Introduction
Welcome to the RS Games client, an exciting game platform created by RS Games! The RS Games client is a revolutionary game client that allows people to play games against each other through a central server hosted by RS Games. Unlike RS Games Monopoly, which was a single game, the RS Games client allows players to play multiple games. This means that when RS Games releases a new multiplayer title, you can easily start playing from the convenient client, without downloading any new software. Perhaps the most exciting feature of this new release is that it is cross-platform, that is, users of the Linux and Macintosh operating systems can now enjoy RS Games Monopoly, RS Games Uno, and any future multiplayer titles we release. This document will familiarize you with how the client works. Since new games may be released without an update to the client, a link to the game documentation is provided at the bottom of this document. Activate that link to view help for specific games.
License Agreement
The RS Games client is proprietary software, which may not be reverse engineered, disassembled, redistributed, or tampered with in any way withoutthe expressed written permission from the developers of the client, ZanoSoft and RS Games. The ZGP protocol, which is utilized by the RS Games client for the transmission of game data, may be released upon request by the creators of said protocol, ZanoSoft and RS Games, but any unauthorized use is prohibitted. Furthermore, no third party client may be created, or allowed to connect to the RS Games server, without expressed written permission from the server host, ZanoSoft and RS Games.
New Features in Version 2.2
- Support Scrabble
- Support 64 bit Mac, and fix voice chat bug with Mac
- Several bug fixes and performance improvements
System Requirements
Windows
To run the RS Games client on Windows, you will need either a screen reader or the Microsoft Sapi 5 speech synthesizer. The RS Games client supports the following screen readers:
- JAWS for Windows
- Window Eyes
- System Access and System Access to Go
- NVDA
To install the client, simply run the setup file and follow the prompts. Once installed, run the RS Games Client shortcut from the start menu or from your desktop.
macOS
The RS Games client has been tested under macOS Big Sur and Catalina. We distribute it as a ZIP file, which extracts to a .app file. To play, simply put the .app file in a place (such as the Applications folder), and click on it.
The speech rate can be changed using Command+Right arrow and Command+Left arrow to increase and decrease the speech rate, respectively.
Client Concepts
Interaction between you and the client is done through spoken menus and keyboard commands. As a result, it is very intuitive and easy to use.
Checklists
Similar to menus, checklists allow you to select several items from a menu by pressing the space bar on the items you want to select. To de-select an item, simply press space again. You can also select all items in the menu by pressing Control+Space (Command+Space on the Mac), and de-select all items with Shift+Space.
Keyboard Commands
Keystrokes are keys on your keyboard which are used to perform an action. Keyboard commands are specific to each game, and are covered in the documentation for each game. For example, you might press the Enter key to start a game, or the B key to add a bot to your game.
Running the client
When you run the client, it will automatically connect to the RS Games server. Once the connection is established, you will be presented with a menu. In all menus, you can use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through the menu, and the enter key to select an option.
Checking for Updates
When you run the RS Games Client, it will automatically check if a new version is available, and if so, it will open your browse to download the latest version. Updating the client is intentionally designed to be a rare occurence; indeed, most bug fixes happen on our servers.
Logging In
You will use one account to access all games in the RS Games client. If you don't yet have an account, you should choose Create a New Account from the menu. You will be asked to enter your desired username, and an email address. The email address you supply must be valid, since a temporary password will be sent to the address. We strongly recommend you change your password to something you can remember. You can do this by choosing the change password option from the main menu.
Note: Please only create one account per person. If you have more than one person in your household using the RS Games client, this is perfectly okay, but there is no need for one person to have more than one account. If an administrator finds a person to have more than one account, all but one account will be deleted.
If you already have an account, choose the first option in the menu, Login with an Existing Account, and enter your username and password.
If you forget your password, you can reset it by going to http://game.rsgames.org and choosing the forgot password link. Enter either your username or the email address you used to create your account. You should receive an email with a link you must click or paste into your web browser. When you click this link, you will receive a second email with a new, temporary password. We strongly suggest you change this to something you can remember.
Auto Login
When you login to the server for the first time, you will be asked if you'd like to enable auto-login. This feature allows the game to remember your login information so you do not have to type it in each time you play. If you'd like to enable this feature, choose yes. Once it is enabled, an option will appear in the main login menu above the standard "Login with an Existing Account" option. For example, if your username is Bob, you will see an option titled "Login as Bob". Simply choose that option and you will be automatically logged in.
Note: This feature works by storing a unique string on your computer called a UUID; your username and password are not stored. On Windows, the UUID is stored in %appdata%\zgp\config.ini and on other platforms, it is stored in config.ini in the same directory as the application. If you want to disable this feature for any reason, simply delete config.ini.
Sounds
The RS Games client supports sound effects and background music played in each game. If you are playing a game you have never played before, you may hear a message that the client is downloading sounds. This should only take a few minutes, and if successful, the client should speak that all sounds for the game have been downloaded. If the client reports an error, check your internet connection and run the client again. If the problem continues, there may be a problem with the RS Games server. Please email rsgames@gmail.com and tell us about your problem.
If the sounds for a game did not download for any reason, you can still play the game, but you will hear a click instead of the sound. If you want to attempt to redownload the sounds, delete your %appdata%\zgp folder.
When new sounds are added, or if any sounds are missing, the client will automatically recheck all sounds and download any new or invalid sounds. Feel free to replace the sounds with your own, but when the client performs these checks it will revert back to the sounds on the RS Game sserver, and you will need to replace the sounds again.
The RS Games client has its own global volume control. To raise the volume of the sounds, use F6, and to lower the volume use F5. This works in all games.
Viewing the History
The RS Games client keeps track of all messages spoken in a history buffer so you can review them. The keyboard commands to review the history are:
- Page Up: Move to the previous item in the history buffer.
- Page Down: Move to the next item in the history buffer.
- Home: Move to the first item in the history buffer.
- End: Move to the last item in the history buffer.
- CTRL+Shift+H (Command+Shift+H on the Mac): Copy the current history buffer item to the clipboard.
Chatting and Private Messaging
As of this writing, all games support chat and private messaging. To chat, press F2. This will send a message to all players in your current game, or to all players who are not in a game if you chat from the main menu. You can also enter "pm username message" without the quotes, replacing username with the name of the player you want to send a private message to. If you aren't sure of the person's username, you can press F8 to access a menu of all online players. You can then choose a player, and enter a private message to send to that player.
Voice clips
This feature has been replaced by real time voice chat in version 2.0 of the client.
Voice Chat
As of version 2.0, you can now voice chat in real time with other players in your game! To enable voice chat, press Control+Shift+V (Command+Shift+V on the Mac). You can also use this command to disable voice chat at a later time. Once voice chat is enabled, you will be able to voice chat with other players in your game who have the feature enabled. To mute your microphone, press Control+Shift+M (Command_Shift+M on the Mac). You will still be able to hear other players, but they will not be able to hear you. To adjust the volume, press Control+F4 to increase and Control+F3 to decrease. Substitute Command for Control if you are using a Mac. If you don't want to hear another user over voice chat, use the ignore feature discussed in the section on ignoring users below. This will allow you to ignore their chats, private messages and voice chat.
The Chat Buffer
As of version 1.4 of the RS Games Client, chats and private messages are now stored separately from other game messages in a chat buffer. This allows one to easily review the conversation taking place in a game without the need to scroll past messages pertaining to game play. Navigation of the chat buffer uses the same keys as the history buffer in combination with the Control key (or the command key if you are on a Mac). The chat buffer also stores a history of voice clips. If you navigate to a voice clip in the buffer, you will be told who the voice clip is from. You can then press Control+L (Command+L on the Mac) to listen to the voice clip.
Here is a list of chat buffer keystrokes:
- Control+Page Up: Move to the previous item in the chat buffer.
- Control+Page Down: Move to the next item in the chat buffer.
- Control+Home: Move to the first item in the chat buffer.
- Control+End: Move to the last item in the chat buffer.
- Control+Shift+C (Command+Shift+C on the Mac): Copy the current chat buffer item to the clipboard.
Note: On a Mac, substitute the Command Key for the Control key in the above commands.
Ignoring Users
If a user is making your gaming experience unpleasant, the best thing to do is ignore them. This will stop you from receiving any chats, private messages, or voice clips from that user. To enter your ignore list, press Control+I. You will now be in a menu of all users you are currently ignoring. To remove a user from your ignore list, press Enter on the user you want to remove. Choose the "add user to ignore list" option to add a user to your ignore list. You can then select a user from the list of users currently online.
FriendsList
You can access the friends list by pressing Control+F. From here, you can choose "Add friend" to add a player to your list. You can either enter a username or choose from a list of online players. Once you add the player, a friend request will be sent to them. They will receive an email, and a notification if they are online. You can accept or deny friend requests from the friends list menu as well. Once you are friends with someone, they will appear in your friends list along with their status (whether they are online or offline) and you will appear in there's. If you enter on a friend you have several options: Send PM, Invite to game, and Remove Friend.
- Send PM: This is a quick way to send a private message to someone on your friends list. If your friend is offline, is following you on Twitter and both you and your friend have linked your Twitter account, you can send the message as a direct message on Twitter. See below for instructions on how to link your Twitter account.
- Invite to game: This feature allows you to invite a friend to join a game if it has not yet started. The person you are inviting does not need to be on the same game; for example, you could invite a friend to join a Monopoly game even if they are connected to Uno. Once the invitation has been sent, the player can press Alt+A (Command+A on the Mac) to accept the invitation. If they do not accept within 60 seconds, the invitation will time out and you will be notified that the player did not accept it.
- Remove Friend: This will remove this friend from your friends list, as well as remove you from their friends list.
Privacy Options for Private Messages
The "Private Message Privacy Options" menu can be accessed from the friends list, and allows you to control whether you can receive private messages from everyone, or only those on your friends list. If you find you are frustrated by players you don't know sending you messages on RS Games, we suggest using this feature.
Twitter Integration
This allows you to log into Twitter from within the client. Currently, you are able to have PM's to offline users sent as direct messages if they have logged into Twitter as well, and tweet about a game that you have open and waiting for players.
To log into Twitter, access the "Twitter Options" menu from the friends list menu, and choose "Login to Twitter". A web page should then open in your browser where you enter your Twitter credentials. You will then be given a number that you should paste back into the edit box that should have opened in the client. To send a DM to an offline user, either use the PM option on someone in your friends list, or open the chat window by pressing F2 and enter "pm <username> <message" without the quotes. If that user has logged into Twitter as well, you will be asked if you'd like to send the message as a DM. If the person is not following you, this will fail.
If you have a game open and want to invite players, you can press Control+T to tweet a message that you have a game open. You will hear the tweet that will be posted and be asked to confirm that you want to tweet it before it is actually posted.
Streaming Background Music
The RS Games client allows you to stream background music while playing the games. This functionality can be accessed by pressing Control+B. This will bring up a menu which includes a list of preset radio stations, an option to enter a stream URL, and an option to stop the stream and revert to the default background music. Presets include radio stations added by the RS Games staff as well as user-submitted presets. If you would like a preset to be added, simply email us the name of the station and the URL to the stream. You may also enter a stream URL, which must be Mp3, Ogg, PLS, or M3u.
When you start a background stream, the other players in the game will be prompted to press Control+P if they would like to listen to the stream as well. The stream will play at full volume regardless of your volume setting. However, you can adjust the volume with F3 and F4 as with the standard background music. Any player can stop the stream by choosing the appropriate option from the menu, which will revert all players to the default background music at their preferred volume setting.
Kick Options
As of this writing, all games support kicking of idle or disconnected players. To set whether or not players can be kicked, as well as the time a player must be idle for before they can be kicked, press F9. If you enable this feature, you can then press K, and you will be presented with a menu of players who have been idle for the specified time. Choose a player from the menu to kick them from the game.
Transcripts
For all games, you can choose to have a transcript of a game emailed to you when the game ends. If you'd like to receive a transcript, either press F11 while in a game, or answer Yes when you are asked, upon leaving the game, if you'd like to receive a transcript.
Switching Games
It is possible to switch between the different games on the server without closing the client and logging back in. To use this feature, press F7 from anywhere. You will be presented with a menu of all games available to you. Simply choose a game and you will be automatically connected to that game.
Server Rules
To view the RS Games rules, visit http://rsgames.org/rules.php. By playing RS Games, you are certifying that you have read and understand the rules. Our moderators use the rules when deciding what action to take on any reports we receive regarding players.
Game Instructions
Since new games may be released without updates to the RS Games client, instructions for playing each game can be found on the RS Games website. Click here to go to the game documentation page.
Credits
Thanks go out to the following people for helping to create the RS Games Client
- Michael Forzano, Ryan Smith, and Jayson Smith for most of the client and server development
- Christopher Toth, for making available accessible_output2, sound_lib, and various other libraries and for help with developing and troubleshooting issues with the client
- Haden Pike for various code contributions, and help with various issues encountered along the way.
- The PythonMac developers mailing list for helping to add support for Mac OSX to the RS Games client.
- Teamspeak Systems for the SDK that has allowed us to add real-time voice chat to the games
Technical Support and Contact Information
For technical support, or if you have a bug report or suggestion, contact RS Games by sending an email to rsgames@gmail.com. Please try to be as detailed as possible. For bug reports or problems, include any error messages you receive, and if possible, an explanation of how to reproduce the bug or problem. Messages such as "The client is not working" are not detailed enough and we will not be able to help you.
Change Log for Older Versions
Version 2.0 was released as part of our fifth anniversary celebration, and included the following new features and bugfixes:
- Real-time Voice chat: Version 2.0 of the RS Games client allows players to voice chat with each other in real time! See the Voice Chat Section for details on how to use this exciting new feature!
- Fixed a bug where the client would stop responding when downloading sounds, preventing some users from playing the games
- On Mac OSX, VoiceOver now reads the text of input boxes when navigating with VoiceOver review commands
Version 1.6 of the client includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- Voice clips: This feature allows players to send short voice clips to other players in the game. See the Voice Clips Section for details on how this feature works.
- Support for the Dolphin screen reader has been fixed.
- Other minor bugfixes
Version 1.5 of the RS Games client included the following changes:
- Completely rewritten networking code, which greatly speeds up communication with the server resulting in a much faster experience
- Auto-update is now working on windows. If a new version is released, it will be downloaded automatically. Note this is currently windows only.
- Added background music at the login screen
- Added menu navigation sound effects
- Other minor bugfixes
Version 1.4 of the RS Games Client includes several new features and bug fixes:
- Added a separate buffer for chats and private messages. This allows you to review the history of chat messages separately from other game messages. To navigate the chat buffer, use Control+Page Up to go to the previous message, Control+Page Down to go to the next message, and Control+Home or End to go to the top or bottom of the list, respectively. If you are on a Mac, use Command instead of Control with the keystrokes listed above.
- The client can now play ".pls" streams using the "Set background Stream" function (Control+B).
- Added first letter navigation for menu items starting with a number. For example, you can now choose "1000 Miles" from the list of games by pressing the number 1.
- Fixed a bug that prevented keystrokes with modifier keys (i.e. Control or Alt) from working when a menu was active.
- Fixed Sapi speech on Windows.
- The Linux build of the client now requires Python 2.7.
Version 1.3 of the RS Games client includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- Added first letter navigation in menus. Pressing a letter will move you to the first option starting with that letter. Pressing it again will move you to the next option. If there is only one option starting with a particular letter, it will automatically be selected. For example, in Uno, you can now press D to draw a card, since this is the only option in that menu starting with the letter D. Note that first letter navaigation takes precedence over hotkeys.
- -Added in Auto Update on all platforms. This allows the client to update to a new version automatically when it is released. After updating, the client will automatically start on Windows and Mac, but due to the varying environments of Linux, you will need to start the Linux version manually after an update.
- Made many improvements to grids in preparation for the release of Battleship.
- Other behind the scenes performance improvements
Version 1.21 fixes the following bugs:
- Speech interrupting itself on Mac OSX
- You can now move to the top and bottom of checklist menus with the left and right arrow keys, as in normal menus.
- You can now use hotkeys from within checklist menus.
- You can now select all items in a checklist with CTRL+Space (Command+Space on the Mac) and de-select all items with Shift+Space.
- Fixed a bug where the client would speak "Invalid choice" after downloading sounds.
Version 1.2 of the RS Games Client is primarily a bugfix release. The following enhancements have been made in this version:
- Removed VoiceOver as it was buggy, replaced with NSSpeechSynthesizer.
- Mac Users can adjust the rate with Command+Right (speed up), or Command+Left (speed down).
- Using a more stable networking library. This fixes many bugs, such as manage assets in Monopoly.
- If you are missing a sound, it will automatically be re-downloaded on your next login.