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!

[Erwin]

Today at 09:10 AM Oricon said this in Post #1050



So no help out there? I'd really like to get this working. My memebrs have requested it several times.

Make sure you've installed the templates.

[dstruct2k]

I've had a problem with the arcade, and I just installed it. It runs fine... (With a few "visual" errors, it seems to use the same color for everything on the default vB2.3.0 style) But my scores won't save. I scanned this thread quickly, and apparently only one other person had this problem, but he fixed it by reformatting. I'm not prepared to do that.

Anyone with information on why this doesn't work? I ran every query, and installed every template using the Template Backup System. (The TBS is faster for multi-style installations)

Site: http://focalpoint.tk/
Username for test user: tester
Password for test user: [color={firstaltcolor}]demo1[/color] (I hid it, highlite to read it)

Thanks for your time!

Direct link to arcade

[Erwin]

Make sure you use IE 5.5 or higher to make sure it saves the score.

[Dan]

I did i triple checked the templates and still am having problems. The page shows up white everytime I try to goto the main arcade page

[dstruct2k]

Today at 05:53 PM Erwin said this in Post #1053
Make sure you use IE 5.5 or higher to make sure it saves the score.

Would IE 6-XP work? I know it does, I can play games at the MidiBuddy arcade.

[edit]I've fixed my test-login user. Sorry about that![/edit]

[dstruct2k]

Someone take a look at this, tell me what they think. I edited a score that was in the highscore table, but not "validated". phpMyAdmin can work wonders!

[dstruct2k]

I am so badly ruined by this hack... Something is not right. Anyone that knows what they're doing and wants to help, PM me and I'll hook you up with a temporary admin account.

I need this hack to work soon!

[Strider Xero]

The games aren't loading for some reason. I just get a blank box where the game is supposed to be...why?! I have the latest version of Flash and don't have a problem viewing Flash on other sites...why isn't it showing up? Check it out:

http://www.xeroanime.com/forums/proarcade.php

[Zelda-King]

Talking of that, Tetris worked fine on my board until yesterday when suddenly it wouldn't load until I changed the name of it. It just stopped accepting the name 'Tetris'.

That blank box problem of yours. I had it when I installed. I'd uploaded the files. It didn't work. I went to check if the arcade was active, etc (which it was)... then for some reason I just went back to the arcades and they've worked fine since (except the matter about Tetris).

[Strider Xero]

It's ok i've figured it out. I was wondering about Breakout.