Java Pool is reasonably intuitive to play. It should not be necessary to read these instructions, except possibly to understand how to control the spin of the cue ball. This is described below under the description of the "Spin Physics" menu. There is a message bar at the bottom of the Java Pool window which gives brief instructions as you play. Java Pool instruments the rules to several pool games. These include primarily originals designed by Doug and Steve Hoover. You can refer to documentation for the Hoover Bro's Pool Games. Rules to classic pool games are provided by the Billards Congress of America. More detail about the implementation of Java Pool is available here.
Control how shots are made. See also, "Spin Physics."
To shoot, press the mouse button down (on the cue ball if spin is enabled) and drag the mouse to control the strength and direction of the shot. The distance from the cue ball determines the strength, and the direction is away from the mouse cursor. A shot velocity indicator shows the strength and direction until the shot is made by releasing the mouse button. The shot can be aborted by releasing the mouse over the cue ball. It may be useful to resize or reposition the window to give yourself more room to make a shot.
Once you've mastered the "beginner" style, try "expert." You might discover that once you get used to it, it's more challenging and enjoyable. It offers better control of soft shots and allows harder shots, while making them more difficult to control as they are in a real game. To shoot, press the mouse button down on the cue ball and drag the mouse to control the strength and direction of the shot. The shot strength will also decay the longer the mouse button is held. So a hard shot must be made quickly. A good strategy is to move the mouse far from the ball initially, line up the shot, then wait for the strength to decay to the desired strength. The shot velocity indicator is shorter than for "Beginner"-style shooting, making it more difficult to line up the shot. The shot can be aborted by releasing the mouse over the cue ball. It may be useful to resize or reposition the window to give yourself more room to make a shot.
Controls the accuracy with which spin is modeled. Simpler spin models require less computation and memory and may run better on older computers. More detail on the spin models is available in the Java Pool implementation documentation. Test your spin physics knowledge.
With spin enabled, while making a shot, the position of the mouse click over the cue ball determines the spin. A click ahead of the center of the ball in the direction of the shot would be top spin, and so forth.
Also, with spin enabled, a masse indicator will appear to the left of the table. This shows the elevation of the cue. By default the cue is horizontal -- parallel to the table surface. By clicking/dragging the mouse in the masse indicator area immediately before a shot is to be made, the cue elevation can be adjusted. Masse can be used to curve the cue ball around a ball the interferes with a direct shot. To get the most masse, angle the cue steeply and strike the cue ball to the left or right side.
Spin is not modeled. Friction is not modeled, except the (viscous) friction that slows the balls.
A simple spin model in which only cue ball spin is considered. Rolling spin is not considered.
Spin is modeled very accurately. This mode has the feel of real pool.
If selected, spin computation will be more accurate. The only reason not to select this is if your machine cannot handle the additional computation.
This can be used to move balls or change the score. To move balls, press the mouse button down on them and drag them to a new position, on or off the table. To change the score, press the mouse button down on a player's score, and drag the mouse left or right to increase or decrease the score. If a new ball position or score is not consistent with the game being played, the change may not be accepted.
Close the Java Pool window.
Enable or disable sound.
Assign the settings to non-compute-intensive values.
Assign settings to enable compute-intensive features.
A table that can be resized to any size by resizing the window.
A table that looks great. The image table can be resized to specific sizes only, by resizing the window. ("Ball trails" are not supported with an image table and sliding ball styles.) Some systems may have difficulty with image tables.
Allows selection among several styles of balls which appear to slide along the felt like hockey pucks. (The physics may be modeling spin even though it is not reflected in the ball graphics.) These styles can be used on slow computers where spinning ball styles may not move as smoothly.
Allows selection among several more realistic styles of balls.
Allows selection among several more realistic styles of balls.
Display balls without lighting effects.
Like "No Shading," but a different algorithm is used for balls which have numbers and surface images which may be faster or slower depending on your machine.
Shaded styles using varying numbers of colors and shades. "Great Shading" should be fine for all but the whimpiest computers.
Shading with a practically infinite number of colors, but performance may be affected.
When selected, for some games, balls of importance will be highlighted, such as the object ball in nine ball.
When spinning ball styles are used, if selected, after each shot, balls will be reoriented with the number visible. When sliding ball styles are used, balls will be "blurred" to a solid color when in motion unless this is selected.
This is a cool feature to see the paths that balls take during a shot. As the balls move they leave an colored trail behind them. This feature is not supported with image tables.
Shows the cue while shooting.
As the shot is in motion, an indication of the cue ball spin is displayed (if spin is enabled). There is one line indicating the magnitude of spin against the table felt, and another indicating the clockwise or counterclockwise extent of the spin.
Start a new game. Rules for these games can be found at Hoover Bro's Pool Games.
Play the computer in 9-ball.
Two computer opponents will battle it out.
No rules are enforced. The score can be manually adjusted during play without selecting "Move Balls/Change Score." The number of players selects the number of scores.
Open a new browser window with one of the following web pages.