Hello again, Pool fans! 👋
It’s been a full month since Pure Pool Pro’s free demo went live, and we’ve been blown away by the number of players chalking up their cues and hitting the table. Over 5500 of you jumped into the Rackhaus, and more importantly, told us what you thought.
We’ve spent the past few weeks reviewing every piece of feedback from the Closed Beta and Steam Next Fest - not just via the feedback form, but through socials and Discord, too.
Today, we’re lifting the lid on the community’s most requested improvements. Here’s what we heard most, and what we plan on doing about it.
Important Note: If you’ve suggested something that isn’t listed here, don’t worry - it hasn’t been ignored! As a small team with limited time, we’re focusing first on the most commonly requested features and fixes to deliver the best experience for as many players as possible at launch.
Your Most Mentioned Points of Demo Feedback
1. Mouse & Keyboard Controls
What you said: The number one piece of feedback - by a mile. A lot of you felt the M+KB setup felt clunky or like a secondary option, which is quite significant when 62% of Demo players used this control scheme!
What we’re doing: A full M+KB control remap is underway. This includes improved support for both left and right-handed players, and the ability to aim freely with mouse movement - no more needing to hold buttons just to look around. In the full game, we’ll also have an optional onboarding/tutorial that’ll help you get acquainted with the controls.
2. Cushion Physics Feel “Dead”
What you said: Object balls were losing too much energy on rail contacts, causing unrealistic rebounds.
What we’re doing: We’re actively tuning cushion bounce and spin response to bring them more in line with real-world behaviour. Cushion sounds are also being revisited, too - to ramp up that natural and satisfying feeling.
3. Break Shot Framerate Drops
What you said: Many of you experienced heavy frame drops when taking the opening break, especially on higher settings with all the fancy ray-traced reflections maxed out.
What we’re doing: We’re working diligently to optimise the break, alongside performance optimisations across the board. It’s worth noting that the break is the most performance-intensive moment in the game - every single ball is on screen, with every reflection being calculated - but we’ll get it running smoothly across all spec levels.
4. Option to Fully Disable Aim Lines
What you said: Some of our most hardcore new players and our OG Pure Pool players want the cleanest, most immersive experience possible - with no aim guides at all.
What we’re doing: ‘Pro’ difficulty wasn’t present in the Demo. In the full game, this difficulty removes all aim lines. We’re also looking at adding a global toggle so players can remove them completely, regardless of mode!
5. AI Shot Logic
What you said: A few AI opponents (Amber, Iosifina - we’re looking at you) made weird, overly complex or needlessly powerful shots instead of the obvious ones. Respondents also noted that occasionally the AI would take painfully long to make a decision.
What we’re doing: Our 20 AI profiles are being refined to feel more human and consistent - and we’ll continue tweaking them every step of the way til launch. This is a deceptively tricky one: we want variety and personality, but not at the expense of realism. We’re also fixing the bug that causes delayed AI shot decisions. Keep on sharing your thoughts on this!
6. Sorry! No Plans for Top-Down Camera
What you said: Around 1 in 10 feedback entries requested a birds-eye view camera, like in televised pool and other pool games.
What we’re doing: Super sorry! But this is the one hill we’re willing to die on. We’re eager to stay true to the Pure Pool ethos: intimate, immersive, and entirely first-person. A top-down view breaks that realism, giving you access to angles that wouldn’t normally be available (without a stepladder, at least).
While we understand the request and expect it will always be requested, it’s not something we’ll be pursuing. That said, we are experimenting with ways to improve existing camera angles for better visibility and control over your shots.
7. Ball & Cushion Sound Effects
What you said: About 1 in 5 players mentioned that ball collision and cushion sounds lacked weight or realism. Ball sounds felt “tinny” - while cushions were described as “rubbery”.
What we’re doing: We’re continuing to tweak the audio mix, especially the clarity and depth of ball-on-ball and ball-on-rail contact. Audio, however, is super subjective (a lot of respondents loved it as is), so we’ll work to make the default experience feel more satisfying without losing realism.
P.S. We’re sorry to the one guy that requested we make the break shot sound “like a Barrett .50 Cal” - we don’t think this would be in fitting with the vibe! 😅
Bonus Mention: Thoughts on Blackball Mode
What you said: While Blackball was not a part of the Demo content, a vocal contingent (particularly in Discord!) called for Pure Pool Pro’s planned Blackball mode to feature correct UK rules, table size, pocket dimensions, and ball sets. Context: In the original Pure Pool, this mode was simply a US 8-Ball table, with a Traditional Red and Yellow Ball Set. 
What we’re doing: If we do bring Blackball back, the community is telling us it’ll need to be done right. But this is a bigger task than many assume - it’s not as simple as just scaling down our 8-Ball table. It’ll require additional code, art, rules, UI, and QA, too. If we can’t ship it at launch, we’ll put a pin in it for now and consider it as a post-launch update if there’s still community appetite for it. Let us know if you want it!
What’s Next & When’s The Release Date?
First off, thank you for your patience with us as you’ve waited for the release date news! Your support has been absolutely incredible, and it’s helping shape the final version of Pure Pool Pro.
The Demo and Closed Beta gave us vital insight into what the community wants most from the game. We’re thrilled to use those insights to make Pure Pool Pro the best it can be right out of the gate.
With all of the above in mind, we’ve decided to undertake a slight refocus in development based on your input. Rather than sticking rigidly to our original plan, we’re prioritising the features and suggestions that players have shown the most excitement for. This means some content we initially slated for launch (for example, one of the lesser-requested rule sets) may be put on hold for now, freeing us to double down on the elements you’re actually most eager to experience on Day One. It’s all about making sure Pure Pool Pro delivers what you want to see at launch.
Naturally, implementing these community-driven adjustments (and that bit of extra polish) means we’re going to take a little more time than expected.
We’re reworking our production timeline and, as a result, the planned Q4 2025 release window is very likely moving to Q1 2026. We genuinely believe this small shift will be worth it to ensure everything is just right. Our goal is to launch a game you’ll truly love from day one, even if it takes a bit longer - and we’re confident the wait will pay off.
So, what’s next? Right now, we’re finalising the schedule for these last improvements, and we expect to have a solid release date for you within the next few weeks.
We’ll share it with you as soon as it’s locked in - alongside a refresh of store pages etc. - stay tuned!
If you haven’t already:
🎱 Wishlist Pure Pool Pro
💬 Join the community on Discord
💡 Leave a review on the demo page - it really helps!
Until next time,
The Ripstone Team