vbProArcade Beta 2

vbProArcade Beta 2

1/5/03: Beta 2 released
9/12/02: Beta 1.03 zip updated to include safe mode fix
9/3/02: Beta 1.03 released -- small bug fixes, see below
9/1/02: Beta 1 of vbProArcade has been posted. Please see below for installation instructions.


Background Information

vbProArcade is a fully-customizable Flash arcade add-on for vBulletin, complete with game-by-game scoreboards, forum integration, a "champions" system, statistics, and more.

This is an extensive hack that is still in BETA form, and I don't recommend installing it if you are not willing to work through potential issues and future updates/upgrades! I am working on making the installation instructions as easy as possible, but it will probably be some time before it is perfect.

Watch this post for updates as they happen, and check out screenshots from the list below. If you would like to see the hack in action, you may visit my Shadows of Namek forums. You will need to register to play, but you can view the scoreboards and the arcade itself as a guest.


Credits

This hack materialized thanks to work and help from a number of people and forums. Here they are:

• Original vbTetris Hack by Erwin Loh
• Original vbTetris Leaderboard Hack by John Warwick (john.eovie)
• One of my users, Simon Steel, for work on Flash coding/recoding
• The users of one of my forums, Shadows of Namek, for their extensive testing of the system
• And The Kryptonian for pre-release and release candidate installation testing.

Games

So far, there are FIVE GAMES that work correctly with this hack. They are:

Breakout
Pacman
Snake
Space Invaders
Tetris

All five .SWF files are included in the release archive.

There is now a Flash Games Development Thread for the purpose of modifying existing games to work with vbProArcade, or for creating new games to be compatible with vbProArcade. If you have a game that you wish to see modified but don't know how, post the .FLA source in that thread and hopefully somebody can assist you.


Installation Instructions

Download the file attached to this post, unzip it and familiarize yourself with the contents BEFORE doing anything.

There are TWO separate files worth reading, the Documentation and the Installation Instructions. I recommend that you read both BEFORE doing anything else.

Once you have done this, the instructions to be followed are contained in vbproarcade-install.txt. Follow them as precisely as possible. If you encounter an error somewhere, it is likely that you missed a step or made a small error. Please double-check your work BEFORE posting about problems here.

And it cannot be said enough: read that file before you do anything, and if you are unsure of something, please post your question(s) before attempting to install the hack.


Problems and Fixes/Workarounds (as of 1/5)

• None

Known Bugs/Limitations

Here is the list of stuff that I know does not work. I will be working towards correcting these bugs BEFORE adding new features for the next release.

• Netscape will allow you to play the games but not record scores
• If a user uses the "Back" button to go to the game screen, and does not refresh before playing, the score will result in a Security Violation. This is by design.

Screen Shots for Beta 2

Here is the list of posts from this thread that contain screen shots for the new version. Check them out!

• Main Arcade Screen: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...106#post292106
• Game Screen: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...107#post292107
• Game Over Screen: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...109#post292109
• Scoreboard: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...110#post292110
• Top Score Board: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...111#post292111
• Admin Modify Game: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...112#post292112
• Who's Online Display: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...113#post292113
• User Detail Screen: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...811#post337811
• Admin Score Editor: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...736#post338736
• Champ System in Postbit: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...745#post338745
• Modify Games in Admin CP (contracted): https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...858#post389858
• Modify Games in Admin CP (expanded): https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...859#post389859

Upcoming Features

This is the stuff that is in progress for future release:

• Complete Admin Panel Scoreboard Editor
• Additional integration with vB
• Even better Who's Online screen

Some have emailed or PM'd me asking if I would accept donations for my work on this hack, and yes, I certainly will, and any and all support is greatly appreciated. With over 2,000 lines of original PHP code, in addition to HTML and Flash work, I have spent a great deal of time developing and debugging the source for this, and it is a great feeling to have people like it so much that they want to give something back.

All donations received go directly back into supporting my websites and my design activities. You may click here to donate via Paypal. Note that donations are by no means required, and not donating does not mean you won't get support for the hack.

Last but not least, thanks for checking this out!

[futureal]

Originally posted by Da_GoTTi
I am still having this error, an some1 help me out with this please...

I have re-inserted the SQL queries, and still error'd on me...

I am having a heck of a time trying to reproduce this error; it always works fine on my forums. It seems like one out of three sites who install the hack have this problem. Maybe it's a PHP version thing, but I doubt it. I will keep looking...

[DarkDraco07]

how come when people play snake it give them points even though they dont get 1st. i posted this in 2 other threads cuz i didnt know where to post it

[Sanni]

just installed it today..... not a hitch (I'm running VB 2.2.6 btw), awesome hack!

only noticed one small problem with it thus far... one of my users noticed that when you use Mozilla as your webbrowser, immediatly after you finish the game it comes back with the following error:

vbProArcade Error: Invalid game name specified (todo: put something pretty here later)

apart from that, its an excellent hack

[Leo[GR]]

]

Originally posted by Da_GoTTi
I am still having this error, an some1 help me out with this please...

I have re-inserted the SQL queries, and still error'd on me...

PHP Code:

Database error in vBulletin 2.2.6:

Invalid SQL: SELECT * FROM arcadescores WHERE userid=Array AND valid=1 ORDER BY endtime DESC
mysql error: Unknown column 'Array' in 'where clause'

mysql error number: 1054

Date: Saturday 25th of January 2003 01:02:22 PM
Script: [url]http://www.site.com/forums/forums/proarcade.php?action=userdetail&game=snake&user=61[/url]
Referer: 


I get the same error at my VB 2.2.6 Also I can't seem to go into the "Game over" screen. When I am done playing a game it just takes me back at the main arcade screen without adding my score at the board. Thing is that I am using IE 6.0 at WinXp with service pack 1. I thought the hack was working with IE

[saint_seiya]

Is there a vbhacker install file>?>??

[ghentskyhawk]

I've re run the sql file, and it cuts off in the middle of inserting into table arcadegames table. Could someone post the sql file or pm me with it. I've tried redownloading the zip, and I have the same problem. Thanks all.

[Sanni]

heya ghentskyhawk

I've attached the sql file to this post

[ghentskyhawk]

Thanks Sanni, haven't had time to check it out, but I'm going to try to finish the install today.

[Cygnus]

As much as I would like to read all 65 pages in this thread, I just don't think that that is going to happen.

I seem to be having a problem with this hack and the Who's Online page. People who are not playing in the arcade are showing up there on Who's Online when they are browsing between boards.

Anyone encounter this and find a fix for it?

[Cygnus]

Nevermind. The problem is with the call to proarcade.php when using the $vpachampicon in postbit. I changed it to use text as was suggested a few pages back.

The problem is that whenever there is a call to proarcade.php, it seems to think that that is where a person is. So... if I am viewing a thread where one of the champions has posted, that call to proarcade.php will confuse online.php into believing that I am playing in the arcade.