Wonderful Simulator, Nov 30, 2011

by Brad Parker (South Africa)

3D Live Snooker is an amazingly realistic Snooker Simulation Game. It is extremely addictive and the hours simply fly by with each sitting.
I am extremely happy with the product, but through many hours of continuous play have found a few fairly minor bugs/issues.

Bugs/Inconsistencies:
1.While simulation of the physics seems very good, it seems the software does not deal with the effect of side-spin (“English” as some refer to it) off the rails/cushions. This is an essential part of advanced positional play and its absence limits options and therefore the overall realism aspect.
2.Frame ending high breaks are not listed with high scores, so hypothetically if one scored a 147 maximum break (which I have not come remotely close to), which entails clearing the table it would not be listed with the other high scores.
3.I often find a significant variability in the “speed” of the table from time to time and changing the “ball speed” setting under Preferences does not effect any discernable change in behaviour.
4.The realism of the simulation is completely negated by the often ridiculously unrealistic computer opponent. It very rarely fails to find a way out of a snooker. More unrealistically, it routinely pots balls or failing this, snookers the player out of snookered positions. It would also routinely pot balls via multi-ball cannons. (2-ball I can believe, maybe 3, but 4 or 5 is ridiculous). The absolute outrageousness of any of these shots would literally bring the house down at any world championship tournament if it happened once in a frame. The computer opponent achieves them routinely and often continuously.

As happy as I am with the product, I can see room for future enhancement. The following are just a few ideas I believe that could make an already very good product into an exceptional one:
1.My perception of the size of the “Full Snooker” table is that it is not quite as large as an actual full-size championship table. It may be good to bring this in as an option.
2.The pocket-ball diameter ratio of the tables is very tight. In real snooker, this does vary, with tables used in competition play being particularly tight. In snooker-pool halls, tables have a more relaxed ratio and perhaps this could be made player selectable by including it as a difficulty setting.
3.A shot replay or “take-back” feature would be good for training purposes.
4.Perhaps a complete “training mode” screen would be a useful feature. To elaborate, the cue-ball or any of the object balls can be moved and placed by the player to set up scenarios where he/she may be able to concentrate on certain shot weaknesses by repetition.
5.  Some other inferior simulators include an option to turn on aim guides and inclusion here would make the game more accessible to less experienced players. It could also serve as a training aid for more advanced players.

A Realistic Simulator.., Oct 05, 2011

by Bradley Parker (South Africa)

I am very happy with the software and can actually feel it has had a positive effect on my actual game. Being an old pool/snooker player, but having temporarily retired from these games for a 10 year period, I was finding my come-back really frustrating with my old consistency replaced by irritatingly erratic form. I found myself constantly doubting my cue-action and aiming technique and in many ways I feel as though I’m re-learning the game. Of course, being 10 years wiser, I know I can actually be better than I had been 10 years ago. This simulation software has assisted me in coming to grips with aiming, which means that I can now fully focus on cue-action. The resulting more critical aiming technique I’ve developed, thanks largely to the software has in itself stabilized my cue-action. Snooker/pool coaches always emphasize the point of remaining absolutely still on the shot, and my new more concentrated aiming procedure has worked wonders in this regard with a much improved potting consistency recently evident.
Now for the downside, as one of the reviewers pointed out, some of the shots pulled off by the computer are what one may consider “trick shots”, and one would rarely see even a Ronnie O’Sullivan or Steven Hendry playing or attempting anything resembling these (like snookering out of a snooker, potting a ball out of a snooker or 3 to 4 ball cannons/plants at distance). This is the only negative I can see regarding the realism of the simulation.
It would also have been good if the S/W offered a “training mode” with aim guide-lines as is the case with some otherwise inferior competing simulators.
Using a mouse to aim, I get the distinct impression that angle resolution is not that great. That is, with some shots one never gets the feeling that the aim is quite spot-on. To illustrate, a miniscule movement in one direction would result in a miss to the left while a miniscule movement in the opposite direction would result in a miss to the right. (could this be the reason a guide-line option is not present?)
An option to replay a shot would also be good, to help understand just what went wrong with a faulty shot.
I also have to agree with a previous reviewer regarding the clear lack of rule enforcement with respect to fouls.
However, the positives far outweigh the negatives and I am very happy with my purchase.

3D Live Snooker, Jul 17, 2011

by English game player (England, UK)

I liked the demo enough to buy the game, but having played it for some time, it does have some flaws.

The good:

- the game engine works very well, seems to have good physics for ball impact, spin etc.
- control of the cue, at least with a laptop touch pad, is easy (less so with a mouse)
- graphics effects can be turned off for slower PCs
- the game is simple and playable

The bad:

- for the price, given that the game physics engine is the same, it could have included a few Pool games
- the AI. Even on Basic it is not easy to beat. Some of the shots the computer regularly takes on and makes (even on Basic level), you wouldn’t even see a Pro attempt. Can make playing it frustrating.
- the bugs. Occassionally when playing, halfway through making a break (you’ve just sunk a ball), the computer player takes over and starts playing as if you’d missed! Grrr.
  - even when you have the paid-for registered version, the “Buy Now” text still shows on screen. Somewhat shoddy.
- has no method of applying snooker “rules” (no “free ball”, no “miss”)
- at the end of the game, if the score is level, the computer wins!

Overall I’m glad I bought it, but it could be better.

im very happy, Apr 04, 2010

by Abdul Hasif (Kelantan,MALAYSIA)

I’m very happy I can play this snooker game, because with this game I can better learn about playing snooker.

3D Live SNOOKER, Feb 16, 2010

by Jan Žák (Zlín, Czech Republic)

Good morning. I played the demo version 3D Live Snooker and I must say, that it is a fantastic game with great graphics. I would recommend this to all to play.  Thanks, Jack

3D Live Snooker, Feb 09, 2008

by Alex (Targoviste,Romania)

3D Live Snooker is an excellent game,that have good graphics and is very realistic too!When I first played it I was feeling like I was there,in the front of the snooker table,it’s incredible.It’s an fantastic game and deserves to be played!!!

Fantastic piece of work!!!, Jul 11, 2007

by Martand (Pune,India)

Its amazing to see the graphics during the play.And the most fascinating feature is the reality of the game.It almost seems like you are at the table itself.I really appreciate the person’s talent in working out this one.

excellent game, Apr 17, 2007

by Iceman (Gibraltar)

this game is excellent,
i wanted more when my trial time ended.
This game has excellent graphics, the difficulty of the computer is excellent, its not to easy or to difficult and the different tables are really cool

Realistic Game, Apr 17, 2007

by George Lostov (Burgas, Bulgaria)

This is indeed the most realistic snooker I’ve ever played. You can really learn how to play real snooker from it. When you play, you always have to think about where to hit the ball, what power you’re supposed to hit it with and where the ball is best to stop at the end to be in a good position for your next shot. All these simple details in the game help you become a true pro in real life. The environment looks very good. One part of the players would love some music too but the other part prefer quietness to help them concentrate, especially if they are playing in a tournament or a league. Everyone can turn his/her winamp on to hear some music. I’ve played with people at every age, young, old, it doesn’t matter - you don’t have to be an adult to be a good player. The game is very easy to get used to. Other thing is that it’s very small and downloads fast, so you don’t have to be afraid of free disc space or download speed, but this doesn’t really matter because the game’s worth it