New documentation

The Pelota documentation has been rewritten from scratch. It is now about the ideas behind the game rather than the code, and it is written for everyone: players, curious tennis fans, and contributors.

Some highlights:

• Hitting well: how timing, position and choosing to take the ball early or late make a perfect shot.
• Pressure and confidence: why defending break points weighs on a player, and why being hopelessly behind can free them up.
• Animation: how motion-captured running is kept in step so the feet never slide, and how a swing is timed to meet the ball.
• The AI opponent: how the computer reads your shot, punishes short balls and decides when to come to the net.
• Contribute: guides for programmers, artists, animators, translators, writers and testers.

The plots in the docs are drawn by a script that repeats the game’s formulas, so they stay true when the game changes. Found something wrong? Every page has an Edit this page link.