3D Pool manual

Maltese Joe's 3D Pool Challenge
© Orlando M.Pilchard, Aardvark Software, 1989
BBC/Electron , CBM 64 versions by
Orlando M, Pilchard.

Spectrum, MSX and Amstrad CPC versions by
Jeff,

When you see the table for the first time.

When you first take a look at 3D Pool, you may be
slightly surprised to notice that there's no cue. This Is because
you don't need one! If, however, you take an Imaginary line
straight 'out' from the cue ball to the centre of the screen, this
will suffice. This means that instead of moving your cue
around the table, wo have introduced a revolutionary twist -
you move the table around the cue!

You start off looking down the table. Closest to you is a dark
semi-circle which is called the “D\ with the cue ball placed in
the centre. Right down the other end of the table are the game
balls, arranged neatly In a triangle, with the 8 ball (black)
nestling in the middle. The table rotates clockwise and anti¬
clockwise, allowing you to change the direction of your shot,
it also tilts up and down, allowing you to change spin strength
and type (ie. top or hack spin).

When you first start a giime, there is a flashing ball in the top
left hand side of the screen (showing that it's player one's
turn to play a shot). After players have chosen their colour (by
potting a ball) then the colour for player one is shown here.
Next is the name of the current player, then comes the 'refer-
ence ball 1 . There is a dot on this ball, which shows you where
the cue is going to strike. This dot moves as you move the table,
or apply 'sw'erve'. Then comes the power-bar (which shows the

strength of the shotj. It doubles as a message area (printing
messages such as ‘place the cue ball' or Timm...' when the
computer player is thinking). Finally, comes a ball showing
the colour the other player Is to pot.

Playing the game

When the game has loaded* you will be presented wi Lh a menu.
Each option on the menu can be selected by pressing the
appropriate function key. See below for an explanation of what
happens when you press one of these keys.

f 1 1NPUT TYPE Toggle s eithe r keyboard o r j oystick

f3 MATCH TYPE Runs through a list of*,.

Tournament
Two player
Demo mode
Practice
Trick play

SPACE will start your selection.

Tournament

You start off in the quarter-finals, set against a random ly-
chosen opponent. After playing the best of three games, you
enter the semi-finals, again playing the best of three games*
After that, winning t he qualifying finals (this time the best of
five games) will let you play Maltese doe himself (Well, a
computer version of him!)

f5 VIEW PAIRINGS Shows a list of opponents.
f7 NEW TOURNAMENT Will re-shu file the opponents

Du ri n g the game, pressing QUIT when i t i s y o ur tu m will prin t
up another menu*

fB CONCEDE GAME Means you lose this game
SPACE resumes play.

Two player

You play against a friend, taking alternate Visits’.

During the game, pressing QUIT will print up another menu*
f3 QUIT Return to main menu.

Demo mode

This option allows you to view the particular playing skills of
any two players.

f5 CHANGE OPPONENTS Randomly selects two players.
During the gg.me, pressing QUIT will print up another menu.
f3 QUIT Return to main menu*

Practice

You can practice as many times as you like against a partlcu
lar opponent.

15 CHANGE OPPONENT Runs through a list of possible
opponents (sadly you can't practice against Maltese Joe).
During the game, pressing QUIT when it is your turn will print
up another menu.

f3 STOP GAME Returns you to the main menu*
fS CHANGE OPPONENT You can change your mind in
the middle of a game.

SPACE resumes play.

Keyboard Controls

BBC /Hie e. C64

MBX

Spectrum

Ametrsd CPC

<= z

z

Z

Z

Z

X

X

X

X

X

:

K

k t

K

& 1

/

M

M

M

Strike Return

Return

Ent

Enter

Enter

girrr esc

RCN/STO

ESC

BREAK

ESC

In Cursor up

Cursor down Cursor up l

Cursor up

Out Cursor down Cursor rlgjit Cursor down O Cusr down

Note: Spectrum. Amitrid CPC *nd MBX men ihould us* the keyi 1,2,3 ft 4
Instead of f 1 f3 h fS flt f7.

Spectrum owners can change the colour of the table by pressing 'trend the
colour of the border bp pressing T, at any time.

Description of Controls

<3 Rotate table anticlockwise [move cue ball right in 'D'J

c> Rotate table clockwise (move cue ball left in ‘D7

ft Move cue up, providing bottom spin (move cue ball
further away in A D')

^ Move cue down, top spin (move cue ball closer in + D7
U Flip viewing position around to other side of the tables

S Switch colours (see note below)

In Zoom in (increase the size of the table)

Out Zoom out (decrease size)

Strike (DOUBLE CLICK * Press the key quite quickly twice)
Strike the cue ball Hold down the Strike key at the same time
as these keys to produce the desired effect.*

<3 Adjust swer/e left and right. The place where the cue
will strike the cue ball is shown by a dot on the reference ball
ft Q Adjust power (power increases from left to right)

J oy Stick You may also use a Joystick, with FIRE instead of Strike

Trick Play (which deserves a whole long section all to
Itself)

Better than in real Pool, once you Ve tried a trick-shot, 3D Pool
sets It back up exactly as it was! To 'solve" a trick-shot, you
must pot all the light coloured balls without fouling (ie, hitting
a dark ball first). A clever combination of side and back (or top)
spin usually 'does the trick l \

f5 NEXT TRICK Select next trick (The trick number
changes),

f7 EDIT TRICK This allows you to design your own
tricks (or edit existing ones) - See below.

SPACE allows you to try out a trick.

During the trick, pre ssing QUIT takes you back to the main

menu.

Like anything that has a structure, trick shots has a certain
logic' to them. Here's a description of some of the common pat¬
terns found (there are certainly many others; can you design
new ones?)

(a) Goalh anger - a ball sitting on the edge of a pocket. Football
fans will see the similarities here... the slightest passing touch
and it'll jump In.

(b) Peashooter - two balls touching. Hit the back of one and the
other flies off along theline passing through their centres, A
favourite among real trick-shot players, because if you point
them at a pocket, you can't missl

(c) Cannon - a shot that glances off one ball and carries on
moving. The term Is used in billiards.

(d) Guard - a ball of set of balls whose function (in the trick-
shot) is to stop a shotbeing possible. For example, a ball you
have to swerve around, or a black sitting over a pocket (goal
hanging).

(e) Chain - a line of balls that, if hit (in the right sort of way) at
one end, cause the ball at the other end to move. In snooker
terms, this is called “a multi ball plant'.

(f) Plant - a ball (not the cue ball) hitting a second ball. A
■peashooter' Is a special kind of plant (touching).

Trick-shot EDITOR

The controls for trick-shot editing are the same as you use for
playing the game, but they do different things
<3c>ft^ Move viewing position (note this is different from
the shooting position - further explanation below)

Strike and Move current edit ball (the flashing ball) around
ft ^ the table, rclaUve to you r viewing position. This
is the same as moving the cue ball around the 'D\

oint (so, if you wish, you can
view a shot from a different angle).

S Save screen to trick-shot buffer (note: this is not to
disk or tape, this fixes a version In memory). It makes a ‘pocket'
sound to acknowledge,

A Turn current ball W or 'off\ An ‘off ball flashes
differently to and ‘on* ball (it appears less of the time - take a
look on screen, you*11 easily make the distinction). A trick-shot
Is played with the J on* balls. The cue ball cannot be switched
off (of course), bui the black ball is optional.

Strike (DOUBLE CLICK) Cycle to next ball (le. change to edit
a different ball's position).

Shooting position for Trick-shots

The current shooting position is set u p when you press SPACE
from the trick-shot menu ('playing mode 1 rather than 'editing
mode'). The visual difference between playing and editing
is the same as playing and placing the cue ball (within the 'DT
- there is a grey P D* on the table, and a message where the
power-bar usually is.

Generally* the most effective way to design a trick-shot is to
go into editing mode, move the cue ball to where you Intend it
should start from, then press QUIT and go into playing mode,
where you can set up the power, angle and spin of the trick
(even though the problem hasn't been set up). Then press
QUIT and go into editing mode - when you press T from here,
i t will play the shot that will finally solve the trick. it*s quite
nice to note that once you have solved a trick, you can view it
from an entirely different angle using this method.

Placing the cue ball In the D' at the start of a game or after
a foul.

To place the cue ball exactly where you want it in the 'D\ use
the rotate and cue up/down controls with Strike held down.
The rotate controls will move the cue ball left and right,
and the cue controls will move the ball up and down the table
(away from you or toward you).

Swerve, what it does and how to do it.

When you apply swerve to your shot, you are actually making
the cue ball spin on iVs axis. This means that if you move the
dot on the reference ball to the left, the ball will spin clock¬
wise, and the shot will curve right. The amount the shot
deviates depends on how hard you hit the cue ball and how far
across the reference ball you have moved the dot.

Strike and Apply swerve (Move the dot on the reference ball
left and right)

Choosing colours after potting two different balls after a
break.

If players are still trying to establish their colours after a break,
and someone pots one ball of each colour, the option will come
up for them to choose. Before trying to pot the next ball,
pressing S swaps colours. This can be done as many times as
is necessary but once Strike is pressed (to take the shot)
the colour is fixed. So make the most of it* If the last shot was
also a foul, you can swap colours after the free-shot, as well as
before.

When it s your turn to play

A flashing cue ball will appear next to your ball at the top of the

screen. This ball will continue to flash until you fail to pot a ball
of your colour, or play a foul shot.

When you play a foul shot

According to the rules, if you play a foul shot, your opponent
will be awarded a free-shot. This is denoted by two cue balls
next to the player's colour at the top of the screen. The ball
closest to the centre of the screen flashes. The opponent will
also be allowed to replace the cue ball anywhere in the + D T - see
above. However, if on your (extra) free-shot, you pot a ball
without fouling, you lose the extra shot. This is to encourage
tactical play - you obviously didn't need the free-shot I
Loading the game

All your systems, whether they be disk or tape should be set
up exactly as stated in the manuals. Remove all peripherals
not connected with the running of the game, ie. cartridges
etc. Your cassette or disk should be inserted in the loading
device with the labelstde up,

BBC/Elec trou

Tape: Type CHADT", Press Return then press PLAY.

Disk: Press (and then release) BREAK whilst holding down
either of the SHIFT keys.

Commodore 64/128

Tape: Press RUN/STOP whilst holding down either of the
SHIFT keys. Hie press PLAY.

Disk: Type LOAD"***,8*1. Press RETURN,

Spectrum 48/128/+2/+3

Tape: If you have a 128k machine, select 48k BASIC from the
menu. Type LOAD" ". Press ENTER then press PLAY,
Disk: Select Loader from the menu,

Amstrad 464/664/6128

Tape: Press CTRL and the small ENTER enter together.

then press PLAY

Type RUN "DISK". Then press RETURN,

Type BLOAD" CA3:",R, Press RETURN, the press
PLAY.

Disk:

MSX

Tape: