About this game Four-ball Billiards
Development notes
One simulation for every screen
Shots run in fixed 1/480-second steps with no randomness, so the same input always gives the same result. Online, the server simulates each shot and screens only animate its frames, sampled more densely when a ball spins fast so it never appears to turn backwards. The path guide, replay, comparison tool and AI all call this one function.
Judging thin hits
At each collision the simulation steps back to the exact moment of contact, so thin hits keep their true angle. A graze that is already separating within one step still counts, while balls frozen together at the start do not. The near-miss message exists because a gap under 5 mm looks like a touch on screen.
An AI on a schedule
The AI runs about 1,200 candidate shots (684 on the opening) through the real simulation: cuts, powers and spins on each red, mirror-image banks off all four rails and a 90-direction sweep, preferring shots that still score with the aim slightly off. It then rations its scoring by pace, so a game at equal targets takes about 20–30 minutes.
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