3. Usage

3.1 The main screen

When opening GTKPool you will be presented with the main screen already loaded and ready to go for a game of 8-Ball (See Figure 3.1).

There are 4 primary aspects to this window. From top to bottom they are :

1. The Toolbar
2. The Playing Area (Pool Table)
3. The Rack
4. Message Center

Figure 3.1. The GTKPool Main Window

3.2 The Toolbar

The toolbar consists of 6 buttons :

1. The "Quit" button
   This button will allow you to exit the game at any time.
2. The "Pause" button
   This will pause the game at the moment in time that you press it. It will even allow you to stop in the middle of a shot.
3. The "Options" button
   This will open the Options window so that you can change the various adjustable options in the game. We'll go further into those options later.
4. The "Restart" button
   This will cause the game to start fresh. It will re-rack the balls, place the cue at the head string, and reset the rack and score (score only for rotation).
5. The "Spot Last Ball" button
   This will cause the last ball sunk to be removed from the rack and placed back into play.
6. The "Ball in Hand" button
   This will allow you to "pick up" the cue ball and place it where you want. You will be given a circle cursor instead of your normal pointer to show that you have the cue ball in hand.

Figure 3.2. The Toolbar

3.3 The Playing Area

The Playing area is where all the action happens. The basic principal of most pool games is to hit the object balls (any colored or striped ball) with the cue ball and "sink" them into the pockets. This is done by striking the cue ball with the cue stick.

Figure 3.3a. The Playing Area

In GTKPool, the method of aiming and applying power to the shot is to simply click and drag on the cue ball. The further your cursor is from the cue ball, the greater the amount of power applied to your shot. In the game of pool it is not always best to "shoot as hard as you can" all the time. True skill comes from careful placement of the cue ball after sinking your current object ball so that you are ready to easily sink your next one.

Figure 3.4 show the shooting process. The thick black line is your cue stick. It should be aimed opposite the direction you want the ball to go. Similar to a real game of pool. The red line that covers the black line is the power gauge. The more of the black that is covered with red, the greater the force on the ball. The thin dashed line is the aiming line. This shows you the current trajectory of where the ball will go should you release the button. This line can be turned off in the options dialog.

Figure 3.3b. Taking a shot

3.4 The Rack Area

The rack area is where the status of the game is shown. It lets you know whose turn it is, what balls each player has sunk and in rotation mode shows the score of the current game.

In Figure 3.4 you can see the rack as it appears in the process of a game. The game shown is for rotation. Other racks are similar and simply lack the "Score" on the right.

The rack shows us that Player 1 is the current shooter. This is demonstrated by the color of the player's name turning red and the appearance of an asterisk (*) to the left of the name. It shows that 4 balls have been sunk, 2 by each player. It also shows that the current score has Player 1 ahead 22 to 11.

Figure 3.4. The Rack Area (Rotation shown)

3.5 The Message Area

The message area currently does very little. Currently it has little messages to inform you of happenings in the game. It will have increased functionality as the network features are incorporated.