many on one very bad day. This means that your opponent's rating may also be off by as much as 5 ranks.
In general, the playing strength on Cyberoro is quite different from KGS. My feeling is that Cyberoro players have been playing all their life, so they know a lot of the fundamentals, especially about tactics, but they definitely have a less serious approach than the KGS players. In particular, do not expect a Cyberoro player to let you get away with a silly tactical blunder, even if he is 20K.
Anon: While I can't speak to the rank comparison, I do have something to say about the Cyberoro ranking scheme. It's true that the rank can change faster than on other servers. But, at the 3d* level I do not find it true that ``your opponent's rating may also be off by as much as 5 ranks.'' All the games I've played at my level have been reasonable and challenging.
ilan: Actually, I've been wondering if the ranking algorithm is the same for all ranks. In particular, I have never seen any 9d rankings, which does not make sense if the algorithm at 8d is the same as for 1K - 11K (all the ranks I've played at!). That is not quite true, it seems that professional players get assigned 9d to start, that is, 33500 points.
dalf: For lower ranks, my experience is that cyberoro is definitly stronger. As a 13k KGS, after 50 games on cyberoro, I happily went down to 24k (the bottom 1%). From the players listed, absolute minimum is 25k and there seems to be a ceiling of 1000 rating points. Rating points indeed move also fast in the bottom kuys (compared to the difference between ranks). Anyway, 23-25k is well above beginner level as you may find people with thousands of played games there.
ilan: I had a discussion with a Korean 3d on Cyberoro. We concluded that the rank variation is due to people setting up accounts at unrealistic levels. The reason for this may be that you can't play rated games at more than 1 handicap, so it is the only way to play stronger or weaker players. There are a lot of sandbaggers as well.
Logging On
Once you've signed up, you'll be emailed a password, which you'll need to use to log on. Fire up the client and pick a server (I normally use Japan but I guess it doesn't really matter). I seem to recall it ran an updater before I did anything else (perhaps because I got the client from the old english site?). It'll also bring up the preferences window so you can choose your initial prefs. There's nothing you really need to change there unless you want to change your byo-yomi voice etc.
ilan: Each client has a different set of players, so you can choose countries depending on your preferences (you can also change from one server to another). However, the Korea1 and China1 servers have the most people, about 4000, while Japan usually has about 300.
Observing a Game
Cyberoro has a sort of "room" structure: everything is a room. It seems however that you're able to observe a game without joining the game room - this way you see the chat lobby instead of the game kibitz when watching the game. To observe a game, just left click and pick one of the options. You can also create a review game (which is basically like a clone game on KGS, except it happens much faster).
ilan: There seems to be a bug here, as the game will often freeze up, and you are sitting there as seconds tick away and nothing is happening. To observe the continuation, you have to leave, and then join the game again from the games listing.
Joining a Game
There's two ways of joining a game. Firstly you just wait for a invitation from another player in the Lobby and accept it (you can change what sort of challenges you accept by left clicking your name). Otherwise in the game list there are games with (in blue) "Wished Opponent: OpponentType" where OpponentType might be "even" or "stronger" or whatever. If you feel you match their criteria you can left click the game and select "Enter" then challenge the user in the room you'll have joined (left click their name) - or they'll challenge you.
Starting a Game
Alternatively, you can fire off your own challenges to anyone who has invitations enabled (the "Allow" column in the user list). Just left click your target user and choose "Request Game." More interestingly, you can create your own game room for people to join by using the "Creating-R" button. This will give a dialog box with loads of different types of room you can create - including some special types like one colour under "Event." This will make a room in the Lobby for people to join (you can encourage them with the preset chat phrases).
ilan: The easiest method is to press the "Auto Request" button, which broadcasts a message in the main lobby.
Cool Cyberoro Features
ilan: Obviously, the best feature are the Byo-Yomi girls counting off seconds in Japanese (recently returned to the English version). Otherwise, the most practical feature is the score estimator, which you can use during the game. I never realised how useful knowing the count was until I started using it, and I don't feel too bad, because 8d players also use it (you can tell when a player is using it because a magnifying glass appears on his icon). Even if you don't look up the exact estimate, you can tell which players if favoured because their avatar is smiling.
Other interesting features are backgrounds for the chat window (I picked a beach with palm trees) and international phrases for chatting, such as: "Hello, Baduk fans!"
There are also live pro games played on each server. On the Japanese server, you can also observe the Honinbo title match live. However, the English client seems to be unable to render the name of the players.
Linux
I've had no success running the client in WINE - I use qemu to run a copy of Windows in a window on my Linux desktop. It's quite slow though.
Mozilla (maybe...)
I tried signing up with Mozilla. After clicking on the "confirm" button, it says "Cannot connect to (some IP address)". Feedback plz?
[1] I suspect they've changed the signup system since writing that page and forgotten it exists; however, the English client /is/ linked on that page, and I'm not sure if it's different to the "world" client. I think it might just be an old version.