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Virtual Pool

Bumper Shadows

Virtual Pool,

Me again :) I believe we've already exchanged a few emails since the game's release. It was great to hear about this forum and your willingness to discuss the game and it's development, thank you for that.

I was wondering what the possibility would be of including bumper shadows... I know this is by no means critical or even necessary but was curious as to how feasible it might be?

The screenshot below is an attempt to demonstrate what the effect might look like (before and after).

Thanks,
Greg

VP_bumper_shadows.png
 
Almy said:
Would it be possible to include a zoom feature in the overhead view?
Click to expand...

Nice idea, I'll try to work that in to a later version.


As far as the button issues when the CO scratches and you are on the eight ball... remember, you can put the game on hold, exit to the main menu and start the game again. The will be the buttons back in the correct state.

Unless something major is found, the next update will be at least a month from now. I will try and get UK rules (red, yellow balls), better ghost ball, buttons issues fixed and, hopefully, online play.
 
Looks interesting, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion.

gregw74 said:
Virtual Pool,

Me again :) I believe we've already exchanged a few emails since the game's release. It was great to hear about this forum and your willingness to discuss the game and it's development, thank you for that.

I was wondering what the possibility would be of including bumper shadows... I know this is by no means critical or even necessary but was curious as to how feasible it might be?

The screenshot below is an attempt to demonstrate what the effect might look like (before and after).

Thanks,
Greg

VP_bumper_shadows.png
Click to expand...
 
I am pretty far in the game, and I finally took my first loss. "Slow Roll" - my god she is impossible to beat. I can't imagine a harder opponent, but there is still one location left.

I had an issue where I crashed and my series was lost. Since then the AIM button has been visible in every game. Is there any trick to get rid of that button? UPDATE - I went into the settings, enabled the aim line, then disabled it. The button is now gone.
 
I've been playing Curly in Quick Match mode for a while now. Most of the time, I'm lucky if I even get to visit the table, LOL.
 
VirtualPool said:
Nice idea, I'll try to work that in to a later version.

As far as the button issues when the CO scratches and you are on the eight ball... remember, you can put the game on hold, exit to the main menu and start the game again. The will be the buttons back in the correct state.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, and considering the zoom! Wanted to give you a heads up about another minor bug with the 8. After calling my shot I changed my mind. I hit overhead and found something else so I hit the call shot button. It wouldn't let me change my pocket call.
 
First off, let me say: GREAT GAME! One of the few I use to show off the gaming capabilities of this phone. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Just left a 5 star review.

I have some suggestions/comments for the next version:

First, being able to "walk away" from the cue stick to eyeball the path of the object ball to its destination is key to achieving more realism. If implementing free 3d navigation around the table is too difficult, a simpler method would be to add a button called "View Target", which then takes you to overhead view, then you are asked to pick two points (similar to calling a pocket). The first would be the target ball and the second would be the destination of that ball, either another ball or a pocket. Then you tap a "Select" button, which takes you back to the original view, then an animated move towards the view you just selected. The POV would align itself with your target ball, looking towards the destination. You'd have a zoom control and a "Return" button. When you tap "return" it would smoothly transition back to the cue view. Smooth animation between the cue view and the target view would let your brain translate what you're seeing between the two views.

I hope this makes sense because I'm sure having trouble describing it!

Second comment: I still have trouble shooting in the latest version. I'm able to back out of a shot easily enough by just letting go, but often when I intend to shoot, it thinks I let go briefly and ends up zooming instead of shooting. I'll work on my technique, but would appreciate feedback on what I can do to work around this.
 
BergerFan said:
I've been playing Curly in Quick Match mode for a while now. Most of the time, I'm lucky if I even get to visit the table, LOL.
Click to expand...


Here is the secret to beating Curly (and Slow Roll).

Don't let them on the table.

Seriously, if you are playing the top two players in the world... you can't let them on the table either. You must play safe unless you know you are going to make the shot. You absolutely must be able to move the cue ball around the table. Learn to do this and you can handle VP opponents without much trouble.

Also... Quick Play can be much, much, much harder than Career Mode. In Career Mode the players are dumbed down to match the 'skill' level you picked for the career. In Quick Play, you play them at their best.
 
I do understand your walk around idea and will look into that.

I am not sure I understand your problem with the stroke and zoom.

A tip for shooting is to take a shorter stroke and make a flicking motion to generate more speed. You must keep your finger on the screen during the entire stroke. However, a short and light 'flick' will generate more than enough velocity.

redman042 said:
First off, let me say: GREAT GAME! One of the few I use to show off the gaming capabilities of this phone. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Just left a 5 star review.

I have some suggestions/comments for the next version:

First, being able to "walk away" from the cue stick to eyeball the path of the object ball to its destination is key to achieving more realism. If implementing free 3d navigation around the table is too difficult, a simpler method would be to add a button called "View Target", which then takes you to overhead view, then you are asked to pick two points (similar to calling a pocket). The first would be the target ball and the second would be the destination of that ball, either another ball or a pocket. Then you tap a "Select" button, which takes you back to the original view, then an animated move towards the view you just selected. The POV would align itself with your target ball, looking towards the destination. You'd have a zoom control and a "Return" button. When you tap "return" it would smoothly transition back to the cue view. Smooth animation between the cue view and the target view would let your brain translate what you're seeing between the two views.

I hope this makes sense because I'm sure having trouble describing it!

Second comment: I still have trouble shooting in the latest version. I'm able to back out of a shot easily enough by just letting go, but often when I intend to shoot, it thinks I let go briefly and ends up zooming instead of shooting. I'll work on my technique, but would appreciate feedback on what I can do to work around this.
Click to expand...
 
I also have the same minor issues with shooting, but not that often. For me it happens when I pull the cue back and go to take a light "touch" shot. Instead of shooting it zooms or re-aims. If I can replicate it enough I'll post a quick video.

I love the idea of leaning over the table to eyeball the object ball and the pocket. This is something I do when I shoot pool in real life: get behind the object ball and use the lighting as a reference on where to aim the cue ball. Great idea!

I'll once again plead for masse shots. To me that is the last thing missing to make this truly a sim game.

As for Curly, there is no beating that guy. In a best of five I maybe took one-two shots total. Other then that he ran the table. Don't take this the wrong way, but IMO they don't play realistically. To me a top shooter is all about position. It seems that these top players don't care much about position and just make shots at hard angles and pull off what seems impossible. Really excellent players don't put themselves in those bad positions, they make everything smooth and easy and they are always set-up for the next shot. But hey, it's still the best pool sim I've ever played!
 
nickels said:
I also have the same minor issues with shooting, but not that often. For me it happens when I pull the cue back and go to take a light "touch" shot. Instead of shooting it zooms or re-aims. If I can replicate it enough I'll post a quick video.
Click to expand...

Was coming on here to post the same thing! Something has definitely changed in terms of shooting mechanics since the last release. Quite a high percentage of the time, I pull back only to push forward and NOT actually hit the ball. Really frustrating the crap out of me... :mad:
 
hogfaninga said:
I agree.
Click to expand...

OK, sorry this is a problem.

The problem for me, however, is how do I determine you are shooting a soft shot (but not actually moving through the cue ball before you lift your finger) or that you are trying to abort the stroke? The current code is pretty simple, if the z distance is negative the shot is OK (this means you moved the cue tip past the ball). If the z distance is positive then the touchscreen claims that the finger has lifted before the stick got back to the cue ball.

I've tried pretty hard to duplicate what y'all are seeing, but it just isn't happening to me.

More input would help.
 
masse will probably make it into the online release.

as far as Curly, I can't make him play smarter.
I can make him miss more and will problem drop all COs down a couple of notches in the next release. Once we determine what the 'soft stroke' problem is, I will do a release that covers that and a few of the lingering Aim line button issues.


nickels said:
I'll once again plead for masse shots. To me that is the last thing missing to make this truly a sim game.

As for Curly, there is no beating that guy. In a best of five I maybe took one-two shots total. Other then that he ran the table. Don't take this the wrong way, but IMO they don't play realistically. To me a top shooter is all about position. It seems that these top players don't care much about position and just make shots at hard angles and pull off what seems impossible. Really excellent players don't put themselves in those bad positions, they make everything smooth and easy and they are always set-up for the next shot. But hey, it's still the best pool sim I've ever played!
Click to expand...
 
I have the same problem. I kept thinking I just needed to get used to the new controls. I justvspent a fair amount of time in practice mode. I can get it to happen easily enough, but I can't figure out what causes it either.
 
VirtualPool said:
OK, sorry this is a problem.

The problem for me, however, is how do I determine you are shooting a soft shot (but not actually moving through the cue ball before you lift your finger) or that you are trying to abort the stroke? The current code is pretty simple, if the z distance is negative the shot is OK (this means you moved the cue tip past the ball). If the z distance is positive then the touchscreen claims that the finger has lifted before the stick got back to the cue ball.

I've tried pretty hard to duplicate what y'all are seeing, but it just isn't happening to me.

More input would help.
Click to expand...

It isn't anything major. You made a great app and I love it. 5 stars from me.
 
I think I may have found another bug.

I already had a 6-ball career game started, but lately have been playing 8-ball quick-play. Today I went into career mode to continue my game, and found the balls set up from my 8-ball game (there were striped balls to start with, where as 6-ball only uses spots)! I chose to quit the match and I lost my money, so I was definitely in career mode. When I started a new career match the balls were as they should be.

As for control, it took me a while to adjust, but have got the hang of shooting now. As VP says, you have to be sure to drag your finger past the cue ball to hit it.
 
I never thought about someone doing that, but yes, you are correct... only one 'saved game' state exists. Save both a career and quick play game and the last save will destroy the first one. I'll add it to the list.

wastedyuthe said:
I think I may have found another bug.

I already had a 6-ball career game started, but lately have been playing 8-ball quick-play. Today I went into career mode to continue my game, and found the balls set up from my 8-ball game (there were striped balls to start with, where as 6-ball only uses spots)! I chose to quit the match and I lost my money, so I was definitely in career mode. When I started a new career match the balls were as they should be.

As for control, it took me a while to adjust, but have got the hang of shooting now. As VP says, you have to be sure to drag your finger past the cue ball to hit it.
Click to expand...
 
Also VP, I was wondering if you could add something very simple. At the moment, when a frame is won mid-match, a message appears in the middle of the screen telling the player who won. Yet at the end of the match there is no message at all in Quick-play mode- you just get taken back to the menu. In career you are told you have won and also told how much you have won, so why can't we have a message at the end of a Quick-play match as to who won it?
Seems a little silly that you can have a good quick-play match against someone (even if it's a second human player) without the slightest congratulatory message at the end of it.
 
Don't adjust the way Curly plays, I was just putting in my two cents about his style of play vs a real pro. It's no big deal.

As for the shooting bug, I tried and tried to replicate it in quick play mode yesterday with no luck. It always seems to happen in career mode for me, doubt that makes a difference. I probably just need to get used to shooting, as I may unconsciously lift my finger from the screen too early. Once I concentrated on dragging past the cue ball I haven't had a problem since.

I agree with the above post - this is still my #1 iPhone app worthy of 5 stars, even without masse shots.
 
VirtualPool said:
OK, sorry this is a problem.

The problem for me, however, is how do I determine you are shooting a soft shot (but not actually moving through the cue ball before you lift your finger) or that you are trying to abort the stroke? The current code is pretty simple, if the z distance is negative the shot is OK (this means you moved the cue tip past the ball). If the z distance is positive then the touchscreen claims that the finger has lifted before the stick got back to the cue ball.

I've tried pretty hard to duplicate what y'all are seeing, but it just isn't happening to me.

More input would help.
Click to expand...

When I have this problem, it's like the others have reported, in that it happens when I'm doing a light stroke of the cue.

Based on how your code works, I'd normally think my problem is not "following through" with the shot, ie. lifting too early. But I don't think that's what's actually happening, based on what I've observed. What I've seen is that part of the way through the forward stroke, it suddenly stops moving the cue and starts rotating the z axis of the view, while my finger is still moving forward slowly. My guess is the program thinks I lifted my finger for a brief moment when I actually didn't. This may be a problem with the part of your code that reads the touch screen. I don't know how erratic the data stream from the touch screen is, but perhaps you need to do a slight bit more averaging of the data stream to eliminate "false finger lifts".

I'm doing a lot of guessing here as to how the code works, but perhaps this will give you some ideas anyway.
 
I see it exactly the same as redman042's post above. If you do a slow shot even though you keep moving your finger it simply moves the camera. Its really hard to do a gentle shot now, I just tend to hit them hard everytime so I can avoid the hassles I get if I go for a soft shot and the app thinks I have changed my mind.
 
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