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!

[Littlebit]

A minor thing, and I guess a game thing, but I thought I'd mention it ....
some users noticed if you use too much verticle motion in Breakout (ie, moving down below the playing space), you lose control. You have to be careful to keep the cursor level with or above the paddle.

[MomofThree]

Great hack...working great on my site. THANK YOU!

[futureal]

Originally posted by Littlebit
A minor thing, and I guess a game thing, but I thought I'd mention it ....
some users noticed if you use too much verticle motion in Breakout (ie, moving down below the playing space), you lose control. You have to be careful to keep the cursor level with or above the paddle.

Yea, I am aware of a number of bugs in the games, particularly in Breakout and Tetris. Unfortunately I am not a great Flash developer; I mainly just do the PHP and then we stick to whatever we can find for Flash games.

I am hoping that sooner or later someone will really get into the workings of these games to fix some of the problems.

[spbeck]

Just installed this great hack but i can't get the champions system to turn on from the general options screen in the control panel.

when i click yes and then click submit changes it just defaults back to off.

I can turn on the champions system in the games admin screen but not the overall system inthe general

Any Ideas anyone ?

[Automated]

/me go's off to install on test Board!

[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: 


[PaulBearer2k]

Your a Great Man..Thank You.

[N9ne]

Is there a way to space out the icons in the postbit? Because I am a champion of 2 games, so they icons are right next to each other...

[TheComputerGuy]

I love this hack, but appearently the games are not loading for me or my users...templates work great, and I know the games are there...

[Ember]

They not loading, or not showing?

If they're not showing, then make sure you turn all the games "on" in the admin CP.

If they're not loading, then change the url to "games" instead of "games/" - I think thats how I fixed it.