Caromball, a complete and realistic carom billiards video game

jimif said:
There are a lot of things that some people do and that you couldn't understand why. One of the main interest of a realistic billiards game is to try and retry some solutions to better understand the game, what is much easier than in real world. :)
Click to expand...
yeah .. and how does that work and how is it any better than real equipment? so you try and retry solutions in a video game? way more involved than any fake environment. there is feel ... there is environment conditions ... there is stroke follow through ... ect ... way better benefits to just do everything on a real table and skip the fake benefits of a video game ... you gain way more. the real experience and feel for shots are exponentially better than any fake environment. in my opinion if you can spend time with a video game you can spend more time with real equipment and be benefited more and time spent with better payoff. there is so much more a video game cant teach you
 
Last edited:
xX-Wizard-Xx said:
i dont understand why people play pool video games .... nowhere close no matter how "Realistic" ... a pointless waste of time
Click to expand...
I don't understand why people think it is a one-size-fits-all world and that their way is the only way.

In the case of carom games, among other things it gives an entertaining alternative to playing on a real table when the nearest real table is 2 ours away.
 
jimif said:
There are a lot of things that some people do and that you couldn't understand why. One of the main interest of a realistic billiards game is to try and retry some solutions to better understand the game, what is much easier than in real world. :)
Click to expand...
Have you given any thought to adding balkline games?
 
Caromball complete game can be tested for a small amount : 2.90€ (3.20$) for one month, no engagement.
Solo subscription is 1.90€/month, no engagement.
 
Last edited:
Review:

I played 3C for a bit in training mode.

I am coming from VP4, so it took me a little bit to get used to the control differences.

The table plays slower and longer than VP4, or at least what I have VP4 parameters set to. The way the balls react off of the rails in CaromBall feels more realistic than in VP4... closer to real cushion compression. However I think the heated tables I play on in real life have less cloth rolling resistance than CaromBall... the balls travel a tiny bit further. This is subjective though and not a criticism because it is easy to adjust, just like one would adjust to different tables IRL.

In CaromBall, I found myself using the Standing View exclusively. I like to be able to see the entire table at once while aiming. I very much like the top control panel and how I can interact with it with the mouse. I have a couple of concerns.

1. In Standing View, the top control panel blocks the end of the table. I can change my zoom and angle but as soon as I re-aim it reverts back to default zoom distance. The picture below shows the graphics blocking the far short rail. I would very much like this to be fixed, either by making the standing zoom distance further by default or by saving the user's standing zoom setting when they change it.

issue.PNG


2. Since I always use Standing for each shot, I would like an option to start each shot with Standing. I suppose this makes sense because as players we usually always start shots standing... not down on the shot as CaromBall currently has it programmed. I find myself pressing space bar to enter Standing on every shot, and it would be a nice feature to eliminate this.

3. I like using the graphics at the top of the screen, and since my mouse and focus is already up there, I think you might as well add a Shoot button. I can easily just press the Middle Mouse button to shoot, but when I do I am afraid of changing the stroke power at the same time. This feature isn't critical and just a suggestion.

4. VP4 uses the vertical motion of the mouse as shot power, like you are actually swinging the cue, rather than a pre-set power in CaromBall. I miss this in CaromBall because in VP4 you can develop a sense of shot power with your hand, closer to real life... I end up playing perfect position very often in VP4 but can't really feel the correct shot power in CaromBall in the same way.

All in all, the controls are very well thought out. I have to design UIs for customers myself for my own products and I understand what it takes to make everyone happy with the interface. I was suprised at how easily I can adjust. I feel that this simulator is excellent and I enjoyed using it.

If concern #1 and #2 is solved and there is a good community here, I will convert from VP4 to Caromball.

EDIT:

OK I played a bit more. This is great, I can make some good runs. If you can just fix the auto standing so I don't have to keep hitting space bar, I'll be happy.
 

Attachments

  • Capture.PNG
    Capture.PNG
    245.8 KB · Views: 133
Last edited:
xX-Wizard-Xx said:
i dont understand why people play pool video games .... nowhere close no matter how "Realistic" ... a pointless waste of time
Click to expand...
For someone with over 2000 messages on this forum I can see you haven't learned much from your community in terms of innovation and growth and education. Negative energy is not a good way to live life, and you should work on open-mindedness and self-improvement before it is too late. Be kind.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Nice work. I tried the computer vs computer simulation, selecting "champion" vs "good player". Your champion is "too" good. He ran out the 50 point game in one inning. He reminds me of Dead Eye Dan on Virtual Pool 1. Although, unlike Dead Eye Dan, the shots seemed very realistic to my amateur 3C eye.



View attachment 711029
Click to expand...
Was this 50 points in3 cushion?
 
nataddrho said:
Review:

I played 3C for a bit in training mode.

I am coming from VP4, so it took me a little bit to get used to the control differences.

The table plays slower and longer than VP4, or at least what I have VP4 parameters set to. The way the balls react off of the rails in CaromBall feels more realistic than in VP4... closer to real cushion compression. However I think the heated tables I play on in real life have less cloth rolling resistance than CaromBall... the balls travel a tiny bit further. This is subjective though and not a criticism because it is easy to adjust, just like one would adjust to different tables IRL.

In CaromBall, I found myself using the Standing View exclusively. I like to be able to see the entire table at once while aiming. I very much like the top control panel and how I can interact with it with the mouse. I have a couple of concerns.

1. In Standing View, the top control panel blocks the end of the table. I can change my zoom and angle but as soon as I re-aim it reverts back to default zoom distance. The picture below shows the graphics blocking the far short rail. I would very much like this to be fixed, either by making the standing zoom distance further by default or by saving the user's standing zoom setting when they change it.

View attachment 711909

2. Since I always use Standing for each shot, I would like an option to start each shot with Standing. I suppose this makes sense because as players we usually always start shots standing... not down on the shot as CaromBall currently has it programmed. I find myself pressing space bar to enter Standing on every shot, and it would be a nice feature to eliminate this.

3. I like using the graphics at the top of the screen, and since my mouse and focus is already up there, I think you might as well add a Shoot button. I can easily just press the Middle Mouse button to shoot, but when I do I am afraid of changing the stroke power at the same time. This feature isn't critical and just a suggestion.

4. VP4 uses the vertical motion of the mouse as shot power, like you are actually swinging the cue, rather than a pre-set power in CaromBall. I miss this in CaromBall because in VP4 you can develop a sense of shot power with your hand, closer to real life... I end up playing perfect position very often in VP4 but can't really feel the correct shot power in CaromBall in the same way.

All in all, the controls are very well thought out. I have to design UIs for customers myself for my own products and I understand what it takes to make everyone happy with the interface. I was suprised at how easily I can adjust. I feel that this simulator is excellent and I enjoyed using it.

If concern #1 and #2 is solved and there is a good community here, I will convert from VP4 to Caromball.

EDIT:

OK I played a bit more. This is great, I can make some good runs. If you can just fix the auto standing so I don't have to keep hitting space bar, I'll be happy.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your post, it's very interesting to get feedback from the users. We'll study your propositions for our next release. Have a good time on Caromball !
 
I have been playing for about a week.

The cushion reactions are more realistic than Virtual Pool 4. The balls react as if the cushions deform, whereas in VP4 it is more of a mirror.

I like it better.
 
Bob Jewett said:
The test for this is to freeze a ball on the cushion and then freeze a second ball to that first ball and straight out from the cushion. Can the ball on the cushion be banked out from behind the second ball. If the cushion compresses, the doubly frozen ball can escape.
Click to expand...
The cushion doesn't compress physically in the simulator but seems to grab the ball during rebound as if it does. You can feel it when you play the game. Maybe the rebound has some empirical data embedded in it?

No actual compression: In real life the yellow would not move on the tangent line. However if you look carefully the yellow ball is forward of the actual red-yellow tangent line showing that throw is accounted for.

If the cushion did compress and the red still couldn't escape after rebound without a collision, then the yellow tracking line would be facing more towards the player.

test1.jpg

test2.jpg
 
The cushion doesn't compress on the simulator, except the fact that, due to the dicretisation of the path, the ball may enter slightly the cushion. However, it's a minor problem according to me. A simulator cannot be perfect, but Caromball gives some very realistic trajectories, as well for usual shots as for artistic shots, where speed and rotation are very high. The processing time must also be taken into account, a too complex model would also be a too slow one.
 
xX-Wizard-Xx said:
yeah .. and how does that work and how is it any better than real equipment? so you try and retry solutions in a video game? way more involved than any fake environment. there is feel ... there is environment conditions ... there is stroke follow through ... ect ... way better benefits to just do everything on a real table and skip the fake benefits of a video game ... you gain way more. the real experience and feel for shots are exponentially better than any fake environment. in my opinion if you can spend time with a video game you can spend more time with real equipment and be benefited more and time spent with better payoff. there is so much more a video game cant teach you
Click to expand...
Do you play 3c regularly?

It is quite different from pool in that there are ~3/16.the considerations on the table, vs a full rack pool game.

Imo, this results in the ability to really determine the way a shot will be taken.

You can't do that in pool coz one variable changes the map.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top