Annoying Things That Slots Do

[funnymunny]

Following on from a couple of recent threads (specifically 'Star of Slots' (started by 243 lines=daft) and 'Monsters, Candy or Sushi' (started by Mark_32Red)), I got to thinking about what it is that makes a good slot. In order to help my thoughts, I deposited at a few sites & proceeded to kill a couple of hours (purely for research purposes obv! ). However what stuck with me during this research was not 'what makes a good slot?', instead, it was 'why the hell do they do that ?!'

Below is a list of things that I've discovered bugs me about certain games...

1. Zero pay when hitting 2x scatters.
   
2. Free spins that don’t re-trigger.
   
3. Wilds that kill a potentially bigger win. (Perfect example given in this post by amourgirl).
   
4. Random wilds awarded at the completion of a spin that then replace a scatter. (Yes, you may now get a (usually small) win, but you don't get to trigger the bonus round).
   
5. Random wilds awarded at the completion of a spin that still don’t give you a win.
   
6. Bonus rounds and mystery jackpots that pay less than 15x wager.
   
7. "Congratulations..." messages at the end of a poor paying bonus round.
   
8. Great win(s) at start of bonus rounds & then nothing for the remainder. (MUCH prefer dead spin, dead spin, dead spin..... BIG WIN. The dead spins seem to build anticipation. When it's the other way around, I can't help feel a little disappointed).

I'm sure if my balance had lasted longer, I'd have been able to come-up with a few more too!


I know game design is subjective - what I like, others may not (and vice versa). I dare say there will never be a single 'magic ingredient' that will ensure a game is a success & by the same token, there probably isn't one bad thing about a game that will make us avoid it. (E.g. Girls with Guns II has at least 2 items in it from the above list, but I still play it ).

Anyway, I am interested to see what fellow members here think & as it's all about personal preference, there's no right or wrong answers

Many thanks in advance

 

[miso]

Ah, here we go...

first the big one, which is absolutely killing me -

Scatters on first two reels...and no third scatter. For some reason it happens an awful lot on Egyptian Heroes, more than any other slot IMO.

and then the wilds on Lost Island. Even in non winning combo they stall the game.

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

Bonus symbols during free spins that block a big win. Happens frequently on the Michael feature on IR.

 

[Valhalla]

Immortal Romance being a dick, that's what winds me up

Seriously though... gotta be free spins that pay nothing or just 2 scatters throughout the entire bonus round

 

[dunover]

Following on from a couple of recent threads (specifically 'Star of Slots' (started by 243 lines=daft) and 'Monsters, Candy or Sushi' (started by Mark_32Red)), I got to thinking about what it is that makes a good slot. In order to help my thoughts, I deposited at a few sites & proceeded to kill a couple of hours (purely for research purposes obv! ). However what stuck with me during this research was not 'what makes a good slot?', instead, it was 'why the hell do they do that ?!'

Below is a list of things that I've discovered bugs me about certain games...

1. Zero pay when hitting 2x scatters.
   
2. Free spins that don’t re-trigger.
   
3. Wilds that kill a potentially bigger win. (Perfect example given in this post by amourgirl).
   
4. Random wilds awarded at the completion of a spin that then replace a scatter. (Yes, you may now get a (usually small) win, but you don't get to trigger the bonus round).
   
5. Random wilds awarded at the completion of a spin that still don’t give you a win.
   
6. Bonus rounds and mystery jackpots that pay less than 15x wager.
   
7. "Congratulations..." messages at the end of a poor paying bonus round.
   
8. Great win(s) at start of bonus rounds & then nothing for the remainder. (MUCH prefer dead spin, dead spin, dead spin..... BIG WIN. The dead spins seem to build anticipation. When it's the other way around, I can't help feel a little disappointed).

I'm sure if my balance had lasted longer, I'd have been able to come-up with a few more too!


I know game design is subjective - what I like, others may not (and vice versa). I dare say there will never be a single 'magic ingredient' that will ensure a game is a success & by the same token, there probably isn't one bad thing about a game that will make us avoid it. (E.g. Girls with Guns II has at least 2 items in it from the above list, but I still play it ).

Anyway, I am interested to see what fellow members here think & as it's all about personal preference, there's no right or wrong answers

Many thanks in advance

You could have saved all the effort of typing this post and said 'I just played Netbent for a few hours'.........

The dumbest thing I ever saw is on TFTUT when the turd gets shot on your very last free spin, triggers an expanding wild - for f*** all.

 

[chayton]

More than 3 scatters not giving you any extra spins or $

 

[KasinoKing]

Extra random or spreading wilds which go onto a space which is ALREADY wild! :sob:
(e.g. on Wish Master or Frankenstein)

Getting 2 or 3 reels totally wild (e.g. Sh*tStorm or W*nkDesire) and NO symbols match on the other reels so you win $0.00!

KK

 

[chayton]

Free spin features that give you spins at a 1x bet multiplier. "Congratulations! You've won 2 free spins at 1x multiplier!"

And one more - I don't know if it's just me, but I don't like when a game has those little messages every time you win anything. It seems sort of old fashioned and honestly a bit patronizing when you're playing and you win back half your bet and the thing is saying, "Awesome spin!" or "Wow what a great win!" or something like that. Kinda like, "You managed to get through the day without pooping in your pants or jamming an icepick into your head, GREAT JOB!!!"

 

[Nate]

What Dunover said - CFTBL - Useless animation

Lost Island - Even more useless animation on Wilds / Scatters

Secret of the Stones / Wild Turkey - Same thing with scatters / Wilds... why play the animation when it means NOTHING.

Games without Quickspin / Turbo Play

I don't play those slots (apart from CFTBL) primarily for the reasons stated above. Game Play should be fun, not annoying.

Nate

 

[bigjohn]

The animation while the reels are still spinning. OK, you get 2 scatters on the first two reels, the next 3 reels spin for an extended period of time while you watch the third scatter go by 47 times on each reel then it when it stops all of a sudden they are not there.

Now I understand it's just 'eye candy' but how about a more realistic representation of the actual reel strips?

 

[Valhalla]

Free spin features that give you spins at a 1x bet multiplier. "Congratulations! You've won 2 free spins at 1x multiplier!"

And one more - I don't know if it's just me, but I don't like when a game has those little messages every time you win anything. It seems sort of old fashioned and honestly a bit patronizing when you're playing and you win back half your bet and the thing is saying, "Awesome spin!" or "Wow what a great win!" or something like that. Kinda like, "You managed to get through the day without pooping in your pants or jamming an icepick into your head, GREAT JOB!!!"

 

[funnymunny]

Thanks for the replies so far... I've spoken to some ex-colleagues & this thread is being monitored for feedback, so please keep it coming. (I dare say there'll always be sucky things appearing in future games, but we could see future improvements).

 

[pinkfloyd]

i hate with a passion slots that have music that resets every time you spin

so you might get a couple seconds of a catchy tune and as the last line stops the music stops and restarts when you spin and it ends up sounding like a record that is stuck.

i end up killing the sound if i like the slot and miss out on bonus pop sounds etc (




if the music is background and on constant while the game is loaded that is great .

 

[hoff1985]

yeah my all time hate goes for 2 scatters on the first 2 reels and no trigger. hate it!!!

 

[quber]

My hate is when you are playing on autospin and the game shows you every individual line win before continuing. I can see the reels so i know what I have won, just spin the reels again. Also on a similar vein when you are spinning manually and you have to click the spin button to collect then hit it again to spin, just let me do it with one click.


Oh and let's not forget the Max Bet button, if it needs to be there just make it set the stake to the max but don't spin the reels at the same time.

 

[mathsboy1975]

I hate the "feature" of almost all slots I have played in which the reels slow up after you have 2 scatters present already. I suspect that this is supposed to induce a feeling of anticipation for the feature bonus but for me I just find it plain irritating. If the ratio of 3 scatter hits to 2 scatter hits were not so low then it would not be so bad. I find myself hitting the STOP button on MG games whenever this happens just to avoid this irritation. As others have mentioned this is particularly irritating when the scatters show on the first 2 reels.

 

[243 lines=daft]

Those times when the scatter symbol on the 5th reel seems to have gone on holiday.

I know that the likelihood of a scatter landing differs between reelstrips on some games but there do seem to be times when the 5th reel scatter just vanishes for five or ten minutes.

Also slots that reset to substantial total stakes whenever you open them (which can be two or three figure sums). No excuse for this other than trying to trip players up.

 

[KasinoKing]

Just thought of another one... no two!

Slots where the scatter appearing on reels 4 or 5 STILL makes a "chime" even though you have none on reels 1, 2 & 3 and so can NOT trigger the feature! :sob:

On Rival slots the expanding wild on reel 5 expands even when it does NOT form part of a winning combination
(If you have a 3-symbol win with wild on reel 1-3)

KK

 

[QueenBee]

1 x multiplier

I hate when the slot multiplies your win by 1 !!! For example Lost Island, where one wild results in winnings multiplied by 1.
How stupid do they think we are?

 

[chayton]

The animation while the reels are still spinning. OK, you get 2 scatters on the first two reels, the next 3 reels spin for an extended period of time while you watch the third scatter go by 47 times on each reel then it when it stops all of a sudden they are not there.

Now I understand it's just 'eye candy' but how about a more realistic representation of the actual reel strips?

Good point John - and that reminds me of a related gripe. I've noticed that the standard reel animation on some of the MG Quickfire games is stupid, it'll show symbols flashing by that aren't even ON that reel - case in point, Hitman. If you play it on QF the reel animation shows wilds on the first and last reel. Eye candy or not, they still should be taking how the game works into account and noticing stuff like that before it's released - especially in a game like that where the wilds are such a color contrast to the other symbols it's obvious they're going past.

 

[aceking123]

not sure wether anyone finds this annoying but it has to be pick me features when you hit the collect first shot everytime time , this should produce win all , but many slots it the feature youve just 200 spins to find out first pick drives me mad

 

[Balthazar]

I hate the "feature" of almost all slots I have played in which the reels slow up after you have 2 scatters present already. I suspect that this is supposed to induce a feeling of anticipation for the feature bonus but for me I just find it plain irritating.

Looks like I'm the only one here that like it.
That's actually a major reason why I don't put some slots on quickspins (it skips the "heartstopper" feature).

Slots where the scatter appearing on reels 4 or 5 STILL makes a "chime" even though you have none on reels 1, 2 & 3

This should never happen. There's no excuse other than lazy, half-assed, careless programming.

 

[miso]

My hate is when you are playing on autospin and the game shows you every individual line win before continuing. I can see the reels so i know what I have won, just spin the reels again. Also on a similar vein when you are spinning manually and you have to click the spin button to collect then hit it again to spin, just let me do it with one click.


Oh and let's not forget the Max Bet button, if it needs to be there just make it set the stake to the max but don't spin the reels at the same time.

Yeah, forgot that one. Hello, Play'n'Go It sucks even more, because I love their slots.

 

[Tirilej]

Looks like I'm the only one here that like it.
That's actually a major reason why I don't put some slots on quickspins (it skips the "heartstopper" feature).

Nope, you're not the only one that likes it, but not on all games.
I play a lot on quickspin/turbo and the worst thing is when I can't have it fast in normal play and slow in free spins
In many new you have the option but not the older ones.

I remember they did some idiotic update to one of my favourit MG games, Alaskan Fishing, just so we could use quickspin on it, but it did slow down normal play a lot.
I loved the sound before and it's still there, but if you get any feature the volume is 10x higher. Im trying to have it on and change it but I shuldn't need to.
I've stopped playing it instead.

The same with a lot of other games. When there is a scatter it's really a screaming noise, or if you get a win with a wild
IR and TDK are perfect examples.
I know in many games you can change and turn some of the noices off, but wouldn't it be easier to not make the volume so much different?

 

[dunover]

I actually like the slow 'heartstopper' spin after 2 scatters. Makes it a bit more satisfying when it drops. On MG downloads you can always cheat anyway and click your balance to see if it's increased by 3 scatters. I must admit the chiming when one hits first on reel 4 is pointless as you can't hit the 3-scatter trigger. Yes, very annoying.

 

[cappync]

I think the "Pick Em" feature where a win could potentially produce NO free spins. For instance on Aladdins Wishes, getting 4 lamps but the genie is in the 5th one, and you walk away with only 8x bet/ no free spins.

Grrrr!

 

[mcgameboy]

If I were to list my pet hates when it comes to slots and their annoying habits and quirks, I fear I'd be still typing my reply in November.

So I'm gonna take the lazy bastard option....and just agree with what everyone has typed in this thread and "thank them" for their post.

As for the "heartstopper" effect.....I do like it....to an extent....but I find it extremely irritating on BDBA and GWG2 though. It goes on just a "little too long", especially if you get two scatters from the first two reels.

The amount of time IR takes to spin the last 3 reels seems "just about right" for me.

 

[Valhalla]

When Immortal Romance is playing absolutely gash, and all you get is that 1 scatter on reel one. Over and over again

BONG.....

BONG....

BONG....

BONG....

Would give you a headache

 

[dunover]

When Immortal Romance is playing absolutely gash, and all you get is that 1 scatter on reel one. Over and over again

BONG.....

BONG....

BONG....

BONG....

Would give you a headache

That's reminded me - I knew there was something I'd missed. Yes, it's like having teeth drilled every other spin does it, almost like reel 1 has changed to stacked scatters lol.......

 

[Balthazar]

I remember they did some idiotic update to one of my favourit MG games, Alaskan Fishing, just so we could use quickspin on it, but it did slow down normal play a lot.

Nothing compared to that awful, awful fishing pick me bonus round that takes FOREVER to complete with the slow ass animations. That's the reason why I don't play this slot anymore. It was their first 243-way slot and I used to play it a lot. I have some nice wins on it as well but that bonus round ruins it completely for me. So it's another thing to add to this thread.

 

[chayton]

There's that one game with the Witch in MG, I can't remember the name of it right now. If you hit the feature, you have to wait for the stupid voiceover to finish before the button even becomes active, then the spinning bonus wheel thing takes bloody forever, and then the bonus round you have to fly across to the other balcony dodging pianos and cows and things and then fly back. That game sorely needs an upgrade I think.

 

[funnymunny]

There's that one game with the Witch in MG, I can't remember the name of it right now. If you hit the feature, you have to wait for the stupid voiceover to finish before the button even becomes active, then the spinning bonus wheel thing takes bloody forever, and then the bonus round you have to fly across to the other balcony dodging pianos and cows and things and then fly back. That game sorely needs an upgrade I think.

This one...?

 

[chayton]

This one...?

Yes that's it. That really sloggy bonus round might have been kinda cool back in the 90s, but these days it's just annoying. Especially considering that you can't interact with the bonus round, you just have to sit there watching and you can't bypass it or speed it up either.

 

[Tirilej]

Yes that's it. That really sloggy bonus round might have been kinda cool back in the 90s, but these days it's just annoying. Especially considering that you can't interact with the bonus round, you just have to sit there watching and you can't bypass it or speed it up either.

I played that game one time, got that bonus round...never played it again

 

[Brockie]

I'm not sure this would count as annoying things that a slot would do, but I hate it when the lag on a slot makes it unplayable, press autoplay go make a cup of tea come back and the you might have managed two spins!! :Read::Read:

I withdraw my money and go to a different site if this is happening.

 

[Greigssy]

A 4 scatter free spins trigger on some but not all slots usually means a shit free spins round.

Dead or Alive especially! Every 4 scatters I've had has paid next to nothing in free spins.

 

[gokkie]

Hitting the once in a million chance of 5 scatters then first get paid 0 for that and then get a total shitty bonus round of under 50Xbet on top of that.
A slot comes to mind with some ugly turd that just won't flush away. Or that one with an old fart with a beard and a stick standing behind some useless stones...

 

[Balthazar]

Hitting the once in a million chance of 5 scatters then first get paid 0 for that and then get a total shitty bonus round of under 50Xbet on top of that.
A slot comes to mind with some ugly turd that just won't flush away. Or that one with an old fart with a beard and a stick standing behind some useless stones...

Well at the very least you get more spins for your extra scatters so it's not a design flaw even if you don't win more.

JatB, on the other hand, 3, 4 or 5 scatters = $0 triggering win + 10 free spins regardless. Now that's very infuriating.

 

[Nate]

Well at the very least you get more spins for your extra scatters so it's not a design flaw even if you don't win more.

JatB, on the other hand, 3, 4 or 5 scatters = $0 triggering win + 10 free spins regardless. Now that's very infuriating.

Dont forget the Turd... On my last two 4 scatter triggers... I killed the creature, 10 Extra BLANK Spins, the other had 12 Spins remaining, 11 BLANK Spins.... really NetBent??

Nate

 

[09237653]

Hitting the once in a million chance of 5 scatters then first get paid 0 for that and then get a total shitty bonus round of under 50Xbet on top of that.
A slot comes to mind with some ugly turd that just won't flush away. Or that one with an old fart with a beard and a stick standing behind some useless stones...

Hitman does that, I've had 5 scatters a few times which pay nothing more than 3 scatters does.

Most of my annoyances have been covered, mainly the 2 scatters with heartstopper over and over again, I feel these may be programmed in just to fck with us.

Also the MAX bet button, which is also conveniently assigned to the space bar, the hugest most accidentally pressed key on any keyboard, the only reason this is included on games can be to trip up low rollers.

On that note, whats with the coin value button being set on random values from game to game, I load up no worries start spinning at 36p, only to notice once ive gone bust that it was actuality a 5p coin value and I've done my whole balance at £1.80/spin.

 

[Valhalla]

Nothing compared to that awful, awful fishing pick me bonus round that takes FOREVER to complete with the slow ass animations. That's the reason why I don't play this slot anymore. It was their first 243-way slot and I used to play it a lot. I have some nice wins on it as well but that bonus round ruins it completely for me. So it's another thing to add to this thread.

Oh God, it's horrible. I play Alaskan Fishing occasionally, but I always hope to land a big win before I have to fanny around landing daft fish five times.
Five agonizing times? Jeez, gimme a quick result button please.

 

[mcgameboy]

Hitman does that, I've had 5 scatters a few times which pay nothing more than 3 scatters does.

Most of my annoyances have been covered, mainly the 2 scatters with heartstopper over and over again, I feel these may be programmed in just to fck with us.

Also the MAX bet button, which is also conveniently assigned to the space bar, the hugest most accidentally pressed key on any keyboard, the only reason this is included on games can be to trip up low rollers.

On that note, whats with the coin value button being set on random values from game to game, I load up no worries start spinning at 36p, only to notice once ive gone bust that it was actuality a 5p coin value and I've done my whole balance at £1.80/spin.

I particularly dislike the Golden Idol bonus on Tomb Raider....the "Back to game" bar is big but also clearly overlaps the max bet button,
but does not overlap any part of the "spin" button.

One thing that I think has yet to be mentioned....."micro wins" such as....

1/15th of bet (I'm looking at you Avalon 2 with your 2OAKs of Arthur and Merlin!)

but even worse

1/25th of bet (I'm looking at you Break Away with your 3OAK of that "Ice Cleaning Machine thingy" and Leagues Of Fortune with your 3OAK of 10s).

Technically, that would e called a dead spin.....but it may as well be for all the difference it makes.

 

[KasinoKing]

One thing that I think has yet to be mentioned....."micro wins" such as....

1/15th of bet (I'm looking at you Avalon 2 with your 2OAKs of Arthur and Merlin!)

but even worse

1/25th of bet (I'm looking at you Break Away with your 3OAK of that "Ice Cleaning Machine thingy" and Leagues Of Fortune with your 3OAK of 10s).

Technically, that would e called a dead spin.....but it may as well be for all the difference it makes.

VERY good point!

Even more annoying when the slot does a "song and dance" about your "win" and insists on highlighting just how little you have "won" one line at a time.
Grrrrrr! :sob:

@ Casino Designers: If you get back LESS than your bet IT IS NOT A WIN forgodssake - it's a LOSS!

KK

 

[mcgameboy]

I particularly dislike the Golden Idol bonus on Tomb Raider....the "Back to game" bar is big but also clearly overlaps the max bet button,
but does not overlap any part of the "spin" button.

One thing that I think has yet to be mentioned....."micro wins" such as....

1/15th of bet (I'm looking at you Avalon 2 with your 2OAKs of Arthur and Merlin!)

but even worse

1/25th of bet (I'm looking at you Break Away with your 3OAK of that "Ice Cleaning Machine thingy" and Leagues Of Fortune with your 3OAK of 10s).

Technically, that would e called a dead spin.....but it may as well be for all the difference it makes.

That should have read "would not be"

 

[eizei]

I particularly dislike the Golden Idol bonus on Tomb Raider....the "Back to game" bar is big but also clearly overlaps the max bet button,
but does not overlap any part of the "spin" button.

One thing that I think has yet to be mentioned....."micro wins" such as....

1/15th of bet (I'm looking at you Avalon 2 with your 2OAKs of Arthur and Merlin!)

Those are very helpful in the rolling reels bonus round. You'll be very thankful after you hit a few of them during that.

 

[mathsboy1975]

I came across another one last night playing at a particular casino (bet365). It is not actually an issue with the slots themselves but rather with the casino layout.

The problem arises because you have your balance displayed twice - once as an "in game" balance as part of the slot graphics and the other as your overall casino account balance embedded exterior to the slot graphics. I hit a Wild Desire on IR and the in casino balance had gone up by 90p even before the first (and only) reel had gone wild. Thus, you know the outcome of the features BEFORE they have started because the casino balance has increased already whereas the in game balance does not increase until the feature is over.

Now I know that Wild Desire rarely pays anything but I would rather find out the hard way rather than a jump in balance. Had it paid large it would still be disappointing (far LESS disappointing admittedly) as the balance would jump by a large amount.

I would imagine that this would apply to all similar MG features like Wild Celebration, Ion Storm etc. It really does ruin the feature.

 

[mcgameboy]

Those are very helpful in the rolling reels bonus round. You'll be very thankful after you hit a few of them during that.

I would agree eizei...to an extent. But that is merely one bonus round out of 7. So the benefits of that getting that 2OAK last for just a 20 spin window. I've also found that a lot of those 2OAKs have come with the help of a wild. So while they help prolong the spin and increase the multiplier, they actually take out the wild which ends up costing you a 4 or 5OAK on the next "roll". Perhaps if I had had one really good rolling reels round where a big win came about as a direct result of a 2OAK keeping a spin "alive", then maybe I would "agree with you more". But I haven't....GRRRR