Update - 0.7.9

• Added a basic tutorial to get new players off to a flying start (hopefully...)
• Fixed a couple of issues relating to the left-handed option.

Update - 0.7.7

A few aesthetic updates and physics tweeks plus:

• raise/lower yourself with the left thumbstick (for right-handed players, right thumbstick for left-handed)

• cue goes red when it's overalpping another object (eg the table), and blue 'ghost' when tracking is lost, to help differentiate between those situations

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Thanks for looking at my EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT pool game.

At this stage, I'm looking for some feedback - especially on the shot-taking mechanic at the core of the game.

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Step into the world of pub pool!

Put your name up on the blackboard and wait to be called up. Winner-stays-on EPA rules and party Killer Pool await. *

Instinctive life-like cueing controls let you forget you're playing a videogame. You want to hit with spin? Hit the cueball as you would in real life to get the spin you desire.

Featuring an 'IRL' surface marker in-game, allowing you to rest your bridging hand on a surface for shot making.

( * DEMO VERSION contains SINGLE PLAYER PRACTISE ONLY at this time.)

THIS TITLE IS IN AN EARLY STATE OF DEVELOPMENT AND, AS SUCH, IS NOT CONSIDERED BUG-FREE OR IN ANY WAY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FINAL PRODUCT (Whatever that means these days...)

Notes on gameplay:

Locomotion :

You can 'pull' yourself around the table using the hand-grip buttons on either controller (you dont need to pull the table itself, you can just grab the air!). Hold both hand-grips to turn (a motion rather like turning a steering wheel) or raise and lower yourself.

There is a slider on the main menu to adjust the level of momentum kept upon releasing the trigger(s).

The thumbstick on the right controller (or left if you're using left-handed controls) can also be used to rotate around the cueball, or move forwards and backwards

Cue-hold:

The buttons on the controller that holds the butt of the cue (A & B for right-handers, X & Y for left-handers) can be used to move the grip position on the cue forwards and backwards. Find a position thats good for you and note that a position further forward may help in the event of tracking loss due to your hand being out of sight of your headset **

Shooting:

The trigger on your sub-dominant hand (left for right-handers, right for left-handers), when held, brings up the cue and allows you to play a shot.

The IRL ("In Real Life") Surface Marker: (currently works with Stationary Guardian only)

This innovation allows you to set a spot in your real-world space to act as a resting point for your bridging hand, so that you may lean over the shot without falling forward ***

You'll need small patch of table-top (or high stool, etc) within reach of, or in, your play-space.

To activate the Marker, press and hold the X button (right-handed controls) or A button (left-handed controls), whilst your bridge-hand controller is resting on your designated spot in your play-space.

The Oculus Quest's Passthrough mode (must be switched on in the Oculus settings first, then double tap your headset to toggle) can be useful when setting your Marker, with the following flow:

• activate Passthrough mode
• rest bridge-hand on surface
• deactivate Passthrough mode
• hold Marker Set button

Once set, you can line up your shot by holding your hands out in front of you, your bridging hand in front of your cue-holding hand (in other words, rather like holding an imaginary cue)

You'll see a marker-arrow on the table, going through the cueball. This is your shot-line indicator.

When you begin cueing, you'll be instantly moved to a position where you can make the shot you lined up whilst resting your bridging-hand on the Surface Marker.

Further notes:

** headset/controller tracking loss:

When playing pool, many players will hold their dominant hand way behind themslelves as they take a shot, with their chins as close as possible to the shaft of the cue. Because the Oculus Quest has inside-out tracking, that stance becomes problematic and, inevitably, the controller will go out of tracking range.

When this happens, the cue will become ghost-like and will only come back when tracking is regained.

To avoid this, it's neccessary to adopt a slightly more upright stance than is ideal, and perhaps to choose a holding position on the cue further forward than desired.

One experimental feature is implemented to aleviate this problem and can be activated by holding the dominant-hand trigger. The butt of the cue is drawn towards the player's chin a few inches. This is often enough to allow a shot to be cued up without tracking loss, but takes a bit of getting used to! Let me know if this helps you at all, or if it needs adjusting in any way.

A last note on this: try to avoid wearing loose-fitting clothes, like an unbuttoned shirt, as that could interfere with the Quest's line-of-sight to the controller.

*** Or, "Doing a Ronnie"