Angle Detective Video Game Released Today

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CueAndMe

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Angle Detective Video Game Released Today (PC Version)

Hello again, everyone. I can finally reveal this secret I've been keeping for a year. It's the Angle Detective video training game for pool and snooker. Currently it is only for Windows PC, but Android is coming soon and then iOS. Perhaps you are familiar with my Angle Detective training system that was released a month ago on my website?

Well, for the last year I've also been working very hard (and spending way too much money) on developing a companion tool for Angle Detective shape, pattern and shot angle visualization training when we're away from the table. It has evolved into a fun and addictive video game but is really much more than a game. Whether or not you apply Angle Detective methods, it is still a very helpful training tool.

The Game Play modes are great, but the Practice mode is really special. It allows you to enter any angle from 0 to 90 degrees in 0.1 degree increments---a total of 901 geometrically accurate choices! The engine then shows you unlimited randomly generated shot setups at your chosen angle. Ghost ball, angle, Angle Detective Master Square and shot lines are all provided as selectable tools. There are a lot of other features too including being able to freeze the screen and draw lines and shapes directly atop the scene.

I won't go deeply into the details here, since I would be reiterating what is spelled out in detail on the game's download page. So I'll just give you a few screenshots to hopefully whet your appetite. There are many more screenshots on the download page.

I think you'll really love it!
Please help me to spread the word. Thank you!

Check out Angle Detective the video game here:
https://cueandme.itch.io/angle-detective

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I'm hoping you will create an iOS version soon. It looks great and should be helpful to those trying to improve.

TommyT :thumbup::thumbup:
 
Black-Balled said:
Congrats on a project completed and thanks for sharing it with us.

Very cool.
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Thank you! I'm certainly not known for completing things, so this is definitely an achievement for me. I hope you like enjoy it.

TommyT said:
I'm hoping you will create an iOS version soon. It looks great and should be helpful to those trying to improve.

TommyT :thumbup::thumbup:
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Thank, Tommy! Yes, I was exhausted when I posted this thread, and I forgot to mention that currently it is only released for Windows PC. But it will be released for Android probably within the next month.

As for iOS, I've read that releasing on the Apple App Store isn't as straightforward as Google Play Store. And it's also more expensive, so I'm waiting until I release the Android app before I tackle that and have to pay the yearly Apple fee. Google Play Store is a one-time fee of only $25. Apple is a yearly $100 fee.

But rest assured, I'm working towards it. I happen to use an old iPhone, so I'm looking forward to it too!
 
a brief look

This review is more accurately a first glance. Since I have had difficulty running pool simulations on this laptop I started with the free "lite" version. It downloaded and installed with no fuss no muss. It also runs just fine for the first pass.

Typical, my first try was to run it without reading instructions. I had to resort to a quick glance at help. After a very quick glance at help I was rolling although there are probably other ways to achieve what I did!

It did take a little while to figure out how the game was measuring angles and such, it measures from impact point which seems most accurate but until I learned that it made some estimates quite a bit off.

I still only guesstimated without too much effort put into exact angles to run through my first set of twenty shots. The simulator seems to work as advertised.

I have one issue that might be addressed if I went so far as to read instructions or look at the paid program. For a whopping five bucks or a bit more if a person is feeling generous, the paid program unlocks a few more features and may pay for both past and future development. Anyway, my main issue is wondering just how much advantage there is to knowing the exact angle of a shot is? How does the degree of the shot translate into where to aim the cue ball? My method of aiming tells me where to hit the object ball and it doesn't really matter what the angle is.

This shows promise as an entertaining time killer on the computer. My verdict is still out that it will help me any on a pool table. It might help someone with a different aiming method or a beginner, I don't know. A reminder again, this is very much a snap review, I have played exactly twenty shots on the game without going so far as to read instructions!

One suggestion, a donation button which I might have missed. Those that find the software useful or entertaining might be inclined to donate after buying it cheaply. If we play with the game often it should be worth more than five bucks.

Edit: What the hell, they accept paypal. I am somewhat reluctant to give my credit card info out too freely. I gave them ten bucks for the full version. It loaded and seems to run just fine. Still haven't read instructions but I'm thinking about it!(grin)

Hu
 
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Hu, thank you so much for your generosity and willingness to review the game here! Both really help me. I need to know how to best get across to everyone the strengths of the game as well as the Angle Detective system itself. After being in tunnel-vision mode for 3 years I probably have several blind spots that don't allow me to see things from the perspective of people approaching this stuff for the first time.

So to everyone else, please share your thoughts both good and bad. Thanks in advance!

ShootingArts said:
Typical, my first try was to run it without reading instructions. I had to resort to a quick glance at help. After a very quick glance at help I was rolling although there are probably other ways to achieve what I did!
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I hear you, Hu. I realize that it isn't a quick-start sort of game. I tried my best to be as clear as possible when I wrote the in-game instructions, but later I realized that my friends and family who were testing the game during development were jumping right in and got confused. That's when I added the pop-up help screen. I'm glad that at least got you rolling! I am really bogged down with other things right now, but I have a lot of videos I plan to make, mainly for the system but also for the game itself. Hopefully I can clear up all of the features in a short video that I will upload to the game page before the screenshots.

It did take a little while to figure out how the game was measuring angles and such, it measures from impact point which seems most accurate but until I learned that it made some estimates quite a bit off.
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Yes, I use contact points in the game because my Angle Detective system uses contact points when drawing the "Master Square" and its dependent shapes and patterns, but you can rest assured that if you wish to measure angles from cue ball center to ghost ball center, the angle will be the exact same measurement.

Anyway, my main issue is wondering just how much advantage there is to knowing the exact angle of a shot is? How does the degree of the shot translate into where to aim the cue ball? My method of aiming tells me where to hit the object ball and it doesn't really matter what the angle is.
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Good question, and fortunately we don't have to know the exact angle of a shot. If you notice on the sliding angle chooser in the game, above the angle measurement are indications of theoretical ball fractions such as 1/2-ball, 1/4-ball, etc at their corresponding angle measurements.

The Angle Detective system that I teach on the website uses the letters A,B,C,D,E,F,Q,R,S,T and U. It also shows you how to arrive at in-between labels such as DE, FQ, B+, T-, etc. You'll notice that beneath the angle measurements on the game's angle chooser are all of these letters at their corresponding angle measurements as well. So you have a choice when choosing angles in the game of using traditional ball fractions/aims, Angle Detective letter labels/aims, or actual angle measurements.

So in short, the Angle Detective system uses letter labels to associate throw-adjusted ball fraction aims to their corresponding shot angles. For example, a 1/2 ball aim is labeled 'E' and has a corresponding angle measurement of 26.6°. There's no need to know the angle measurement. On the website I teach many methods of recognizing the shot label. Then you just aim at the corresponding aim. I hope that all made sense?

This shows promise as an entertaining time killer on the computer. My verdict is still out that it will help me any on a pool table. It might help someone with a different aiming method or a beginner, I don't know. A reminder again, this is very much a snap review, I have played exactly twenty shots on the game without going so far as to read instructions!
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Thanks. It can definitely become an addictive game, but I do think that the Practice mode can help anyone at any level to better recognize shot angles and more quickly. A 1/2-ball shot for example. Just choose the 1/2 ball marking on the sliding angle chooser and keep clicking the "next" icon to have a perfect 30° 1/2-ball angle shot setup continuously randomly generated for you and drill that shot into your memory. It's unlimited generation for as long as you want and for any angle that you want.

The Lite version is also for as long as you want but only allows 45° shot setups.

One suggestion, a donation button which I might have missed. Those that find the software useful or entertaining might be inclined to donate after buying it cheaply. If we play with the game often it should be worth more than five bucks.

Edit: What the hell, they accept paypal. I am somewhat reluctant to give my credit card info out too freely. I gave them ten bucks for the full version. It loaded and seems to run just fine. Still haven't read instructions but I'm thinking about it!(grin)
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Hu[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have a PayPal donation button on my website, but I'm not sure if I can link directly on the itch.io game hosting site. I'll look into it!

Thanks again, Hu! Let me know if you have any other thoughts.
 
me too!

DecentShot said:
I can tell you that playing Virtual Pool 3 helped my real world game tremendously.
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I ran virtual pool three on my machine at the time, no problem. I haven't gotten VP4 to run on this laptop and need to get a mouse to go very far trying. VP3 was good enough that I worked on a lot of the banks in Freddy's book and nailed them immediately on the table when I got a chance to get on one. I have no problem believing a simulator can help a person's real game and the graphics seem good on this simulator.

Not shooting in this simulator, just estimating angles. Their idea of 45degrees is different than mine but until I drag out a protractor I will assume the calibration on my eyeballs has drifted a little over the years!:D

I haven't found practice mode yet, may have to look at the pictures again. A headache paid me a visit this afternoon and trying to focus with a headache just ain't fun. There is always another day. I do like this simulator runs offline, I have been looking for something to do when stormy weather takes out my dish signal.

Hu
 
Snooker Theory said:
I am going to check it out today, looking forward to it. Congrats on a project completed too!
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Thank you. And if the game does well enough there are some features I'd like to add in future updates.

ShootingArts said:
Not shooting in this simulator, just estimating angles. Their idea of 45degrees is different than mine but until I drag out a protractor I will assume the calibration on my eyeballs has drifted a little over the years!:D
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I hear ya. The angles are accurate, but when I designed the game I wanted to make sure that the 3D translation from the 2D screen of a computer, phone or tablet to the real world looked as accurate as possible for the player, so I included the Field of View adjustment icon on the left of the game play screen. A lot of games use Field of View as the Zoom in and Out function, but Angle Detective has a separate Field of View for tweaking the overall perspective. You can adjust it from 0° up to 135°. Default is 35°, but play with it until the perspective of table and balls looks the most real-life to you. Maybe try something lower like 20° to 25°. Once it looks good to you just leave it there. The game will remember your setting even after you quit.

I haven't found practice mode yet, may have to look at the pictures again. A headache paid me a visit this afternoon and trying to focus with a headache just ain't fun. There is always another day. I do like this simulator runs offline, I have been looking for something to do when stormy weather takes out my dish signal.
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Oh, I guess I didn't make that clear enough. When you're in the Play menu and selecting Snooker or Pool, there is a button called Game Level where you can select Professional, Amateur, or Practice. Here's a screenshot:

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I hope this helps and that the game didn't make your headache worse!

Enjoy!

Jeff
 
Field of View adjustment

Here are two examples of the Field of View adjustment I mentioned. It is a continuous slider, but here is a setting of 15° and the upper extreme of 135°. I don't expect anyone to come close to playing at 135°, but I thought it was fun to include the option. From image 1 to image 2, the camera has not moved. You can think of the Field of View as the camera staying still but taking in varying amounts of the left-to-right scene view. Zoom In/Out on the other hand is an actual movement of the camera's physical location---closer or further away from wherever the camera is facing.

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Game Updated to Version 1.1 with Eye Height Feature

Hello again, everyone. I had to take a break to clear my mind after 3 straight years of working on the Angle Detective system, video game and training tools.

But I'm refreshed and back to announce that the game has been updated to include what I think is an important feature. I added a visual display of the virtual eye height measured in centimeters from the floor. That way we can measure our own eye height at home and match that to the virtual eye height in the game.

Since the video game was designed to drill angles into our memories, I think this added feature is important. When we're at a real table, none of us are tall enough to see the pure 2-dimensional shot angles of most shot setups from an overhead view. This means that the pure shot angle is almost always distorted because it is seen at an angle itself, and the distortion caused by that angled perspective is unique based upon our own particular eye height.

The game is still only available for Windows 32 and 64 bit, but Android and iOS are coming soon. Lots of YouTube videos planned as well, including video game play, training tool preparation and usage, and Angle Detective system instruction.

Download the free or premium versions of the game here:
https://cueandme.itch.io/angle-detective

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