Windows Phone Thoughts: Roll Dem Bones -- 3D CEDiCE reviewed

Installation
The Ru0 website has both Windows installer (through Activesync) and .CAB file versions available.

With the Windows version, things move along pretty well as expected. The application requires (according to Activesync installer) about 580K of memory. I installed the game to my CF and SD cards and had no problems running them from there.

For those new to Pocket PCs, .CAB files are compressed files which you can execute directly on your Pocket PC to install applications. With these files, you either download them directly to the Pocket PC, or transfer them directly from a PC to your Pocket PC via Activesync (or whatever other method you have). I would suggest copying them to the main directory of your Pocket PC, or to a CF or SD card. Once transferred, open up File Explorer and locate the file, then double-tap the file to execute it, and everything should happen automatically from there. The main difficulty with .CAB files is that you don’t get any options as to where you want the application installed. In most cases, it will just go directly into main memory. If you want to redirect the application to a storage card, then you need to use the Windows installer version via Activesync. Also, with the CAB install, it’s difficult to tell how much room the application is going to take before (or after!) it’s installed.

Configuring the Game
Ru0 Games has also provided a number of parameters for configuring the look and feel of 3D CEDiCE. These include:

• Changing the difficulty level of the game;
  
• Tuning the colours and graphics;
  
• Using game sounds or Pocket PC O/S sounds;
  
• Specifying proxy server(s) for Internet access.

You can also change the look of the die used in the game.


Figure 11: Another type of tileset.

And map your hardware buttons to various game controls.


Figure 12: Mapping the Hardware buttons.

Conclusions
For those of you looking for a bit of harmless distraction for 10 or 20 minutes while waiting for your next meeting, dental appointment, or whatever else, this 3D CEDiCE might not be the right choice. If, however, you’re looking for challenging and engaging puzzles to solve, with great graphics this is the one for you and I would highly recommend it.