GameShow 1.2 update impressions

The new update to GameShow launched today. If you already have it installed on your computer you’ll need to re-download the program from the official website. It’ll install over the previous version. The 1.2 update of GameShow runs much lighter than the previous ones which had PC requirements that many had trouble meeting. The updated requirements are below as well as my quick impressions on some of the new features.

– Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista
– DirectX 9.0c or later
– 128MB of available RAM
– A Pentium-class processor with speed of at least 1.4GHz*
– Video card with 32MB VRAM (ATI, NVIDIA, or Intel recommended)
– Broadband Internet connection (Cable, DSL, etc.)

Currently there is a bug dealing with powerups in that they are empty if you enter a room immediately after signing in. That should be fixed for tomorrow however until then you just need to go into the shop area and make sure that the powerups are assigned to your keys after signing into the game. The settings have also are reset so if you like to assign different keys to activate powerups for example you’ll want to go in and save those again.

Visually there have been some changes, nothing too drastic but they continue to improve on the look and overall functionality. The globe and ticker were lagging slightly for me but that may have been due to my connection which has been acting up today.

Text chat may be the most anticipated addition in this update. By hitting the enter key you can type in a short message that is displayed on top of your avatar in a bubble. Considering the fast paced nature of GameShow it is tough to get in a message between questions so it is more meant for use between sessions. Holding shift+enter will allow you to text the studio and the hosts may respond to the messages or add them to the ticker at the bottom of the screen. Text chat does not work during commercial time which is something I hope they add in the future.

Another positive addition are the regional rooms. Previously there were the individual state and favorites rooms. Those are still there but expect the regional rooms to be the main places to gather. This gets more players to compete in rooms instead of being so spread out.

There is now a “Report Card” after each session ends. This shows your final score and result of the wager made on % of questions that would be answered correctly. This is a nice thing to have although there is only about 10 seconds to look it over before it disapperars. Hopefully they expand on that and can show more stats and keep it up for the entire time between sessions.

One thing I would really like to have is a real-time leaderboard. Occasionally the hosts will call out the current leader but it would be even better to have a leaderboard that could be monitored that was updating after each question. Knowing who is in the lead and by how much adds a lot of pressure to not only whoever is in the lead but also those who are trailing close behind.

So overall the 1.2 update has added some fun new elements as well as improved on how it actually runs. Now that the specifications for GameShow have been lowered that should allow for more people to give it a shot.