Trick Shot FAQ version 1.1.0
copyright 2006 by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting
much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and
I just wanted to save a memory of a great game and the odd solutions any way
I could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if
you'd like to post it on your site.
**** AD SPACE **** My website:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762
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OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
3. TRICK SHOT MODE
4. 2-PLAYER POOL
5. 2-PLAYER BILLIARDS
6. VERSIONS
7. CREDITS
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1. INTRODUCTION
Trick Shot was one of those Atari games I never got around to "completing" so
to speak even after I found emulation, etc., because I was always searching
for "pool" or something like that. Trick Shot is a pool game with at most
four balls, but pretty entertaining for all that. Most of what you do will be
to take a whack at a ball and hope it hits a bunch of stuff, or hope you have
a straight-on shot. But the trick-shot part of the game is rather
interesting. When I was young we used to call this the "Championship Cup"
because of the trophy that would appear by the winner's side. I remember
getting really mad when my friends kept scratching and winning at Billiards
and I don't know if they figured out the rules and actually read the manual
or if they just got lucky and I was trying for stuff that would in fact
decrease my score without knowing it. Anyway, when I found out the actual
rules a few years later I was shocked!
While I never could stand real-life pool there's nothing like an old school
pool game where you can just sock stuff around with your cue stick. This
isn't quite like the Apple, but for the Atari it's pretty good.
The modes are 2-player billiards, 1- or 2-player pool and 1- or 2-player
trick-shot tournaments. Only the latter seems to require real skill, but then
you realize there's nothing random about how it goes. Oh well, makes for an
easier FAQ.
With save states I finally had the patience to clean up trick shot mode, and
so maybe someone will find this FAQ useful. I can't give much more than
received knowledge and how to tinker with English--the basic rule is, if a
shot looks good, you might as well take it, since the pockets are so
gigantic! Then worry about English later.
2. CONTROLS
There are 32 positions to shoot the cue ball from(the white dot being your
cue)--the most obvious being the cardinal directions, with 7 directions
between these. Some positions jump around a bit so things aren't evenly
divided. For instance, L/R from the up or down positions causes the cue to
jump. Remember that the ball moves in the opposite direction of the cue that
hits it. Left moves the point counterclockwise, right clockwise.
You can apply English by holding left or right when you have the fire button
down. The ball will go at maximum speed unless you let the button go quickly,
but most of the time you want that.
English is most useful when you know which way your ball will bounce on the
rebound and you want it to go there. For simplicity(for the programmer or
you, not sure) English is calculated differently from how you shoot the ball-
-up&down&left&right being the actual position on the table and not relative
to where you stand with the cue. You can apply English for several seconds.
Ripping the table is no big deal if you use English, so don't worry about
that. Note that English occurs if you hit a ball or the table.
Note that any position is only 4 or fewer taps of the joystick from
up/down/left/right so if you need to get to a certain direction, it's best to
think of it that way.
3. TRICK SHOT MODE
You can sink all the trick shots without English, though English is useful in
one case. The total is 37 points--4 per, except #1 gives 3 points and #3 and
#7 give 5.
1) For the first shot, you can have the pointer from the left or right. It is
no problem either way. The red ball flies right and left into the UL.
2) For the second shot, tap left twice. Your ball will bounce off the bottom
bunker and tap the blue ball in. Then it will roll to the top and tap the red
one in.
3) Position the cue left of the ball and tap right 3 times. The ball will
bounce of the right, the down and then the red ball, the yellow and the blue,
sinking them all.
4) With the cue on the left, tap right and shoot. The ball will bounce off
three walls, tap the right ball in the UR, and tap the blue in the DR.
5) Here you can tap briefly (1/4 second) which is tough to time, or you can
have the cue point left and use lots of English to the right. If you just
fire from the right, your ball will pass under the yellow ball in the UL. You
need to hold for about 3 seconds of English.
6) 4 taps right of the down position. The ball should bounce off 3 walls and
then tap the blue in. It will then bounce off the bottom wall and tap the red
in.
7) 4 taps right from when the cue is from the left. Off one wall, then the
red goes in, another wall and the yellow, and a third wall and the blue.
(Husam D corrected right->left here)
8) With the cue from the right, tap right twice. Off one wall, knock in the
yellow, then knock the red in the DR.
9) With the cue from the left, tap right 4 times. Your ball will bounce
around and nail the yellow in the UL and head to the DL where the blue goes
in.
4. 2-PLAYER POOL
First of all, there's no way to pot a ball off the initial break. I tried.
Straight-on leaves your opponent an easy shot, so try something else. Your
best bet to sink a single ball is to hit it and make sure it doesn't touch
off anything else. Use the bunkers if you don't see a direct shot, and if one
ball is close to a pocket, try to sink it. The pockets are very soft and
forgiving, so you might as well try. You should also use English if you don't
see a clear shot--the ball can really spin if you do so, to the point where
you could hit something you normally couldn't. When in doubt, bank something.
You get 1 point for sinking a ball(even on a scratch) and 2 for the last one.
There are 5 rounds in 2-player mode, meaning someone always wins this thing
as the total points are 25.
5. 2-PLAYER BILLIARDS
This is a bit different--it's not based on any official Billiards but is an
interesting enough game on its own. I am indebted to AtariAge(and by
extension Greg Chance) for describing how to score points, because it sure
confused me. English is even more critical here. Billiards is a 2-player game
where each player has a cue ball and there's a red ball too. Here is how you
can score:
"winning hazards":
--2 points for sinking opponent's cue ball, 3 for the red ball. The
opponent's cue ball does not reappear.
"losing hazards":
--2 points for sinking your cue ball after it hits your opponent's
--3 points for sinking your cue ball after it hits the red ball
"cannons":
--2 points for hitting each other ball
--2/3 points for sinking your cue ball as above, depending on what it hits
first
Your opponent gets 3 points if you directly scratch into a pocket or 1 if you
just don't hit any other balls.
You get up to 5 shots in a row if you keep scoring.
The red ball is displaced to the center of the 4 left pockets. If a ball is
there in the way, it's put off below.
Just trying to whack at something and hit it is good strategy. If you know
you'll hit something you can point in the direction of the other ball to try
to get English on it. Remember not to hit anything head-on if you want to try
to touch both balls, and don't sink the opponent's cue ball unless you can't
think of anything else to do, or you are on your fifth move. It won't
reappear.
Obviously the best way to score is to sink your cue ball, but I think it may
be better to hit one ball first(if it is too close, that is a problem too--
your ball is held up) and then go for another one. Use the back bumpers if
you must, and if you don't have any clear hit, try to leave things so that
your opponent can't easily sink the red ball or hit both balls. I.e. if you
put yours between the other two, it will be very hard for him to do anything
unless he has a clear shot. The problem with defense is there's usually
something the other guy can do. Remember to apply English to the side
of(perpendicular to) the ball you hit, and that will cause your ball to spin
the most.
Remember that your ball will bounce off at an angle so as to preserve total
momentum. Basically if your ball comes in at angle A you need to consider the
segment between the centers of the two balls--that is B. Then flip A over B
to see what direction your ball will go in, approximately, as long as it is a
glancing blow. The more glancing, the less your ball will slow down or go off
to the side, and the more English you can apply.
End of FAQ proper
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6. VERSIONS
1.1.0: submitted to GameFAQs 8/30/2006 with Husam D's correction. I got my
hands mixed up, honest.
1.0.0: submitted to GameFAQs 7/26/2006 complete. Or as complete as I could
bother.
7. CREDITS
Thanks to Husam D for pointing out the error in #7.
Thanks to CJayC as usual for such a great site and, though I hate to admit
it, the people who write for more popular games so that these old school FAQs
can be hosted for free.
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should,
too, because they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer,
falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, and
others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message
board incarnation.
Thanks to AtariAge, a great site in general, for the manual. Full link:
http://www.atariage.com/manual_html_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=567
..and before that, Greg Chance's wonderful now-gone home page at
videogames.org where he hopes someone will take all the stuff...so I did,
what I needed, vicariously, under fair use as this is not a competing work,
etc. as it describes strategy, and maybe you can do the same for a different
FAQ.
Thanks to the Stella programming group for the Stella Emulator and its save
states, without which I'd never have finished this FAQ, being as impatient as
I am.
