A Simple Slot Machine


The purpose of your programming assignment is for you to get a chance at doing some good Object Oriented Programming, on a topic chosen by your instructor, a topic that lends itself well to an OOP implementation.

You will implement, in C++, an application that simulates a simple slot machine with three reels.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this exercise is purely educational. Your instructor, the Computer Science Department, IIT and its affiliates do not encourage you to play slot machines or any other games of chance.

In a real slot machine the player pulls a handle to rotate the reels that have pictures printed on them. Winning or losing is determined by which pictures line up with the pay line, a line in the middle of a viewing window. If each reel shows the same winning picture along the pay line, then the player wins (certain single images are sometimes winners as well). The payout (the amount the player wins) depends on what pictures fall along the pay line.

In your project, the reels will be labeled with numbers from 1 through 22. A user can place a bet for one or more of units of currency (N), up to 10. The payout is 2*N in every case the same number falls along the pay line in each wheel, EXCEPT for the following combinations where the payout is different:

1st Reel 2nd Reel 3rd Reel Payout
2 2 2 3*N
7 7 7 20*N
7 7 any 5*N
13 13 13 4*N
19 19 19 4*N

Upon placing a bet, your slot machine will "spin the wheels", print the outcome, the payout and the current player's balance.

Before the game begins the player will be prompted to enter the amount of currency (s)he has available to play on the slot machine. The slot machine always starts with 1,000 unites of currency.

A sample interaction between the player and the machine is available below:



Information about how real slot machines work can be found at HowStuffWorks.com as well as numerous other sites on the Internet.

Testing

To facilitate testing, the executable will accept an option --debug which will tell the application to print the slot machine balance every time messages are printed.

What you'll turn in
  1. Project files, as follows:
    • A .zip archive with all the source files needed to build the project. The name of the file will be FirstnameLastName-source.zip For example, if your name is Ann Student, then the name of your source code archive file will be AnnStudent-source.zip
    • an executable named FirstnameLastName.exe The following environments are supported
      • DOS: will run from the "cmd" windows
      • cygwin: will run from the shell prompt
      • Linux: will run from a bash or tcsh prompt (indicate your preference in the README file)
    • a plain text README file, named FirstnameLastName-readme.txt, indicating what the program does, how to build the executable, the platform it's been tested on, and how to run it, plus any other information you consider useful - like the name of the author, etc.
    • A one-pager memo addressed to your instructor; the file will be named FirstnameLastName-memo.pdf Replace .pdf with .txt or .doc (MS-Word) as the only acceptable alternatives to a PDF document. Include thoughts on the project, how you approached it, any trouble spots you may have encountered, and suggestions you may have as to how this project could be improved
    • Create a .zip archive with the four files mentined above; the name of the file will be FirstnameLastName.zip. This is the file that you are going to submit for grading.


    NOTE: We'd prefer that you use MS Visual C++ to write your code, as at times different compilers will act differently. If you decide to use a different environment, such as cygwin or Linux, then please make sure your choice is clearly stated in the README file.

When you'll turn it in

Projects are to be submitted by email to cs106project@gmail.com. The deadline for submission is 11:59PM CST, Sunday December 5, 2004.

You can submit your work earlier if you want, please see the grading rules for the edxtra credit you may earn. You may also submit late, however we don't encourage it due to the heavy penalty you incur for late submission (see the grading rules for detail).

Grading
  1. A mark between 0 and 10 for functionality. The mark basically indicates in what measure your program works properly and how well you have followed the initial specification.
  2. A mark between 0 and 10 for readability. This mark will consider how well you used OOP principles to design the application, how well documented your program is, and the general appearance of your final report.
  3. Multiply the above two marks to get the mark for this programming assignment.

For each business day you turn in your project earlier you receive a 5% bonus. However, penalties increase by 5% as well. You can turn in your assignment up to ten business days ahead of the deadline.
Example:
  • You turn in your assignment three days earlier: a 3*5=15% bonus will be added to your assignment mark
  • We find a single mistake in the functionality section and the penalty for that mistake is 0.5 points. Since you have turned the assignment three days earlier than the deadline, the penalty becomes 0.5*(1+3*5%)=0.5*(1+3*0.05)=0.575
  • We calculate the mark by multiplying the marks for the functionality and readability; in your case the mark for functionality is 10-0.575=9.425, and the mark for readability is 10. The result is 9.425*10=94.25
  • We add the bonus to this mark: 94.25+94.25*15%=108.38 which we round to 108. This is your final mark.

You may be asked to do a code review with your instructor.

Hints
  1. A fair amount of your grade will be based on your ability to write an Object Oriented program. Avoid the temptation to write a procedural application. Take your time and think about the objects that would best model the problem at hand.
  2. The spinning of the wheel will be simulated through the use of the srand and rand functions, which are found in cstdlib.
  3. Be sure to update the player's account balance, as well as the machine's, at the end of the round.
  4. Scan all you files for viruses before you submit your project; penalties for submitting infected files are quite heavy.
Last update: October 26, 2004 Virgil Bistriceanu cs106 Computer Science
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