It’s been a busy month in 8 Ball Pool, with plenty of new features added to the game. Also this month, we wanted to address a popular topic among the community – chat.
Chat Packs can be found in the Pool Shop.
Chat Packs
You can now customize your chat phrases in the game, with the new Chat Packs that were recently introduced. You can ask your opponent “Best of 3?” with the Rematch pack, cheer them on with the Motivational pack (“You’re awesome!”) or even give them a bit of a gentle mocking with the Competitive pack (“In your face!”).
Of course, you could always use the Motivational pack in a sarcastic way (“Best shot ever!” as your opponent sinks the white) but we definitely, 100% do not endorse that. Nope. Really.
Hey, why not just give us free chat?
It’s a question that we’ve seen get debated among players for some time – so we thought this would be a good time to reiterate our thoughts on unrestricted “free” chat.
We want 8 Ball Pool to stay fast, fun and friendly – a game that can be enjoyed by players from all around the world, no matter what their age or ability. It is a competitive game, we recognize that, but we never want that competitiveness to stray away from the fun experience of a quick game of pool.
Just like Blizzard’s Hearthstone, which has adopted a similar “chat phrases” build to 8 Ball Pool, we don’t want anyone’s enjoyment of the game to be harmed by the risks of abuse or offensive language that come with having unrestricted chat. Even a “censored” chat won’t solve that problem as people may find ways to be abusive without using censored words. Similarly, a “report” function is a reactive measure – it doesn’t stop people from being offended or abused in the first place.
Re-order your chat phrases in the Settings menu.
We did want to give you the opportunity to add more depth and customization to the chat phrases that are available to you, and we feel that the Chat Packs are the best way to do this while still keeping the game fun and friendly. Yes, we have included a few “competitive” phrases like “Watch and learn!” because 8 Ball Pool is a competitive multiplayer game – but we wanted to reflect that while removing the risk of people being offended or upset while playing our game.
Remember also that 8 Ball Pool is a fast-paced game where you have seconds, not minutes, to take your shot – typing out custom messages will slow down the game and leave you waiting for your opponent to send you a message and then take their shot.
We know that there are plenty of players out there who recognize these problems with free chat, and we’ve been following the debates on our Facebook page. To all our players, we thank you for your support and understanding – and hope that you’ll find a phrase you’re looking for among the new Chat Packs, and continue enjoying 8 Ball Pool.
Chat Pack Protips
There’s also two things you might not have noticed about the new Chat Packs.
Firstly, you can re-order the list of phrases in the Settings menu. Just head over there and drag the phrases around to suit your personal tastes – this will make it much easier to find your favorite phrases when you’re in a hurry.
Secondly, if you’d rather not hear from your opponent at all… you can turn off the Chat phrases completely. Just set Chat to “Off” and you’re good to go.
Practice your no-guideline skills on mobile.
Sharpen your no-guideline skills
If you play 8 Ball Pool on mobile, you’re probably well aware of the Play Offline mode. We just added a new feature to this: you can turn off the guidelines and practice without them.
This means you can improve your no-guideline skills without having to stump up the entry fee for a high-ranking tournament or 1v1 tier that doesn’t use guidelines. Then, when you feel like going for a big prize, you’ll know that you’re ready for it. Sharpen those skills, 8 Ballers!
New All In awards
This award will be yours if you’ve got the skills to win an All In match.
There are now a couple of new awards available for anyone who plays an All In match on mobile – Winner Keeps It All and Go For Broke. One you earn for winning an All In match… and we think you can probably guess how you get the other one ;-)
@8ballpool on Twitter
The official 8 Ball Pool Twitter account has had a name-change from @poolbyminiclip to @8ballpool. So if you want to tweet us any questions, suggestions or cool pics/videos – or you just want to say hi – that’s the handle to use.
Double Coins Weekend
If you’re looking to boost your coin stash… this weekend (25th-27th April), we’re doubling the amount of coins you get on selected bundles from the Pool Shop.
That’s all for this month 8 Ballers – as always, hit that Post Comment button if you’ve got anything you want to say about any of the above.
