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.

[Ryangel]

mmm I'll install this real soon :thumbsup:

[Goldknight]

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

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.

[Ninth Dimension]

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).

[Ninth Dimension]

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

[kira]

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!

[Ninth Dimension]

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?

[NexDog]

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

[NexDog]

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

Sweet.

[NexDog]

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.

[trilOByte]

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?