I just started playing this game yesterday, and frankly, I think I am becoming addicted. Principally because it is the only nice poker game that runs natively on linux, and also because it is perfect for learning, now that you get an initial amount of cash to play with when you enter a table.

Now, my suggestions are pretty simple to say, but I think rather effort-taking to implement.

First of all, something that I think would make the players feel more like playing poker. Poker chips. Yes, I think poker chips are really missing here. The sound of them clashing against each other when they slide along the table. Hm, so nice. It also makes players get a visual representation of the pot taking place, without having to check at the text and read the numbers. Of course, I am not asking you to remove the numbers.

My second idea is a little bit more complex, though not in code. I suggest that the game keeps a set of official servers, or maybe even grant permissions to people so they host official servers (obviously not on their laptops), so that pokerth doesn't have to spend money on server payments, so that players can keep a 'wallet'. This way, a player will choose to either enter a 'ranked' server, where through an account, his stats and balance are saved, or a casual server. The casual server, or however you want to call it, is what pokerth works on now: just small games that players host themselves in which no money is required to enter, but the other way around: money is given at join-time.

I think that both types of servers are essential. Ranked servers permit players to have prestige, by showing off how much games they've won, how much money they own, etc. On the other side, casual servers allow people like me, who have just entered the ambit of poker, to learn the game and develop strategies; to get prepared to enter the arenas.

All I hope now is that my ideas are well taken, and constructively criticized. More than anything, I long to see them implemented in the next version of this awesome game that has showed me another face of poker: the amiable and welcoming side.

Hi wolterh,

Welcome to pokerth, glad you like it. And your post is a very eloquent (not to mention verbose ) one: I rarely have to look up words but I did not know the word ambit.

Regarding the poker chips, most of the sounds should be already there, although I do not use them myself so I don't really know how much they add to the experience at this time. For the graphics, I take it you are thinking of something like the partypoker UI (as far as I can tell by looking at the google image search results for partypoker)? I am not quite certain how far the devs want to take the UI customizability - have you tried the 0.7 beta yet, by the way?

A ranking/points system and stats are in the official roadmap (check the Roadmap link on the website). The infrastructure for different servers and server types is already there for the most part: it's possible now for anybody to compile a server and host games.
I hope a ranking system will not get in the way of the relaxed nature of most of the games which you mentioned, personally I don't mind the flipside of this, which is the sometimes very loose playing style of some players.

I have heard of the pokerth software already being used in more competitive environments though, if you google pokerth esl you will see an example of this.

Again, welcome and have fun playing, maybe we'll meet on the server sometime.

After the criticism Wolter just elucidated, he embezzled all the concepts I was thinking, although I would also add a more radical user interface. I’m more of a closed-minded person and sincerely the idea of reading numbers instead of wondrous chips slipping around the table is bold to me; as Wolter pointed out. Also, I thank Wolter again to bring the concept of a wallet, which sincerely gives a more competitive environment to players.

I want to thank you to bring a way to enjoy everlasting hours of tedium work in school, In a Macintosh and Linux computers.

<I’m competing against Wolter, sorry for my language.>

Nagflar

Ah, how painful. I just wrote a post and, when I submitted it, I was told I could not post while not logged in. I can swear I had logged in.

Anyway, I would like to thank you for recognizing the effort I put into writing. What flatters me most is that english is not my native language. It's maybe how I liberate my desire of writing without having what to write about. My creativity is very limited on story-writing, or anything of that sort. I come up with horrendous and non-entertaining stupid pieces of fiction.

Besides that, I enjoy to hear that many of the features I requested are on the way!

You hit right on the spot when you said about poker games feeling loose. People have nothing to lose but the current game, so they play recklessly. Sometimes. I've done it, at least .

Though I must agree that I want chips like those displayed in the partypoker tables, I think that the interface of pokerth in general is way better than that of any other poker game client.

Glad to hear that the game is now being used in more competitive environments! Congratulations!

Thank you for the quickness of your post, right now I am going to download the beta.

wolterh wrote:I second that.
Seeing chips on the table would increase the realism of the game. I also agree to wolterh's idea : numbers (bets, pot, etc...) must not be removed.

It will also be cool when dealed cards will be thrown to each player' seat (from the middle of the table). There could be an animation.

To sum up, a game could begin this way :
1- cards would be thrown to every player seat
2- perhaps an animation will be displayed while discovering the two cards (check this tread : link) and then would disappear after a few seconds
3- chips would move from each player seat to the pot with an animation (they could slide)

But another feature request may interfere with these ideas.. if someday, freeform table styles are implemented (for octogonal tables, for example) all these moves (thrown dealed cards or chips) would have to move differently according to the table style and to the players seats positions. (but i am sure developpers will manage this issue).

Since there's this topic, I thought it would be better to continue here. So here are some other feature requests :

1.
Right clicking on a player's nickname in the Available Players list (on the left of the lobby window) could display a tooltip with informations :
"HornyPeter57" is currently playing on "Nicolas' game"

..and once the upcoming "ranking leaderboard system" (on the 0.8 roadmap), this tooltip could also display infos such as :

HornyPeter57 is currently playing on "Nicolas' game"
Current rank: 26th
Best rank: 4th
Games played: "837"
Best hand: "Full house"
PokerTH version: 0.8

2.
Sometimes the creator of an internet game is waitting for players (that happens all the time) but once all players have joined, sometimes this person is away or waits for... something.

I don't know what but sometimes the creator waits even if have joined. And because of that, players are waitting.. waitting.. get tired of waitting .. then leave.

So, i think that PokerTH should begin the game with or without the Game creator's will. Let's say.. 5 seconds after all players have joined the game.

This way, if the owner of the game is away for some reason (he shouldn't.. but that happens), the game starts without him.

EDIT : added in SVN build 2328

3.
An option to display the porkerth svn version on the splashcreen (already in progress I think.. since we told about it on IRC)

EDIT : workaround found (-svn added to the splashscreen) in SVN build 1955

4.
An option to disable the splashscreen.

Ok, you're going to tell me "why displaying the svn version (see #3 above) if disabling the splashscreen is allowed ?"

Well.. Developpers could this way, display the splashscreen and see the "svn rev version". Other regular players could disable it.

EDIT : added in SVN build 1973

5.
When you compile pokerth from source (with the Windows 1.13 script or maybe under linux too), could it be possible to display a progressbar ? or even a Global Progress State pourcentage after each package built ?

The compilation takes so much time that sometimes you don't know how long it could take. A progress pourcentage could inform the user if it's going to last long or not.

I know it CAN'T be a time/duration estimation. Since it takes more or less time, according to the computer specifications.

But a % after each package built would be cool, imo.

For example, if there are 10 required libs to build, then when the first one has finished his compilation, then a line (with a 2 seconds halt) could display :
"Global Progress : 10%"