Ahhh, thanks dgeneratio, IMO -In my opinion, obvious really, feel a bit daft now- well maybe I am daft lol.

Yeah but the likes of you guys, dgen, chase, midnight oil, I've played you now and then - one miss and its all over. I'm not in your league.

Yes Hidden Gem, I did say that, however, now I've had time to get used to the settings - what you need to bear in mind is we went from a brutally difficult setting to the new setting not as bad which was a massive relief at the time and made it appear better than it actually was.

However, having played on it now for what is it a week or so with the new settings and becoming familiar with it, yes it is better than a week ago but in my opinion, wait a sec learnt a new thing here, IMO - it was much more fun before any of the recent changes.

Before, for me it was fun, yes I had form swings but I knew it was form swings, now its just not as much fun and I'm playing less and less "because" its not as much fun for me, maybe it is for others but not sadly for me.

Maybe i'll get used to it, maybe I won't play as often, its definitely addictive, gee I lived in the snooker hall when I was a kid but at the moment its just not fun.

When I went back to correct the pockets I was very faithful (diligent) in making them the same.

Here is a picture of the underlying logic super-imposed. This is the top left before and after for the arcade table.



However, maybe the changes have altered confidence, and for people adjusted to the new changes they have to readjust back (but usually playing with tighter pockets for a while helps).

Hi Nick,

Thanks for that, I don't play arcade, only original, okay occassionally if its really, really quiet I'll have a quick blast on the smaller tables, but I get bored there very quickly and go back to the larger table - even if I just play alone.

It may be true that these changes have affected my confidence, am I alone, who knows... However, whilst I can;t speak for anyone else, whatever has been changed has really has affected my enjoyment levels.

Can I ask as well please why has the contrast been turned up so high, it all looked so true before.

anyway, all the best.

Before changes - "normal" pockets
Change 1 - pockets made tighter
Change 2 - pockets made wider (after the uproar)


Pockets IMO are alot more forgiving now after change 2 than they were before changes!

Im not totally sure is it because of the animation that i am thinking this. Its possible that the visual effect of the balls rattling in the pocket after being potted is creating the illusion of it being easy to pot but there is definetely something.

I dont agree with people saying its harder to pot along the cushion now than before any changes were made! totally disagree! and even if thats true then its a good change.


I think its way easier pot now than it was 6 weeks ago

Theres only 1 or 2 people still moaning about it, so there can't be much difference now surely...

I can't comment about the original pockets as i don't play it, but arcade seems exactly the same as it was in the first place.

Hi g_echi_l,

it seems we are all different and some things we / you can comfortably do well other people may not be able to.

Some things I can do with great ease on arcade or regular, really easily, but I don;t play there, however, when I try to do the same thing on original which is where I normally play woooo it all goes haywire.

Before get me in or around the black, I'd maybe knock in a 32 or more, NOW, I miss the black more than I get it.

It seems to me often when people say, I find it easy, or I find it hard, they should also add in which game cos it seems to me having tried all three, each game, arcade, regular and orginal handle very differently.

All the best everyone, it seems we all want different things, oh Nick, poor you, sorry mate. I just donpt like the all new at all.

its harder on Original but i like a challenge and its a good change

Im with echo on this. There is no way they are harder now than before.

You missing the black is a mental thing! I was always doing it! I was the worst ever at the black for ages then i was amazing at it. could pot it from anywhere any angle you name it i could pot it. then i lost it again. all cuz i convinced myself i couldnt get it. practise table for awile with only the colours and pot the black for half an hour and youll not miss again

Well I just had to try this for myself, so off I jolly well went into other territories, yes, through the wooded forest into arcade and regular land...

Yup, you are all quite right, down the cushion, along the cushion, tickle em in, wallop em in, in they go, bosch, no problem. However I maintain it is NOT like that on the original table - particularly black to either corner pocket, or similarly a ball at baulk that close to the cushion and they jaw and out all the time.

It is soooo frustrating - and I swear the balls roll around the pockets and come back out gain - regularly.

Sorry everyone I'm gonna just shut up now cos I'm just going on and on and on, so i'm going off and off and off - Phew, they all say, glad he's shut up. night.

Edited at 23:50 Wed 26/01/11 (GMT)

Edited at 00:15 Thu 27/01/11 (GMT)

Am I not the only one who thinks the animation is a bit daft when the ball only just reaches the pocket, it looks like the pocket has sucked in the ball.

agree with you on that mike, its alright when ball goes in fast but if its really slow they should be a slower animation really

doesnt matter as long as the balls drop.

big pockets,small pockets should make no difference whatsoever..the object of the game is to pot balls ,its just some folk are better than others at it

tbh i miss the ball noise hitting the back of the pocket

but hey ho its a free game and the guys doing his best to make it better,

if i were him i would listen to the guys/girls whos paid for the full subcription..us mere mortals should just enjoy the free game as it is

I can only comment really on Original because thats the only game I play consistently.

Now, over the last few weeks and for the first time because of the new settings, I suppose I've been quite actively leaving posts here and I'd just like to say...

I don't know what a "mojo" is - but - I've heard other people say they've got their mojo back - seems I've got mine back too - been knocking in some decent breaks and got my line back so it looks like its all settling down, BUT - yes there is a little but..

Whilst, last night I thought ahhh, at last getting used to this, the corner pockets pockets are, in my opinion toooooo lively. Whilst up to the corner of the jaw I suppose I'd expect them to be lively, if the ball is "in" and its "accurate" I'd expect it to drop, yet inside the jaw they are incredibly bouncy.

If you think about this on a real table, inside the jaw the width of rubber tapers off, so it won't be as lively as the main part of the cushion thus allowing the ball "if its accurate" to drop rather than spring straight back out.

Yes, I have now started getting them again sometimes along the cushion, even just off the cushion and sometimes with force but there doesn't seem to be any logic to it, inside the jaws are toooo darned lively, erm , in my opinion. All the best everyone, have fun, lots of fun

Edited at 12:01 Fri 28/01/11 (GMT)

Glad to hear you are happier now

With regards to the 'lively pockets' there is no need to change that because ...

Hello Buddytobud,

You have to be so darned precise (giggle giggle) in what you say here.... Sorry mate, the pockets are not the same now as they were when I wrote that, I agree, they might be the same size but they are much livelier now than before and that does not reflect a full size table.

When I wrote that, when you took a shot, on the assumption it was accurate, the ball may well have hit both sides but the momentum carried it through, now it doesn't because the inner jaw it too lively.

On a full sized snooker table, the rubber is about three quarters of an inch, as it curves into the jaw it tapers off so its not quite as lively which allows the ball to tickle the jaw - and - if its accurate still drop in.

This is what happened prior to the new settings but now, whilst the jaw may be the same size, the inner jaw has too much spring and this doesn't allow the forward momentum to carry the balls through, it is not fogiving, it just fires it straight back out again - erm often but not always - sheesh, have to be very precise.

Now, whilst that can happen on a full sized table, I'm sure you have seen balls jaw, wriggle left and right, yet if the ball was accurate, it would still go through like it did a few weeks back - but not anymore, they are totally unforgiving.

Edited at 11:57 Fri 28/01/11 (GMT)

Ooops, I have to add to that otherwise I'll get clobbered by someone...lol.

Now... If a shot is tight, by forcing it it will almost definitely jaw and come out, like in the real game, but in such a case, it you only tickle it, it may well jaw left and right but still drop - with the new settings though not anymore - whereas it did a few weeks ago.

I am most definitely not saying that the inner jaw should be dead, no, that would be nice, then everything would drop but it would not be, sort of to say - for real.

However, by very virtue of the fact that inside a jaw the rubber on a full sized table tapers off from about three quarters of an inch down to about one eighth of an inch as it goes inside the jaw. Now because there is less rubber, it has less spring, logical? Therefore, it is bound to not be as lively as the outer cushion - make sense?

Now then, what we have now with these setting changes is an inner jaw every bit as lively as the main cushion which is, pardon me for saying not as it should be. Erm, in my opinion if I may be allowed to say lol -
AND
On the whole still a fantasmacorically, marvellous, wonderful, great game and whoever made it is my bestist firnd, oops friend in the world so there.

Lastly, because I know you have to be precise here, I am only talking about Original, on arcade and regular, the pockets do seem to be more forgiving.

Edited at 12:25 Fri 28/01/11 (GMT)

Well lets just say that the pockets have changed so much, its making me not want to play, as all the practise and time and effort i have put in for years has now been chucked out the window.

Like them saying " Alright son, your good, but start again will ya"

Its pretty unreal, i used to play this game alot, and i USED to know where exactly to put the cursor for certain shots. Now its totally different. I missed as many balls in one game as i used to miss in a week. I mean, really, really, was it that bad?No-one was complaining at all.

Im just frustrated, im sure everyone has heard this before, but its just crazy.

Original im talking about, as i dont know if arcade has changed, but im sure it wouldnt make a hell of a difference there anyway

only thing im struggling with is cushion shots and long potting to yellow and green pockets (but struggled with that one before).

ive found middles a lot easier after the pocket change

the change is for the better imo, it makes it more challenge and now cannons are needed more than ever if your going to make cents.