CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Wargames and historical
simulations have been popular pastimes since the last half of the
Twentieth Century. Furthermore, their value as tools for the teaching
and reinforcement of creative decision-making has been recognised since
Georg von Reisswitz first introduced his wargaming rules in the early
19th Century. Indeed, this aspect is increasingly being applied not only
in the military profession but also for managerial personnel across a
whole spectrum of occupations. The arrival of computer gaming has led to
an increased flexibility not only in game design but also in the way in
which games are played, and this has resulted in a significant increase
in popularity. In particular, with the advent of the Internet, the last
two decades have seen a huge global increase in the player-base of
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as
Pooland World of Warcraft.
The development of a historical MMORPG, therefore, presents the developer with challenges in two main areas:
• Firstly, game design, in which a
balance has to be reached between the requirement for historical
accuracy and the need to keep the game enjoyable for its players.
• Secondly, system architecture which
poses significant challenges with regard to system complexity and
scalability, requiring a well-documented modular design with the
application of clear interfaces.
1.1 Background of Study
Billiard is a well-known
entertaining arcade game. It is a real time game at the same time.
Current versions of billiard game is consists of one type of game each.
For instance, 8-ball and 3-ball billiard game cannot be played in same
software, only one type of game is provided in games that have been
done. Besides, player cannot adjust power as s/he wants in current
versions of billiard.
Based on these current versions, a new
billiard game should contain 3-ball and 8-ball type of games together.
Moreover, there must be a more user-friendly system for adjusting the
power to hit the ball. Every system that Java Runtime Environment is
installed on it should be able to run billiard game.
Unsurprisingly, given the increasing
commercial significance of computer gaming, particularly multiplayer
gaming, both the fields of game design and game system architecture have
seen a growth in the amount of research being undertaken.
Game Overview
There are hundreds of pool games. Some
of the more well known include eight-ball, nine-ball, straight pool, and
one-pocket. In this project we have decided to design and implement
eight-ball game which is the most popular one in amateur field.
Eight-ball is played with sixteen balls:
a cue ball, and fifteen object balls consisting of seven striped balls,
seven solid balls and the black 8 ball. After the balls are scattered
on a break shot, the players are assigned either the group of solid
balls or the stripes once a ball from a particular group is legally
pocketed. The ultimate object of the game is to legally pocket the eight
ball in a called pocket, which can only be done after all of the balls
from a player's assigned group have been cleared from the table.
Players should be careful about not to
pocket the black 8 ball before pocketing all the other balls because
that will cause to game over.
1.2 Statement of Problem
This game have been placed in different
location but not on web base, the game can be played using mobile
device, system as an application, but the researcher wants a situation
why the game will be integrated to the web platform. And this project
will be built on an existing platform structured for game and
application on the internet, the “JominiEngine”.
1.3 Objectives of Study
The goal of this project is
to design a new version of a distributed, scalable game engine, the
JominiEngine, for a historically-based MMORPG set in a medieval context,
entitled Overlord: Age of Magna Carta (hereafter referred to as
Overlord).
It is intended that this be the first in
a series of projects that will extend, by degrees, the functionality of
the JominiEngine, ultimately resulting in the production of a fully
featured, adaptable MMORPG platform allowing the creation of games in
which players will assume the role of nobles and will manage fiefs,
generate income, raise armies, fight wars with other players, and Pool
eith their own family's lineage.
This project will focus on developing the essential core of the JominiEngine, and use it to instantiate Pool.
1.4 Aims of Study
The aims for this project are to develop the following components:
• A core game model, specifying the
basic game objects, interactions, rules, mechanisms, and victory metrics
(see Figure 5 in Section 3.1 Methodology and Figure 9 in Section 5.1
Game model design). It is intended that the complexity of the initial
version be reduced by scaling down the number of game components;
therefore, the model is to be designed in such a way as to facilitate
future development (see Section 1.3: Requirements and specification, for
more details).
• A core game engine, enabling players
to perform the functionality outlined in the game model (see Figures 10,
11 and 12 in Section 5.2 Game engine design). Only a minimal user
interface is to be provided, sufficient for testing purposes, although
it is hoped to provide a simple hexagon map of the game world for added
context.
• An underlying system architecture, enabling the efficient operation of the game engine at varying usage levels.
1.5 A Brief History of the Noble Game of Billiards
The history of billiards is
long and very rich. The game has been played by kings and commoners,
presidents, mental patients, ladies, gentlemen, and hustlers alike. It
evolved from a lawn game similar to the croquet played sometime during
the 15th century in Northern Europe and probably in France. Play was
moved indoors to a wooden table with green cloth to simulate grass, and a
simple border was placed around the edges. The balls were shoved,
rather than struck, with wooden sticks called “maces”. The term
“billiard” is derived from French, either from the word “billart”, one
of the wooden sticks, or “bille”, a ball.
The game was originally played with two
balls on a six-pocket table with a hoop similar to a croquet wicket and
an upright stick used as a target. During the 18th century, the hoop and
target gradually disappeared, leaving only the balls and pockets. Most
of our information about early billiards comes from accounts of playing
by royalty and other nobles. It has been known as the “Noble Game of
Billiards” since the early 1800’s, but there is evidence that people
from all walks of life have played the game since its inception. In
1600, the game was familiar enough to the public that Shakespeare
mentioned it in Antony and Cleopatra. Seventy-five years later, the
first book of billiard rules remarked of England that there were “few
Towns of note therein which hath not a publick Billiard-Table.” Mike
Shamos is the author of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards and
curator of The Billiard Archive, a nonprofit organization established to
preserve the game‘s history.
1.6 The Rules of Billiards/Pool
Equipment
A full-size Billiards table
measures twelve feet by six feet, one and a half inches and has a
baize-covered slate bed. The four edges of the table feature rubber
edges covered in baize called "cushions". Six "pockets" are situated
one at each corner plus one at the centre of each long side of the table
into which the balls can drop. The six pockets normally have a net or a
small collecting channel to catch the balls. Two feet, five inches
from one end, a line is drawn across the table called the "baulk" line.
Any ball between the baulk line and the nearest end is generally
referred to as being "in baulk". A semi-circle is inscribed within the
baulk area with is axis as the middlepoint of the baulk line and with a
radius of eleven and a half inches. This semi-circle is termed the
"D". At the other end of the table, twelve and three-quarter inches
from the end cushion, a spot is centrally inscribed as a starting point
for the red ball.
The cue ball is struck with tapered
sticks featuring a striking tip called "cues". The cue tips are chalked
to prevent a slippery contact with the ball. There is almost always an
additional accessory available called a "rest" which is like a cue with
a cross on the end upon which the cue can be rested to extend its
playing length. Quite often, a "full-butt" and a "half-butt" are also
available - these are much longer rests with arched fixments on the end
that come with their own long cues for playing very long shots.
Billiards is played with one red ball and two white cue balls, one with a small black spot and one without.
The Start
A doubles game is
occasionally played but the game is usually singles. One player chooses
to play with the white cue ball and the other the spotted white cue
ball. To begin with, players play their cue ball from within the D down
the table so that it bounces back up the table and comes to rest in
baulk. The player whose ball is closest to the baulk cushion chooses to
go first or second. Most players prefer to go second because the first
turn occurs with only two balls on the table - a severe limitation.
The game starts with the red ball on
it's spot and the cue ball of the starting player placed in the D at the
front of the table. Players agree how many points will constitute a
game and the objective is merely to be the first to score than number.
A typical number for expert players might be 1000 points -
professionals regularly score more than this in a single break.
Beginners might consider 150 as a more appropriate target.
Basic Play
Each turn is called a
"break" and consists of a series of strikes of the cue ball that come to
an end when a player makes a non-scoring strike or a foul stroke.
Scoring is achieved by "potting" balls, by "cannons", and by going "in
off". A ball is "potted" when the cue ball knocks it into a pocket. A
"cannon" is when the cue ball strikes first one ball and then the
other. A player's ball goes "in off" when it falls into a pocket having
first "kissed" (struck) another ball. Whenever the red ball is potted,
it is immediately returned to the red spot for the next strike.
Whenever the cue ball goes in off, it is immediately returned to the
player who can position it anywhere within the D for the next strike.
If the opponents ball is potted, it remains out of play until the end of
that player's break. In this case, the opponent starts the next turn
by positioning his ball anywhere within the D. Otherwise the opponent
starts the next turn by striking the ball from wherever it ends up.
Potting the opponents ball is usually to be avoided since scoring is
much harder with only two balls on the table.
Foul shots
A foul occurs when a
player's ball hits no other balls in which case 1 point is added to the
opponent's score or when the player's ball goes directly into a pocket
without hitting any other ball whereupon 3 points are given to the
opponent. It will quickly be seen, however, that the size of these
penalties are trivial compared to the injury suffered merely as a result
of allowing the opponent onto the table.....
Scoring
3 points for potting or going in off the red ball.
2 points for potting or going in off the opponents ball.
2 points for a cannon.
Scoring is cumulative within a single
strike so for instance, a common play is to both pot and go in off the
red ball, thus scoring 6 points. The cue ball is deemed to go in off
the first ball that it comes into contact with. So if the player
strikes the opponents ball, cannons onto the red ball and then goes in
off, 4 points are scored. The largest score possible in one strike is
10 points although, since this requires the opponents ball to be potted,
it is is normally a bitter-sweet achievement.
Special Situations
When the player's ball
finishes touching another ball, the red is put on its spot, the other
player's white is placed on the centre spot, and the player must return
his ball to the D.