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Mach Dice - A Fully 3D Dice Roller!
- Thread starter MachWerx
- Start date
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Well, you certainly sound like enough of an authority to speak on the matter
Maybe he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
The locked die should be removed from the screen or something while you roll the others so that it doesn't effect the simulation...
... and you all really think it took over 10 hours?
Seriously... First think of the 3D models of all the dice, then think about the physics model of rolling the dice, collision detection and anything else involved, then the coding to select the dice you want to roll along with the coding to sum the results of the rolled dice and yeah if you can do that in 10 hours you could give John Carmack a run for his money....
Wow, thank you everyone for your comments! They're very encouraging. I'm at work so I can't respond to everything now, but I'll just quickly note:
* the ability to lock dice was the first thing I was planning for the next version
* it took significantly longer than 10 hours (but it was my very first time programming Objective C so maybe others could do it faster)
I started up a little development blog for this project so if you're curious, please check out my website. I plan to go into things like what took the longest, development considerations, and what it's been like writing for the iPhone.
Thanks again, and please keep the comments coming because it helps me determine what features to implement.
* the ability to lock dice was the first thing I was planning for the next version
* it took significantly longer than 10 hours (but it was my very first time programming Objective C so maybe others could do it faster)
I started up a little development blog for this project so if you're curious, please check out my website. I plan to go into things like what took the longest, development considerations, and what it's been like writing for the iPhone.
Thanks again, and please keep the comments coming because it helps me determine what features to implement.
This was the first non-free app I've purchased off iTunes.
Maybe enhance the formula function. Something like 4d6, drop the lowest die.
Excellent program, love the tilt feature.
Maybe enhance the formula function. Something like 4d6, drop the lowest die.
Excellent program, love the tilt feature.
Very cool app, thank you.
I hate the fact that some people rush to leave reviews without even understanding what they are talking about.
I hate the fact that some people rush to leave reviews without even understanding what they are talking about.
Well then that seals it for me. I'm buying it, and I look forward to the next version.
Requests for next version
Wow. I downloaded it and showed it around the office today; MachDice and Koi Pond got the most oohs and aahs from my coworkers. The 3D view (like in the labyrinth game) is really cool.
Some requests for future versions:
* multiple colors of dice
* anti-aliasing on dice and background
* more subtle background
* bolder numbers on the dice
* less sensitive to shaking
* "deeper well" for 3D viewing
There's just the 6 common types of dice supported, right? Please let us to select them graphically.
For locking, you could use dragging to a shelf to lock individual dice. Use a swipe to freeze the screen for passing it around.
Congratulations on a great app. I'm looking forward to watching it evolve.
Wow. I downloaded it and showed it around the office today; MachDice and Koi Pond got the most oohs and aahs from my coworkers. The 3D view (like in the labyrinth game) is really cool.
Some requests for future versions:
* multiple colors of dice
* anti-aliasing on dice and background
* more subtle background
* bolder numbers on the dice
* less sensitive to shaking
* "deeper well" for 3D viewing
There's just the 6 common types of dice supported, right? Please let us to select them graphically.
For locking, you could use dragging to a shelf to lock individual dice. Use a swipe to freeze the screen for passing it around.
Congratulations on a great app. I'm looking forward to watching it evolve.
I emailed the hold feature request to him.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asiancritic View Post
In a game I want to play, I need to be able to "hold' dice and reroll the rest..
like I roll 6 6d dice and then hold the ones I want and reroll.. is that possible??
Good idea. Maybe you just "touch" one or more dice, and it "Locks" them, and marks them as locked while you shake the rest, then unlocks whenl you touch them again. Or something like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asiancritic View Post
In a game I want to play, I need to be able to "hold' dice and reroll the rest..
like I roll 6 6d dice and then hold the ones I want and reroll.. is that possible??
Good idea. Maybe you just "touch" one or more dice, and it "Locks" them, and marks them as locked while you shake the rest, then unlocks whenl you touch them again. Or something like that.
Looks great! I'm about to pick it up. Just wondering, are future updates going to be free to current users?
Just bought it...
Here's hoping more great apps rise to the top...
I'll be waiting for that update.. gladly support our developer community!
Here's hoping more great apps rise to the top...
I'll be waiting for that update.. gladly support our developer community!
yep, unless the programmer was some kind of rainman style genius, it would have taken a lot longer! If you're familiar with the platform and APIs you can code stuff pretty quick initially (ie getting something on screen working) but even then it can take a long time "tweaking" and refining to get it looking and feeling right.
Wow thanks for that! I was about to buy it, but luckily I read that is was a "crap app" and saved nearly 3 years worth of hard earned pocket lint. Well done!
Anyway, Mach, there's like 2% chance I would ever NEED this app, but I'm so getting it when I get a touch or iphone.
As for locked dice, I think the most elegant way would be dragging to any edge sends them to a tray at the bottom ooooooor they're locked by becoming semi-transparent and no longer "collidable". oh i like that one.
I'm home so I can finally respond to some more comments in depth. But first, I wanted to thank everyone again for so many encouraging words. I've been working on this during the weekends on and off for a few months now and it's hard to put into words just how rewarding it is to hear so many people enjoy my little app. Now, on to the replies!
* I've been thinking about alternate dice selection methods. The one I have now is functional, but yeah, I'd like to do something a little nicer. It's a difficult balance between flexibility and simplicity. Once I get the other main features in, I'll look into that some more.
* It's very flattering to even be mentioned in the same posts as Koi Pond. It's hard for me to guess how many hours I've worked on this but I'd guess around 50 to 100. A lot of that was spent trying to learn Xcode and Objective C. Also, I had to manually create each of those dice types (d4, d20, etc.) along with each of their rotations, polygon point lists, etc. Surprisingly, the 3D tilting effect only took about a day to implement but I've got a computer graphics background and I've been thinking about it for a while. Also surprisingly, it took a long while to figure out how to do simple things like getting the buttons to all work right. Hopefully, I'm getting faster at those sorts of things.
* I'm still tweaking the sensitivity necessary to start a roll. But yeah, it might be a bit too sensitive right now.
* I definitely plan to add dice locking and dice moving, hopefully in an intuitive and elegant interface!
* I'd never heard of C-low before today. I certainly hadn't anticipated that, but hey, I'm glad my app is useful for something else, too.
* Definitely plan to have more dice colors and backgrounds! Hopefully, I can make use of the camera for some of that.
* Sadly, the anti-aliasing on the dice is due to the implementation of OpenGL. But more subtle colors might help with that. I'd like to improve my default background. Perhaps I'll be able to afford Photoshop some day.
* I'll try some experiments with a "deeper well" effect
* Swiping to roll dice might interfere with something else I'm planning, but I'll look into that and multi-touch zoom.
Finally, about updates: updates are free! So if you buy now, you'll get any future updates for free, even if I change the price to $999. Of course, I'd never do that... Or would I?! Who knows? So you'd better buy it now while it's only 99 cents!
(Seriously, though, I don't plan to ever raise the price on this app. As flattering as it is to hear that people would have paid more for it, I think a dollar is the right price. I like having more people enjoy it and hopefully, I'll still be able to make a profit.)
Mach
* I've been thinking about alternate dice selection methods. The one I have now is functional, but yeah, I'd like to do something a little nicer. It's a difficult balance between flexibility and simplicity. Once I get the other main features in, I'll look into that some more.
* It's very flattering to even be mentioned in the same posts as Koi Pond. It's hard for me to guess how many hours I've worked on this but I'd guess around 50 to 100. A lot of that was spent trying to learn Xcode and Objective C. Also, I had to manually create each of those dice types (d4, d20, etc.) along with each of their rotations, polygon point lists, etc. Surprisingly, the 3D tilting effect only took about a day to implement but I've got a computer graphics background and I've been thinking about it for a while. Also surprisingly, it took a long while to figure out how to do simple things like getting the buttons to all work right. Hopefully, I'm getting faster at those sorts of things.
* I'm still tweaking the sensitivity necessary to start a roll. But yeah, it might be a bit too sensitive right now.
* I definitely plan to add dice locking and dice moving, hopefully in an intuitive and elegant interface!
* I'd never heard of C-low before today. I certainly hadn't anticipated that, but hey, I'm glad my app is useful for something else, too.
* Definitely plan to have more dice colors and backgrounds! Hopefully, I can make use of the camera for some of that.
* Sadly, the anti-aliasing on the dice is due to the implementation of OpenGL. But more subtle colors might help with that. I'd like to improve my default background. Perhaps I'll be able to afford Photoshop some day.
* I'll try some experiments with a "deeper well" effect
* Swiping to roll dice might interfere with something else I'm planning, but I'll look into that and multi-touch zoom.
Finally, about updates: updates are free! So if you buy now, you'll get any future updates for free, even if I change the price to $999. Of course, I'd never do that... Or would I?! Who knows? So you'd better buy it now while it's only 99 cents!
(Seriously, though, I don't plan to ever raise the price on this app. As flattering as it is to hear that people would have paid more for it, I think a dollar is the right price. I like having more people enjoy it and hopefully, I'll still be able to make a profit.)
Mach
WOW! that is awesome, i mean really cool. i don't have an iphone or a touch, but if i did i would definitely buy this!
glad you're here to share this cool app.
glad you're here to share this cool app.
I have a touch and play a lot of pen & paper RPGS.
The app is excellent and I will definitely get it and use it a lot.
I am wondering how easy it would be to add some additional die types as well.
I play a lot of Hollow Earth Expedition and this use 8 sided dice called ubiquity dice that have 0, 1s and 2s on them to reflect number of successes rolled as opposed to beating a specific target number.
In addition I also play a lot of stuff based around the Fudge/Fate system and that uses D6 but with + and - signs on them instead of the normal numbers.
Not sure if this would be easy to implement but would be very cool if it was and would eliminate my need to carry bucket loads of dice around. Either way I am buying this for sure.
The app is excellent and I will definitely get it and use it a lot.
I am wondering how easy it would be to add some additional die types as well.
I play a lot of Hollow Earth Expedition and this use 8 sided dice called ubiquity dice that have 0, 1s and 2s on them to reflect number of successes rolled as opposed to beating a specific target number.
In addition I also play a lot of stuff based around the Fudge/Fate system and that uses D6 but with + and - signs on them instead of the normal numbers.
Not sure if this would be easy to implement but would be very cool if it was and would eliminate my need to carry bucket loads of dice around. Either way I am buying this for sure.
I'm finding the sensitivity to be just about right. I like the fact that the dice move more realistically in response to how the iPhone is shaken (unlike the MotionX version).
The colors would be handy for D&D playing. For example, d10s are often used for percentages. So one die has to be the tens and the other the ones.
Are you thinking of using the iPhone camera to take a picture and insert it as a background? I'm not sure how useful that would be. It might be better to give users a color palette to choose from. I like your current faux wood background.
Just get yourself GIMP or Seashore. They're free and do most of what Photoshop does.
Keep up the good work!