Microgaming software - Is it really that good?
March 30, 2007
One of the most popular and most used online gaming software in numerous online casinos all over the world is Microgaming. We expect top end quad core machines to become the minimum requirement in all entertainment providing Microgaming casinos.
Three Microgaming casinos can be updated at the same time, but trying to slip in a forth can be troublesome. Personally I do not have a problem updating and handling three simultaneously playing Microgaming casinos on my dual core machine. The system starts to work slower when I try to do this with a forth casino.
The troublesome part is the updating. After you are done updating your system should run fine. After the update is complete Microgaming software runs without any problems. This is because your system does just one thing, and that is run the games.
A single PC, multiple casinos
In my opinion you should find one good casino per software provider and if you are loyal to it, it will be loyal to you.
Let’s say that you are running ten Microgaming casinos ob your system. Have you been wondering why you are running out of disc space? It is because your system cannot handle all the workload.
Downloading a casino “the normal way” can take two to four hours. Who has the time and the patience to wait that long? Downloading a full Microgaming install on the other hand takes 15 to 10 minutes. You then have to wait ten more minutes for the install process to complete.
Note that a full Microgaming install loads itself entirely onto the RAM in order to self extract. This can exceed 300 MB, which will not make your system work any smoother. It takes a considerable amount of RAM, which is quite a challenge for most systems.
Microgaming CD installs also load themselves entirely onto the RAM in order to self extract. CD installs are usually out of date and require extensive updates.
Extensive Updates
The software is not kept up to date, unfortunately. Sometimes the update cycle is several months behind. A download for the full install is provided by a few groups.
When it comes to updating, with a 1.5 Mbp DSL connection it will take more than two hours to download and install a couple of games. The competition is offering way faster updates, but Microgaming seems to be falling behind in this department.
Personally I considered that casino downloads would be a piece of cake. The new games would not be available, but I thought everything else would work as it did the previous month. Boy was I wrong. There is nothing that you can modify on your system to prevent an MG casino from detecting the monthly update.
Slow downloads
PKZIP is a common package that extracts files and puts them in a tree of directories beneath the main directory. The player gets to choose the main directory.
My question is why can’t we download the entire compressed 350 MB casino package in a single go, and install everything locally in one operation. A download manager would be useful, but they attempt to manage the download as though the system was on dial-up.
The size of the full casino is over 600 MB. Still, four hours to download over 600 MB is too much. With a broadband connection simply downloading the casino file is a lot more convenient. And most players nowadays have a broadband connection.
Software bugs
The AutoPlay function on the Thunderstruck slots has an old bug that has not been fixed, even to this day. This is not the only bug. There is another where the first two reels stop and 3-5 just keep on spinning. They do not stop spinning, but instead you crash out of the game. The connection is not to blame, as the result has reached the client and was displayed on the first two reels.
I have personally notified the online casinos where I play and they said the problem is being taken care of. Clearly it has not been so far, presumably because the casinos cannot fix this problem themselves, they must refer the problem onwards, to Microgaming.
I have tried to fix the problem with a complete clean out and reinstall from scratch. The whole process took about ten hours, and it did not solve anything. What are they waiting for? Why aren’t they fixing those bugs?
New game releases
The current offer is of about 200 games. Around 50 to 60 new games are released every year.
The truth of the matter is that nobody is asking for new releases. The current offer is extensive enough. Instead I advise Microgaming developers to work on already released games and make them more user-friendly.
The players should be given a choice of either downloading the games they want, or downloading a package of games per computer. This package can be then accessed and used by all Microgaming casinos
Monthly Upgrades
Microgaming is currently releasing new games every month. But every time they release a game, they update all the existing games as well. I cannot imagine why they do such a thing. I mean it takes three to four hours just to download the full install package for the first time. What will a player that tries Microgaming for the first time think? What are they going to think about having to spend three to four hours just to download the install package in order to try a few free games?
Note that while the upgrade process takes place the games are subjected to slow play and long connection delays. If you are updating your Microgaming software and playing slots at the same time, it will sometimes take minutes for a reel to stop.
And now I leave you with my final thoughts. Microgaming powered casinos indeed offer a large number of high quality games. These games are state of the art and offer loads of features. But players have to play at only a few Microgaming casinos and thus lose out on various bonuses, or they have to play a lower quality, no-download, Flash version of the casino software. Modern Microgaming games work best if you have a broadband internet connection.
Posted by admin under Casino news |
