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3D Graphics Raise Billiard Games Standard
By ASAD | December 13, 2007
Cue sports have become archaic hobbies. The three-cushion carom was once the dominant sport of the night when every street in South Korea had one or two billiards clubs as men’s social gathering places. But now with Internet cafes having replaced pool tables and with only a handful of the clubs surviving, this sport of mathematical precision is becoming an online activity.
There have been a number of PC-based billiards games since the day of the 286 processors, but the advent of 3-dimensional graphics and physics engines has made all the difference. In addition, broadband online access guarantees that you can always find a buddy or two to play at any time of the day.
The three most popular online billiards games are: “Cue Online’’ from Happy Nation for serious players; “Netmarble Danggu’’ from CJ Internet; and “Billimania’’ from NHN for novice players and casual gamers. All three offer various types of cushion balls (carom) _ Koreans’ favorite game _ and pocket balls.
Whichever you choose, online pool has some advantages. You don’t have to inhale the cigarette smoke in the billiards clubs nor worry about your sleeves getting dirty from green chalk powder. Last but not least, the games are all free.
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Practice Artistic Shots at “Cue Online’’
It is a laudable feat of 21st century computer science that the programmers and designers of Happy Nation have packaged the 3-D graphics of “Cue Online’’ into a space of little more than 22 megabytes, while most online games of this age often exceed 1 gigabyte.
From the very start of the game, players are mystified by the artful movements of the ivory balls that are masterfully rendered with a high-gloss texture. The decoration of pool tables and background music add to the generally pleasant atmosphere.
The most astounding part of the “Cue Online’’ is its delicate 3-D physics engine. The shift key enables precise aiming changes and spins on your shots and the ball rolls just as you would expect it to roll on a real-world pool table. With the V key, you can try the risky Masse trick _ hitting from a vertical position to give powerful backward spins _ without worrying about scuffing up the felt. You can even try complicated artistic shots using the top-side of the cushions.
As they move around the table, the balls leave dim trace lines so players can more clearly figure out the geometry of their shots. Every time you make a tricky shot, a small screen appears on the top right and shows the replay. The game also has a “hall of fame’’ menu where the ten most impressive shots of the day are replayed.
The trickiest and most amusing part of “Cue Online’’ is that you hit the ball by pumping the cue back and forth with your mouse. The faster you move your mouse, the harder the cue hits the ball. I had fun playing it with the TrackPoint pointing stick of my laptop PC, so it seems there is no reason not to play on laptops with a touch pad.
There is a 30-second limit for every shot. The game offers a top-down view with the tab key, and a diagonal view with the space key. There are five kinds of games available: cushion balls with four balls or three balls, and pocket balls with eight, nine or fourteen balls. “Cue Online’’ can be downloaded at www.cueonline.co.kr.
Casual Games for Novice Users
For gamers who just want to dabble in billiards, “Netmarble Danggu’’ and “Billimania’’ may be the best choices. They have intuitive user interfaces and friendly help screens so even people who are not accustomed to billiards rules can play without much difficulty.
Users aim at the ball by moving the mouse around and shoot the ball by pushing and releasing the right mouse button. The longer you hold the button, the stronger the shot becomes. The games also feature cute game characters, or Avatars. Both the cushion ball games and pocket ball games are available.
“Netmarble Danggu’’ is avaialable at www.netmarble.net, and “Billimania’’ at www.hangame.com.
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