DiceVisionDirtyOwlbear Studios
HomeSetup guide

Get rolling

Get your camera set up and make your first roll in about ten minutes. Most of that is positioning a phone — the app does the rest.

Create your account

~1 minute

Go to dicevision.dirtyowlbear.com and sign up with your email address.

Heads up — new accounts require approval before you can use the app. After signing up you'll see a "pending approval" message — this is normal. Once your account is approved you'll get a confirmation email and can log in to continue setup.

Set up your phone camera

~2 minutes

Your phone camera gives you significantly better results than a laptop or desktop webcam — higher resolution, better low-light performance, and, most importantly, you can position it exactly where you need it. This guide assumes you're using a phone.

Using a webcam instead? That works too, but expect lower accuracy — especially in low light or with smaller dice. All the physical setup advice below still applies.

Pair your phone

  1. On your desktop, open DiceVision and go to Settings → Camera.
  2. Select Phone Camera and click Generate QR Code.
  3. On your phone, open the camera app and scan the QR code.
  4. Your phone opens a browser page — tap Start Camera to begin the video feed.
  5. Back on your desktop, your phone's camera feed appears.
Connection trouble? Your phone and desktop need to be on the same network. If pairing fails, disable any VPN or put both devices on the same Wi-Fi.

Physical setup

~5 minutes

The accuracy of every roll depends on the quality of the photo. Spend a few minutes getting this right and the app will do the rest.

Choose the right dice

DiceVision reads printed face values — numerals and pips — the same way you do. It works best when those values are clear and unambiguous.

✓Best choice

Standard numerals, like a typical Chessex set — clean, unambiguous, and high contrast between ink and plastic.

!Use with caution

Stylized numeral fonts. The more decorative, the harder it is to read reliably. If the numbers are still clearly recognizable as numbers it will likely work, but accuracy may vary.

✕Avoid
  • Custom symbols in place of numbers (skulls for 1s, runes, etc.)
  • Script or highly ornate fonts where numerals are hard to distinguish at a glance
  • Holographic, glitter-filled, or chaotic swirl patterns on the faces
  • Very dark ink printed on dark plastic

When in doubt: if you have to look twice to read the value, the app will too.

What it reads — the standard polyhedral set: d4, d6, d8, d10, d10 percentile, d12, and d20. It does not read oddballs like d3, d30, or d100.
d4d6d8d10d10 %d12d20

Rolling surface

Use a plain, matte surface — a dice tray with a solid-color insert works well. Good contrast between your dice and the surface makes detection much easier. Avoid:

  • Patterned or printed surfaces (game mats with maps or art)
  • Shiny or reflective surfaces
  • Colors that closely match your dice

Position your phone

The goal is a straight-down view of your rolling surface with no angle distortion.

  • Mount your phone directly above your rolling area, camera pointing straight down.
  • Keep the phone parallel to the surface — not angled.
  • The phone needs to stay completely still while you roll.

A few mounts that work well:

Getting the height right: at the ideal distance the camera captures roughly a 10¼″ × 8¼″ area — enough to fit a full 7-die set with comfortable space on all sides. Use the live feed on your dashboard to check: if a complete set fits within the frame with a similar margin to the example below, you're at the right height.

Ideal overhead framing — a full seven-die set spread across a Wyrmwood tray, shot straight down with even margins on all sides.
Ideal framing: a full set fits with room to spare, the camera is parallel to the surface, and there's no perspective distortion. Make sure your whole rolling area is in view so dice can't roll out of frame or get cut off at the edges.

Lighting

Even, diffuse light is what you're after — harsh shadows across die faces will obscure values.

  • Natural daylight, or a desk lamp positioned to the side, works well.
  • Avoid a single overhead light directly above — it creates glare on shiny dice.
  • Seeing white reflections wash out the face values? Move the light to a lower angle, or diffuse it (a sheet of white paper between lamp and dice helps).
  • Avoid mixing warm and cool light sources — it creates uneven color casts.

Make your first roll

~1 minute

You're already on the Dashboard from the previous step. Here's how your first roll works:

  1. Click Detect — this arms the motion sensor and puts DiceVision in a ready state.
  2. Roll your dice onto the surface.
  3. DiceVision detects the motion and waits for the dice to settle.
  4. Once they're still, the app automatically captures the image and processes it (expect 1–3 seconds).
  5. Results appear on screen: each die type, its value, and a total.

That's it. If the dice types and values look correct, you're all set.

First roll feels slow? The inference servers run on demand and can take 10–30 seconds on the first request after sitting idle for a couple of minutes. Once warmed up, responses are fast for as long as you keep rolling.

If a value is wrong, tap it to submit a correction — this helps improve detection over time.

What's next?

Now that you're rolling, a few ways to get more out of DiceVision.

Fine-tune your camera

Adjust motion sensitivity, capture timing, focus lock, and other settings for more accurate rolls.

Guide coming soon

Connect your table

Post results straight to Discord, Talespire, or Draw Steel's Codex — automatically, as you roll.

See integrations →

Report an incorrect roll

Flag a misread so the team can sharpen detection. Every correction makes the next roll better.

Guide coming soon

Troubleshooting

The usual snags, and the quick fix for each.

Phone won't pair

The QR code connects two devices on the same network. Disable any VPN and make sure your phone and desktop are on the same Wi-Fi, then regenerate the code.

First roll is slow

The inference servers spin up on demand. The first roll after a few idle minutes can take 10–30 seconds — after that it's fast. This is normal.

Values come back wrong

Usually it's the photo, not the dice. Check for glare, even out your lighting, raise the contrast between dice and surface, and favor clean numerals. Tap any wrong value to correct it.

Dice missed or cut off

Dice outside the frame can't be read. Confirm your whole rolling area is in view on the live feed, and that the camera is straight down and parallel to the surface.