Hot Death Uno

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=11008' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketgear.com/software_...il.asp?id=11008</a><br /><br /></div>A few people had asked about finding the game Uno on their Pocket PC, and look what was submitted to us today: Hot Death Uno! I have no clue why it's called "Hot Death", nor why they have a language warning for the game (!?), but considering that they're calling it Uno and using the Uno logo, I predict this will be available for a few days at most until lawyers get involved. Did I mention that it's free? Download it fast, while you still can!

[MichaelA]

I had never heard of Hot Death UNO, but if you look at the cards you'll see what they mean about language. :wink:

http://www.geocities.com/hotdeathuno/html/cards.html

There are even some custom cards on that site that probably aren't in the Pocket PC port, like 'orgy'. The Fu@# You! card is probably there, as it is in the official 'Hot Death' rules.

Adult UNO, who knew? :lol:

[rcobourn]

Woo, source code included. So it won't disappear even when the Uno folks catch up to it.

[sponge]

Too bad Geosh**ties will before the Uno guys ever have a chance :P

[Terry]

The F@@@ card is there...

0X THIS IS NOT FOR YOUR KIDS! 0X

Since source code is included, it may be a good starting point for a tradtional version of UNO. Larger cards would be nice too.

I still hope Handmark will make an official version (complete with the variations on UNO available).

[upplepop]

Since source code is included, it may be a good starting point for a tradtional version of UNO...

This game INCLUDES the "normal" version of UNO without all those wierd cards. Go to Tools -> Options -> Standard UNO rules.
There is another interesting option. You can select how the computer deals: Honest, Sneaky, Cheater, and Scoundrel :)

[cmchavez]

Since source code is included, it may be a good starting point for a tradtional version of UNO...

This game INCLUDES the "normal" version of UNO without all those wierd cards. Go to Tools -> Options -> Standard UNO rules.
There is another interesting option. You can select how the computer deals: Honest, Sneaky, Cheater, and Scoundrel :)

Man, talk about taking all the fun out of the game! I'm usually the one who gets to deal cards in an underhanded manner... :twisted:

[bjornkeizers]

I've never heard of Uno, but since it includes the word F***, I downloaded a copy. If it's controversial, you bet your behind I'll d/l a copy, if only to encourage the authors :D

Too bad about them violating copyright.. oh well, c'est la vie.

[iant54]

I tried accessing the Geocities site, only to get the page which includes:

The web site you are trying to access has exceeded its allocated data transfer.

However, I'd already downloaded the game - and played it once, with no idea what the cards mean!

[denivan]

Is violating copyrights not the same as intellectual theft ? And are warez also not a form of intellectual theft...sorry to rain on your parade, but imo you could just as well promote 'Harry Potter and the magical japanese dragon' in the e-book forums if you tolerate this.

Greets,

Ivan

[bjornkeizers]

Is violating copyrights not the same as intellectual theft ? And are warez also not a form of intellectual theft...sorry to rain on your parade, but imo you could just as well promote 'Harry Potter and the magical japanese dragon' in the e-book forums if you tolerate this.


Yes, technically, Mr. Dunn is encouraging us all to download a controversial title, which definitely violates several copyright acts. If this hadn't been posted on pocketgear, we'd call it WAREZ, and we all know how Mr. Dunn feels about that.. :lol:


Download it fast, while you still can!


*wags finger* :mrgreen:

I'll let you off with a warning.

[Mike Temporale]

The only thing this has in common with the original Uno is a subset of the rules (HDU has expended them) and the word UNO in the title. And Uno is just an itailan word meaning one.

Maybe if he had used the exact card graphics, exact rules, and called the game Uno THEN he would have violated copyright.

Of course, I am not a copyright lawyer, and I do not play one on TV. So I could just be talking out of my a**. :)

[PetiteFlower]

The Geocities site is back up now.

Anyway this is freeware. Hence, the author is not making any money off it. And there are currently no "official" licensed versions of Uno available for pocket PC. A lot of copyright law has to do with money, i.e. is someone making money off of my idea, or am I losing money because this person made my pay product available for free? So because neither of those are the case, someone would have a hard time making a copyright lawsuit stick. Now it is possible that the Uno people could claim that this "dirty" version damages the reputation of their "family" game, but again because there's no money involved, it wouldn't accomplish a whole lot. Basically the worst that would happen in this case is that the Uno people ask this guy to stop distributing the game and he does, unless he wants to try to fight them.....which he MIGHT be able to do, because it seems to me after reading the rules that he's changed it enough to possibly claim that this is a new game and not covered under Uno's copyright.

[Mike Temporale]

The Geocities site is back up now.

Looks like it's down again....

The GeoCities site had a comment that the site has moved to here http://hotdeath.inanutshell.us/ This site looks a little nicer, and it's been updated recently.

[BugDude10]

FWIW, the issue of legal protections for Uno is not limited to those circumstances in which someone makes money off the use of the name/images/rules etc., but rather simply whether someone is interfering with the trademark (not, in this case, copyright) rights of the owner. That is, since someone has (almost certainly) trademarked the game (name/images/rules etc.), anything that adversely affects the ability of that trademark owner to capitalize on its trademark is probably a violation of the trademark protections. (Analogy: You violate copyright law when you share your Madonna collection on Kazaa, whether or not you make any money from doing so.)

Of course, if this game is different enough from the "real" Uno, then this may be a moot point. (Of course, the owner of the Uno trademark could decide to sue the creator of this game anyway, just to keep him from getting anywhere near the whole concept of an Uno-like game.)

Just my $0.02.

[upplepop]

Maybe if he had used the exact card graphics, exact rules, and called the game Uno THEN he would have violated copyright.

Of course, if this game is different enough from the "real" Uno, then this may be a moot point.

Aren't you guys listening? The real Uno game is included in this game.

This game INCLUDES the "normal" version of UNO without all those wierd cards. Go to Tools -> Options -> Standard UNO rules.

[Jason Dunn]

Is violating copyrights not the same as intellectual theft?

Ah, interesting point. :D Hmm. Somehow I see this as being different - more akin to someone writing a fan-fiction Harry Potter book, using the same characters, but doing the work to write a new piece. That's technically copyright violation as well, but I don't see a problem with someone writing a story as a fan, as long as they don't sell it.

In terms of this game, the developer did the work neccesary to create the game, what he borrowed was the logo and the UNO rules. I've been playing UNO for years and years, so I think of it almost like poker or blackjack - just a card game that anyone can play, and no one really "owns". I'm sure the UNO people would disagree with me though. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

If this hadn't been posted on pocketgear, we'd call it WAREZ

No, it's not warez. Warez is commercial software that has been cracked to allow free use of software that you'd normally pay for. When is the last time you saw a freeware app on a warez site? :roll:

[Jacob]

Uno is just "Crazy Eights" though right? It pretty much has the same rules - they just made cards to specifically say "Pick up 2" instead of everyone just knowing that putting down a 2 means you pick up 2.

I guess it would be primarily the name "Uno" and the images of the cards where there truly would be a copyright violation.

[Jason Dunn]

FWIW, the issue of legal protections for Uno is not limited to those circumstances in which someone makes money off the use of the name/images/rules etc., but rather simply whether someone is interfering with the trademark (not, in this case, copyright) rights of the owner.

Quite right. In a court, this guy would probably get eaten alive. If he had called it "Down to One" or something, used his own graphics, and altered the rules a little, this issue would be fuzzier. There's a reason why there's a million and one Tetris clones. ;-)

I'm sure I'd feel differently if I had invented a game, but somehow the intellectual property value of game rules just doesn't strike me as terribly important...? :?

Interestingly enough, about two months ago I started talking to Spb about doing an UNO-type game, or possibly licensing UNO from the parent company. Ultimately we didn't pursue it.

[ChristopherTD]

I'm sure I'd feel differently if I had invented a game, but somehow the intellectual property value of game rules just doesn't strike me as terribly important...?

That applies to any IP - it is only tremendously important to the person who has invested the time in developing it, but is important nevertheless. Games have to be tuned and refined just like any creative process! Failure to protect IP in any field it leads to designers abandoning that field and letting it stagnate in a sea of recycled ideas.

[Jason Dunn]

That applies to any IP - it is only tremendously important to the person who has invested the time in developing it, but is important nevertheless. Games have to be tuned and refined just like any creative process! Failure to protect IP in any field it leads to designers abandoning that field and letting it stagnate in a sea of recycled ideas.

You're right of course. But, honestly, it never occurred to me when I was posting this that there was anything wrong with it. I looked at this game the same way I look at people giving away free themes with photos of movies that they life. But on further reflection, it's not the same, is it? Hrm.

[Birdman]

Has anyone loaded it up and tried it? Any comments?

[Jacob]

Has anyone loaded it up and tried it? Any comments?

It's pretty well done - I just prefer the core rules though. Not a big fan of the whole "Nuke" and other odd cards.

[upplepop]

Has anyone loaded it up and tried it? Any comments?

I have, and I think it's a lot of fun. It has the regular version of Uno included, and it plays just like it should (the cards weren't too small for me). I haven't tried the different difficulty levels or some of the other dealing options (like cheater) yet, so I can't comment on those. I do wish there was an option to change the number of computer players, but that's no big deal.

I have also tried the "Hot Death" version and was utterly confused. There is an option to see what the new cards do (Tools -> Card Info) and there are some pretty wierd cards... there's actually a card combination that could make a player draw 69 cards 8O . For now, I'll probably stick to the normal version; but Hot Death does have some intriguing cards...

[Jonathan1]

Hot Death Uno! I have no clue why it's called "Hot Death",


Sweet. Now all we need is Mortal Kombat Uno!


UNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! FATALITY

[denivan]

You're right of course. But, honestly, it never occurred to me when I was posting this that there was anything wrong with it. I looked at this game the same way I look at people giving away free themes with photos of movies that they life. But on further reflection, it's not the same, is it? Hrm.

True, I'm glad I kinda steered this thread in the Off-topic direction

I think it's funny how different people have different views on stuff like this, just like you mentioned that you would regard a fake Harry Poter book as 'fan art' if it's free. I'm certain that the author of the real book wouldn't agree, and with just cause...remember , the world isn't black and white, there's alot of grayscale out there :p

Now for my personal view : I don't feel like it's harmful to download this game, but I am aware somewhere in the back of my head that something is not completely legal :deal:

Btw Jason, I would just like to mention that I think it's great that we can have real discussions here with the board members, I hate forums and websites where the author has an attitude saying ' Everything I say is right and nothing can convince me wrong' .

Kind regards,

Ivan

[DrtyBlvd]

Is violating copyrights not the same as intellectual theft ? And are warez also not a form of intellectual theft...sorry to rain on your parade, but imo you could just as well promote 'Harry Potter and the magical japanese dragon' in the e-book forums if you tolerate this.


Yes, technically, Mr. Dunn is encouraging us all to download a controversial title, which definitely violates several copyright acts. If this hadn't been posted on pocketgear, we'd call it WAREZ, and we all know how Mr. Dunn feels about that.. :lol:


Download it fast, while you still can!


*wags finger* :mrgreen:

I'll let you off with a warning.

ROFLMAO

[inanutshell]

Hi guys,

I noticed a bit of traffic coming to my http://hotdeath.inanutshell.us/ website and thought I'd see what the commotion was about. So it looks like Jason finished his PPC-HDU game.

The game Hot Death UNO is actually about 15 years old now. Around 1990 some dude made a windows version (available from the "Windows Game" page of the website) and it was good fun, but it's pretty old now, which is why you see this new version of HDU out (that and it probably wouldn't run on a Pocket PC).

With that in mind, you may notice on my website a link to a sourceforge project called "Eat Hot Death!" (to get rid of 'UNO' in the title) that's trying to make an OS independent implementation of the game in Java.

The project will eventually make a really cool program that lets you make your own cards and even change the rules(!), customize how the computer players play, allow various levels of cheating, play via the network, all sorts of crazy fun.

Here's the project information page: http://ehd.sourceforge.net/
and the project home page: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ehd/

So if you guys are interested, and coders I suppose, you may be interested in helping. We're currently working on the UML design, which is available on our CVS tree.

Blah blah blah. =]

Hope you guys enjoy the game.

[Jason Dunn]

Btw Jason, I would just like to mention that I think it's great that we can have real discussions here with the board members, I hate forums and websites where the author has an attitude saying ' Everything I say is right and nothing can convince me wrong' .

Well, I have my opinions like everyone else, and sometimes can be stubborn, but I try to live ever day as a student: I know there's always more than I can learn, and the arrogance in thinking that you know everything about everything leads to a lot of missed opportunities to expand your mind. :-)

[maximus]

This is a very nice game, a little addictive, and a good time-killer. :D Actually this is the third free priebesoft game that I have on my PPC, after spades and euchre.

[PetiteFlower]

It is different then sharing music, because 99% of the time, when someone downloads music off Kazaa or such, they do it INSTEAD of buying the album, so it is detracting from the value of the product, and keeping the owner of the copyright from making money from their copyrighted material. With this game, there is no "legit" version of Uno that's available for Pocket PC, and it would be difficult to make a case that the existence of this software is detracting from sales of the physical Uno game, so there's not much worry of a copyright infringement suit here, especially since the game has been rewritten so much. Even with the original rules, the game itself is so generic that if the Uno people complained, they'd just have to change the name and graphics a bit and there would be no case at all.

Trademark, as someone mentioned, is a different story. They COULD claim that this software damages the trademark because of the adult content. But that would still be a tricky case to make. But first the people who own the trademark would have to notice, and ask him to stop, and if he refused they would have to decide if the cost of a court battle over it would be worth it.

I'm curious, since the Hot Death guy was posting here, have you heard any complaints from the Uno people? If not, I'd guess that they either don't know about it, or don't think it's worth it to ask you to stop.

[inanutshell]

Trademark, as someone mentioned, is a different story. They COULD claim that this software damages the trademark because of the adult content.


Once the name and graphics are changed, it wouldn't have any more links to UNO than it would to the ages-old Crazy Eights. blah blah blah

But that would still be a tricky case to make. But first the people who own the trademark would have to notice, and ask him to stop, and if he refused they would have to decide if the cost of a court battle over it would be worth it.

I'm curious, since the Hot Death guy was posting here, have you heard any complaints from the Uno people? If not, I'd guess that they either don't know about it, or don't think it's worth it to ask you to stop.

No, Mattel hasn't contacted any of the creators or anyone else associated with any of the known versions of HDU or even any of the many dozens of freeware UNO clones roaming about, to my knowledge. Whether this is because they don't care (I'd call it free advertising!!) or because they haven't noticed, I don't know. If it's the latter, I hope it stays that way. :)

[Terry]

No, Mattel hasn't contacted any of the creators...Whether this is because they don't care ...or because they haven't noticed, I don't know. If it's the latter, I hope it stays that way. :)

Mattel(R) is a Raptor when it comes to legal issues with Barbie (tm). Even the Barbie (tm) pink color has been litigated. You can bet your Sponge Bob Square Pants (R) that it's the "latter."
:ninja:
-------------------------------------
UNO (tm). Barbie (tm) and the characteristic "Barbie (tm) Pink" are registered worldwide tradmarks of Mattel (R), Inc.
Sponge Bob Square Pants (tm) is a registered trademark of Nickleodeon (R).
The LEM photo is from NASA and is public domain.
Other trademarks are those of their respective owners.
Your mileage may vary.
All your base are belong to us.

[PetiteFlower]

And then again, Barbie is a lot more of their income then Uno, and therefore more worth protecting.

Anyway, a trademark is worthless if it's not defended, in fact you can even lose it if you don't protect it "vigorously", so basically if they haven't asked him to stop, he's not doing anything wrong. Not only that, if the site has been up for 5 or 10 years already and only NOW do they decide to say something, they will have a lot harder time winning a suit because they were lax in defending the trademark.

[Mike Temporale]

Hi guys,

I noticed a bit of traffic coming to my http://hotdeath.inanutshell.us/ website and thought I'd see what the commotion was about. So it looks like Jason finished his PPC-HDU game.


Well look at that. Someone that actually monitors their server logs. Cool. 8)

Just wanted to let you know that I seem to have found a bug in the game. I've been playing the Standard Uno Rules. If a new round starts, and the card flipped over from the deck is a Wild card, no color is selected. This means that each player fails to have a matching card and has to select from the deck. It keeps going around and around. I think I had over 20 cards before I gave up and started a new game. If you start a new game and the first card flipped over is wild a color is selected. It just seems to happen after the first round.

Otherwise, it's a good job, I really enjoy playing it. :way to go:

[maximus]

Just wanted to let you know that I seem to have found a bug in the game. I've been playing the Standard Uno Rules. If a new round starts, and the card flipped over from the deck is a Wild card, no color is selected. This means that each player fails to have a matching card and has to select from the deck. It keeps going around and around. I think I had over 20 cards before I gave up and started a new game. If you start a new game and the first card flipped over is wild a color is selected. It just seems to happen after the first round.

Ah, maybe we have different rules in UNO, in my part of the world, when the first discard is a wildcard, all player are supposed to draw cards until someone gets a wildcard. The person who gets the wildcard then decides the color.

Otherwise, it's a good job, I really enjoy playing it. :way to go:

Agreed. I found myself playing the standard UNO over and over and over. Must find a way to stop this addiction.

[inanutshell]

You can bet your Sponge Bob Square Pants (R) that it's the "latter."
Ehh.. well, if they did notice they'd send someone a letter and that someone would tell us to stop making the game and we'd stop. or rename and re-skin it.

s/Hot Death UNO/Eat Hot Death!/g

Hehe.

And then again, Barbie is a lot more of their income then Uno, and therefore more worth protecting.
Though, according to the box, UNO is the best-selling card game in America. (presumably not counting standard playing cards...)

Anyway, a trademark is worthless if it's not defended, in fact you can even lose it if you don't protect it "vigorously", so basically if they haven't asked him to stop, he's not doing anything wrong. Not only that, if the site has been up for 5 or 10 years already and only NOW do they decide to say something, they will have a lot harder time winning a suit because they were lax in defending the trademark.
You're assuming we're not low income Joe-Nobody's. If Mattel said stop, we'd stop. Unless of course someone was willing to step in and pay the court costs of defending it. ;) And just for clarity, the site hasn't been up for 15 years, but the game has been on the net for, I believe, about 10. Before that it was a bunch of college students somewhere goofing off.

my geocities site has been around a really long time though in geocities time. ;) since, I think, 1998. I really don't remember.

Well look at that. Someone that actually monitors their server logs. Cool.
It's easy to do when you get whole *dozens* of hits a day. ;) That, and a customized script that tells you "hey, someone apparently linked page X to page Y on your site! Cool!" ;)

Ah, maybe we have different rules in UNO, in my part of the world, when the first discard is a wildcard, all player are supposed to draw cards until someone gets a wildcard. The person who gets the wildcard then decides the color.

Wow. I've been playing UNO a long time and never heard that rule. Interestingly, though, no one seems to know what to do when a wild comes up. For most people I've played with, it seems to be too much for them to handle and after a brief look of dumbfoundedness, they fling it back into the draw pile and pretend they didn't see it, flipping over another to start the draw pile.

I think my own personal way is to let the dealer decide what the color is. Draw wilds make the next player draw. but I'm not sure what you're supposed to do, which is funny since I have the actual UNO rules on my site and a Hoyle's Big Ass Book of Games (maybe that's not the title) book, which has the rules to Crazy Eights, at home.

Sheesh.

[inanutshell]

I noticed some of you are apparently daunted by HDU and are sticking to UNO when playing. You might want to read these pages to help you understand each card:

http://hotdeath.inanutshell.us/html/HDURules.php

I don't know if it's obvious or not, but click the "Next" button at the bottom-right to follow linearly through each card's information. Most of the time there's a situation presented to let you see how the card works in a real game.

Incidentally, if you find any problems with the website let me know. I once had a broken link on a major page that was broken for over a year before anyone told me about it!

If you want the normal PC version of the game, check it out here:

http://hotdeath.inanutshell.us/html/wingame.php

Ciao.

[ux4484]

When I was a kid, we always played UNO with a regular deck of cards, I really like the regular version of the game (Don't want my little ones seeing that language on the screen). I'm not a big PPC gamer, but this one is definitely a guilty pleasure.

A (now shelved) version of UNO was "ONO 99" which my family came up with many "hot death" versions of, that would be a nice one to see also.

[PetiteFlower]

Hey I was just pointing out that IF they asked you to stop, and you wanted to fight them, you'd have a decent case :)

Anyway I've been playing the hot death rules....also highly addictive. One thing I noticed is that though the rules say Draw cards are stackable, the game has never actually let me(or any of the computer players) stack them. Kind of annoying just because there's no way to avoid the draw except with the special defender cards.

[maximus]

I noticed some of you are apparently daunted by HDU and are sticking to UNO when playing.

Too many things to remember in HDU -- e.g. If you got X card, you should counter using Y card. In the original UNO, everything just simply logic, either a card with same color, or same number. Works for me. :D

[ctmagnus]

Too many things to remember in HDU -- e.g. If you got X card, you should counter using Y card. In the original UNO, everything just simply logic, either a card with same color, or same number. Works for me. :D

That's what Tools -> Card info is for. ;)

[inanutshell]

To PetiteFlower, I sent an email to the developer and mentioned the bug. I'm pretty sure his game is still in beta, so a few missing features are to be expected, but you'd think the stacking ability would be done, so maybe it's a usability problem. :/ Dunno.

To Maximus, "To Live is to Learn". Try new things. Expand your horizons. Or... something. ;) And anyway, when you first start playing it's hard to remember what each card does, but once you've played a few times it gets easier. As is the case with just about everything.

[PetiteFlower]

Maximus try going to the web site and looking at the full list of cards; for me at least I like to see them all at once to get more of an "overview", rather then waiting for the card to be played and tapping on it.

Now if we had to do the SCORING manually, I'd be lost, but just playing, you'll get the hang of it after a game or 2!

[jt3]

To PetiteFlower, I sent an email to the developer and mentioned the bug. I'm pretty sure his game is still in beta, so a few missing features are to be expected, but you'd think the stacking ability would be done, so maybe it's a usability problem. :/ Dunno.

Since downloading this game, I've submitted a dozen or so bug reports, with an equal number of enhancement requests. I can tell you that the developer has been fantastic about dealing with these issues, especially since he's no doubt cringing by now whenever he sees my address in the FROM field. I have seen 4 revisions since the downloadable 0.9 version, and I can assure you that this bug, and a ton of others (including a lot of scoring anomalies), as well as several MAJOR enhancements will all be forthcoming in the final release.

[maximus]

To Maximus, "To Live is to Learn". Try new things. Expand your horizons. Or... something. ;) And anyway, when you first start playing it's hard to remember what each card does, but once you've played a few times it gets easier. As is the case with just about everything.

It is funny that you said that to a person who has been working (and living) in 6 different countries during the last 10 years. But, that is a very good advice though. In fact I already tried the HDU concept. Boy, the spreader cards and the hot death cards are simply wonderful. :D

[jt3]

Just to let everyone know... the game has been officially released, and now the link on page 1 of this thread points to the "1.0" version. There are a LOT of bug fixes (trust me... I found most of them... even got put in the credits for it... :mrgreen:) and enhancements in this version, compared to v0.9.

However, you might want to wait for just a little while. I supplied the developer with some family friendly grapics to replace the three "non-politically correct" cards (Retaliation replaces the F.U. card, Virus replaces AIDS, and Big Brother replaces Sh*tter), and I've received the 1.01 version, which adds the ability to install a "Family Friendly" version to your PDA (the reguluar "edgy" version is still available if you prefer). I don't know when the developer plans to make this version public, but with all the flak about the language in the game, I don't see him sitting on it for long.

I gotta give kudos to this developer. He's been VERY responsive to all the bug reports and enhancement requests I've sent him, fixing or incorporating these items into the game almost immediately. I only wish all developers would be as attentive!

[inanutshell]

are any/most/all/(?) PDAs java-enabled? or java enableable? I was talking with someone a couple months ago about it and he said they weren't, but I really thought that that was where java was really growing, industry wise. the reason i ask is because the Eat Hot Death! project (http://ehd.sourceforge.net/) is in Java.

[PetiteFlower]

No java in PPCs as of yet.....

I can't wait to check out the "new and improved" release though, looks great :)

[sixsixty]

this is a great game. and it's free.

the language is understandable for what it is. i think as long as it comes with a warning before you download it, then it's A-OK.

[PetiteFlower]

Thumbs up on the 1.0, lots of improvements! Can't decide if I like the 2 decks option or not....

[jt3]

If you like 1.0, you'll really like 1.01 (or whatever he ends up calling it... it's 1.01 right now). That version TOTALLY revamps the scoring engine, which virtually eliminates the scoring anomalies (in 1.0, for example, the Mystery Wild doesn't always work right, and there are some loopholes with the AIDS card). I helped the developer with this, so I'm pretty intimately familiar with how it works. Trust me, the new scoring engine is a LOT cleaner.

Other new additions are the long awaited family-friendly version, and the virus/aids penalty is now shown in the scoring dialogue (it was there before, but you had to remember it was there... it wasn't explicitly shown).

I've asked when it will be available, but I haven't heard yet. I think he's waiting for me to find more bugs. :twisted:

[inanutshell]

By the way, I don't know if the guy that originally posted the Geocities link is still reading this, but if he could edit his post to now point to the current website ( http://hotdeath.inanutshell.us/ ) that'd make me a happy camper. =]

as far as the ppc version of the game, i don't know if you guys are interested, but I'm currently pumping out smaller versions of the photoshopped cards from my website (mentioned above) in PNG format for the Eat Hot Death! game that you're welcome to use. (they're 71x114... dunno if that's too big for pda's...?)

Well, *I* think they look better than the ones from the old HDU1.0 visual basic game ( &lt;plug type="shameless">... also available on that website... :P&lt;/plug> ).

[PetiteFlower]

I don't know how you can understand the scoring at all, they don't show the cards that everyone was holding at the end of each hand, so I have no clue how the numbers are calculated!

[jt3]

Inanutshell... I looked at your graphics... (where do you think I got the ideas for the family graphics? ... Heh!), but the PDA graphics are 43x59, which is WAY too small to get too fancy, so while your cards look awesome, they're not practical on a PDA. All modesty aside though, while my Retaliation and Virus cards are serious compromises (looks vs size), I think I did a darn fine job on the Big Brother card... it's not exactly like yours, but it's darn close. I think you'd be proud. :lol:

PetiteFlower. Starting with version 1.0, you can tap on any (computer) player's hand during the game to see all of their cards (of course, you'll see the backs for any cards that aren't "face up"). At the end of the round, while the score dialogue is displayed, you can tap on the shaded "North/East/South/West" areas to see that hand.

However, since I had a hand in the new scoring engine, I can tell you how it's scored. Keep in mind that I'm not going to list the "values" of the cards, since that's in the card info in the game. I'll just list the calculation order.

1. Checks for "All Bastard Cards" (instant win) combo. This is done throughout the game, but done again here, just in case there was a draw forced on the final card.

2. Checks for F.U. (Retaliation), Sh*tter (Big Brother), Quitter combo. If true, score 1000 points.

3. Process all "fixed value" cards. This includes ALL CARDS except Mystery Wild, Blue Shield, 69, Magic 5, F.U., and Holy Defender. Also includes sh*tter (Big Brother) and AIDS (Virus) VALUES, but not their PENALTIES. (Note: In v1.0, Sh*tter/BB is worth 100 points, but it shouldn't be. In v1.01, it will be worth zero, carrying only the penalty value).

4. Mystery Wild calculated (10 times highest "number" card).

5. Blue Shield calculated (equal to highest value card).

6. If you have 69 card, score set to 69 at this point.

7. If you have Magic 5 card, 5 points are subtracted.

8. If you have F.U. (Retaliation), score is doubled. (This also has the benefit of doubling the Magic 5 card to an effective -10 points. Good combo to have... unless you have other cards too.)

9. If you have Holy Defender, score is halved.

10. Sh*tter (Big Brother) penalty applied at this point (score equal to highest valued hand).

11. If you didn't win the hand, and you've been infected, the AIDS (Virus) penalty/penalties (they are additive, after all) applied here (10 points for each infection).

That's pretty much it. With v1.01, I think that all the scoring anomalies are gone, so you'll be able to look at the hands at the end, and using the above steps, see how they were calculated.

By the way, from what I'm hearing, if I don't find any more bugs in the next day or so :devilboy:, he's going to make v1.01 public (you'll be able to use the link on page 1 of this thread to download it), so keep an eye out.

[jt3]

Just thought I'd point out that v1.01 is now available. Here's the link: http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=11008

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has a prior version of the game. I've found no scoring anomalies with the new scoring engine, and the ability to install a family-friendly version should make a lot of people happy.

I did find one problem when installing a newer version or uninstalling the beta version: There is a file called BMMINI.TTF that appears to be locked. Even a soft reset won't clear the lock either. When installing this new version, it will fail on that file, and ask if you want to continue (Yes/No/Cancel). Yes won't work, and Cancel will stop the installation alltogether, so "No" is the correct answer here. The installation process will then continue to install the rest of the files (BMMINI.TTF hasn't changed since the first beta release). The developer knows about this problem, and is working on it.

[PetiteFlower]

Yeah I figured out how to see the ending hands after I posted that :) It would be nice though if the point value was listed underneath or something so you could really see the calculation, easier then having to look up each card individually!

[ctmagnus]

HDU keeps erroring on my machine. I've tried installing from the windows installer as well as copying the cab over and installing from there but I keep getting

Cannot find 'hotdeathuno' (or one of its components). Make sure the path and filename are correct and all the required libraries are available.

whenever I try to run the program, whether from the Start Menu or from a shortcut on the Today screen. I've also tried navigating to the \Program Files\Games\hotdeathuno directory wih the same results. Something to note, though is when I get the error, I can't reproduce it until I soft-resert.

But if I uninstall the newer version and reinstall 0.9, there are no problems.

[jt3]

Ctmagnus... on which kind of PDA are you trying to install it? What version of HDU? 1.0 or 1.01? You say you keep getting an error, but from the sound of it, the actual install program completes with no errors, is that correct?

Plus... I don't understand... are you saying that you get the error... once... but then after that, it'll work just fine until you soft-reset, then you'll get the error... once... again?

[ctmagnus]

Ctmagnus... on which kind of PDA are you trying to install it? What version of HDU? 1.0 or 1.01? You say you keep getting an error, but from the sound of it, the actual install program completes with no errors, is that correct?

Plus... I don't understand... are you saying that you get the error... once... but then after that, it'll work just fine until you soft-reset, then you'll get the error... once... again?

iPaq 3670, both 1.0 and 1.01 produced the error.

The install completes fine but I get the error when I try to launch the program. But then no matter how many times I tap on the HDU icon or which HDU icon (in the Start menu, on the Today Screen, in Total Commander CE v1.2...) nothing happens with it until I soft-reset. At that point, I'll get the error again the first time I try to run the program, then nothing. Other programs respond fine but the newer HDU doesn't. And HDU v0.9 works fine if I uninstall the newer version and install v0.9.

:confused totally:

[jt3]

Ctmagnus, I contacted the developer about your problem. Here's his answer:

The person does not have GAPI (the Microsoft Games API, which did
not ship standard until Pocket PC 2002).

The README.txt tells how to get the right DLL onto his system.

-Jason

The README.txt that he's talking about is the one that comes up when you install the game. (It's also available, under the same name, in the source documentation.)

Let me know if this doesn't fix things.

-James.

[maximus]

When I tried to uninstall HDU 0.9, got an error message: uninstall incomplete, a file '***.ttf' (I forgot the exact name of the font file) is made read only or resides in ROM. When I explored the PPC on my PC, the property of that file is not read-only. :?:

Why is it trying to uninstall a font file that is read only or resides in ROM ?

When I installed 1.01, another error message: cannot write '***.ttf' due to it is read only or resides in ROM.

Now I am stucked with version 0.9, cannot upgrade nor uninstall. DOH.

[ctmagnus]

When I tried to uninstall HDU 0.9, got an error message: uninstall incomplete, a file '***.ttf' (I forgot the exact name of the font file) is made read only or resides in ROM. When I explored the PPC on my PC, the property of that file is not read-only. :?:

Why is it trying to uninstall a font file that is read only or resides in ROM ?

When I installed 1.01, another error message: cannot write '***.ttf' due to it is read only or resides in ROM.

Now I am stucked with version 0.9, cannot upgrade nor uninstall. DOH.

Open a file explorer, navigate to \Windows\Fonts and rename bmmini.ttf to bmmini.anything, soft-reset and then you can delete it.

I got 1.01 working by following JT3's advice in the post above yours. I installed over 0.9 and i now have no problems with the game.