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!

[JackG]

Sebastian, II am not pasting in double '..
For example. I just pasted this is from your file:

INSERT INTO arcadegames VALUES (
1,
'tetris',
'Tetris',
'The classic game of Tetris that we all know and love...',
'tetris.swf',
'', '', 0, 0, 0,
'Tetris Champion',
'#FF0000',
'$tetrisscore',
550, 380,
'classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0"',
'username=$username&s=$session[sessionhash]&highscore=$highscore&bbtitle=$bbtitle&location=$v pa_bburl&gamename=$game',
'<param name="quality" value="high">\r\n<param name=bgcolor value="#576375">',
'pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"'
);


And I got this error which displays the insert wrong for some strange reason:

Error
SQL-query:

INSERT INTO arcadegames VALUES (
1,
'tetris',
'Tetris',
'The classic game of Tetris that we all know and love...',
'tetris.swf',
'', '', 0, 0, 0,
'Tetris Champion',
' '$tetrisscore',
550, 380,
'classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab 'username=$username&s=$session[sessionhash]&highscore=$highscore&bbtitle=$bbtitle&location=$v pa_bburl&gamename=$game',
'\r\nMySQL said: You have an error in your SQL syntax near '$tetrisscore',
550, 380,
'classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540' at line 9Back

Do you see?

I really want to get this working.

[Sebastian]

JackG:

I know you didn't put an extra ' but the error it's returning is showing an extra ' in the database.

Drop (delete) the current arcadegames table, THEN run the sql again making sure it doesn't have the extra '

you must drop the arcadegames table.... then run that .sql file I posted above and it should work.

did you try dropping the table first then re-creating it?

[John]

Originally posted by xxxsaint
is there a way for people to cheat on the scores , I remember with the other version of the arcade there was a way to just enter it into the address bar a certain way and it would put up whatever score you input

If you're talking about my version, I found a way to make it 100% cheat proof (unless someone has access to the database)

[xxxsaint]

aren't you the guy the just blocked me on msn messenger :|

anybody know about cheating on THIS version ?

[John]

Originally posted by xxxsaint
aren't you the guy the just blocked me on msn messenger :|

anybody know about cheating on THIS version ?

Probably not, I haven't blocked anyone for days!

If I did, don't take it personally - I do it to people all the time when I need some peace

[JackG]

Hi Sebastian - I really appreciate it but -

Dident work.

I dropped the ArcadeGames forum. Pasted the first ister in
and got this error:

Error
SQL-query:

INSERT INTO arcadegames VALUES (
1,
'tetris',
'Tetris',
'The classic game of Tetris that we all know and love...',
'tetris.swf',
'', '', 0, 0, 0,
'Tetris Champion',
' '$tetrisscore',
550, 380,
'classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab 'username=$username&s=$session[sessionhash]&highscore=$highscore&bbtitle=$bbtitle&location=$v pa_bburl&gamename=$game',
'\r\nMySQL said: You have an error in your SQL syntax near '$tetrisscore',
550, 380,
'classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540' at line 9Back




- Now I dont have the arcade games table...

[futureal]

Hi guys,

I am going to do everything in my power to get Beta 2 out in the next few days over the holiday weekend. Those of you that have seen it on my site know that it has been progressing gradually, it's almost completely to where I want it.

When Beta 2 is released, I will first make sure that works, and then come up with an upgrade script (hopefully) after that. The upgrade script will just consist of some queries to run that will preserve your old score tables. If you don't mind losing your scores, the best (and recommended) upgrade will be to just delete the tables and start fresh.

More info to come soon. Thanks.

[futureal]

Originally posted by TheMasterG
I think it was mentioned before but the Top scoreboard isn't showing the correct comments for the users top score, it shows their first comment always?

Anyone know a fix?

Great hack btw :rambo:

This has been fixed for the new version (see previous post). Thanks!

[Shepski]

Have a problem when the game ends, it displays :

Warning: MySQL: A link to the server could not be established in proarcade.php on line 203

And then takes you to the screen that tells you your rank and to enter a comment but it doesnt save any of the comments but does save your score.

Any ideas?

PS. Great script, will provide many hours of amusement for the users

[futureal]

That's a very odd error, it almost seems like a problem with the MySQL on your server. Could you look in your proarcade.php file and tell me which line is number 203? This is certainly an error that I have not yet come across.

In other news, I finished the postbit integration of the champions system tonight. You can see it in action on my website (look for posts by a user who is the champion of a particular game). Just as everything else in the arcade, it is completely configurable in the Admin CP.

More to come.