[gnugo-devel] Gnugo manual: --level suggestion

[Gwern Branwen]

Both the manual http://www.gnu.org/software/gnugo/gnugo_3.html#SEC35
and man page simply say that the --level option defaults to 10 and
that smaller is weaker. This to my mind underspecifies what the
options are. Are negative numbers sensible? gnugo still runs:
[09:17 AM] 525Mb$ gnugo --level -1 -l cledo-gwern-552577-20100224.sgf
black (X) move L5

What about positive numbers past 10? Does it cease to add strength at
15? At 20? At 100? Or is this not some predefined set of levels, but
some parameter being plugged into the search tree of game positions,
in which case each increment causes exponentially more work/searching
to be done? If so, where do diminishing returns begin to come in?

The --level comment is too short in both.

-- 
gwern