Documentation File last updated Oct 11, 2000.
MookMasher is intended for Windows CE 3.0 only, including Pocket PCs. It should run on a Handheld PC 2000, but has not been tested on that platform.
[What's New This Version |Installation Instructions |Basic Instructions |Version History ]
This version (1.0) is FREEWARE. It only took me a dozen or so hours to write, and I wanted it for my own use. I consider this version "finished", although I may expand the records kept of each character to make it a replacement for "written" NPC stats instead of a supplement to them.
As always, if you have any suggestions, please send them to me at weregamer@amurgsval.org.
No fancy installer is provided, but there isn't much to this software either.
The only thing you really need to know is the processor type of your machine. You can find this out definitively by going to Settings|System|About.
The ZIP file contains four folders. The "Docs" folder contains a copy of this file and its accompanying screenshots. The other three directories are named for each of the three processor families used in Pocket PCs: MIPSRel for MIPS processors, ARMRel for StrongARM processors, and SH3Rel for SH3 (and SH4) processors. In each of those directories is the executable for that type of processor.
MookMasher follows the normal Windows SDI paradigm for interfaces, rather than the Pocket PC list-view paradigm. In part, this is because MookMasher is intended to be equally useful on HPC2K machines and on Windows desktops (when I port it there). Equally, it's because the Pocket PC list-view idea clobbers any organization into folders that you may do on your documents. (Of course, if you really have more than a few combats ready to run on your machine at a time you must be a very busy GM.)
A named character shows their current and threshold ("maximum") wound points totals, while a mook shows nothing except possibly its "bowled" status. Characters who won't act again this round are italicized, and those who are KOed, shuffling, or dead (which for combat mechanics purposes are identical) are also struck out.
Note that the only difference between a PC and a named NPC is that every die roll for the former is expected to be performed by a player (outside the program) while those for the latter are handled automatically. So if you have a PC whose player is MIA, or otherwise have a PC whose rolls you want to automate, enter them as a named NPC.
The commandbar button with the die on it (or the equivalent menu command) will roll initiative for all the characters. (For PCs, the program will prompt for their rolls on the assumption that players always want to roll their own dice.) This is allowed even when some characters have shots left, on the assumption that you know what you are doing. When this command is issued, a desk bell sound ("ding ding") will be played as audible feedback.
When a character's shot is up (they have a green background), a single tap means they are performing a normal 3-shot action; in particular, for NPCs the dice are rolled and their Action Result is computed for you (unless they are a mook and are bowled, in which case they "unbowl" automatically). For PCs, you just get a dialog asking if they are in fact performing a 3-shot action. (Which means you don't have to care if the next person up is a PC or not, if you are tapping along the different dialog will prompt you to ask them what they are doing.)
When a character's shot is not up, a single tap means they are performing an defensive action (e.g. an active dodge) and their next shot is decreased by one.
In either case, you can do anything with any character at any time by tap-and-holding on them. The context menu should be self-explanatory for the most part. The least obvious thing is that if you choose "Kill" on a "dead" character, they will be returned to "life" with no shots left this round.