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!

[DrkFusion]

You can't really judge til you see the coding.

I think your out of line calling it a complete rip.

[Erwin]

Actually, I have John's hack (which is great) and this one may look superficially similar, but there are some differences. And futureal can only rip it if he got hold of a copy in the first place. Did you base this on John's hack at all? The games look the same - are the SWF files the same ones for John's hack? Are the database tables the same? Just asking to know if the 2 hacks are compatible at all...

[Boofo]

futureal, it looks like a winner, so far. I'm impressed. Looking forward to this.

By the way, the "donation" check is in the mail.

[zootsuit]

Wow, looks awesome - greatwork!

Can't wait to try this out!

[futureal]

Originally posted by Erwin
Actually, I have John's hack (which is great) and this one may look superficially similar, but there are some differences. And futureal can only rip it if he got hold of a copy in the first place. Did you base this on John's hack at all? The games look the same - are the SWF files the same ones for John's hack? Are the database tables the same? Just asking to know if the 2 hacks are compatible at all...

This hack was completed (in its current form) before John released his hack to anybody. If you read through some of the vbTetris thread, you can see some of posts hinting at the progress I had made in my version.

I have never seen any of John's code outside of the vbTetris hack he released. I based mine on that code, but ended up rewriting most of it.

NexDog, you'll also notice that the layout of these two hacks is completely different. You'll also find that mine uses about 1/10th as many queries.

[zootsuit]

True, the layout doesn't look at all a like...

[Velocd]

Interesting...I'm not all that big into flash games, but does anyone know if there a such thing as multiplayer flash games? One that two or more members can compete in?

[Goldknight]

=D futureal, thanks for answer my QQ. I think there are at least two links to great games (.fla) at Johns thread or maybe Erwin's thread. In any case, yours look great! Good luck with your hack.

[Goldknight]

Originally posted by Velocd
Interesting...I'm not all that big into flash games, but does anyone know if there a such thing as multiplayer flash games? One that two or more members can compete in?

It is possible but I think it requires XML to work. I m not sure though..

[Audionuts]

nice...thi will be a fun one great work, really looking forward to it...