#bPart I: Basics

#bSection 1: Introduction

Welcome to the CueClub clubbers guide, a comprehensive electronic manual containing

everything you need to know to get the most out of CueClub. The guide is split into
four parts. Part one covers the fundamentals of CueClub and how to access the main
game features. Part two covers virtual chat rooms in greater depth. Part 3 is a
collection of strategies and techniques for improving your game, and part four is a
reference to the rules for each game.

#bLogin

When you start the game you will be presented with a login screen asking for some
personal details. Do not fret - this information is required for the virtual chat
rooms. It gives the computer players a little more information about you.

After submitting your details you will be presented with the main menu and all the
game options. To start a new game, click on the game option.

#c#bSection 2: Game Modes

#bQuick Game

This option selects a game against a computer opponent. The player will be picked
at random from one of the currently available chat rooms, and their level of
ability will be determined from your current preferences - either easy, medium or
hard (you can change the difficulty setting from the options menu). The number of
games defaults to one, but this too can be changed from the options menu.

#bTwo Player

This option allows two human players to have a game. After entering your names and
selecting your cues, choose your preferred rules to start the game. Remember to
hand the mouse over to your opponent at the end of your turn.

#p#bChat Rooms

A unique feature of CueClub is the simulation of internet chat rooms -

appropriately named virtual chat rooms. You may have already experienced real chat
rooms before, in which case you should pick up this part of the game quite easily.
If not then don't worry, it's straightforward enough.

CueClub contains eight totally different chat rooms to uncover, each with a unique
theme. When you first start playing CueClub, only one chat room will be available.
This is the one you have membership for. Enter an alias for yourself in the box
provided if you wish. This can be your real name or a nickname. If the chat room is
not too busy then you will be allowed in. Once inside, to talk to other players,
just type text into the dialogue box at the top of the screen, then click on the
appropriate button to send it, or press return. There are six send buttons
available:

1. Request (request a game)

2. Accept (accept a game)
3. Decline (turn down a game)
4. Greet (greet someone)
5. Chat (chat to someone)
6. Insult (insult someone)
When you click on one of these buttons, a menu will drop down with a list of the
players in the chat room, and an entry at the top saying 'Everyone'. Click on this
item to send your message to everyone. Otherwise, select the player who you would
like to send the message to.

Then wait a few moments. Your message will appear at the bottom of the post list.
If you're lucky you might even get a reply, indicated by posts with a finger
pointing at them. If you miss a post you can always drag the scroll bar on the
right of the screen to view them.

Well - did you get a reply? Maybe, maybe not! Keep trying - persistence pays. If
the 'accept' and 'decline' button start flashing then someone is offering you a
game. Click on 'accept' to see who it is, then click on their name if you wish to
play them. To turn them down, go to 'decline' and do the same (or simply wait for
them to go away!). You should keep an eye on their posts though, to see what game
they are actually offering.

If you accept a game with another player, you will have to agree to a pre-match
contract before playing. This is basically to warn you that something is at stake -
namely your reputation. Agree to this and you're on with the game. Generally
speaking, if you win then your reputation in that chat room will increase by one *,
if you lose it will drop one *. Reputation is very important in the chat rooms.
Part two explains this topic in greater detail.

Also on this screen is the chat room status panel. This is the panel on the far
right of the screen and contains three buttons labeled 'members', 'matches' and
'rooms'. By clicking on these you can reveal various information on the chat rooms.
The 'members' view (default) lists all the members currently logged into the chat
room, and their statistics. Click on an entry in the list to reveal more personal
data on that member. The 'matches' view lists all matches in progress in that chat
room. This list will change over time as games end and new games start. Finally,
the 'rooms' view lists all the chat rooms and how full they are. Click on one of
them to jump to the foyer of that chat room.

At the bottom of the chat room status panel are a set of buttons under the headings
'Game type' and 'Number of games'. These buttons allow you to set your preferences
for a game. Whenever you request a game these preferences will be stated in your
posts, and other members will make up their own mind up if they wish to play to
your rules. If you have no preference to which game you like to play, set 'Game
type' to 'Any' and 'Number of games' to '?', and your opponent will be left to
decide. In the case where both players request 'Any' game type, the match will
default to 8-ball, and similarly, for both players requesting '?' number of games,
only one game will be played by default.

#p#bTournaments

CueClub has two quite separate parts to it. The first is the chat room games, the
second is the tournaments. To complete the game you must uncover all of the chat
rooms and complete all of the tournaments. Only by unlocking these will you be
granted access to the grand final - the CueClub tournament.

Tournaments are made up of sixteen players, fifteen of which are selected at random
from a chat room. Players will have differing abilities and you have no way of
knowing in advance who you will be paired with. If you win your match you will go
into the next round. If not, you are dropped from the tournament and you will have
to start again. Don't worry about saving, the game will auto-save your progress
after each game, so you can come back to it another time.

Before playing your match, there may be other matches to be played first. Click on
the 'Watch match' button to view a match between two computer players, or choose
'Skip match' to move onto the next. You may also skip a match in progress (except
your own game). Click on the 'Play match' button to play one of your games.
Remember, even if you are knocked out of the tournament, you can still watch the
remaining games to see who wins the final. Please note that when a tournament game
is in progress, you cannot start another game from the main menu. Either finish the
current game or exit the tournament to begin another game.

If you manage to win a tournament, you will be awarded with a beautiful trophy,
which will be on display in the hall of fame. You can still compete in the same
tournament again (and even lose), but the trophy is yours to keep.

Winning a tournament is also a great way to improve your reputation. There is no

deposit required to enter (unlike a chat room game), and your reputation is not
affected by losing - so the risk is low, but the winner stands to gain a whopping
THREE *'s! As a consolation prize, the other finalist will gain one *.

When you finally unlock the CueClub tournament, you will compete against the best
of the best, from ALL the chat rooms! You, the bosses and the best players of each
chat room will go head to head for the coveted CueClub trophy. The winner of this
fine accolade will be awarded with a very special treat indeed!

#p#bPractice

To build up your skill level you will probably want to spend some time practicing
your pots and ball control. The practice mode is an excellent environment to build
up your skills in pool and snooker. With the ability to move all the balls around,
it is possible to set up virtually any shot. Right click on any ball on the table
to make it disappear. Left click on any ball in the stack to make it reappear on
the table. Left click and hold to drag a ball around on the table.

#bSLAM!

When patience is running dry and you need a little light relief boot up this baby
for some instant gratification! We have gotten rid of the cue in this mode, leaving
you with just the mouse to hurl the balls around. It's not strictly a game as such,
but it's a lot of fun, and it's a great way to check out the remarkable physics of
CueClub!

#c#bSection 3: Game Controls

CueClub is a game played almost entirely with the mouse, and as such is extremely
easy to play. However, there are a few controls which need to be learned. To make
playing as simple and straightforward possible, most of the controls have been
placed in a panel at the top of the screen, above the table.

#bCue Butt Elevator

This controls the vertical angle at which the cue strikes the cue ball. The default
angle is zero, meaning the cue is parallel to the table. It can be raised to
maximum of 75 degrees to perform swerve shots.

#bCue Ball Spin

This controls the amount of side spin and top or bottom applied to the cue ball.
The view is from behind the ball and the crosshair indicates the desired area to
hit the cue ball. The blue circle underneath indicates the actual area that will be
hit. Sometimes these points will differ, for example, when attempting to apply
bottom when the cue ball is against a cushion. In this case, it is impossible to
apply bottom to the cue ball, so use the blue circle as the more accurate guide
here.

#bPower Bar

This controls the amount of power used to play a shot. Low power is set with the
bar to the left (barely visible), and high power is set with the bar to the right
(fully visible).

#p#bButton Bank

On the far right of the control panel is the button bank. This contains an array of
sixteen buttons to control things from chalking your cue to viewing the current
match information. When you move the mouse over each button a short text
description appears above it. Note that some buttons will be inactive, depending on
the type of game you are playing, and what stage of the game you are at.

#bReplays

It is possible to replay any shot at full speed, half speed, quarter speed or one-
eighth speed. Click on the corresponding button from the bank to activate the
replay, or use the function keys (F1-F4). Note that it is only possible to replay a
shot when the balls are at rest, and you will need to rely on the function keys
when the computer has control of the mouse. A replay can be cancelled by clicking
the right mouse button or pressing ESC. You can save a replay on the computer's
hard-disk by pressing the 'Save shot' button (F5) and choosing a save-slot from the
ten available. To call it back later, choose 'Load shot' (F6). This facility is
ideal for storing those hard to repeat 'Golden shots', and you can even email your
shots to friends with the game by extracting the relevant files from the
'CueClub\save\shots' folder. The recipient then simply drops the files into their
shots folder before viewing from the load replay screen as normal.

If you have performed a particularly awesome shot - such as potting all the balls
in Speed Ball from the break, you may wish to send it to the official hot-shot hall
of fame gallery for everyone to download and admire. For more details visit:
#bwww.bulldoginteractive.com/hotshots.htm

Full credit for your shots will be given.

#p#bPanel Swap Button

On the extreme right of the control panel is a button which resembles two arrows.
Use this to swap between the control panel and the side view of the table.

#bPool Panel

When a ball is potted or when all the balls are down, this panel will be displayed.
It is the side view of the table and contains from left to right, the cue ball bay,
the object ball rack, and the object ball bay. If any region here begins to flash
then you should click on it to continue. This may happen if the cue ball is potted,
for example.

#bSnooker Panel

The snooker game contains two additional panels - one for each long side of the
table. To indicate which side you are viewing, three arrows point down into the
relevant pockets. Like pool, when a ball is potted the panel will switch to the
side view of the table. However, you do not need to recover potted balls yourself -
the virtual referee will perform this task for you (except in 'Practice' and
'SLAM!' modes). Note that when the referee is busy, you cannot play a shot, so
please be patient. Apart from re-spotting balls, it is the referees responsibility
to stop pockets filling up, and to clean balls that looks dirty.

#c#bSection 4: Options

CueClub features a wealth of options to choose between. Some are available right
from the start and others become unlocked as you progress through the game.

#bMatch

This menu contains game difficulty, which sets the ability of the computer players,
and match count, which sets the number of games to be played in any 'Quick game' or
'Two player' match.

#p#bTables

This menu allows you to customise the pool and snooker tables by changing the baize
and table finish. Choose from an array of baize tints and textures, or choose one
of your own from the custom baize library. To use one of your own you will need to
use a graphics application to design your baize, then save out the file in PCX
format. The design must be 600 pixels wide by 340 pixels high, and saved in 16 bit
mode. Use the templates in the 'CueClub\custom' folder as a guide. The file must be
called 'baize1.pcx' or 'baize2.pcx' ...up to and including 'baize4.pcx'.

On the right hand side of the screen will be a preview of the table.

As with many game options, to see your new table design, you must start a new game
by either selecting a new game from the main menu, or re-racking the balls at the
table.

Only one baize pattern and finish is active initially, but more can be gained by
progressing through the chat rooms (and there are a few hidden ones too!).

Note that the table settings are overridden by chat room and tournament games.

#p#bCues

This menu option allows you to change your default cue. In 'Two player' mode and
'Killer', where there is more than one human player, each may choose their own cue.
But remember that not all cues behave the same. Apart from looking and sounding
different, the longer cues can apply more power to a shot, but can apply little
spin to the ball. The lighter cues however, whilst not very powerful, are great for
performing shots where a lot of spin is required - such as the swerve shot. This is
because they have a much finer tip.

Feel free to change your cue during a game, if the situation dictates it. However,
you may wish to confirm with any other players first whether or not a 'swap cue'
option is allowed before starting a game.

Only one cue is active initially, but more cues can be gained by progressing
through the chat rooms.

You may use any of the available cues in any chat room. There are no rules to say
you must use the house cue. Expect the bosses to use the official house cue,
though.

#p#bBalls
This menu option allows you to choose the ball set for a game of pool. There are
eight variations for U.S. pool, and sixteen for European pool. All ball sets behave
identically, but you will find that some look better on certain tables than others.

Only two ball sets are active initially, but more can be gained by progressing
through the chat rooms (and there are a few hidden ones too!)

Note that the current setting will be overridden by chat room and tournament games.

#bSpecial FX

This menu option allows you to toggle certain special effects. If you are affected
by flashing lights then you may wish to turn the strobes and/or the disco lights
off.

Remember that many of the special effects are costly to processor time, so you may
wish to turn some off to help increase the frame rate.

#bAudio

This menu option allows you to change the volume of the sound effects and turn the
CD music on or off.

#p#bDynamics

This menu option allows you to change the performance of the table, by increasing
or decreasing the table speed and cushion speed. Note that this setting will be
overridden by chat room and tournament games.

This menu also allows you to change the cue control method. There are four modes
available:

#b1. Natural

This is the default setting. After setting the power with the power bar, click the
left mouse button to play the shot. After a couple of practice strokes, the cue
will dart forward and strike the cue ball.

#b2. Instant

This mode is similar to the 'natural' mode described above, but the cue darts
forward instantly, without any practice strokes.

#p#b3. Catapult

This mode allows you to set the power without using the power bar. Click and hold
the left mouse button, then move the mouse forwards and backwards to set the power
(the further back the cue the more powerful the shot). Release the mouse button to
play the shot.

#b4. Virtual

This mode is possibly the most realistic, but also the most difficult to master.
Like 'catapult' mode, you do not need to use the power bar. Instead, the power is
set by how fast you move the mouse forward. Click the left mouse button to begin
the shot, then pull the cue back and push forward to shoot.

Finally, there is an option enabling you to toggle between manually chalking your
cue and automatic chalking. With this option set to manual, it is possible to mis-
cue if you forget to chalk on shots requiring a lot of side, top or bottom spin.
With this option set to automatic, it is impossible to miscue.

#p#bRule Variations

This menu option contains lists of rule variations for U.S. 8-ball, Euro 8-ball and
Killer. Each rule can toggled by clicking on the tick box beside it. For a detailed
description of these rules, refer to the reference section (part IV).

Rule settings will be overridden by chat room and tournament games.

#bRestore settings

This menu option will restore all the options back to the default settings.

#c#bSection 5: Hall of fame

It's only fair to be able to brag off your achievements. Impress your friends with
your hard earned records in the CueClub hall of fame.

#bSpeed Ball Times

If you get a time under 90 seconds in 'Speed ball' then you will qualify for the
'Speed ball' hall of fame. Best times can also be submitted to the website at:
#bwww.bulldoginteractive.com/speedball.htm

#bSnooker Breaks

If you get a break in Snooker of 20 or more then you will qualify for the Snooker
breaks hall of fame. High breaks can also be submitted to the website at:
#bwww.bulldoginteractive.com/snooker.htm

#bTrophy Room

Each time you win a tournament cup it will be placed in the trophy room. There are
nine to collect in total.

#p#bBonuses

There are six hidden Euro ball sets in CueClub. To get them you'll need to perform
some pretty impressive feats. Here's what you need to do:

1. Speed ball time under 60 seconds.

2. Speed ball time under 50 seconds.
3. Speed ball time under 45 seconds.
4. Speed ball time under 40 seconds.
5. Win a game of 'Killer' against seven CPU players.
6. Achieve a break of 50 or above in Snooker.