Virtual Pool

Last updated
Virtual Pool
Virtual Pool 4 cover.jpg
Cover art for Virtual Pool 4
Developer(s) Celeris
Publisher(s) Interplay Productions, Crave Entertainment, Global Star Software, Celeris
Platform(s) PC, Mac, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Xbox, iOS, Android

Virtual Pool is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game series with computer simulations of cue sports which was developed by Celeris. The games in the series simulate pool, snooker and carom billiards. The Virtual Pool series focuses on accurate simulation and improving the player's ability to play the sport in real life. Virtual Pool releases are sold with a money back guarantee to improve a player's external game. [1]

Contents

Overview

The main selling point of the Virtual Pool-series games is that they were designed and tested by programmers, physicists and professional players. According to the game box, its simulation was "guaranteed to improve your actual pool play or your money back". [1] [2] The series was endorsed by professional players Mike Sigel and Jeanette Lee and equipment manufacturers Viking Cues, Imperial International, Schön Custom Cues, Creative Innovations and Joss Cues. [1] [3]

The games' graphics capabilities vary by platform to platform, but their environmental realism (such as a pool hall) is on par with the graphics in other contemporary rendered games (like first-person shooters). The games' use of first-person perspective, rather than using an overhead view, contributed to the series' success. [4]

The complexity of the games increased over time, from Virtual Pool 's four game types to Virtual Pool 4's 18 pool games on championship and bar tables, snooker, English billiards, four carom games and four pub pool eight-ball games. Other improvements included more venues and computerized opponents, equipment-upgrade purchases, customizable tables, video tutorials, two career-play modes and a trick-shot library. Online capability includes pool rooms with multiple players and spectators, tournaments, ladders, a social network with player profiles, friends, statistics and shot uploads.

Series

Release timeline
1995 Virtual Pool
1996 Virtual Snooker
1997 Virtual Pool 2
1998 Virtual Pool 64
1999 Virtual Pool Hall
2000 Virtual Pool 3
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005 Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010Virtual Pool Online HD
2011
2012Virtual Pool Mobile
Virtual Pool 4
2013
2014Virtual Pool 4: Multiplayer

Celeris, creators of the Virtual Pool franchise, created their first title ( FlixMix , a DOS jigsaw puzzle game) in 1993. [5] After this release, Celeris published their first 3D game ( Virtual Pool ) in 1995. The game had four pool modes: straight pool, eight-ball, nine-ball and rotation pool. [6] With pool world champion Lou Butera, it guaranteed to improve the player's pool game (a guarantee which continued through the main-series Virtual Pool titles). [7]

The game was successful, and Virtual Pool 2 (with a wider range of pool games, including three-ball and bank pool) was produced in 1997. Virtual Pool 2, with improved graphics, was released exclusively for PC. Over 120 AI opponents and online multiplayer capability were introduced, with Mike Sigil joining Butera for this game.

The following year's Virtual Pool Hall for Windows contained graphics and game modes similar to Virtual Pool 2 and features which would be retained in Virtual Pool 3, including a snooker mode (adapted from Virtual Snooker) and the series' first carom billiards mode. [8] The game contained instructional videos similar to VP2's, performed by world champion Mike Sigel. [9]

Virtual Pool 3 was released in 2000 for PC, but was later ported to the PlayStation and PlayStation Network. VP3 featured snooker, carom and billiards games in addition to pool. The game, endorsed by women's world champion Jeanette Lee, was released and distributed by Interplay Entertainment and Global Star Software. It received the highest Metacritic score of any main-series title (see Reception).

More than eleven years after VP3, Virtual Pool 4 was released; in the interim, many patches were released for VP3. Virtual Pool 4 had two releases: a single-player and offline multiplayer version in 2012 and an online multiplayer variant, Virtual Pool 4 Multiplayer, in 2015. [10] [11] Virtual Pool 4 (in both versions) was later released on Steam after a period on Steam Greenlight. [12] An iPad version was released in December 2015. [13]

Virtual Pool 4 has mode and graphical upgrades from its previous incarnation (including snooker, billiards and pool modes) and the ability to change table size and handicaps for certain players. The game also has a trick shot mode, with standard trick shots and the ability to set up new ones.

The game is set to introduce Russian billiards where players can use any ball as cue ball after a break, as well as Kaisa on a Russian pyramid table alongside a three-player cutthroat in an upcoming update for VP4.[ citation needed ]

Spin-off and ported games

Although it is primarily a PC game, [lower-alpha 1] console versions have been released. Celeris released Virtual Snooker , a snooker game with the same engine as Virtual Pool, in 1996. [14] It contained only snooker games (no pool).

Screenshot of straight pool from the handheld Virtual Pool Mobile Virtual Pool Mobile Screenshot.jpg
Screenshot of straight pool from the handheld Virtual Pool Mobile

After the release of Virtual Pool 2, Celeris worked with VR Sports to produce a game for the Nintendo 64. [15] The game was released in 1998 as Virtual Pool 64 , [16] using the same naming convention as Super Mario 64 , and Goldeneye 64 . With gameplay and modes similar to Virtual Pool 2, it was condensed to fit on a cartridge.

The series' first Xbox console version, Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition [17] (ported by Ingram Entertainment), was released in 2006. It contained a career mode which would later develop into the hustle-tour mode in Virtual Pool 4, [18] the iPad and iPhone game Virtual Pool Online HD (ported by Fried Green Apps in 2010) [19] andVirtual Pool Mobile, an Android 2.2+ version released in 2012 by Celeris. [20] [21] [22]

Releases

Games by year, publisher, and platform
TitleYearPublisherPlatform(s)
ConsoleComputerMobile
Virtual Pool 1995 Interplay Productions PlayStation PC, Mac & DOS
Virtual Snooker 1996Interplay ProductionsPC
Virtual Pool 2 1997VR SportsPC
Virtual Pool 64 1998 Crave Entertainment Nintendo 64
Virtual Pool Hall 1999Interplay SoftwarePC
Virtual Pool 3 2000Interplay Entertainment
Global Star Software 		PlayStation, PlayStation 3 [lower-alpha 2] PC
Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition 2005Global Star Software Xbox
Virtual Pool Mobile2012Interplay Entertainment iPhone, [lower-alpha 3] iPad [lower-alpha 3] & Android
Virtual Pool 42012CelerisPCiPad

Reception

Aggregate review scores
GameYear GameRankings Metacritic
Virtual Pool 199575% [23]
Virtual Snooker 199667% [24]
Virtual Pool 2 199773% [25]
Virtual Pool 64 199865% [26]
Virtual Pool Hall 199978% [27]
Virtual Pool 3 Blue pencil.svg 200085% [28] 82% [29]
Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition 200661% [30] 62% [31]

The Virtual Pool series has received a moderate-to-good reception from critics, with Virtual Pool 3 the highest-rated game. [32] A GameSpot review of Virtual Pool Hall praised its game mechanics, particularly the ball-collision physics. [8] Virtual Pool 2 received a perfect score (100) from the German PC Player magazine. [33] However, some reviews of the series called the games "boring" due to the nature of pool simulation.

Awards

Virtual Pool was voted the Best Sports Game of 1995 by PC Gamer US [34] and the 1995 Game of the Year by Games magazine. [35] Virtual Pool 2 was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 1997 Personal Computer Sports Game of the Year award, [36] which was won by FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 . [37]

Notes

  1. ↑ Whilst games in the Virtual Pool franchise do appear on other platforms (generally PlayStation), the games were created for PC and Macintosh, then ported to other systems. The games are designed for keyboard and mouse controls.
  2. ↑ The game was released originally for PlayStation in 2003, but was later released on PSN in 2010 for PlayStation 3
  3. 1 2 Known as Virtual Pool Online, or Virtual Pool HD.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cue sports</span> Table games using cues and billiard balls

Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as cushions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straight pool</span> Cue sport

Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to pot as many billiard balls as possible without playing a foul. The game was the primary version of pool played in professional competition until it was superseded by faster-playing games like nine-ball and eight-ball in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian pyramid</span> Form of pocket billiards popular in Eastern Europe

Russian pyramid, also known as Russian billiards, is a form of billiards played on a large billiard table with narrow pockets. It is popular across Eastern Europe as well as countries of the former Soviet Union/Eastern Bloc. In Western countries, the game is known as pyramid billiards, or simply pyramid within professional circles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billiard table</span> Bounded table on which cue sports are played

A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth, and surrounded by vulcanized rubber cushions, with the whole thing elevated above the floor. More specific terms are used for specific sports, such as snooker table and pool table, and different-sized billiard balls are used on these table types. An obsolete term is billiard board, used in the 16th and 17th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-ball billiards</span> Carom billiards game played in variations around the world

Four-ball billiards or four-ball carom is a carom billiards game, played on a pocketless table with four billiard balls, usually two red and two white, one of the latter with a spot to distinguish it. Each player is assigned one of the white balls as a cue ball. A point is scored when a shooter's cue ball caroms on any two other balls in the same shot. Two points are scored when the shooter caroms on each of the three object balls in a single shot. A carom on only one ball results in no points, and ends the shooter's inning.

<i>Virtual Pool 64</i> 1998 video game

Virtual Pool 64 is a 3D first-person sports simulation video game that was developed by American studio Celeris and released for the Nintendo 64 by Crave Entertainment on December 17, 1998, in North America, and in Europe on February 26, 1999. The game features simulations of 11 forms of pool. It is part of the "Virtual Pool" game franchise, which also includes the PC games Virtual Pool, Virtual Pool 2, Virtual Pool Hall and Virtual Pool 3. The game has been simultaneously lauded as "a top-notch simulation" and criticized as dull, lacking both player incentive and engaging characters.

<i>Virtual Pool 3</i> 2000 video game

Virtual Pool 3 is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game, developed and released for Windows and PlayStation by Celeris.

<i>Pool Revolution: Cue Sports</i> 2008 video game

Pool Revolution: Cue Sports is a sports simulation video game video game published by Hudson Soft for the Wii's WiiWare service. The game simulates a variety of cue sports.

Carom billiards and pool are two types of cue sports or billiards-family games, which as a general class are played with a stick called a cue which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiard table bounded by rubber cushions attached to the confining rails of the table.

<i>Virtual Pool</i> (video game) 1995 video game

Virtual Pool is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game released by Interplay Productions in 1995. It is the first of the Virtual Pool franchise of computer simulations of pool games developed by Celeris.

<i>World Snooker Championship 2007</i> (video game) 2007 video game

World Snooker Championship 2007 is a sports video game developed by Blade Interactive and published by Sega for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

<i>Virtual Pool 2</i> 1997 video game

Virtual Pool 2 is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game developed by Celeris and released by VR Sports on behalf of Interplay Productions in 1997. It is the third release of the Virtual Pool franchise of computer simulations of pool games developed by Celeris. VP2 is the second main series title in the Virtual Pool series, and would later be released alongside Virtual Pool 1.

<i>Carom3D</i> 1999 video game

Carom 3D is a 1999 freeware online sports simulation video game released by Neoact in 1999. Initially developed as a school project of a Korean student known as Comworm, it is a multiplayer online simulation of pool and billiards.

The World Snooker Championship (WSC) is a series of video games based on snooker featuring licensing from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The first game in the series was released in 2001 and the last in 2011; a new licensed World Snooker game, Snooker 19, was released in 2019. The first four games were published by Codemasters and developed by Blade Interactive Software. Later games were published by Sega, Deep Silver and Koch Media.

<i>Jimmy Whites Cueball World</i> 2001 video game

Jimmy White's Cueball World is a sports simulation video game published by Virgin Interactive as the sequel to Jimmy White's 2: Cueball, itself a sequel to Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker. The development team once again being led by Archer Maclean, who designed the other two Jimmy White titles. The game was released in December 2001 in Europe, with a North American release was planned to be released a year later by Titus Software under a budget range using the Virgin Interactive brand name. PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were planned, but were later cancelled.

<i>Virtual Pool Hall</i> 1999 video game

Virtual Pool Hall is a sports simulation video game developed Celeris and published by Interplay Entertainment as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, an improvement and sequel to Virtual Pool 2 and PC sequel to Virtual Pool 64. The game was initially released on PC in December 1999. Pool Hall is the first game in the Virtual Pool series to have playable Snooker in addition to the regular pool gamemodes.

<i>Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition</i> 2005 video game

Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition is a sports simulation video game developed by Celeris and published by Global Star Software as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, a spin-off sequel to Virtual Pool 3. The game was initially released on Xbox with a planned PlayStation 2 version which was later cancelled.

<i>Virtual Snooker</i> 1996 video game

Virtual Snooker is a sports simulation video game developed by Celeris and published by Interplay Productions as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, the second in the series after Virtual Pool and the first spin-off from pool games, focusing on the game of snooker. The game was released on DOS in July 1996 and is the first game in the series game to contain snooker as a playable game.

<i>Steve Davis World Snooker</i> 1989 video game

Steve Davis World Snooker is a sports simulation video game developed by Binary Design and published by CDS Software. It simulates different types of cue sports, specifically snooker, pool and billiards. Released under licence from 6-time Snooker World Champion, Steve Davis, it is a sequel to their 1984 game Steve Davis Snooker.

Slosh is a cue sport played on a snooker table. The game features seven balls, coloured white, yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black, with points being scored for pocketing or playing caroms and cannons off object balls. The game is played to a score of 100 points, or a length of 30 minutes. First played in the early 1900s, not much is known about the game's origins.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Virtual Pool 3. Beverly Hills, CA: Interplay Entertainment. 2000. Box cover; Instruction Manual.
  2. ↑ "Bits & Bytes: The Enter*Active File". Billboard . July 1995. p. 66.
  3. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ Newman, Jeff (December 1995). "Bosses Bound and Gagged, Now Let the Games Begin". Network Computing. 6 (16): 32.
  5. ↑ "FlixMix". MobyGames. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ Desjardins, Dawn (1998). CD-ROMs in Print 1998. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. p. 940. ISBN   0-7876-1059-3.
  7. ↑ "Bits & Bytes: The Enter*Active File". Billboard . July 1995. p. 66.
  8. 1 2 "Virtual Pool Hall Review". GameSpot. January 18, 2000. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Virtual Pool Hall review". IGN . February 1, 2000. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Latest News". 9Ball.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Sports Games: Virtual Pool 4 Multiplayer". Store.SteamPowered.com. Steam . Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Steam Greenlight: Virtual Pool 4". SteamCommunity.com. Steam. Archived from the original on 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  13. ↑ "VP4 iPad Released". VPOnline. Celeris. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Virtual Snooker Review". GameSpot . San Francisco: CNET Networks. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  15. ↑ Taruc, Nelson (January 29, 1999). "Virtual Pool 64 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Virtual Pool 64 (Nintendo 64)". MobyGames . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Virtual Pool Tournament Edition (Xbox Only)". Amazon.com . 2006. Archived from the original on 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  18. ↑ "Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition, Ingram Entertainment". IGN UK. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Virtual Pool Online HD, Friend Green Apps". IGN . Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Virtual Pool Mobile by Celeris Inc". Amazon.com. August 24, 2011. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Virtual Pool Mobile". Android Play Store. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  22. ↑ Hartley, Adam. "Apple lists top 20 free and paid-for iPhone apps". TechRadar. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Virtual Pool for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Virtual Snooker for PC". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Virtual Pool 2 for PC". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Virtual Pool 64 for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Virtual Pool Hall for PC". GameRankings . Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Virtual Pool for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Virtual pool 3 for PC" . Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition on Xbox". GameRankings. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition for Xbox". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Critic Score PC Player". MobyGames. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  34. ↑ "The Year's Best Games". PC Gamer US . Vol. 3, no. 3. March 1996. pp. 64, 65, 67, 68, 71, 73–75.
  35. ↑ "GAMES Game Awards – 1991–2004 Games of the Year". GamesMagazine-Online.com. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
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  37. ↑ "Award Updates". Interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on June 15, 1998. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
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