Update for
PokerStars:
We will be deploying client updates this week. Here is a list of most notable items:
Mac client using Cocoa APIWe have changed our Mac client to use the Cocoa API. This client will initially be deployed solely on .NET this month to find any critical bugs before being rolled out to the real money clients. The change to Cocoa is a prerequisite to adding Retina support and many other improvements for Macs down the road. Retina support is not being added just yet, but we expect it will shortly follow should everything go smoothly on .NET client this month.
Other Mac ImprovementsWe are also deploying two Windows client features over to the Mac client – chat emoticons and the ability to re-order columns in the lobby list of games. Emoticons are directly accessible from the chat area on the table. To use the re-order of columns functionality you can simply drag & drop a column header in the main lobby, or click on the Lobby Column Settings icon just above the bet slider and do it from the dialog that opens.
New Gaming Sounds (Beta)We are releasing a new set of beta sounds for the client and have made improvements to the way sounds are played in the client to improve the overall experience. To try the new Beta sounds simply check "Enable beta sounds" checkbox in the "Options" > "Sounds" dialog. We will be looking to make those default sounds for the client after the Beta period.
In addition to the sounds being updated, we have also added a unique sound for raise.
We would love to hear how you like the new sounds – please email your feedback to
beta@pokerstars.com.
Tournament Lobby "Date" Column ChangeTournaments that will start within the next 60 minutes will display the number of remaining minutes in the current "Date" column. So instead of showing for example "Jun 21 07:24", the column might show "In 15 min" with a tooltip of the actual date and time. We are also changing the header of this column to be "Start". In case you do not find this new display to your liking, you can revert to always showing the date by unchecking "Show Minutes Remaining in ‘Start’ Column for Tournaments" in "Options" > "Lobby Display Options".
Alternative Tourney List ViewWe are making few minor changes to the alternative list view for Tourney tab – polishing a few display issues, adjusting the sorting logic, and ironing out some bugs. We will be looking to roll out the alternative view as default soon, so if you have not tried it, please do so and send us your feedback to
beta@pokerstars.com. To enable the new view, please go to "Options" > "Lobby Display Options" and select "Enable Alternative Tournament List Layout (Beta)".
Flighted Tournaments (Beta)After resolving several major issues (mostly related to reporting for European regulators) we will be looking to re-start a wider Beta testing phase of flighted tournaments on shared liquidity clients. For the ones who are not clear what this is, flighted tournaments are very similar to the way major live tournaments are run where you have Day 1A, Day 1B, etc., that lead to a single Day 2 combining the remaining players from the previous flight. Players may also be able to play in more than one entry level flight, if they have been eliminated from the previous one.
Other improvements:- We will now have filters that allow players to hide Table Starters and Zoom in the main ring game lobby.
- The pop-up that shows when busting out of an SNG no longer steals focus – it is simply added to the queue of actions.
- The live table view in the lobby will now be the default for new installs.
- The SNG lobby now more clearly displays the added money and total prizepool for Golden SNGs.
- Many other small bug fixes and improvements.
Note: Most of the above changes would only take effect once your gaming client has been updated, which could happen at different times for different players. Please ensure you are running PokerStarsUpdate.exe to get the update.
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