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#1 2006-05-24 18:36:21
- MathsIsFun
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- Registered: 2005-01-21
- Posts: 7,713
Billiard Tables
A bit of a play on words, but its true ... Billiards and Multiplication have now become friends 
I have been working on this game for about a month. I got a head start with a basic opensource billiards game, but I ended up modifiying nearly every bit of it, so I may as well have started from scratch.
So here it is, for you guys to play and test and leave feedback, before I unleash it on the world.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#2 2006-05-24 23:16:30
- Jai Ganesh
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- Registered: 2005-06-28
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Re: Billiard Tables
Wonderful! Can you tell us about the scoring?
It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.
Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.
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#3 2006-05-24 23:45:59
- Ricky
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- Registered: 2005-12-04
- Posts: 3,791
Re: Billiard Tables
Bug: if you click the black ball while it's moving, it stops.
I would also have it so that the cue stick showes up whenever all the balls are stopped and one mouse click is used to hit the cue ball, instead of having to hold the mouse down.
"In the real world, this would be a problem. But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist. So we'll go ahead and do that now..."
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#4 2006-05-25 03:09:51
- John E. Franklin
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- Registered: 2005-08-29
- Posts: 3,588
Re: Billiard Tables
I think it is super duper!!
I like it just the way it is!
By the way, can you view the board from exactly straight above with no perspective and shoot? That would be like an old 1980's game.
igloo myrtilles fourmis
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#5 2006-05-25 20:03:24
- justlookingforthemoment
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- Registered: 2005-05-26
- Posts: 2,161
Re: Billiard Tables
Me too! About the super duper bit!
The black ball always (I mean always!) rolls into one of the holes! Should there be a penalty (like, one point off) for this or does that make it too hard? I feel like there needs to be some sort of obstacle (um, what about prongs which burst the ball, table on a tilting/moving slope ... I don't know), because to get to the next level isn't that difficult. Maybe different colour balls can be worth different point values and multiply in (like, 2 x 4 x 9).
Also, maybe a sound effects off button. They're very cool, but after a while some people may want to turn them off. Was it just my imagination, or when you get two balls in from one hit, does a lady say 'Very good'?
Ooh, and you could have a circular table, or even a triangular one!
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#6 2006-05-25 21:39:44
- MathsIsFun
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- Registered: 2005-01-21
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Re: Billiard Tables
Great feedback, guys. Thanks!
The scoring is simply adding each multiplication result. No penalties. But I could subtract 1 for every shot, and subtract 2 for every time black ball goes down hole ... thoughts?
Now ... should you be able to use the cue even when the ball is in motion? It is against the rules of billiards, but then again it can make for interesting gameplay ... thoughts?
I thouhgt click-and-drag was the best way to control direction and strength of strike. Possibly one click on ball then one click to strike?
Sound Off is a good idea.
Remove Cue after shot (to return when you click black ball) is a good idea.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#7 2006-05-25 21:48:33
- justlookingforthemoment
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- Registered: 2005-05-26
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Re: Billiard Tables
I thouhgt click-and-drag was the best way to control direction and strength of strike. Possibly one click on ball then one click to strike?
Also, maybe you could rotate the board with the arrow keys too?
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#8 2006-05-25 23:29:07
- John E. Franklin
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- Registered: 2005-08-29
- Posts: 3,588
Re: Billiard Tables
I like the click "on" click "off" way because it is so easy to learn the first time someone sees it.
I have no opinion on the shooting when still in motion. It's fun to fiddle with though.
igloo myrtilles fourmis
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#9 2006-06-01 08:53:58
- ryos
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- Registered: 2005-08-04
- Posts: 394
Re: Billiard Tables
Cool stuff!
Bug: If you shoot the black ball while it's falling down a hole, it often still strikes other balls! (You don't see the ball moving, the other balls just act hit.) To the program's (and yours!) credit, even when this happens, the ball still drops out of the void like it normally would.
Comment: The game is quite easy because if you land a ball anywhere on a square containing a hole, the ball is sucked into it. Perhaps a "hard mode" option is in order that restricts the "hit zone" to the size of the hole graphic?
El que pega primero pega dos veces.
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#10 2006-06-01 09:54:24
- MathsIsFun
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- Registered: 2005-01-21
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Re: Billiard Tables
Thanks for the bug report, and making it harder to sink is a good idea - I will add that to my list.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#11 2006-08-04 08:23:48
- Devantè
- Real Member
- Registered: 2006-07-14
- Posts: 6,400
Re: Billiard Tables
Bug: I don't know why, but on level 3, I gave the black ball a shot to get the yellow in the 8-hole. As soon as the ball came into contact with the edge of the board, the ball just disappeared, as if I hit it so hard it came off the board. Is this a bug?
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