[Coco] DECB & OS-9 Game Released

[Mannequin*]

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 11:48:23 -0400
Robert Gault <robert.gault at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> Mannequin* wrote:
> > Hi all,
> > 
> > I've just released a game called "Petals Around the Rose" if anyone is
> > interested. It's a dice game that plays a little mind game with you. :)
> > 
> ><snip>
> > Hope you like it! Enjoy!
> > -M.
> > 
> 
> The game works well and the name clue is cute. Once the answer is known, 
> the response is "Duh!!, why didn't I think of that."

Hi Robert,
Yeah, it is something else when you finally figure it out. It took my
wife about a day to figure it out, but that was before I had made a version for
Linux. We used a pad of paper and 5 dies, and wrote down every single roll. :)

> As for making it run faster, make sure to save it in tokenized form 
> instead of ascii as you have done. Try combining more commands per line. 
> Try using ON ..GOSUB or ON..GOTO instead of multiple IF..THEN. Place all 
> your goto and gosub routines at the start of the program for faster 
> response. Basic searches for routines from the beginning of the program 
> and the shorter the distance, the faster they are found.

Thanks for the tips. I'll see about using them in a version or two. (Maybe 0.3
or 0.4 -- I've already started on a smaller, hopefully quicker version.)
Actually, this was loosely based off of my original C version I made for Linux
and I just threw it together and added the dice "rolling" part. The Basic09
version doesn't have the dice "rolling," and was based more closely off of my
0.2 Linux version (which I had just made more ANSI C [C89] friendly.)

This was also a big help to refreshing my memory as to how to program in DECB
and Basic09.

I do have a question that maybe you could help me on. I've been thinking about
how to more randomize my random numbers. At this point, I know by heart the
first 6 rolls of the dice under DECB. I've come up with a small solution
involving TIMER, but I don't think it's good enough. Basically, if TIMER>1500
it divides it by 2 until TIMER<=1500. It then throws away the first TIMER number
of random numbers. Is there a better way to getting more random numbers with
DECB?

> Graphics can make the generation of dies faster by using pre-drawn 
> images with GET/PUT. However, writing text then becomes harder unless 
> you use the Coco3 high res screens.

Well, from the start, this game targets the Coco 3. (Although, it could be
easily ported to the 2 or 1, probably.) So, when I do finally get around to
working on the graphics, I would be using the Coco 3's high resolutions. (I'm
not too sure on which one though.)

Thanks for the input. :)

-M.