Burning Dice!

[corey_s]

To be more explicit, these with different colour (lighter shade) for the White and Grey. (EDIT: I expect something like vermillion for the flaming Wheel would be pretty sweet but not a requirement, it's got enough of a different look graphically to stand out.)

Still doesn't do DoF or White Armor but that's got to be close enough to rare occurrence to be acceptable coverage. EDIT: Actually I guess it DOES cover DoF. It's the Wheel of Magic that that's an issue, need two "standard" dice for that.

Nice work!

I can definitely appreciate your DIY ethic... if I tried making my own dice, I'm sure they'd suck - I'm not very handy at that sort of thing.


Cheers

[Valannor]

I've got a bunch of blank [off-white] dice laying around. I think I paid around $3/dozen, it's been a while since I bought them.

Actually, this solves my chi-square problem. Excellent idea. I just found a site that sells blank dice for $0.18 each. I think I'll order a bunch and paint them...

while I wait for Luke and the BWHQ to come up with some official dice, of course

[Dwight]

Actually, this solves my chi-square problem.

Not so fast! I found most of my blank dice off a noticeable amount (I could tell they were not square by using them to measure each other's sides). I penciled numbers on them. I rolled a die until all sides had at least 30 tallies. Used that as information on which sides I marked, and the Dremiling actually would put them into +/-5% range when I rerolled after the marking and enamel painting of the marks.

[noofy]

To be more explicit, these with different colour (lighter shade) for the White and Grey. (EDIT: I expect something like vermillion for the flaming Wheel would be pretty sweet but not a requirement, it's got enough of a different look graphically to stand out.)

Hey Dwight,
Yeah, that would have been sweet (but x3 more expensive!) I was trying to cut down the cost by using only one colour and changing the graphic. In practice they are very pleasing to the eye and its easy to distinguish what you are 'looking' for. Much easier than traditional 'pips'. We use standard dice for the wheel of magic. Easy peasy.

[kensanata]

I only remember the Burning Empires custom dice...

Old thread:
http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/sh...98-Custom-Dice

Images used:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kensanata/2220742886/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kensanata/2216856805/

If anybody needs higher resolution images, I might still be able to find the Inkscape SVG files somewhere.

[David Artman]

Dwight, rapid scanning of dice with consistent pip positioning doesn't require consistent dice orientation. With three pips in a triangle, one will be "upper-right," one will be "upper-left," and one will be "center-bottom." That's really easy to get used to. (Idea: Central pip is largish and black; the sides with gray are a thin gray ring around the black pip; the sides with white are another, white surrounding ring, making a bullseye on the 5 and 4 sides. Might not scan as well, overall, but looks a lot like a "wheel".)

Also, you seem ignore a significant issue: production time. If I adjust for what I earn hourly at work, it is cheaper for me to buy custom dice than to make them, even at $2 to $3 a pop. It is cheaper for me to buy many things than to make them, even though I know how to do so (viz clothes, basic furniture, machined parts for vehicles).

Finally, I could DIY anything and everything for gaming... including the game system and all play materials (and I have--see GLASScutters.org). Yet I buy BW (and BE) products to support one of my favorite designers. If usable, custom dice were available then I'd buy them to continue that support... and to make play more visceral--"Oh, look! We got Special Dice® for THIS game!" Works for all the Descent and Warcraft RPG fans, from what I can tell.

In short: I'm glad you don't see the need. But how about you do those of us who want them a favor and don't rain on our parade, OK? It is sufficient to say, "I won't buy custom dice from BWHQ" and leave it at that, for the purposes of market research/polling. Stumping AGAINST a cool product that would make Luke et al some cash and make a number of fans happy is... I dunno, pick your favorite adjective that implies "wet blanket." I gave up pejoratives for lent.

[Dwight]

David,

I tried the "positional" thing. It sucked donkey balls. Because orientation does matter as does clutter (a big part of the problem with pips for numbers to start with).

As for time, sure my time is worth something. For 18 dice including materials it cost me roughly $5-$6/die if you assume about $20/hour (less than my gross work wage but that's about where I value my "off" time). That included time trying out a couple prototypes for different looks (see above). Which is why I expect I'm willing to spend $20-$25 on say a 12-die set that doesn't suck donkey balls. I already have a set a step or 5 above donkey balls (and better than off-the-shelf).


EDIT: I will add that part of the payoff creating the dice I do have is they are fairly well balanced (not easy to come by, without paying the extra for Game Science dice or such) and I enjoy the occasional tinkering.

[corey_s]

Idea: Central pip is largish and black; the sides with gray are a thin gray ring around the black pip; the sides with white are another, white surrounding ring, making a bullseye on the 5 and 4 sides.

Hmmm, interesting. Seems like it would take care of any positional/orientation concerns while still facilitating the 'scan for <color>' concept.

[...] orientation does matter as does clutter (a big part of the problem with pips for numbers to start with).

That totally defies my personal experience - pips are great, for me. They form a pattern, more abstract than digits, that embeds into my perceptual apparatus very quickly and easily; in fact I much prefer dice pools using pipped dice rather than dice with digits.