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Last update: Nov 24, 2002
Last update: Nov 24, 2002
1. What is GAS (Guess-a-Sketch)?
Guess-a-Sketch is a tcl/tk remake of the Java version I ran across several
years ago. I was visiting my wife's family in Chico over the holidays
and it became our after dinner entertainment. We all had so much fun,
after the holidays we played it off and on as we found time. Since
then, the game vanished. I missed the game so much I decided to remake
it, in my favorite scripting language
tcl/tk . I'm not much of a programmer, but I can cut and paste.
So after many months and much help from friends and the tcl/tk community...
I finally had a version that was ready for public consumption.
That was over 2 years ago… and since that time GAS has evolved.
The player base has fluctuated, the servers have moved… but GAS remains.
There are several other GAS type games out there now, but I believe this
version offers a unique playing experience you won’t find anywhere
else.
2. How do I play it?
It's very simple... one person draws, the rest try and guess the
word (or phrase) you are drawing. The word(s) are provided by the server,
and you have 3 minutes to draw/guess. Both the artist and the person
who guesses the word(s) correctly get points when the puzzle is solved.
The points you receive decrease as the timer counts down. If no one
guesses the word(s), the server will tell you the answer and the next person
draws. The server does indicate if your guess contains a partial match
to the word(s) the artist is drawing. There are no points awarded for
partial matches. If you want to be an artist, hit the *I'd like to
draw next* and your name will be added to the list of players in line to
draw. When you're next to draw, your name shows up in the *Next to
draw* box.
3. How do I Download and Install?
You can grab the latest version from the GAS
Download page. The server checks the client version number and
will direct you back here if you have a version mismatch. After downloading,
simply run the self-installer. This will prompt you for a location
to install GAS, as well as other install options. We have Cheeto to
thank for the super easy GAS self-installer… thanks Cheeto!!
How do I find and join a game?
GAS is no longer pre-configured to connect with the default public GAS server.
With this new version you MUST use the server browser to join a game for
the first time. When you cloase GAS, the server's information will
be saved and you can rejoin that specific server by pulling out to the *Join
Game* option in the connect menu. Or you can pull out to *ServerBrowser*
and select a server from the list provided (recomended).
The ServerBrowser:
The ServerBrowser will communicate with the MasterServer to determine what
GameServers are available. It will then display the status information
of those servers and provide you with a handy little JOIN button. Review
the information on each server, and select the JOIN button of the game you
want to join.
The ServerBrowser will open over your GAS window, displaying only half it's width, with the more pertinent information showing. You can either extend the window or use the scrollbar to see the rest of the information.
You can also see this same server status information on the web from the
Servers link
(without the JOIN, update and close buttons).
If you see no servers listed in the ServerBrowser, of there is an error about
being able to reach the ServerBrowser, you might want to check and make sure
your pointing GAS to the correct location. Under the Oprions>Preferences
menu, check the MasterServer (ip:port) setting. It should read as follows:
masterserver.guessasketch.com:6002
If it says anything else, you need to update it as to what I've provided on the line above, then close&save it. Now try selecting *ServerBrowser* form the connect main menu. If it still can't locate any servers, you may want to verify that the masterserver for GAS is running. You can do this by going to the Servers page (there is a link at the top right of every GAS web page), and checking the listing there against your listing in the ServerBrowser.
How do I draw, change my text color, erase, etc?
For all the specifics on these and other tools and functions of GAS, see
the GAS Usage page.
Where do the words to draw come from?
I have compiled a list of 2532 answers in the default word list.
The list is a collaborative work of my friends and family. Originally
GAS could only handle single word answers, but has since been improved to
allow multi-word answers. The default word list contains NO profanity
or answers that are inappropriate for families. If you come across
a server that is using a list containing such things, please let me know
and I will ban them from being listed by the MasterServer.
Can I vote to kick an obnoxious player?
New client vote kick feature, majority rules. If a majority isn't
reached within 30 seconds, the vote to kick fails. To initiate a vote
to kick, type this:
/kick playerName
where playerName is the name of the player you wish to kick. This
will pop up a window for you to cast your vote. There can only be one kick
vote at a time and a word list vote will have to wait for the kick vote to
complete since they use the same buttons (see next item).
Can I change the Server's WordList?
Yes! There is a new menu called WordList(s). This menu contains
all the wordlists the server is making available. The first one listed
is the one the server is currently using. All the ones below the separator
in the menu are the additional lists the server can run. To change
to one of the other lists, simply pull down and select it. This will
initiate a vote to change to that word list. Each player will then
vote *yes* or *no*. If a majority vote is not reached within 30 seconds,
no action is taken. Since this uses the same buttons as the kick vote,
a kick vote cannot happen until the word list vote is done.
Do you want feedback, suggestions, bug reports?
Most definitely! I want GAS to be fun for everyone! Please
use the GAS
forum for feedback, ideas, bugs, problems, suggestions or just
to hang out and build a sense of GAS community. Some things will be
easy to change, others impossible (well at least for me), so please understand
if I can't incorporate everything.
Case in point: Here's an example of how good hackers can help save the game from evil hackers... Dave_K found a way to intercept the answer from the GAS server that was intended for the artist only. He shared this info with me and I was able to fix it. (It was actually an oversight on my part with the original code.) It has since been fixed and verified by our friendly l33t ha><or Dave_K. Thanks Dave for the heads-up and for not taking advantage of the cheat prior to helping me get it fixed!
Can I help develop GAS?
I have always wanted a team of people working on GAS, but have found few
people who were interested. By now the code is SO messy I doubt anybody else
could make heads or tails of it. However, if you have some great ideas, and
you can cut and paste.... maybe we can take GAS further.
Can I run a GAS server?
To date I have not made the server available. It is not in any shape
for public consumption. I have run private servers for groups who are
looking for a closed game… so if this is what your looking for, drop
me a note. Perhaps someday the server will be up to snuff and I’ll
make it available… but for now, sorry, it’s not.
Can I make a word list?
Yes! I think this will be one of the coolest things! Even though
the default list contains a whopping 2532 answers, people still accuse me
of cheating since I entered all the words in... hehe. With all the
different interest groups on the net, just think of all the possibilities!
Alternate word lists I have already started include a Movie Titles list
and one for Kids. The GAS server reports it's Word List Theme to the
MasterServer, so you should be able to get an idea of what the word list
will contain before joining a game.
Do you have any animated banners for GAS?
Why yes I do... four as a matter of fact. They give you a little idea of
what the game play is like and points you to the web site. Feel free to use
them on your own site to help spread the word that Guess-A-Sketch is ready
to go!
Click to view GAS animated
banners (approx. 217kb)
Download all banners
in Zip file. (approx. 213kb)
Can I send you some money?
No... but if you're feeling particularly generous, I would encourage you
to consider sponsoring a needy child. What's small change to you could
mean life or death to someone's son, daughter, brother or sister! If
you don't have any spare money, you can volunteer your time at the local hospital
visiting terminally ill children or the elderly.
World Vision
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