René, please don't apologize.
I will start to feel embarassed...
I am very happy that you came out with a working implementation of the
ideas I explained, as I never really did it (I only had made some
preliminary implementation in order to evaluate the interest).
Arguments people give on this list (pros and cons) are often a way for
them to persuade themself whether they should follow your direction or
not, not a way to judge your work.
And I think you're right when saying many of us are stuck to 9x9.
It may not last very long (see Fuego), but even writing a top program
for 9x9 is still a challenge especially on standard hardware (I mean a
simple computer, not a cluster).
I have no definitive idea about the "pure speed" vs "intelligence" argument.
I think the optimum probably combines both of them.
Therefore, fast light playouts might very well have its place, and an
efficient bitmap implementation can be interesting.
I'm pretty sure you can improve your code.
Removing branch and jumps, as well as limiting the memory throughput
(these are usually the main bottlenecks), is probably the best way to do it.
I remember I managed to get up to 30 % in code speed on some of my
programs just by doing this.
If you want to get more portable code, you might consider to install
mingw (with msys) or cygwin on your Windows box.
Chances are that if you write code for VC++ and can get it compiled with
g++, it will be much more portable.
Best regards,
Antoine
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