1. XLabz's Avatar
    Hey all,

    We are here again, to announce to you, that the latest update of Sketch W Friends has been released! We’ve been really busy trying to get this version up and running and we are so excited that it is finally ready for all of you to play. This is our BIGGEST update so far!


    This version pretty much covers the features that most of you here have been asking for. So without further ado, here’s what V2.0 includes:

    Sketch W Friends just got a facelift! The game now has a fresh & swanky UI, which we think will knock your socks off!

    Friends & Family: Private Rooms where you can invite your Facebook friends to play, with a maximum limit of 8 people per room. This feature is available only for paid users.


    Artistry: A special drawing zone where you can draw at length and share your sketches on Facebook and Twitter. We are planning on hosting some contests around this feature on our Facebook page so start sharpening your drawing skills right away and make sure you are connected to us on Facebook


    Me vs Bot: Not in a mood to draw? No worries; brush up your gaming skills against our friendly robot and have fun!

    Moderation System: Users will now be allowed to ban other players only when they unlock the Moderator or the Super Moderator levels. These are special privileges awarded to fair players based on several parameters. Oh and did we say, if you don’t play fair your level keeps downgrading automatically

    Clues for guessing the word.

    Color Palette: An all new color palette with a whole range of colors including the color brown.

    Increased number of game rounds for free users.

    We request you to go ahead and grab this update immediately and tell us what you think! Here’s hoping that all of you will enjoy this brand-new avatar of Sketch W Friends!

    Your feedback and suggestions are most welcome! Please send them to bbsupport[at]xlabz[dot]com. Also, if you do enjoy the game, please leave a review for us on the BlackBerry App World and pass the word on to your friends & family.

    Keep tuning in to our Facebook fan page for all the latest news! “Like” us here!
    Last edited by XLabz; 04-13-12 at 02:52 AM.
    catwoman66, fast666, Denus and 6 others like this.
    04-13-12 02:49 AM
  2. BBFTW88's Avatar
    Nice!! Will download this when I get home!!

    I did notice in the old version that when drawing or watching people draw it was a bit laggy, is that fixed?
    04-13-12 03:02 AM
  3. phoreoneone's Avatar


    THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!

    THANK YOU!

    EDIT: THIS VERSION IS SOOOO AWESOME!!

    ... now i cannot sleep
    Last edited by phoreoneone; 04-13-12 at 03:13 AM.
    BachKhoa University and XLabz like this.
    04-13-12 03:03 AM
  4. fbloise's Avatar
    Awesome, keep it up guys!
    04-13-12 03:10 AM
  5. emtunc's Avatar
    Awesome update *but* still getting kicked out of games intermittently when they have finished (Oops error). Anyone else still getting that?
    Zwickliffe likes this.
    04-13-12 03:11 AM
  6. phoreoneone's Avatar
    Awesome update *but* still getting kicked out of games intermittently when they have finished (Oops error). Anyone else still getting that?
    same here.
    ill uninstall it, then reinstall, and then restart my PB to see if it makes a difference
    Zwickliffe likes this.
    04-13-12 04:37 AM
  7. emtunc's Avatar
    same here.
    ill uninstall it, then reinstall, and then restart my PB to see if it makes a difference
    I doubt that will work - this problem has existed since v1 of the game.
    04-13-12 05:48 AM
  8. catwoman66's Avatar
    Hey all,

    We are here again, to announce to you, that the latest update of Sketch W Friends has been released! We�ve been really busy trying to get this version up and running and we are so excited that it is finally ready for all of you to play. This is our BIGGEST update so far!


    This version pretty much covers the features that most of you here have been asking for. So without further ado, here�s what V2.0 includes:

    Sketch W Friends just got a facelift! The game now has a fresh & swanky UI, which we think will knock your socks off!

    Friends & Family: Private Rooms where you can invite your Facebook friends to play, with a maximum limit of 8 people per room. This feature is available only for paid users.


    Artistry: A special drawing zone where you can draw at length and share your sketches on Facebook and Twitter. We are planning on hosting some contests around this feature on our Facebook page so start sharpening your drawing skills right away and make sure you are connected to us on Facebook


    Me vs Bot: Not in a mood to draw? No worries; brush up your gaming skills against our friendly robot and have fun!

    Moderation System: Users will now be allowed to ban other players only when they unlock the Moderator or the Super Moderator levels. These are special privileges awarded to fair players based on several parameters. Oh and did we say, if you don�t play fair your level keeps downgrading automatically

    Clues for guessing the word.

    Color Palette: An all new color palette with a whole range of colors including the color brown.

    Increased number of game rounds for free users.

    We request you to go ahead and grab this update immediately and tell us what you think! Here�s hoping that all of you will enjoy this brand-new avatar of Sketch W Friends!

    Your feedback and suggestions are most welcome! Please send them to bbsupport[at]xlabz[dot]com. Also, if you do enjoy the game, please leave a review for us on the BlackBerry App World and pass the word on to your friends & family.

    Keep tuning in to our Facebook fan page for all the latest news! �Like� us here!
    Oh my!!! Looks awesome, have been sooo busy lately and not been playing, but will be back with vengeance, I don't think it will be a good idea for me to share my masterpieces with the world
    XLabz likes this.
    04-13-12 06:12 AM
  9. joski's Avatar
    Thanks Xlabz! This game is great, and this update sounds like it'll make the game even better!
    XLabz likes this.
    04-13-12 08:38 AM
  10. Denus's Avatar
    Wow, I'm really impressed!
    Still hoping for different languages, but I guess that's not an easy task...

    Anyway, I'm glad I bought this awesome game!
    XLabz likes this.
    04-13-12 09:30 AM
  11. yanicmb's Avatar
    wow love this, makes my playbook way more fun thanks for the update!
    04-13-12 10:15 AM
  12. Double_J75's Avatar
    Anyone interesting in trying to get a room for us crackberry players? Reason I ask is because I dislike playing with ppl that write out the word. Some times its near impossible to find a room that doesn't have people just chatting or spelling out words.

    I have two suggestions for this (and I'm open to other ideas). 1 - post your FB info OR when you want to play a game we go to a specific room number. Say #65 or what ever. Just a thought...
    catwoman66 likes this.
    04-13-12 10:52 AM
  13. blackhawksfan75's Avatar
    two questions: This update would be for all platforms, correct? Also is there a way to turn off the clock for the private rooms where you can have a casual drawing experience similar to draw something? Thanks.
    I do enjoy this game on the iPad and am looking to buy a PB tonight so my wife and I can play against each other. She doesn't like being timed however, so that is why I am asking.
    04-13-12 11:01 AM
  14. Korepab's Avatar
    Loving this game.

    I have more fun with this than Drawsome.

    This is on a whole different level. I laugh so much when playing it!

    Really really thank you for supporting BlackBerry!
    partizan666 likes this.
    04-13-12 11:20 AM
  15. doxa sub750T's Avatar
    Two thumbs way up for this....

    Cheers
    Berryuman likes this.
    04-13-12 04:54 PM
  16. nextlevel88's Avatar
    As I mentioned in the original thread, I bought the app with this release. Now to round up my friends to do the same and try this out!
    04-13-12 05:03 PM
  17. ignites's Avatar
    does anyone else get it that they always get kicked out after the round with 'connection' errors
    Zwickliffe and willie44 like this.
    04-13-12 10:26 PM
  18. QuickBrittle's Avatar
    Love the game.

    However I have found that I can get in maybe 2 rounds and then the room freezes at the 1 second left mark of the 10th round. I'll then have to exit out to the lobby.

    Also, when a game ends And I pick play again, should I be kicked out to the lobby? I would think that I'd just stay in the current room.
    Zwickliffe likes this.
    04-14-12 01:34 PM
  19. fast666's Avatar
    I like this game and like the new additions. Looks like clues appear only when the drawer is also using new version. I also find that many words are too difficult to draw. Overall I think its the best game on PB.
    04-14-12 02:09 PM
  20. catwoman66's Avatar
    Anyone interesting in trying to get a room for us crackberry players? Reason I ask is because I dislike playing with ppl that write out the word. Some times its near impossible to find a room that doesn't have people just chatting or spelling out words.

    I have two suggestions for this (and I'm open to other ideas). 1 - post your FB info OR when you want to play a game we go to a specific room number. Say #65 or what ever. Just a thought...
    Good idea, so will you use that as a private room? If so I'll look out for it, fed up with cheats..

    p.s or perhaps we can all write our usernames here, so as to know who is who, just an idea
    04-14-12 02:24 PM
  21. joogi's Avatar
    I just posted on your FB. I'm quite upset about the new version (honestly nice update).

    1. server problem has gone backward... lots of issues.
    2. why are we getting automatic hints? we got less points. Sometimes I don't even need hints.
    3. I was playing some great games in a room tonight (which is rare as Android players like to kick us out) with two other PB players and rest was Android players. I suddenly got kick out with a warning saying I got ban for 60 minutes!!!! 60 minutes!!! for doing absolutely NOTHING wrong. I bought this game when it first launched. Posted a few times here. (My alias on SWF is "uae") Had lots of fun initially, got fed up; now with the update I have high hopes... but...
    4. the new colour palette...... do we need black and some off-black colours?! I don't see orange.. and there are many weird colours...

    Here is capture of the message when I was banned from the game for 60 min. Ridiculous.
    Zwickliffe and emtunc like this.
    04-14-12 08:21 PM
  22. Double_J75's Avatar
    The new update keeps kicking me out. I don't think I have once finished a 10. Round event. It always freezes at the one second mark like another poster mentioned.

    Also I was banned twice today for 60 minutes but I wasn't being kicked by players, spelling words or swearing. I was playing with a few other playbook members when it happened and we all seemed to be having the same issues.

    The other players were Tracy Mansfield, and uae. If you guys are on here I'm playing with the user name Megs

    Has some issues but still a great game!
    Zwickliffe likes this.
    04-14-12 08:26 PM
  23. Zwickliffe's Avatar
    I'm with everyone else - great game but serious server and moderation issues.

    - Hints shouldn't be automatic, I should have to request them at a loss of points.
    - Connection issues should be fixed, I was bumped out 10 times in 5 minutes when I was trying to play earlier
    - People are just as bad with spelling the words out and now that I can't report it myself, it seems to go unpunished.

    Again, great game but I would like to see these issues worked on.
    emtunc likes this.
    04-14-12 08:37 PM
  24. willie44's Avatar
    Connection issues here too. I asked them on twitter if this a temporary issue.

    Definitely up for a specific room number for CB users.
    04-15-12 04:47 AM
  25. XLabz's Avatar
    Since most of you have asked similar questions, we are answering the common concerns here:

    1) Getting Banned

    This happens due to the new moderation system, broadly the moderation system has two parts to it, bans by users and bans generated because of foul words - both of these account for bans but foul words generate more bans than user bans.

    The thing to remember here is that, as with all algorithms, there can be some false positives in the foul word checking. If you haven't seen anyone banning you (you receive the warning messages on your chat window when users ban you) and if you know the words/guesses you typed when you were banned, that holds the answer to this. We have spend a lot of time in checking our word list and the profanity alorithm against many dictionaries to ensure that there are not many false positives, but then, as with any algorithm there is no fool proof way.

    The best way you can nail this down is to see what words you used when you were banned and let us know of them. We might be hitting on some false positives with those words. Since this is the first version which went out with this, there are bound to be some issues but we had to get this done considering a lot of minors play this game and it is our responsibilty to safe guard them against such cases. Please send us the words you typed (if you remember them) to support [at] xlabz [dot] com and we can have them checked.

    As a temporary measure we have turned down the ban timer to 10 minutes instead of 60 minutes since we have got similar complaints from other users. This will automatically reflect when you restart the game.

    2) Hints

    We knew that not everyone would like this. But then when we watch the game we see most of them start writing the word if they are too difficult and almost all of them just give clues by writing the first letter and then drawing dashes. This is the reason we had to bring in clues but we hear your feedback on making this optional and will consider that in the next version. BTW, the clues does not reduce your points.

    3) Connection Issues

    Some of the issues you are speaking about like the disconnection happens when the load on the server is too heavy or if your internet connection is not stable enough. That said, on the iPad version the disconnections are far lesser than the Android versions and resolving this for once and ever is our top priority for the immediate next update. We should have a followup version in a week or two and with that we see this issue resolved forever.


    4) Gaming Round Not Progressing (Rare) & Lesser Points

    The issue with the game getting hung on the last round or the game not progressing happens due to the reason that you are playing with devices that does not have the latest version. The latest update is released only for PlayBook and other apps stores might take a few more days to approve the latest update, Once more users upgrade to the latest version, this issue will eventually be significantly reduced. In any case, we are looking at making some core changes to the way this is handled in the next version as well.

    Getting lesser points is also just a temporary case since the scoring logic on this new version is a different from the previous one. As with the previous case, the scores will come in parity as soon as more people upgrade to the newer version. This is just a temporary glitch.

    5) Not able to ban users

    A little history here, in the previous version we have seen people banning users from other operating system just for fun or for the lack of knowledge of what it does. To overcome this, the new version has a moderation upgradation system which gives moderation privileges only to people who truly deserve them (the algorith is extremely complex and properiotary and hence we cannot reveal the exact way it works) based on several factors including fair game play, bans and such. As of now since not a lot of users on devices other than PlayBook have the latest upgrade, all of them are able to ban others but when they upgrade to the newer version, banning powers are not given by default and only people with moderation powers (who upgarde based on fair game play) will be able to send ban requests. In essence, from here forward, new users are not given banning powers until they upgrade to moderation roles.

    As you can see from above, most of these issue will autorectify when the new update is available on other platforms and hence we request all of you to please be patient until then.

    So far we have been concentrating only on enhancing game features but from now on (since we have covered most if not all of what we wanted as features) we will be concentrating more on glitches like these. Rest assured, as with the case with us always, we will keep working on these and get these resolved as fast as we can. Please don't hesitate to contact us on [email protected] with any legitimate words that you used and got banned or any other feedback on the game.
    Zwickliffe, nazreil25 and moss27 like this.
    04-15-12 11:05 AM
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