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!

[chad777]

mewgood I agree i would love to see an update and more games my members are really getting pretty good at the 5...

what code needs to go in fla files to add more games an make them work with the ranking system and I will try to make some more games

[xxxsaint]

what code needs to go in fla files to add more games an make them work with the ranking system and I will try to make some more games

and so would I , I work in construction and now is the slow time of the year , I have plenty of time to sit around here doing this type of thing. I already have a slot machine .fla and a poker machine .fla , would love to have a casino integrated into this that would interact with our money system from lesane's store.

[influence]

why the score icon and king icon dont show? and I upload them but nothing showing. why is that?

[SS9267547]

So whats the news about the next version and when are the fla files going to be out? Just wondering if anyone knows since I've been waiting and waiting lol. Would really like to make some new games too. :nervous:

[futureal]

I know, I lag.

As you can see on my site, it's very close to being ready. Just about every often-requested feature has been implemented. Mini Scoreboards, Text/Graphic King in the postbit, Usergroup Access Control, Fixed Top Scoreboard, etc.

The last thing I need to do is upgrade my forum to 2.2.9 so I can create an install log for the hack, as well as add one final planned feature (User Stat pages).

[SS9267547]

Well thats super, so would you say it would be ready in a week? Maybe 2? Or Next year? lol Just wondering beucase I don't know if I should install the hack or wait for the next version since I read somewhere that you would have the fla files there which I would like to change a few things such as taking off the music or adding a button to trun it off since I'm not all that fond of it before I open my new message board. Btw thanks for the quite reply.

[BrAinZ]

Originally posted by futureal
The last thing I need to do is upgrade my forum to 2.2.9 so I can create an install log for the hack, as well as add one final planned feature (User Stat pages).

Oh dear, I wonder if that means that it won't work on 2.2.6

[futureal]

It should work fine on any 2.x vB install. The forum I am developing on has (so far) been 2.2.5 with a few of the security patches applied.

[Automated]

How about making smilies work in the comments section? That would make a nice addition!

[Bungie]

Ok, I didn't read every single post in this thread, so I don't know if this has been asked yet...

I'm installing this on 2.2.9. I followed everything in the instructions and have went over the file edits twice now. What is happening is when I click on a game link, it just sits and hangs while trying to access proarcade.php to play the game...