Slow Microgaming

yeah quite often a microgaming casino blows up my computer whilst doing this. I was beginning to think it was just me but I'm glad it's not after having read this thread. Question is, what's going to be done about it ?
 
Notice how 00031227.cab slips in, this is an UPDATE for the Golden Goose variant of "Crazy Chameleons". Are we now going to see this one "tighten up" this month??

No casino software would dare store anything in the client software that would have the ability to affect the results, lest people like you discover how to extract only the best possible results :thumbsup:
 
Just out of interest, I wonder what would happen if you set "Read Only" on the files in the MG directory in Windows. Would it still update them do you think?
 
Client

No casino software would dare store anything in the client software that would have the ability to affect the results, lest people like you discover how to extract only the best possible results :thumbsup:

Naturally, casinos learned the error of doing this in the early days;)

However, this makes the constant need to place updates in a number of "old" games all the more puzzling, especially as nothing seems to change other than players reporting either tightening or loosening of the slots after these upgrades. It is certainly possible to find out EXACTLY what changed in this example, but it would take some effort and timing to catch the cab file. The conspiracy theorists will probably believe the reel bands have been altered to reflect changes in payout percentage implemented on the server. This would be storing nothing compromising on the client machine, but would be implementing a change so that server game changes are correctly reflected. There are occasions where older games are updated for good reason, such as Mega Moolah after a bug was found in the display movie for the jackpot wheel.

As the checking process seems very thorough, and time consuming, how is it that MG casinos continually become corrupt, needing to be uninstalled and reinstalled at the request of CS. This process certainly failed to correct the serious bug I have in my All Slots installation.

It would save much time if this process was restructured, so that rather than taking a solid 4 hours at the beginning of the month, old games were checked only when the player launched them. The monthly update should update the new games, and download all the checking files for the old games as a single cab file, extracted and stored locally for later use. This should get rid of the problem of the casino being hard to play for 4 hours solid at the start of each month. Individual games will have a longer launch delay once a month as they are locally checked, but players will barely notice this compared to the current inconveniences.
 
Naturally, casinos learned the error of doing this in the early days;)

However, this makes the constant need to place updates in a number of "old" games all the more puzzling, especially as nothing seems to change other than players reporting either tightening or loosening of the slots after these upgrades. It is certainly possible to find out EXACTLY what changed in this example, but it would take some effort and timing to catch the cab file. The conspiracy theorists will probably believe the reel bands have been altered to reflect changes in payout percentage implemented on the server. This would be storing nothing compromising on the client machine, but would be implementing a change so that server game changes are correctly reflected. There are occasions where older games are updated for good reason, such as Mega Moolah after a bug was found in the display movie for the jackpot wheel.

As the checking process seems very thorough, and time consuming, how is it that MG casinos continually become corrupt, needing to be uninstalled and reinstalled at the request of CS. This process certainly failed to correct the serious bug I have in my All Slots installation.

It would save much time if this process was restructured, so that rather than taking a solid 4 hours at the beginning of the month, old games were checked only when the player launched them. The monthly update should update the new games, and download all the checking files for the old games as a single cab file, extracted and stored locally for later use. This should get rid of the problem of the casino being hard to play for 4 hours solid at the start of each month. Individual games will have a longer launch delay once a month as they are locally checked, but players will barely notice this compared to the current inconveniences.

Obviously some bugs get fixed sometimes... but I'm inclined to believe that they'll publish a "build" and when marked final it marks all files, rather than only files which need updating. Either that or it's looking for another file in your directory, and if it doesn't find it or the file's corrupt or for some reason out of sync, they clear the settings and start everything from scratch.

I agree they need to resolve this for everyone's sake - it certainly doesn't help them or their licensees when the players get frustrated.
 
oh wow... I am dumbfounded.

CasinoRewards gave me a nice birthday bonus even though I hadn't played there in nearly a year... since they were the first, I had to go start up the only remaining casino on my computer from their group.

Upon starting up - everything froze. I can access websites and use MSN - but I was also uploading something to a new server, which is so fast the login process is done before I can blink - and suddenly it stopped dead cold, not budging at all - and the only possible explanation I can give for this is that MGS, in its infinite wisdom, did something to the software which blocks ALL ports except those used for browsing or messaging.

Eventually I had to restart the FTP program. But that is just plain ridiculous.

So, after I celebrate a bit these next few days, I shall stop playing at MGS-powered casinos until VWM assures me that his testing shows that MGS have solved this rogue problem. Even I have a tolerance limit - and that was it.
 
Birthday

oh wow... I am dumbfounded.

CasinoRewards gave me a nice birthday bonus even though I hadn't played there in nearly a year... since they were the first, I had to go start up the only remaining casino on my computer from their group.

Upon starting up - everything froze. I can access websites and use MSN - but I was also uploading something to a new server, which is so fast the login process is done before I can blink - and suddenly it stopped dead cold, not budging at all - and the only possible explanation I can give for this is that MGS, in its infinite wisdom, did something to the software which blocks ALL ports except those used for browsing or messaging.

Eventually I had to restart the FTP program. But that is just plain ridiculous.

So, after I celebrate a bit these next few days, I shall stop playing at MGS-powered casinos until VWM assures me that his testing shows that MGS have solved this rogue problem. Even I have a tolerance limit - and that was it.

It may be due to the fact that you had not logged in for a year. Most likely you still had the old filestructure, and the Viper client now has a completely different one. That particular changeover lead to a number of problems, and the solution was often to uninstall and reinstall. It seems that the update process can do this when there is a major build revision, even though it is not supposed to.
It is probably best to uninstall and reinstall from scratch any MG that has not been accessed for this length of time. I also find it best not to be doing anything important while attempting an update of an MG casino. Playing a "stable update" mid month is generally OK, unless it is All Slots with the fancy new lobby, or Royal Vegas with the fancy new tournaments.

Today, I have been experimenting again. After 4 hours of updating and checking 7 Sultans, my PC had a seizure, nothing would respond except for my little utility, but no errors were logged, it simply showed the process had stalled checking the files in the "_crt" series, dying on _crt_keno (I believe these are the certificates, rather than the games).

An earlier experiment has great results though, just in:-

IT IS POSSIBLE, AND PRETTY EASY, TO PREVENT AN MG FROM UPDATING UNTIL YOU SAY SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Further, the games will still load (except the new ones of course), and they will NOT "jerk, splutter and freeze" in play.
 
An earlier experiment has great results though, just in:-

IT IS POSSIBLE, AND PRETTY EASY, TO PREVENT AN MG FROM UPDATING UNTIL YOU SAY SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah - please!!! Spill the beans :D Hmmm...maybe you should do it privately - we could start a PM campaign - that way it won't be taken away from us ;)
 
Once

Oh yeah - please!!! Spill the beans :D Hmmm...maybe you should do it privately - we could start a PM campaign - that way it won't be taken away from us ;)

I'll have to check the experiment is repeatable, but you had the right train of thought Simmo, but you only need to do "it" to ONE of the directories, making reversal easy.

This raises the possibility of "civil disobedience" among players. I noted that earlier "Thumper" clients still worked long after Viper lobbies became available for all MG casinos. Challenge was one of the last to upgrade, however it was still possible to revert to the Thumper client and play the games there. I thought at the time that the VP consistently paid out more on Thumper than Viper play, until I got a PAT RF on the Phoenician VIPER lobby!

I don't expect Thumper will work now, but you never know;)
 
I don't expect Thumper will work now, but you never know;)

I think Vegas USA is still Thumper actually.

I'll have to check the experiment is repeatable, but you had the right train of thought Simmo, but you only need to do "it" to ONE of the directories, making reversal easy.

I did actually try that about a year ago to try and stop Tstruck updating when I was on a run :D Didn't work but that was probably me.
 
Fail

I think Vegas USA is still Thumper actually.



I did actually try that about a year ago to try and stop Tstruck updating when I was on a run :D Didn't work but that was probably me.

The trick is to convince the client that no update has been posted. Once the Viper client is aware of the need to update it will keep trying, and if blocked will most likely lock out the game till it matches the update information.
 
You guys are simply awesome! But if I had much money in play I don't think I'd be tweaking my end of the stuff in real mode, or any version that would be played for reels. I admire the maverick stuff and it just might get their attention (they have the resources to fix these problems!!!) I'd simply hate to see such brilliant minds and obviously benevolent folks sku-rooo-ed.
I realize you are tweaking your own OS, not the program, but it is issued to play on certain platforms.

My .02USD and I'm bowing out.


:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

Hippie bath day SpearMaster, it happens but once a year:thumbsup:
 
Tweaking

You guys are simply awesome! But if I had much money in play I don't think I'd be tweaking my end of the stuff in real mode, or any version that would be played for reels. I admire the maverick stuff and it just might get their attention (they have the resources to fix these problems!!!) I'd simply hate to see such brilliant minds and obviously benevolent folks sku-rooo-ed.
I realize you are tweaking your own OS, not the program, but it is issued to play on certain platforms.

My .02USD and I'm bowing out.


:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

Hippie bath day SpearMaster, it happens but once a year:thumbsup:

Most of this is tweaking the environment. Since the software is supposed to run on Windows, there is nothing wrong in enforcing it:D

Many of these experiments often DO end up getting action from Microgaming. They were made aware of the problems with the "infinite loop" launching last year, and my "blunt instrument" solution worked, and pointed MG in the right direction through the casino operators. It proved that it was the viper client, rather than "a few player's kit" that was the root of the problem.
I have also noticed that the bug causing the bonus bubble to show the result of a game before the reels/cards come to rest has been fixed in this upgrade, anyone notice?

Halting the update forcibly probably begins to stray, but the intent is to make MG "wake up and smell the coffee" regarding the increasingly ridiculous update process that can take in excess of 4 hours, in which time the software MUST be loaded, AND, is virtually unplayable on all but the cream of PCs.

Other tweaks have been mentioned, and even tried out. It is unlikely that an existing player will "get screwed" over it, although a new player playing out a sign up bonus with what appears to be a modification to the client could well find themselves labelled as a "bonus abuser".

Currently, the following tweaks are THEORETICALLY possible:-

1) Freeze the client update
2) Change the sounds for many of the games
3) Change some of the graphics for some games
4) Make autoplay faster on some slots ("Lose your money quicker" tweak:D )
5) Add "stop on loss/win of" to the autoplay of later slots.
6) Force a full rebuild of the casino client locally (rechecks and installs only needed files - short of full install, used when the update process cannot remove a corruption).
7) Force reinstallation of an individual game that refuses to launch or update automatically (symptoms include stuck progress bar on successive launches)

There are a few more, in a similar vein. Before anyone starts rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of getting one over on the casino, forget it, unlike the early days, the client simply displays the result of the bet. Even if you tweak it to display a win, you have still lost, as the game is played on the server. IF you try to pass off the screenshot of a tweak to make a fraudulent claim, they will get you for that, and you have still lost.


One "tweak" that will likely get you into trouble involves faking your location by use of IP spoofing, or proxy servers, in order to claim a benefit your own country does not entitle you to claim. This will come to light at audit, as you would then be asked for supporting ID documents. Most fraud has nothing to do with the software tweaking, it is all down to the classic frauds updated for the internet age.
 
vwm, you ought to write a registry tweak program just for MGS stuff - call it Microgaming Optimizer or something like that. I'm sure players would appreciate it.

Then maybe Microgaming will buy it back from you and implement directly into the software once they take the hint :)

Lojo said:
Hippie bath day SpearMaster, it happens but once a year

Damn... that means I have to spend 5 minutes away from the computer... thanks Lojo :)
 
Funny

vwm, you ought to write a registry tweak program just for MGS stuff - call it Microgaming Optimizer or something like that. I'm sure players would appreciate it.

Then maybe Microgaming will buy it back from you and implement directly into the software once they take the hint :)



Damn... that means I have to spend 5 minutes away from the computer... thanks Lojo :)


Funny you should mention that, I was thinking about this recently. The big question is learning how - I don't think IBM Fortran and JCL cuts the mustard here:D

In my decadent student days, I had my university and a few computer science students puzzled by a few "stunts" on a NORD 100 Minicomputer in 1981. Computer science students felt particularly aggrieved, as I was not "one of them", but studied Physics and Meteorology, and had no business outsmarting them on a computer.
 
It seems there are a lot of issues brought up here regarding Microgaming.

We currently run a poker room through Microgaming and have never received any complaints about download speeds; however we plan to launch a casino soon, again through MG, and so I am slightly alarmed to read about all the problems talked about here.

We will be contacting Microgaming immediately to discuss this with them. I will be back on this thread as soon as I have some answers from them and hope I can help you guys.
 
Naomi,

Downloads and upgrades are smooth when it comes to MG/Prima poker rooms, this is a casino only problem. I'm not so sure opening yet another MG casino before the software problems are ironed out is such a good idea?!

However, I do wish you success in your ventures.
 
Good Luck.

It seems there are a lot of issues brought up here regarding Microgaming.

We currently run a poker room through Microgaming and have never received any complaints about download speeds; however we plan to launch a casino soon, again through MG, and so I am slightly alarmed to read about all the problems talked about here.

We will be contacting Microgaming immediately to discuss this with them. I will be back on this thread as soon as I have some answers from them and hope I can help you guys.

This will probably get their attention. MG HQ will simply ignore any attempt by players to contact them directly. Working through the casino operators is the only option, but it often makes little progress once it goes beyond the expertise at the casino technical department.
If a potential new operator approaches them about paying out for a new casino, but then backtracks because they have seen tales or evidence of serious problems, MG will take it seriously, especially since the potential operator is more likely to launch the casino with a competitors software rather than abort plans to launch altogether.
 
Virtual memory low, some programs may not function

I'm guessing that an entire casino is downloading in the background when you're doing a MG free spin offer.

Here's my bee-otch for MG via Cinema Casino:
After trying to sort through the, 'is it 15 minutes or 60, a $200 or $750 offer, and did it end on Feb 28 or on March 31 (conflicts between website and casino) - and deciding, "what they hey, I'll just do, it's their money until I make a deposit."

I was playing Loaded within nine minutes of clicking out and collecting my 'hard earned' 400% 30x bonus, which is in reality a chore to achieve - and the casino locks up my system (downloading the whole casino while I'm playing flash?) I finally get it back up and I have less than a minute, do a couple of spins and click out with 2 seconds to spare. (down to $389 but that's okay) Their screen comes up and tells me I didn't make it; I had placed 447 bets for a tatol of $1677 of the required $2000 in WR. Click back in for a real Hail Mary and, 'times up'.

First time I have ever had a 'virtual memory' problem. Only task manager and one static website running at the time.

My point isn't the conflicting terms etc. (ps update your stuff before relaunching in the states) and I don't feel they owe me anything, I was just playing.

But after 'working' it for almost an hour I don't want some memory hog ripping me off for my fun!

I might not have picked up the difference in the last nine minutes, but it 'felt' like I was right on the money for some free spins and i was throwing $2-$10 each spin. I'll never know, but that ain't the point;)

edit --
Play course was:

GeeGees, mermaids millions, bush telegraph, cash clams, loaded.
 
Last edited:
Cause

I'm guessing that an entire casino is downloading in the background when you're doing a MG free spin offer.

Here's my bee-otch for MG via Cinema Casino:
After trying to sort through the, 'is it 15 minutes or 60, a $200 or $750 offer, and did it end on Feb 28 or on March 31 (conflicts between website and casino) - and deciding, "what they hey, I'll just do, it's their money until I make a deposit."

I was playing Loaded within nine minutes of clicking out and collecting my 'hard earned' 400% 30x bonus, which is in reality a chore to achieve - and the casino locks up my system (downloading the whole casino while I'm playing flash?) I finally get it back up and I have less than a minute, do a couple of spins and click out with 2 seconds to spare. (down to $389 but that's okay) Their screen comes up and tells me I didn't make it; I had placed 447 bets for a tatol of $1677 of the required $2000 in WR. Click back in for a real Hail Mary and, 'times up'.

First time I have ever had a 'virtual memory' problem. Only task manager and one static website running at the time.

My point isn't the conflicting terms etc. (ps update your stuff before relaunching in the states) and I don't feel they owe me anything, I was just playing.

But after 'working' it for almost an hour I don't want some memory hog ripping me off for my fun!

I might not have picked up the difference in the last nine minutes, but it 'felt' like I was right on the money for some free spins and i was throwing $2-$10 each spin. I'll never know, but that ain't the point;)

edit --
Play course was:

GeeGees, mermaids millions, bush telegraph, cash clams, loaded.

The cause of this - the casino downloads while you play the free spins offer. The downloader tends to just expand the Windows Paging file as this process proceeds. I have measured this expansion to be some 300Megabytes on one run. Eventually, the system (if XP) will issue the virtual memory error. This, in itself, should not crash the PC, as XP corrects the problem by expanding the paging file. A possible problem only if the hard drive is already full to the gills, too many MG casinos perhaps:D

Solution, in the context of these free spin offers:-

1) Fancy Download Manager.

IF it tries to get you to register while it downloads, resist the urge, and select "create account later".
When downloaded, the casino will launch, but will not log in. Now, just leave it there to cook for at least two hours. At intervals, swap to the lobby and check if ALL games are installed. If not, leave another hour of so and repeat.
When everything shows as installed, you may register an account.
When you log in the first time, you will be presented with the free spins offer. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to play it straight away, as it will have an option to play later (subject to any limits of validity after opening the account, 72 hours is the norm.
Log off, and shut down Windows.
Reboot from cold, and play promotion. This should ensure that A) play will not be slowed by the download, and B) Windows will have a chance to clean up if the MG download left any mess behind.

2) Simple install from .exe file - usually around 7 MBytes.

Install casino.
Launch casino, and just let it run for two hours in a similar process to that outlined above.
Again, once all games show as installed, register an account, reboot, and play promotion.

The more primitive your PC, the more important it is to allow these processes to complete before playing a time limited promotion.
 
Thanks, VWM

I'll try that next time.
This is the first time it has happened, time to clean house.
 
MG Busted again.

For the last week, I have been getting "hard drive full" errors, so had to start investigating.

According to classical stats, I still had over 12Gigs left, but after running scandisk for two hours, it reclaimed some lost chains, and caused my stats to read only 300MEGAbytes left, this on a 30GIG drive!!!


I have now found at least one culprit, and naturally it is Microgaming!

This "temporary file", associated with ONE SLOT, Wasabi-San, clocks in at FOUR GIGABYTES!!!!

Microgaming, WTF:mad:

How many more of these are there:what:


Notice, it is so big that it's size under the Explorer tab is NEGATIVE, and thus possibly responsible for corrupting the drive FAT.
 
For the last week, I have been getting "hard drive full" errors, so had to start investigating.

According to classical stats, I still had over 12Gigs left, but after running scandisk for two hours, it reclaimed some lost chains, and caused my stats to read only 300MEGAbytes left, this on a 30GIG drive!!!


I have now found at least one culprit, and naturally it is Microgaming!

This "temporary file", associated with ONE SLOT, Wasabi-San, clocks in at FOUR GIGABYTES!!!!
Microgaming, WTF:mad:

How many more of these are there:what:


Notice, it is so big that it's size under the Explorer tab is NEGATIVE, and thus possibly responsible for corrupting the drive FAT.

Good grief!! :eek:
 

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