yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Cheers.

Any more clues as to which point it happens at? Does it happen with sound effects off and music and crowd on? Can it happen between shots (i.e. no sound effects should be played)? Do you have a custom rom installed?
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
For anyone who wanted a finer control system I have altered how it works slightly.

Test the new version here

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13593420/TotalPoolFree.apk

and let me know how it feels to play with. It should be far easier to make small adjustments to a shot and less jittery (however no change in the control scheme).
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
No custom rom installed.

I will start experimenting with different sound setups. As far as I can remember it only happens while the balls are moving, though not necessarily at the point of collision. I'll report back.

Will test your new control tweaks now aswell...
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Control system is much improved. Thanks for that.

Question, if I uninstall the free version will it wipe my achievements and settings from the full version? I've lost them once I really don't want to lose them again!
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Cheers.

As long as you have some version installed then it should all be kept. Only if you uninstall everything will you lose your save game and settings.

For safekeeping you can backup the save file, it is located in sdcard/Android/data/com.friendlymonster.totalpool/data
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Done, thanks.

Push to paid version!

Ps. If there wasn't a case before for snooker there certainly is one now with this tighter controller system... Bodes well. But I am patient.

I'm curious, what made you develop such a polished game for Android and not ios? Much to all our gain might I add.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
It's kind of the other way around actually. Am trying to get something in time for the World champs but have been a bit ill so it's been tough.

I don't have a mac or iOS device, am more familiar with Java than objective C, and not particularly keen on Apple's mode of doing business. I won't count out working on iOS, but am happy with Android for the moment.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
I sent another report recently with just sound effects on and thus far with crowd and music on (sfx off) all seems ok.

Another little suggestion, further to the comment about informing the player about achievements, what about instead of the subtle pulsing you have now, you could invert the colour of the achievements button until the user checks it...
[Android Apps and Games] sunilkm77:
nice game thanks
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Thanks a lot.

Ok, kind of surprising actually since the sfx stuff is the simplest. The only thing I can think is playing too many sounds at once. I do limit it to 3 sfx per frame, I will add in further limits and see if we can get rid of this issue. Thanks so much for helping with this.

I thought this was a great idea so just tried it out, unfortunately it looks a little weird since I use the inverse to denote "selected" rather than "highlighted". However I have increased the intensity of the pulse and have written a note to my audio guy asking for a special chime, unfortunately he happens to be in LA on a VO shoot for his real job right now so it will have to wait a little while.

Snooker coming on a little slower than I hoped unfortunately. Tomorrow is a crunch day.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
That might work, but the idea with it being inverted is that it should look a little out of place so the user notices it and clicks it (to then clear). I personally think that is more in line with the gui style you have thus far compared to the gradient pulse you have currently :)

If I'm the only one with this issue then I'd say stop working at it. I intend to go to a custom firmware soon that should tidy up my phone "under the bonnet" which might alleviate the issue.

I'm getting worried that you're letting it affect the sound design and quality.
[Android Apps and Games] benoit.btd:
Hi,

My very 1st post here...

I wanted to thank you for this very very good game !!!

I use the free version for an hour and quickly switch on the paid version...

In addition I wanted to give a feedback regarding some aiming diffuculties, But i've seen that there was an apk posted on dropbox on the 17th of April...

I am currently using the Google Play version... Did not noticed this thread was that active ! ;). hence, I'll give a try with this APK ;)...

My issue with aiming was that when a "remove" my finger from the screen, the aim changes a bit... Which is a bit frustrating, especially when playing against AI all ball potted except the black ball ;););)

Oh, and +1 for "Billard Français"... ;)

Again, thank you very much for this grat game!
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Thanks a lot for the feedback, and thanks for buying the game. I'm currently busy finishing up the first version of Total Snooker. I will roll the aiming updates into Total Pool maybe along with some new levels next week on the Play store, I was just hoping to get some feedback here before updating it for everybody.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Maybe you could put a link to this page in the description of the play store, you might get some more feedback...
[Android Apps and Games] karimouda:
Nice Game

Nice game, thanks for sharing
[Android Apps and Games] benoit.btd:
Hi again,

Just tested latest APK (DL from dropbox).

Indeed, your changes on aiming really really improves gaming experience !!!

Can't wait to have same enhancement in the paid version ;)

Great job.

--

Ben
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Yeah I should probably also make it more clear to come here or email me for feedback issues. On this aiming thing I think everyone has agreed it's a positive change, so am happy to push it out soon.

Thanks for playing!

Thanks, although I think it should have been in from the start really. I will hopefully get this update out fairly soon along with a fix for choppy framerates that I am looking at.

With the snooker going on that is a big priority at the moment and want to really make sure that the Pool update is high quality so that's the reason for the delay.
[Android Apps and Games] makarius:
Wasn't gonna give this a chance since previous pool games I didn't really liked. But I'm glad I did. You really nailed it. Switching to paid.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Thanks a lot, I thought a lot of the successful pool games were pretty poor too.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Update in the play store now.

Brings improved aiming, a couple of bug fixes and optional framerate limit.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Working well, as before. Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
I reduced the simultaneous audio events from 3 to 2 in the hope it may alleviate the issue you and a couple of others have experienced, but it's basically a shot in the dark.

Also added a link on the play page to this thread as you suggested.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Was that included in the current update?

Played with sfx and music just now for about an hour and it worked fine. Will keep you posted.

Thanks,
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Yeah just added it as a last minute thing to try out.

Interesting stuff, that would've been unlikely to go for that long without a freeze before right?

Cheers
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
That's what I thoight, but it has crashed once since then... report should be with you...
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
I just published my snooker game "Snooker" to the store, there isn't a free version so no new thread, just thought it would be worth mentioning.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.friendlymonster.snooker
[Android Apps and Games] benoit.btd:
Hi,

Since I guess your Snooker app will be has good has the "Total Pool" app, I just bought it without any hesitation !!! ;) I'm not what we could say a fan of snooker, but I am curious and it's kind of a support for all your great work.

I hope that "Billard francais" (Carom Billard) will be the next one to come !!! ;);)

Regards,

Ben
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Good stuff thanks a lot, your suggestion has been noted.

Tomorrow is trailer day for both of these, I really need to get some promotion going for Pool since it has slipped massively in the last few days.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Going to get it now, no hesitation. Excited.
[Android Apps and Games] *se-nsei.:
Oh my god. I really want total snooker. Gonna have to wait a month or two though before I can purchase on play again (personal reasons). Amazing job though man. Can't wait to try it out. Friendly monster you one of, if not the only, of my favourite devs. ;)

As I said the other day, to promote total pool try asking Android.appstorm. they have a lot of readers and accept dev requests for reviews. They are very professional as a blog. Another big one is androidpolice. ;)

Good luck. I can never go two days without playing at least one match hehe. :D
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Thanks a lot, apologies for there not being a free version, but screen space is at even more of a premium here. It also presents a good opportunity to be able to compare the efficacy of the business models.

I will make sure to submit to those sites once my trailer is up on youtube.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Two points thus far,

1. The crashing issue remains, as before (while balls are moving with just sfx on)

2. There appears to be a rules error, I went in off after potting a black but the opponent only got 4 points. Should be 7 right?

Other than that I'm enjoying it a lot. There does seem to be a bit of jittering with the aim though. And the trajectory is very welcome here.

How come you haven't called it Total Snooker?

Thanks,
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
If you're up for it I might put together a special build with different options to see if we can track down this crashing issue, probably next week when I have a little more time (friend staying at the moment).

Good spot. I'll fix this.

I've been disappointed at how low Total Pool appears when someone searches for "pool" in the market, a lot of crap comes much higher. I thought I might experiment at just using the name "Snooker" to see if that can raise visibility. Also the logo looked awful when I tried to fit "total snooker" on the chalk ;).
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Further to the previous rules issue, it seems to occur in other situations as well. Such as when you nominate say pink but miss opponent gets 4 again I think should be 6 etc, and again I think when you pot a highvalue colour when going for red gives 4 when should match the high value.

There are situations where it gives the right value but I have noticed all of the above.

On the snooker conputer. I've just beaten everything up to hard without too much difficulty. Even on hard break building seems to be non existent, will get back to you about expert...

About the special build, I'm happy to help out after 8th May, have exams between now and then.

Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Yeah I totally had the rules wrong, they're wrong on the rules page too. I have a fixed build I'm about to upload.

Ok, good to hear, I'm happier to err on the easy side, but if expert doesn't pose a challenge then I'll definitely have to take a good look at the balance.

Great, good luck!
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Quick comment about the graphics, what about trying to replicate the lighting situation seen in most broadcast games ie that gives the two line effect on the balls. Just a thought.

A comment on the name. Regardless of whether you can fit it onto the chalk or not I think "Total Snooker" has more identity than just snooker on its own.

I suspect yours comes lower because its newer and less proven. Also maybe you could tailor your description a little, though I don't know what would help precisely. More keywords maybe, but I suggest a Google search (for "how to promote my apparently on play" etc) will give you ideas.

But good luck, you deserve some success because they are great polished apps.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Yeah I'm not totally happy with the reflections, I may take a look at it. Top down is a slightly unusual view of a snooker table too.

True, but Total Pool has more identity yet is featured way below a lot of games/apps with names like "pool" when searched for.

Google are pretty opaque with telling you how their search works, I'm not sure how much point there is trying to game it.

I've noticed a bug in Total pool that the challenges are always on the UK style table at the moment, will put out a fix tonight along with an ad for snooker in the free version of pool.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
When I say identity I mean like brand. The "Total" prefix is basically your identity, and I think it's a good one. Simple but strong. That won't necessarily mean it will be lower or higher in the search. That will come with time as more people view it and download it and rate it. Its still early days for your apparently in that regard, but do market it! It needs it.

It will take off eventually, I am sure of it.
[Android Apps and Games] agtitan:
Hey not sure what happened, but on the last couple updates (not sure exactly which one), it completely stopped working on my galaxy sii. It force closes immediately upon opening. Any ideas?
[Android Apps and Games] agtitan:
Nevermind..I uninstalled and then reinstalled it and now it works great. Thanks!
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Well I can always change it later, I just thought that it might be an interesting experiment to try a different approach with the naming.

Hi there, thanks for the report. Someone said the same on the reviews. Was this you? If you lost a lot of progress then please email me friendlymonstergames@gmail.com and I will sort out a save game for you.

If so then I hope it was a strange one-off. If not then it's not really good enough as far as I'm concerned to have that happening. Especially since you will lose your save game by doing this.

I would love a crash report sent if anyone else has had this so I can find out what's going on and fix it.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Having played against the expert computer for several days now I am still yet to best it. However, it is incredibly frustrating playing against it. The amount of times it pulls off a 3 4 5 6 ball plant, especially when the balls are in a cluster in a frame is just incredible. Then there is shot selection and safety play. Almost always opting to play softly up to a ball rather then try and get a snooker in baulk. Then there is the way it tries to hit a ball when snookered. Never enough power and often finds incredibly inhuman paths like aiming for the middle jaw off a couple of cushions.

I imagine it's not easy to program ai especially for snooker but it needs a total overhaul at the moment.

One other thing, what about implementing the miss rule so that the player can have the ball replaced if the opponent misses its target ball?

thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Fair comments, and all stuff I will look into. I will do the miss rule however it's a lot of work to get right, since it is a subjective rather than objective thing to judge.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
I understand its obviously difficult to implement it completely, but at least the opportunity to make the opponent replay the shot if it misses at all.

Except when at the snookers required stage where the player is not allowed to replace but gets a freeball as is now.

Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] agtitan:
Yes that was me. I changed my review and put it back to 5 stars. What is weird is it kept my game progress after reinstalling it.
[Android Apps and Games] me_apps:
Great i will try it;)
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
I've upgraded to ICS via the Samsung update. I'll start playing with sfx again and report back.

Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Seems to be working better than ever on ICS, Smooth as silk. Just made my highest break yet. 78.

I reckon there should be a general stats section. Number of balls potted, number of blacks, pinks, blues, reds etc Highest break, highest break against the different computer levels. Other miscellaneous things, number of fouls, number of shouldn't've etc.

Definitely needs this.

And the next stage is online multiplayer then the game is perfect.
[Android Apps and Games] iT0mm0:
many thanks very good game, will buy the paid version :D
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Sorry I seem to have stopped getting notifications from this thread, hence the lack of replies.

I have decided to bring "Total Pool" in line with "Snooker" by rebranding it as "Pool" for some hopefully increased search visibility. The free version will also no longer be hosted on or updated by Google Play, however I will keep an up to date build in my dropbox (link in the OP).

Strange. I have located the bug, it's a Froyo bug I can't actually do anything about, and only happens with the free version when the shareduserid is changed.

Will look into expanding the features after trailer and ai work is done. Cheers.

Thanks a lot.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
You can notice some sound skipping now from forcing it to play only two sounds at a time.
[Android Apps and Games] cspiby:
The free version has disappeared off Google Play.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Yes, it has been unpublished. The free version will still be available via dropbox in the OP of this thread.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
The problem is still nonexistent. Everything working well now. But i think you should reverse the changes you made to the sound. The atmosphere you had before is nonexistent.

Also, even with the new ai the computer still makes outrageous plants on expert.

Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
I think some people are still having trouble with the freezing by the sounds of things (and the bad reviews). Hopefully I can get to the bottom of it one day, or just hope everyone gets ICS soon :D.

The AI work is only half done, I only worked on safety shots and positioning so far, and will look at pots and break building soon (maybe tomorrow), along with a number of smaller fixes.

Cheers.
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
Fair enough. Good luck with it.
[Android Apps and Games] Deja_Vu:
Amazing game!

Enviado desde mi Galaxy Nexus usando Tapatalk 2
[Android Apps and Games] agtitan:
Weird my galaxy sii has gingerbread, not froyo
[Android Apps and Games] *se-nsei.:
@ Friendly Monster. Snooker's on the front app page of Google Play, keep up the good work ! :)
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
I've played up to the 11ft table and in my opinion it plays better on the larger sizes. Just a thought.

Also, the potting sounds are not from a snooker table. They can definitely be improved.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Yeah it's been a great success in the UK so far.

Yeah, next update will unlock all the tables from the start with default set on your device size.

The audio will be looked at when my audio guy has some free time.

The next update will be a big one with; improved ai, faster cloth, retained side spin, option for even more clear shot guides

Looking beyond that I want to do; stats screen, alternate ball sets, revised audio including fix for galaxy sii freezing (apparently inherent in the sii unless I rewrite my audio system http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=17623), perhaps some sort of challenges, revised graphics to look like snooker pockets

As for pool, any of the updates that make sense from snooker and new challenges
[Android Apps and Games] H4RDY:
I look forward to a lot of that thank you.

One thing, with regard both apps, I believe you will not see a fraction of the gain that you would see should you develop online multiplayer. All of your competitors offer it. It needs to be included, I would suggest that it should be your top priority.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Ok test version of new snooker to see how people like the changes, it will update over the old one and be updated when I push to the market (if you have bought it). Also a chance to try it out if you haven't bought it, but please don't just go spreading the apk over the internet.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13593420/SnookerTest.apk

- new aiming guides if you want to make things easier

- all table sizes unlocked from beginning

- ai with improved potting and not play insane plants

- power control should feel more direct

- physics should match real snooker table more closely

- balls retain side spin better

The big thing that needs to be done is optimizing the ball guide code as it slows down from 40fps to 20fps on my phone while taking a shot.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
It is extremely unlikely that it'll be in either game in the near future. The design and technical challenges are just too great and I have new things to work on for most of my time. I'm not ditching these and still have plenty work to do to on pool and snooker to get them up to the standard I want.

I'm more than comfortable with how my games stack up value-wise against the competitors.
[Android Apps and Games] KSpawNO:
i love pool :) thanks
[Android Apps and Games] *se-nsei.:
Love the ball guide lines. Makes it easier. :D Loving everything about this game man, but as you said it does slow down when taking a shot. And I've got a small screen so it's kind of hard to take shots with accuracy, maybe I need to fiddle with the sensitivity.
[Android Apps and Games] nigstudio:
Great UI, Playing Now!
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Cheers.

I'll have a look to see what further work I can do in optimizing this. It's cpu intensive rather than gpu intensive as it's calculating the entire path of the ball each frame.

Thanks.
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Does anyone have a galaxy sii phone?

I'd like someone to help test this audio fix, it will only make a difference on this device. Should be ready tomorrow, woohoo!

Let me know here or at friendlymonstergames@gmail.com

Thanks!
[Android Apps and Games] mansellkarl:
awesome game, nice work dude
[Android Apps and Games] Querika:
Great game, physics and everything works fine on my Galaxy Tab. (Android 2.2, Api Level 8)

Now I just have to learn the rules. ;)
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Thanks a lot.

Cheers. Rules are there in game but I decided against an in game tutorial for rules for complexity reasons so far.

Snooker update came out today with revised audio. Actually uses a completely different system now (opensles and native code rather than libgdx audio (using soundpools)). Will try and get the same fix done for Pool tomorrow since everything seems to be running ok for everyone.
[Android Apps and Games] benoit.btd:
Hi,

Is there any chance that "French billard" will be built ?

Thx again for those 2 apps ;)

--

Ben
[Android Apps and Games] The Friendly Monster:
Hi, it's unlikely at the moment as it's not a game I am at all familiar with and I'm not sure how great the demand is.

There's been a bunch of new stuff added recently, the icons, names, shot indicators and menus have all been totally reworked.

There are now also demos available for Total Pool and Total Snooker on the Play Store.
[Motorola Droid 3] ChristianPreachr:
Anyone have an idea how to fix this? I hear its in the build prop. I'm running Dark Droid and this doesn't seem like a rom issue. I've seen multiple phones with this problem but no apparent fix. Anyone have any ideas?
[Motorola Droid 3] dpwhitty11:
You could open it up and rotate the camera sensor :3