RoboDice 1.3 Read Me file ============================================================ Welcome to the second public release of Robodice. We've made a few improvements. Thank you for trying it out. We hope you enjoy it! Copyright Notice ==================== RoboDice is not free. RoboDice is a shareware program. That is, if you like and/or use RoboDice I ask that you send $5 registration. In return you will get my eternal gratitude and become a lifetime registered user of RoboDice. If you do not send in a registration, I ask that you use RoboDice for no more than a 15 day trial period and then delete it if you do not wish to keep it. Note: All registered users are automatically registered for future versions of RoboDice and may use it with a free conscience. If you registered a previous version, you are registered for version 1.3. Also Note: We had some... technical difficulties with the Registration Database but all registered users SHOULD be recorded. If you want to confirm this, please contact us with a cancelled check, previous registration confirmation, etc. and we will confirm if we still have you. We appologise for any problems. Please make check or money order out to Erik Johnson and send to: Erik Johnson 1014 Marshfield Ferndale, Michigan 48220 RoboDice is Copyright (c) 1993, 1994, 1995 Erik Johnson and Absolute Software. All rights are reserved. You may distribute RoboDice anywhere to anyone you wish (and in fact, I highly encourage it) under the following circumstances. 1. This Read Me file and copyright notice must be distributed along with the program. 2. You do not charge for it's distribution, except for floppy disk reimbursement or shipping. 3. No attempts to "hack", modify , or de-engineer the program are made. Also, we make no warranties whatsoever, expressed or implied on this product. We are also not liable for any damages done to software, hardware, the user, or the surrounding countryside, while using RoboDice. All possible attempts were made to make sure the program is free of bugs and viruses at distribution. Close cover before striking. About RoboDice 1.3 ==================== RoboDice does not have any on-line help available in version 1.3. This will be implemented in a future release. It is a rather straight forward program, however. Here are some features: - Roll up to 2,147,483,647(!) d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, d30, or d100 dice or roll a custom die. If you want to roll more than the 1000 that the slider will allow, just type it in. NOTE: I have calculated the time it takes to roll 2,147,483,647 dice on a 486/66 with nothing else running to be a little over 4.6 days. So, it may take a while to calculate that planetary collision in D&D damage, but it's possible. - The d100 are generated using two 1-10 numbers and using the first for the tens digit and the second for the ones, so it emulates real percentile dice. - Add or subtract up to 2,147,483,647 from each die or the total of all dice. - Add up the rolls you want and display their sum (add with the '+' button and display total with the '=' button). - Throw out the lowest die. - Generate halved or double results for damage. - RoboTime(tm) Die Clock. Useful for figuring out just how long it will take your PC to roll those 2 billion dice. - RoboDice can take little, some, or all system resources. The more priority you give it, the faster it rolls. - A results list to see each individual die roll of your set. RoboDice requires MS Windows 3.x. VBRUN300.DLL and THREED.VBX must be in a directory somewhere in your path. VBRUN300.DLL is *not* supplied with RoboDice. THREED.VBX is included for your enjoyment. What has changed from 1.1? ========================== - The 'look and feel' was improved. - RoboDice can be set to Low, Medium, or High Priority. The more Priority you give it, the faster it rolls and the more resources are taken away from other Windows Applications. The Results List (See below) does not function in Medium or High priority as it kills your DPS (Dice Per Second) rating. - A RoboTime(tm) Die Clock was added. This gives you the time elapsed in seconds of how long it took to roll the dice, and your DPS (Dice Per Second). When rolling small amounts of dice (under 50 for Low priority, under 1,000 for medium and High priority) the Die Clock may not be able to give very meaningful numbers since it's too fast to accurately measure. When rolling many dice (10,000+) you can use a sample DPS rating and multiply it out to find out how long it will take to roll rediculous numbers of dice. You can also brag to your friends about how fast your 486/66's DPS rating is, and they'll think you're cool. - A results list was added while in Low priority. The results list will not function in Medium or High priority since it kills performance. You can scroll back and see what each die result was. The list also tells you what you rolled (ie: 4d6+2-lowest), and any modifiers in effect. Note that if you have the "Modify each die" option on, the results list shows the modified roll (ie: d6+3 : 4+3=7 as "7") without notation, but if "Modify all dice" is checked then it is noted at the end (ie: +40 [modifier]). The results list is reset each time you roll. Any dice over the 1000th are not displayed on the list. - The About screen was updated with new info. Please note this if registering or sending correspondance. What's Next? ==================== This is what's planned for RoboDice 2.0. These items may or may not get into that release based on time. - Shotgun and Death dice - Custom picture dice - View prior totals - Roll and look-up items from a list - Increased number limits - On-Line help - Export list of rolls results to text file If you have any further ideas, let me know. Erik Johnson Compuserve: 76620,2473 InterNet: AbsoluteSW@aol.com THANKS ====== Thanks to the following people who have helped in making this program possible: Dave Meixner Darin Gray Chris Kaminski Jipp the cat Nero the iguana and Beth Beebe