vb.org Archive - v3 Arcade - Game Modification Guide & Releases

How v3 Games Work

v3 Arcade games are a little different to those in the original Arcade and futureal's proArcade.

Instead of a simple getURL which sends all of the variables to the next page, the v3 Arcade uses a completely different system - a series of sendAndLoad events where data is sent and received between the Flash file and vBulletin. As a result, converting games for the v3 Arcade is a little more complicated.

To get games working with the v3 Arcade, a piece of code needs to be inserted which will run on every frame of the Flash movie. (I.e. one looped movieclip which is active across all frames.) A variable also needs to be set to tell the v3 Arcade code when to end the game.

EDIT: INSTRUCTIONS UPDATED TO MAKE THE PROCESS A LOT EASIER!

Converting Games

Converting a game is quite simple, providing you have some basic knowledge of Flash.

Step 1.
Create a blank movie clip, containing two keyframes.

Step 2.
On frame 1 of this blank movieclip, insert this code (not forgetting to change the gamename value to something unique - THIS PRESUMES THAT _root.score CONTAINS THE SCORE VALUE!):

Code:

// HERE THE ARCADE SESSION IS INITIATED

// DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE THE GAMENAME VALUE!

if (this.sessionstarted != 1) {

    this.arcade = new LoadVars();

    this.sessionvars = new LoadVars();

    this.arcade.gamename = "towerball";

    this.arcade.sessdo = "sessionstart";

    this.arcade.sendAndLoad("arcade.php", sessionvars, "POST");

    this.sessionstarted = 1;

}



// IF GAMEOVER=1, SUBMIT THE SCORE AND REDIRECT THE PAGE

if (_root.gameover == 1) {

    if ((this.askpermission != 1) && (this.sessionvars.connStatus == 1)) {

        this.prequestvars = new LoadVars();

        this.pranswer = new LoadVars();

        this.prequestvars.gametime = this.sessionvars.gametime;

        this.prequestvars.fakekey = this.sessionvars.initbar;

        if (_root.score == 0) {

            this.prequestvars.score = -1;

        } else {

            this.prequestvars.score = _root.score;

        }

        this.prequestvars.id = this.sessionvars.lastid;

        this.prequestvars.sessdo = "permrequest";

        this.prequestvars.note = (this.prequestvars.id*this.prequestvars.score*this.prequestvars.fakekey);

        this.prequestvars.sendAndLoad("./arcade.php", this.pranswer, "POST");

        this.askpermission = 1;

    }

    if ((this.pranswer.validate == 1) && (this.finalsent != 1)) {

        this.burnscore = new LoadVars();

        this.burnscore.microone = this.pranswer.microone;

        this.burnscore.gametime = this.prequestvars.gametime;

        this.burnscore.id = this.prequestvars.id;

        if (_root.score == 0) {

            this.burnscore.noscore = 1;

        }

        this.burnscore.sessdo = "burn";

        this.burnscore.send("./arcade.php", "_self", "POST");

        this.finalsent = 1;

    }

}

Step 3.
Now, you need to let the game know when to finish the game and redirect the page. This is done by the setting of a new variable, "gameover". When _root.gameover==1, the game will end.

Find the frame of the "Game Over" page, and add this actionscript to the frame:

Code:

_root.gameover=1;

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