vBstory - an Interactive Story for vB (1.0 Final)
 

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This script is pretty much dead - but if you wanted to see the concept live on, visit http://unknowntales.net/ :)



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Author
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VBstory (1.0 Final)
by Daniel Hollands of Ninth Dimension.
http://ninthdimension.biz/

I do custom vB scripts as well as web design and development using PHP and MySQL.
If you would like some more information on the work I do, please visit the URL above.

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About
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This hack allows you to add an Interactive Story to your forum.

Once a user has chosen a story arranged into genres, they will be presented with
a chapter to read. After reading this chapter they will be presented with two
paths to follow, both of which will present a new chapter, and a further two
paths.

Eventually the user will be given the ability to add their own chapters to the
database, which will be done via a form presented on the site.

Hopefully this will encourage your users to be more active on your site, thus
giving you a higher hit rate.

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Install
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PLEASE MAKE A BACKUP OF ANY FILES EDITED AND YOUR DATABASE BEFORE
INSTALLING THIS HACK. If you loose all your data as a result of installing this
hack, it's your fault, not mine.

1, Upload the vbstory.php file to your forum root directory.
2, Upload the vbstory_admin.php file to your admin directory.
3, Upload the two images to your images directory.
4, Run the three SQL queries in the sql.txt file (don't just run this file, read it).
5, Add the templates listed in the templates.txt file to your site.
6, Make the file changes listed in the files.txt file. (Only one is required).
7, Using the new menu items in your admin panel (you might need to refresh it
after adding the templates) add at least one genre, and as many stories as you
want.
8, Link to vbstory.php (some examples will be provided in the final release.
9, Post a link to your vBstory in the vBstory thread on vB.org. :)
10, !GOLDEN RULE! Enjoy.
11, (Optional) If you want your Super Mods to have access to the admin scripts,
just upload the vbstory_admin.php file to your mod directory and complete the first
file edit instruction on the index.php file in your mod directory.

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Upgrade
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If you are running vBstory beta 0.5 or later you will not need to run the SQL
queries again. However if you want a fresh install, you will need to remove the
three vbs_ tables from your database.

IMPORTANT - You will need to replace ALL your vbstory templates with the new ones contained
within this archive. EVERY template has been changed.

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To Do
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I've not really got any more plans for this version of vBstory. I will be making a
more advanced version of vBstory for my own use, but I've not yet decided if I'm
going to release it yet.

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Support
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So far as I can tell, this version of vBstory is fully bug free. After a little while,
provided no errors are reported, I'll be releasing this as a final.

If you have any problems running or using this hack, please post a message in
the vBstory thread at vB.org. If you receive a serious error, I'll try to provide
support via IM (AIM, ICQ, MSN or Yahoo).

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Demo
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No demo at the moment, will be back soon.

<font size="4">F.A.Q. for vBstory</font>

Q: where does Suggest a Story get mailed to?
A: when someone submits a story it get's added directly to the database but not displayed. You need to go into the Admin CP and select to display the story if you like it.

Q: Which versons of vB will this work with.
A: It should work with all versons from it's development verson (vB v2.2.6) right up to the current (vB v2.3.0) and beyond (i've not yet had a mess about with vB 3, so i've no idea about that, but in theory, yes).

So what all was added onto in this version?

The only thing new in this verson is that the path that was chosen is displayed on the add chapter form.

It's 100% stable and working as I like it at the moment so I've decided to remove it from the beta forum.

Great to hear that is alpha! :) Shall upgrade when I find the time...

A neat little tweak for your online.php maybe ?
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case 'vbstory':
$userinfo[where] = "Reading an <a href='vbstory.php'> interactive story </a>";
break;
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i like it , it's awesome ty and this helps have another way to direct people to it :D

That's a good idea, I personally left the link out of the line because I was worried that some ppl might be running it in another dir that the forum dir (like me) but then if I think about it, anyone that can run it in another dir without problems should easily be able to edit the link.

If I add any new features i'll change the info in the online.php file :D

Yea, will install this in the afternoon. Thanks for getting it out of Beta!

[high]* NexDog clicks install :)
[/high]

http://www.hostnexus.com/forum/vbstory.php

Which template is that typo in?

Ummm, where does Suggest a Story get mailed to? Haven't received anything at the forum admin address.

mmm I'll install this real soon :) :thumbsup:

Go to AdminCP -> Add story or Edit story, you will find that story there cuz it insert into database and wait for you to "approve" it.

NexDog - Goldknight is correct, when someone submits a story it get's added directly to the database but not displayed.

You need to go into the Admin CP and select to display the story if you like it.

I'll admit that at the moment the admin options need a tiny bit of work, as well as maybe having some type of email sent to the admin when a story is added to the database.

I'll see what I can do getting that released in the next few days (as well as fixing the typo).

I guess this is not as popular as I once thought it might have been :(

Hey Daniel! I'm still playing around and testing the hack with a few of my users, but they're loving it like crazy. And thanks for adding that chapter title to the add-chapter template! That's the second time ever that someone's taken a suggestion of mine and used it in a new release, woohoo! :)

Before I update, which templates need to be changed since your last beta version? (I'd rather not start from scratch since I did so much tweaking, but if necessary I will.)

Thanks a million for this ultra-faboo add-on!

I'm glad that you like it, i've spent a lot of time working on it *G*.

I *think* the only template that has changed since the one you installed is vbstory_editform.

What types of changes have you made?

Okay, I see the stories in AdminCP->Edit Story. But nothing in Add Story, so how do I add the stories?

Oh, I see. Edit Story --> Edit --> Display. :)

Sweet.

BTW, that little addition to online.php is not helping out when Who's Online is viewed. How do I sort that out. Need it for John's arcade too.

Just wondering what this does to the database size? I mean, start with 1 chapter, then 2 options, each option has 2 options and so on. Over 20 chapters, doesnt this result in something like 520,000 chapters to complete all the options?

NexDog, I have no idea, it works fine on my 2.2.6 board, are you running a diffrent verson?

trilOByte - I will admit that it can take up quite a bit of database space, but if you think about it most of the chapters are not going to be huge or anything, and if you are running a forum anyway then it's lickly that you are going to have enough space anyway.

But if you are worried about it, just edit the $max_chapters variable in the vbstory.php file to a lower number.

I would love to offer some type of soloution, i.e. reducing the space it takes, but I don't think there is one, it's just a case that if the story is popular enough to fill up your database, then you must have a popular site in which advertising, etc... money coming in should be fantastic :)

Daniel,

Seem to have a few problems. The admin cp keeps logging me out whenever I try and edit/view stories.

Also, the first chapter and the 2 paths are not showing up in the adminCP but when I add the story, it shows. I do need to be able see the story first. :)

Also which template is this in:
TIA

No joy on 2.2.6 on php 4.0.6. Same code for John's tetris hack worked though. This code also doesn't work if you insert John's arcade so trying to kill 2 birds here....:(

As I said before, the admin CP section of this is not yet perfect - it works, but is not perfect. I'll work on that when I get some spare time.

However, regarding your two other problems, I really can't help you i'm sorry to say, everyone else I know that has edited the online.php file have had success with it.

As for you being logged out of the admin CP, the admin part of the hack does not make any changes to being logged in or out, it uses the normal vB security features, so I can't help you there, sorry :(

Sure, no problem, I'll work it out. :)

As for the adminCP, I can live with adding the stories, viewing the chapter in the forum and then seeing if it stays or goes.

Our forum is always quiet on the weekend with 4-5 concurrent users but I'm sure the hack will be truly appreciated. Awesome work dude, keep it up. :)

installed :thumbsup: ;)

Cool, do you have a like that I can look at?

wow, I just seen your sig, thank you :D

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time

I've started a story on my site, check it out so far :)

http://gamevine.co.uk/vbstory.php?s=...d=6&do=showall

Just to let you know that I will be working on a next verson for vBstory, but i've got some other projects that I need to finish first. I'll also be adding some forum home bits (such as most active story, latest story, etc...) It will be cool :)

BTW, does anyone have any suggestions for vBstory? anything you would like to see added?

mmm, I'm personally very interested in the forumhome bits.

Some suggestions :

- Think was talked about before. Other users cannot enter a story when a user is currently entering a story. Since some users are really writers and can write to one hours worth.

- bits such as "links to New chapters since your last visit" would be really good as well :)

Thats about all to this wonderful hack.


oh and my vbstory link: http://sgstudents.com/forum/vbstory.php

Both the ideas you have suggested are good, however i'm not too sure how to do them. The first would be a total pain to do, unless I set it up so that a user can mark it as "being worked on" - the only problem with this is that the user might never come back... I guess this could be done, but i'd need some external help.

As for the second, I might be able to do this, but i'm thinking it would be very resouce intensive......

What I am going to add is the ability for you to bookmark a chapter, allowing you to access it again from the forumhome and vbstory welcome page.

I'm also going to set it up so that admins get an email when a story is suggested, and when a new chapter is added (although I don't know how to access admins emails yet, i'll working something out.

although at this stage i'd like to point out this won't be for a couple of weeks, i've got some more important projects to work on first (after all, I need to earn a living :))

The admin ideas are a must. :)

Definitely need an email or PM whenever a Story is Suggested. Email notifications to people subscribed to the story would be nice. Also, need to see the actual chapter in the adminCP as well as the stuff that we already see. ;)

The bookmark would be cool :)
As for the furst suggestion, What my users are doing now is they key in some sort of placeholder to ensure that that chapter is theirs first. *lol*

Thats a good idea, going in, typing something like "Bugger off, this is my chapter" and then editing it later once they have finished - very good idea - maybe I can use something like that as a feature - I really need to spend some more time thinking about how it's going to work.

I fixed the online.php. Your install instructions is missing some vital code. All pages require 2 entries in online.php: [where] and [activity].

Your's is missing the [where] function:
Added it for John's arcade hack and the toplist hack and it works nicely. :)

eeeerrrrmmmm, I don't know which file you have got, but the zip file on the first post does have both of the file edits needed for online.php, here:But thank you anyway :D

Ok, I am a bit lost. I have my story but nothing is showing up??
http://20ishparents.com/boards/vbstory.php?s=

Like where the members can add to the story ect.
Otherwise it was a great install.

Have you added all the templates? That is the only thing I think the problem could be.