its clearly pointless to say so since the same table is and must be used for 8 ball and 9 ball US. and the 9 ball going down off hit-and-hopes in 9 ball US applies to all the balls in 8 ball US. anyway, its upto admins to decide.

@admins: whenever i ask any of my friends to join funkypool they ask me why should they join. i immediately reply them that it looks real. also, i feel that it is this originality which is making funkypool so popular. am afraid would be reduced a bit if the new table comes.

I personally like it.

I have to say that i would get used to it, but if i maximize the screen the balls look way too massive, so i guess that i can just play without maximizing if needs be, but would prefere it to stay the same.

Well i already find the US tables much easier than the UK one (never understood the other view!), and making it even easier seems counter-productive.

The longeviety and enjoyment of any game comes from the challenge.

Alternatively, why not have both tables, and have the proposed table as "arcade" pool, like on snooker.

(I am aware this would thin out the players even more though)

Why?

What would be wrong with having two different tables?

Your point about hit and hopes is wrong. No point in hitting and hoping in US8 as you do yourself damage. In US9 you generally don't, and so hit and hopes are worth the risk.

Like I said, I think the new table would close the gulf and make US8 much more attractive. But it would make chance-combos too easy on US9.

It's about fun and playability, and if a change of table makes one better and one worse, then no reason to keep

Edited at 19:00 Fri 15/12/06 (GMT)

I agree with this very strongly!

There is a current trend with styling etc that seems to be heading towards a generic look and style (logo on table etc)

I appreciate some may like this, but there are poolsites out there a dime a dozen like that. (and if you really like that kinda thing, away you go, and leave us proper players here )

Another option would be to have the easy table as the one guests play on, so they get a feel for the game..

Edited at 19:02 Fri 15/12/06 (GMT)

that question is already answered spinner, it would increase downloads (at the moment 3) but with 4 maybe 5 depending... lag would become more frequent and a huge problem.

could the server cope? maybe... i'm unsure

I hate to have to say this again, but lag isnt a server end issue! and its only a few Kb program, so i'm sure the new server will have room!

@martin: having two tables will completely wipe out the feeling of playing the real US games. conceptually the idea is good to have two different tables, but when talking about originality its not praiseworthy. also, the point about the gulf getting closed is wrong. all the balls will go into the pockets rather than blocking. lol.
I feel the fun lies in originality and challenge.

lol lag can be defined as many things... one such definition could be the server crashing or slowing down due to excessive usage.

if there are more games even though only a few kb's each (according to spinner) its the fact that the server has to run more 'types' of games. This means the server is less dedicated to the game types and so "lag" issues will be more frequent (due to server).

@mr_dudey: i guess thats not a big issue given the modern technology being available at cheap rates. am sure funky guys do earn lots of money. they surely can afford a much much powerful server.

Edited at 19:16 Fri 15/12/06 (GMT)

lol nick has already stated that he wont because of too many downloads, it wont just affect the server but the players too.

if there are people who havent got the top spec computers then running more downloads will cause havoc and could drive away many players.

i don't know about nick's statement, but if he did state i would suggest him to reconsider having a powerful server or might even consider having a cluster of parallel servers.

also, i guess you are not clear about client-server processing. the clients need java applets to run. most of the systems have this. if they don't its not hard to install it. an applet is a basic program and as pointed by spinner only few kb in size. nobody would suggest to have a top spec comp just to load java applets.
Also, how not having a top spec at client and running more downloads affect the server ? the processing of server depends only on the specs present on the server comp. lol.

Thing is US pool still isn't really very popular as it is, it isn't fun and doesn't have the addicting appeal that UK pool does.

I don't really want to add many versions of the same game, firstly it adds to the download size but also it divides users up further (sometimes there is insufficient users to find a game) and each game would need it's own tournament / rankings etc.

However no technological reason why it can't happen, and spinner is right it wont affect lag.

If UK 8 Ball (simulation) was added alongside the rest we'd have a full set of arcade and simulation games, and 6 games.... hmmmmm.

Would be happy too, however those pests in the finance department wouldn't. Luckily server is no where near capacity.




Yes you make good sense.

The Java client is very small now, and this is deliberate so people using a 56k connection can still play - keeping things small and light is a site goal.

Currently it's a very tidy 230Kb!

Adding a few games could add about 60-70Kb (neglible for most users), but still a consideration for not leaving minority used games.

@nick: techinally, i think the only thing which might affect the game seriously is the communication lag which depends on networking issues only and can't be avoided. having even supercomputers at both server and client would not help, if the internetworking is not proper.

But, as a funkypool game lover, i would suggest not to have many versions of the game. The point of players getting divided is very true. Also, am a bit disappointed to know the stats that US 8 ball is not that popular. Personally, i am addicted more to US 8 ball than to UK and feel that many more are.

Edited at 20:12 Fri 15/12/06 (GMT)

I prefer US games too, however I do always maximize the game frame.

However I still feel the difficulty is too high.

To put this in perspective there's been 858 run outs in UK 8 Ball, in US 8 Ball only 77.

(And to compare in real life I've run out about 5 times in the last year out, but still yet to do it on here!)

this thread has conffuzled me..but i like the us table

surely though if the us table had been around for as long as the uk then there would be more run outs?

Edited at 22:00 Fri 15/12/06 (GMT)

The more I try the new table, the more I like it.

If US is ever going to get as popular as UK on here, I think it needs a change like this.

As much as I love the current table, and as much as I understand (and partially agree with) init's and others well put points, I reckon this table would be more fun and so attract a lot more players.