Thanks for downloading Roller. It’s my first attempt at programming, and I would like to know what people think. Just in case you are wondering what happened to version 1.0, since it was never posted, I decided that it was worthless and replaced it with this. That's why there is no "Version History" or "Fixed Bugs" section in this Read Me.
What It Does
Roller is a simple program that will roll up to 18 dice. This was originally meant for people who play the Star Wars RPG, but I decided to make it (somewhat) usefull to everyone. It will roll a bunch of dice, then total them for you. If you use Star Wars RPG, there is a command in the “Method” menu that will change the totalling so that it works correctly with Wild Dice and everything. If you don’t play, but would like to find out what it does, read the next section. Otherwise, skip it.
Star Wars RPG Rolling
Star Wars RPG requires something called a Wild Die. It is always the first die rolled. If it is a 6, you get a free roll, and it is added into your total. If it is a 1, not only does the wild die not count, you highest other die roll is subtracted. If you rolled the following (with the first one the wild die):
1 2 5 3
the total would be 5. The 1 and the 5 wouldn’t count. They way you can tell which die is the wild die is that it will always look totally different than the rest. You can’t see them in the Read Me because I don’t know how to embed graphics into a SimpleText file. If you know, mail me. The wild dice look different for different depths (numbers of colors) that monitors can be set at. They look good at 8 bits (256 Colors), but if you have higher, the die will be much fancier. It is recommended that you put your monitor in at least 16 bits if possible before opening Roller. If you forget, that’s OK. You can just change modes using the monitors control panel and come back.
Changing The Dice
If you are even a little familiar with ResEdit and have opened Roller with it, you might already have figured out that you can change the dice. Simply change the PICT resources. Make sure to keep the ID’s the same. If they are changed at all, the program won’t work correctly. The numbering scheme is as follows:
Normal Dice: 01 to 6
Low Color Wilds: 07 to 12
High Color Wilds: 13 to 18
Black & White Wilds: 19 to 24
As long as these remain the same, there won’t be any problems.
Limitations
I know the title of this section doesn’t sound promising, but it’s necessary. Because this is the first program I’ve ever written, there were a few things I didn’t know how to do:
• You have probably noticed that the main Roller window is too big to fit on the monitors built into Classics, SE's, and Performa 200's. Sorry-the dice will be smaller in the next version so such a big window isn't needed.
• I don’t know what happens when you change resolutions on a MultiSync monitor, because I don’t have one. I don’t think it will affect the program, but it would be nice if someone would do a little “on-the-fly” resolution switching and tell me how it worked.
• Sorry, but you can’t print the window. I didn’t know how to do it well, so I didn’t include the code. If it’s that important to keep a record of a roll, press Shift-Command-3. That is the built in FKEY to take a picture of the screen. A file will appear in the root of the startup disk called “Picture 1”. If you’ve done this recently, it might have a higher number. If you know that this information is inaccurate for you computer because you have changed it, you know enough to know what to do instead.
Final Note
Thanks for reading this far through a boring read-me file. I hope this helps you in some way. The next version of this program (coming soon!) will be including code for printing, although it will probably never look that good on anything but a color printer. It may also have methods for using different kinds of dice, such as 4-sided or 12-sided. This will help players of Dungeons & Dragons (sorry, another role playing game). You will be able to configure preset rolls, although this will probably be less convenient than rolling real dice. It will, though, be much cheaper.
***Make sure to send me your feedback on Roller. I would appreciate any comments you may have. Also, please send me a file with any new dice you have created. It could be a series of almost any kind of graphics files or a resource file with PICT resources. Either would be helpful. I might use them in the next version. Methods for reaching me are below.
• For those of you who may be wondering: Yes, there is a little "trick" built into the program by which you can cheat a tiny bit. It isn't all that helpful, but there are times that everything counts.
Legal Stuff
This program is freeware. While it can be given to anyone, as long as this file is included, it must be unmodified. If you have changed the dice, don’t give out the program. Please redownload the original for whoever you are giving it to, and don’t forget to tell me what you think.
