Help a clueless person run a simple program
September 28, 2008 1:31 PM Subscribe
A plea for help in installing/running a seemingly simple open-source program on a Windows box.
I'm a big fan of the flash game Dice Wars, but after a fewdozen hundred thousand playthroughs, I'm left wanting more. So I was intrigued when I learned of an indie remake of the game called DiceWarz.
Unfortunately for me, this game hails from the Linux universe, and as a Windows user I'm bristling at the unfamiliar context in which I've found the game.
For starters: the game data is found here. Seems like all the relevant rules and data files are there. There was no obvious installer, but I knew enough to recognize the "tarball" referenced at the bottom as a compact package of the needed files.
So I grabbed the tar, opened it in Izarc, and successfully extracted the game's innards to my desktop. Here's where I'm stuck.
I've got a folder with a mixture of things: a bunch of js files, a bin file, a configuration file, and an MS Word doc (which offers no help in actually running the thing). Given these files, what do I need to do to get the program running?
I'm usually reasonably proficient at this stuff, but I'm at a loss here. I don't have a lot of experience working with Javascript (which is apparently what the games is built with). And searching Google has led to horrifying open-source DIY jargon like this. It's hard to find what you need when you don't speak the language! And I would inquire at the site I got the files from, but even that is a confusing setup of directories and references to CVS's and BBS's that I just can't follow.
Please disabuse me of my ignorance! And many thanks in advance.
I'm a big fan of the flash game Dice Wars, but after a few
Unfortunately for me, this game hails from the Linux universe, and as a Windows user I'm bristling at the unfamiliar context in which I've found the game.
For starters: the game data is found here. Seems like all the relevant rules and data files are there. There was no obvious installer, but I knew enough to recognize the "tarball" referenced at the bottom as a compact package of the needed files.
So I grabbed the tar, opened it in Izarc, and successfully extracted the game's innards to my desktop. Here's where I'm stuck.
I've got a folder with a mixture of things: a bunch of js files, a bin file, a configuration file, and an MS Word doc (which offers no help in actually running the thing). Given these files, what do I need to do to get the program running?
I'm usually reasonably proficient at this stuff, but I'm at a loss here. I don't have a lot of experience working with Javascript (which is apparently what the games is built with). And searching Google has led to horrifying open-source DIY jargon like this. It's hard to find what you need when you don't speak the language! And I would inquire at the site I got the files from, but even that is a confusing setup of directories and references to CVS's and BBS's that I just can't follow.
Please disabuse me of my ignorance! And many thanks in advance.
Response by poster: Thanks for the heads-up, Rhomboid. I guess it was just too good to be true...
I wonder why there aren't more permutations of Dice Wars out there, anyway. It's fairly popular and addictive, and has a simple enough ruleset. But the only versions I'm aware of are the original, the multiplayer remake kdice, a purely cosmetic remake called World Wars, and this BBS thing. You'd think more people would capitalize on it.
posted by Rhaomi at 2:13 PM on September 28, 2008
I wonder why there aren't more permutations of Dice Wars out there, anyway. It's fairly popular and addictive, and has a simple enough ruleset. But the only versions I'm aware of are the original, the multiplayer remake kdice, a purely cosmetic remake called World Wars, and this BBS thing. You'd think more people would capitalize on it.
posted by Rhaomi at 2:13 PM on September 28, 2008
Best answer: The original place has a windows standalone version if you're interested. Go to the Gamedesign website, and there's a game called "Dice strategy" which is like the online version, but offline.
I have a version of the game on my DS, so if you have a DS and a flash cart of some sort you could play it on that too.
posted by bjrn at 2:17 PM on September 28, 2008
I have a version of the game on my DS, so if you have a DS and a flash cart of some sort you could play it on that too.
posted by bjrn at 2:17 PM on September 28, 2008
Best answer: If you like DiceWars what you really want to be playing is KDice. Warning: it's about 10 times as addictive...
posted by nicwolff at 5:02 PM on September 28, 2008
posted by nicwolff at 5:02 PM on September 28, 2008
Best answer: The game you're talking about can be played via my BBS.
telnet://mdj.ath.cx (The Broken Bubble)
I wrote it as a clone of KDice for synchronet BBS systems.
It's a simple text/ANSI interface though, so no mouse clicking for you.
posted by MCMLXXIX at 8:25 AM on June 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
telnet://mdj.ath.cx (The Broken Bubble)
I wrote it as a clone of KDice for synchronet BBS systems.
It's a simple text/ANSI interface though, so no mouse clicking for you.
posted by MCMLXXIX at 8:25 AM on June 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:54 PM on September 28, 2008