MotionX's Free Dice App a 'Must Get'

[thetoothfairy]

I bought their poker one and really like it myself.... as for the free one I don't care for the game play...

I think they put the free one out there so that people would buy their poker one? Just my thoughts....

I really enjoy their poker one...

 

[mainstreetmark]

While that's a good initial thought, think about what happens then if you are passing the iPhone around during a game. You would have to be careful to hold it mostly level at all times, or the dice could shift and roll whenever you moved it. No, I think this is a good implementation.

Still, might be good as an option.

The physics should take care of it. After all, you have to be careful in real life too. The dice might slide around slightly before the tip and roll.

I guess what I'm saying now is, this is purely a random number generator, and not really a dice simulation like I'd like to see.

 

[arn]

While it is realistic motion, it isn't what I expected. Shaking the iPhone simply invokes a random roll routine, completely oblivious to the orientation of the device or the intensity of the shake. I was hoping that the dice would react to gravity.

fyi, if you turn your iPhone, the shadows move. not the same thing, but interesting.

arn

 

[mainstreetmark]

fyi, if you turn your iPhone, the shadows move. not the same thing, but interesting.

arn

I love touches like that!! The iPhone has all these sensors and people don't use them enough, i think, because they're used to developing on a static PC.

 

[bobbleheadbob]

Since it was free, I downloaded it to give it a try. It's nice but I was pretty much over it after about 5 minutes. Certainly not a "must get" app, IMHO. Although I can see where it would be nice to use the iPhone in tandem with a board game or Yahtzee instead of real dice.

 

[arn]

It's free! Quit complaining...

I'll be less liberal with the use of 'must get' terminology next time.

arn

 

[irishdanny]

While it is realistic motion, it isn't what I expected. Shaking the iPhone simply invokes a random roll routine, completely oblivious to the orientation of the device or the intensity of the shake. I was hoping that the dice would react to gravity.

It's not oblivious to the orientation or intensity, actually. It rolls based on the physics of your shake.

 

[MachWerx]

I wonder when the Dungeons & Dragons crowd is going to get in on the action? Imagine an iPhone application that has all the dice required (4, 6, 8 10, 12, 20, etc.), that lets you pick the ones you want to roll at any given time (a 4- and 6-sided, two or three 6-sided, etc.), and rolls them for you like this application does. You could even give each individual die its own color to designate them from each other, or good vs. evil or whatever. Give it some sort of Lord of the Rings graphics, et voila! All 10 D&D players in the world with iPhones never have to worry about carrying along their dice to a game again.

Not that I've ever played Dungeons & Dragons in my life or anything like that.

As it happens, I'm working on something that does exactly this! My app is currently in submission but you can read about it here. Among the features are all the standard D&D dice and actual physics which make use of the accelerometer. Additionally, the tilt function will allow you to view the dice from different angles making the screen feel like actual 3D. Please have a look and let me know what you think.

 

[Quincy9219]

As it happens, I'm working on something that does exactly this! My app is currently in submission but you can read about it here. Among the features are all the standard D&D dice and actual physics which make use of the accelerometer. Additionally, the tilt function will allow you to view the dice from different angles making the screen feel like actual 3D. Please have a look and let me know what you think.

I'll care when it's: A. Quality work and B. Free. There are too many dice simulators out there when there should only be one good free one with many kinds of dice, and one expensive one with extra features, like games built in.

 

[chickenlips]

While that's a good initial thought, think about what happens then if you are passing the iPhone around during a game. You would have to be careful to hold it mostly level at all times, or the dice could shift and roll whenever you moved it. No, I think this is a good implementation.

Still, might be good as an option.

So, add a "freeze" button.