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This page is a tutorial on how Flashpoint works, and how to curate games to add to Flashpoint.
This page is a basic tutorial on how Flashpoint works and how to curate games for addition to Flashpoint.


For more advanced platform-specific tutorials, see [[Platforms]].
Additionally, please read the [[Curation Format]] page for a more detailed explanation on what a curation should look like before submitting.


For more details on how to package a curation, see [[Curation Format]].
If you would like an overview, check out this '''video tutorial''': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im7tlzhd4fg


== How Flashpoint Works ==
== How Flashpoint Works ==
[[File:HowFlashpointRedirects.png|thumb|A diagram showing how Flashpoint's technology works.]]
Flashpoint is more than just a program to play files; rather, it's a combination of two programs working in parallel:
 
* a '''web server''', which hosts game files from an internal or external drive and pretends to be the original Internet source the games ran off of,
Flashpoint is more than just a program to play files. Rather, it's a combination of three programs working in parallel:
* a '''web server''', which hosts game files from a hard drive and pretends to be the original Internet source the games ran off of;
* a '''Redirector''', which points the game files and resources to the server to make them believe they're on the Internet;
* and a '''launcher''', the user interface to select and play games from.
* and a '''launcher''', the user interface to select and play games from.


All versions of Flashpoint use these programs, but Flashpoint itself also comes in three primary versions:  
Flashpoint itself also comes in three primary versions:  
* '''Infinity''', the version that downloads games from a server as you play them;
* '''Infinity''', the version that downloads games and animations from a server as you play or view them,
* '''Ultimate''', the gigantic version with every game included and ready for offline play;
* '''Ultimate''', the gigantic version with every game and animation included and ready for offline play and viewing,
* and '''Core''', the version with only a few games for testing, most often used by Curators to add games.
* and '''Core''', the version with only a few games for testing, most often used by Curators to add games.


Infinity will download files as you play games that request them, while Ultimate and Core know the files are already there. All three make the files believe they're being ran on their original source. This has numerous benefits, the two most important being supporting '''multi-asset''' games, and bypassing '''sitelocks'''. For now, though, let's walk through curating a single-asset SWF file.
Infinity will download files as you play games that request them, while Ultimate and Core know the files are already there. All three make the files believe they're being ran on their original source. This has numerous benefits, the two most important being bypassing '''sitelocks''' and supporting '''multi-asset''' games. Before we understand how Flashpoint handles those cases, though, let's walk through the simplest case possible; curating a single-asset SWF file.


== Setting Up Our Software ==
== Setting Up Our Software ==


To download game files from the Internet, you'll need:
To download game files from the Internet, you'll need:
* Flashpoint Core, used to add and test new games.
* Flashpoint Core, used to add and test new games. It can be found at the bottom of our [https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/downloads/ Downloads] page. '''DO NOT''' use Flashpoint Infinity to curate.
* A modern browser such as Chrome or Firefox, which have a built in Network monitor that we can use to find and grab individual SWFs, and sometimes multi-asset titles with low amounts of resources.
* A modern browser such as Chrome or Firefox, which have a built in Network monitor that we can use to find and grab individual SWFs, and sometimes multi-asset titles with low amounts of resources.
* cURLsDownloader, found in the Utilities folder of the Flashpoint Core directory. This isn't strictly necessary, but it helps immensely; you'll see why later on.


There are more tools that you can use, but since we're not dealing with multi-asset games yet, we'll just use these two for now. Download Flashpoint Core, extract it to your hard drive, run it via its shortcut in the extracted folder, and make sure that the included games play properly before you continue.
Download Flashpoint Core, extract it to an internal or external drive, run it via its shortcut in the extracted folder, and make sure that the included games play properly before you continue.


== Grabbing Our First Game From The Internet ==
== Finding the Source of a Flash Game ==
[[File:SWFAssetInChrome.png|thumb|The SWF for Interactive Buddy in Chrome's network tab; it should look similar on Firefox.]]
'''Be sure to check the [[Game Master List]], [[Not Accepted Curations]] and the Curations channels in the [https://discord.gg/S9uJ794 Flashpoint Discord server] before settling on a game! Otherwise, you might waste time and effort to save a game that's already been saved.'''


As a tutorial, we'll start by curating the simplest type of curation for beginners; a single SWF file that isn't sitelocked, specifically [https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/218014 Interactive Buddy]. You might need to enable Flash in your browser to get it to play (this tutorial won't work if you're using another Flash player such as the Newgrounds Player).
As a tutorial, we'll start by curating the simplest type of Flash game: a single SWF file that isn't sitelocked, specifically [https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/218014 Interactive Buddy]. You might need to enable Flash in your browser to get it to play (this tutorial won't work if you're using another player such as the Newgrounds Player).


[[File:SWFAssetInChrome.png|thumb|The SWF for Interactive Buddy in Chrome's network tab; it should look similar on Firefox.]]
* If you're using Chrome or Firefox, press F12 to open the Developer Tools and click on the Network tab. This shows us every asset that loads on the page in real time.  
If you're using Chrome or Firefox, press F12 to open the Developer Tools and click the Network tab. This shows us every asset that loads on the page in real time. You can filter miscellaneous types of assets such as Flash files by clicking the Other tab within the Network tab. Refresh the page, and you'll likely find a few assets, but the game file has an extension of '''.swf''', and has a type of x-shockwave-flash in the table. Once you find the SWF, you can hover over it to see its URL and confirm that it ends in .swf. Right click the asset in the table and click Copy > Copy link address.
* You can filter miscellaneous types of assets such as Flash files by clicking the Other tab within the Network tab.  
* Refresh the page to find that a few assets loaded. The game file has an extension of '''.swf''', and has a type of x-shockwave-flash in the table.  
* Once you find the SWF, you can hover over it to see its URL and confirm that it ends in .swf.  
* Right-click the asset and select Copy > Copy link address.
 
If you know your game is Flash but still can't get it to work, check the [[Flash Curation]] page for more detailed info on specifically Flash games. If all else fails, ask away in #curator-lounge on our Discord and we'll try to solve the issue together.
 
=== Other Methods for Obtaining Game Source URLs ===


You can continue in a variety of ways, but it's best to learn manual curation for single-assets before moving on. To do that, paste your URL into a new tab and download the Interactive Buddy SWF. Don't rename it, and save it in any location for now.
If you're having a hard time finding the game's source this way, or just desire a more convenient method, two additional options are available.


[[File:FolderContents.png|thumb|A sample of what a completed curation folder looks like.]]
'''Option 1:''' <s>Use the [[Game Saver Extension|Game Saver Chrome Extension]] to save Flash game files automatically. After you do this, you can skip directly to the [[#Curating with Flashpoint Core|Curating with Flashpoint Core]] section.</s> '''The Game Saver Extension currently does not work due to the killswitch. Ruffle support is being worked on.'''  
Setting up any curation takes more than a game file; as shown on the right, it involves several things, but we want to pay attention to the first two in particular:
* The '''content''' folder, which contains a series of folders leading to our SWF;
* and the '''meta.txt''', containing metadata used both to distinguish one curation from another and for informative purposes.


Open Notepad or another text editor and create a new file named meta.txt. This will contain many fields to fill out about your game, but these are the most important ones:
'''Option 2:''' Press Ctrl+U on the page the game is embedded on to open its source HTML file. Press Ctrl+F to open the search bar, then type in ".swf". You'll likely come across a link directly to the game's SWF source file., which you can copy and save for later.
* The title, which tells the game apart from others. Name it "Interactive Buddy" or "Test Game" or anything you like, it doesn't matter right now.
* The Platform, which determines where the game goes inside our database, split into several platforms (Flash, Shockwave, Unity, etc). When using Core for testing purposes, this isn't massively important, but Flash is selected for SWF files and by default.
* The Application Path. This determines what piece of software is used to start up the file we specify. In this case we're using a single, simple SWF, so we'll use the Flash Player Projector; in the current version of Core, this is listed as "FPSoftware\Flash\flashplayer_32_sa.exe", so use that.
* The Launch Command, based on the URL of the game's source file.


Here's the link to the SWF for Interactive Buddy:
'''Be careful of red herring SWFs!''' Use common sense when finding SWFs this way, as some pages may embed multiple SWFs at once, only one of which is the actual game file. Kongregate games notoriously use a <code>konduit</code> SWF instead of the game's source SWF within the HTML embed, making it impossible to find the link using this method.


https://uploads.ungrounded.net/218000/218014_DAbuddy_latest.swf?123
'''Option 3:''' Open Developer Tools, but instead of clicking on the Network tab, click on the Elements tab instead. Use Ctrl+F just like with Option 1 to find and copy the link to the game's source file. This is useful when neither of the above options work, especially when attempting to find [https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/datahub/Flash_Curation#Flashvars flashvars.]
=== Non-Flash Games ===


We need to create a Launch Command inside our fake internet for our Flashpoint Core to load in the same way as a URL, so let's put one together, piece by piece.
If a context menu that mentions Adobe Flash Player doesn't appear when right clicking the game canvas, it's probably not a Flash game. Don't worry, we got you covered! Try viewing our tutorials specifically tailored for other [[Platforms]] like Shockwave or HTML5.


First of all, '''be extremely careful''' about the beginning of the URL; it uses HTTPS instead of HTTP. Flashpoint can't handle using HTTPS, and will download assets from the live Internet instead of from its fake Internet server, which can lead to a game going off the web later and not working in Flashpoint when that happens. To summarize, '''always use http:// at the beginning of a Launch Command, NO EXCEPTIONS.'''
== Generating Content Folders with cURLsDownloader ==


http://
If you've followed the tutorial up to this point, you should have copied this link to the SWF for Interactive Buddy:


After that comes the primary domain of the URL, which is in this case uploads.ungrounded.net;
https://uploads.ungrounded.net/218000/218014_DAbuddy_latest.swf?123


http://uploads.ungrounded.net
Flashpoint calls files from a file directory created from the URL of a game, packaged into a folder called '''content''' for each curation. Instead of creating a content folder manually, though, we can use a tool called cURLsDownloader to do it automatically.


Every slash (/) after http:// and the primary domain represents the beginning of a subdomain, eventually leading to our SWF. The next subdomain here is 218000;
* cURLsDownloader should be in your Flashpoint Core folder > Utilities > cURLsDownloader.
* Open cURLsDownloader and paste your game URL into its input.
* Select Option 1 to grab the SWF file.
* cURLsDownloader will automatically download the SWF and create a content folder for Flashpoint, located in its Downloads folder. Use option 1 when finished if it detects a broken filename, which will very likely fix it.


http://uploads.ungrounded.net/218000
We'll come back to this Downloads folder later to move it to its proper place.


Finally, the subdomain 218000 contains our SWF file;
== Curating with Flashpoint Core ==


http://uploads.ungrounded.net/218000/218014_DAbuddy_latest.swf
[[File:LaunchCommandMatchesContent.png|thumb|What your curation should look like when you're finished. Note how the Launch Command matches the Content Files. For details on the other fields see the [[Curation_Format#List_of_Metadata_Fields|Curation Format page]] ]]
The expected way to curate is to use the '''Curate Tab''' in Flashpoint Core. First, take a look at our [[Curate Tab|visual Curate Tab guide]]. Next, open Core and select the Curate tab, then click the New Curation button to see a list of fields to fill in. These are the most important ones:
* The Title, which tells the game apart from others. Name it "Interactive Buddy" or "Test Game" or anything you like, it doesn't matter right now.
* The Platform, which determines where the game goes inside our database, split into several platforms (Flash, Shockwave, Unity, etc). When using Core for testing purposes, this isn't massively important, but Flash is selected for SWF files and by default.
* The Application Path. This determines what piece of software is used to start up the file we specify. In this case we're using a single, simple SWF, so we'll use the Flash Player Projector; in the current version of Core, this is listed as "FPSoftware\Flash\flashplayer_32_sa.exe", and is selected by default.
* The Launch Command, based on the URL of the game's source file.


This is a complete Launch Command telling Flashpoint where to find our game. To summarize, the Launch Command of a game is most often the URL of its source file, '''but always using http:// instead of https://'''.
To summarize, the Launch Command of a game is most often the URL of its source file. However, '''be extremely careful''' about the beginning of this game's URL; it uses HTTPS instead of HTTP. Flashpoint can't handle using HTTPS, and will download assets from the live Internet instead of from its fake Internet server, which can lead to a game going off the web later and not working in Flashpoint when that happens. To summarize, '''no matter the URL, always use http:// at the beginning of any Launch Command, NO EXCEPTIONS.'''


In your meta.txt, write your metadata fields something like this:
To add the content you generated earlier using cURLsDownloader, click the "Open Folder" button at the bottom of your curation and you should see a "content" folder. Move all of the folders from cURLsDownloader's "Downloads" folder into this "content" folder, and then click the "Refresh Content" button.
Title: Interactive Buddy
Platform: Flash
Application Path: FPSoftware\Flash\flashplayer_32_sa.exe
Launch Command: http://uploads.ungrounded.net/218000/218014_DAbuddy_latest.swf


Again, there will eventually be more metadata fields in your curation, but these ensure the game will work in Flashpoint.
Take a look at the image to the right to see how your tutorial curation should look. If any field is highlighted in yellow, it's a warning; take another look at your own curation and see what's wrong. Curations of your own should have as much metadata filled in as possible, but the fields mentioned above ensure the game will work in Flashpoint. You can fill in the rest of the fields if you like, but it's not necessary right now.


[[File:ContentStructure.png|thumb|An example of how your content folder should be laid out within your curation.]]
Once you're confident your curation looks good, click the "Run" button next to the "Open Folder" button to test the game and you should see Interactive Buddy pop up.
Now it's time to create your content folder. Create a new folder named "content" (in lowercase). The subfolders within this folder are named after the main domain, then each subdomain of the Launch Command, until you get to the SWF itself. In this case, create a folder named uploads.ungrounded.net inside content. Go into that folder and create another named 218000, then move the SWF you downloaded earlier into the 218000 folder.


== Curating with Flashpoint Core==
=== Using MAD4FP ===


Once you've created both your meta.txt and content folder, put them in the same folder and name it whatever you like. Open Flashpoint Core and click the Curate tab. Click "Import Folder" and go to the folder you just created, then click "Import All". Flashpoint will automatically add your curation unless you've made an error with your Application Path or Launch Command. Go to the Games tab, double-click your game to test it, and you should see Interactive Buddy pop up.  
MAD4FP (Multi-Asset Downloader for Flashpoint) has recently been integrated into Core 8.2 and higher and allows for automatically downloading game assets. It can download content files directly into your curation's content folder and create the proper folder structure automatically. For more information, see [[MAD4FP]].


Congrats! You've successfully made a curation. Now let's see how to deal with more complex games.
Congrats! You've successfully made a curation. Now let's see how to deal with more complex games.
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== Sitelocks ==
== Sitelocks ==
[[File:AndkonSitelock.png|thumb|The sitelock telling you to go to Andkon Arcade, despite the game already being on Andkon Arcade.]]
[[File:AndkonSitelock.png|thumb|The sitelock telling you to go to Andkon Arcade, despite the game already being on Andkon Arcade.]]
Some Flash games will check the domain the game is being hosted on, and "lock" the game from being played if it's not on the correct site, called a sitelock. This can even occur, though very rarely, to the original site the game was hosted on, as is the case with [http://andkon.com/arcade/adventureaction/monsterslayers/ Monster Slayers]. Click this link and try to play the game; your result will be the image on the right. Despite the game already being hosted on andkon.com, it'll activate its sitelock and tell you to go to Andkon Arcade. Try to find and download the SWF using the method described in the previous section.
Some Flash games will check the domain the game is being hosted on, and "lock" the game from being played if it's not on the correct site, called a sitelock.  
 
This can even occur, though very rarely, on the original site where the game was hosted, as is the case with [http://andkon.com/arcade/adventureaction/monsterslayers/ Monster Slayers]. Click this link and try to play the game; your result will be the image on the right. Despite the game already being hosted on andkon.com, it'll activate its sitelock and tell you to go to Andkon Arcade. Try to find and download the SWF using the method described in the previous section.


You should find this source URL:
You should find this source URL:
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This particular URL uses http:// instead of https://, but '''always make sure the Launch Command uses http://''' regardless.
This particular URL uses http:// instead of https://, but '''always make sure the Launch Command uses http://''' regardless.


You can use a different curation folder or the same one as before, but make sure to use this correct Launch Command. Import your curation into Core again and test your game; Flashpoint should bypass the sitelock and allow you to play the game as Andkon once did.
Try to create a new curation by downloading the SWF from the top URL using cURLsDownloader, and setting the bottom URL as the Launch Command. Use the Curate tab in Flashpoint Core to test your game; Flashpoint should bypass the sitelock and allow you to play Monster Slayers, just like Andkon used to.


It's important to use correct Launch Commands and proper content folders for every curation you make (even if you're curating a non-sitelocked SWF), to ensure that all the game's assets are loaded exactly as they would be on the real Internet, without running into any possible sitelocks on the way (even if the game appears to be playable outside of Flashpoint).
It's important to use correct Launch Commands and proper content folders for every curation you make (even if you're curating a non-sitelocked SWF), to ensure that all the game's assets are loaded exactly as they would be on the real Internet, without running into any possible sitelocks on the way (even if the game appears to be playable outside of Flashpoint).


== Using cURLs Downloader for Multi-Asset Games ==
== Using cURLsDownloader for Multi-Asset Games ==


Up until now, we've only curated single-asset SWF files. However, many games were made at a time where downloading one large file was a large pain, and so games were split into several, smaller assets. Whether these games load all of the assets at once or if they load assets as you play the game depends on how they were programmed, making curation of multi-asset games more difficult than single-assets.  
Up until now, we've only curated single-asset SWF files. However, many web games were made at a time where downloading one large file was intensive on Internet speeds and took longer than it should. This meant lots of games were split into several, smaller assets so the overall game loaded faster. Whether these games load all of the assets when the game first starts up or intermittently as you play the game depends on how they were programmed, making curation of multi-asset games more difficult than single-assets.


If while testing a seemingly single-asset game, you get stuck when you should clearly be able to continue, check the Redirector window for anything labeled (404 Not Found). This means the game was calling for one or more assets that it didn't have offline, making the game freeze because it failed to load a required assset. Thankfully, Flashpoint can handle these assets as long as they're downloaded properly.  
Let's check out a multi-asset game called [https://www.kongregate.com/games/struma/gateway-ii Gateway II]. Here's the link to the main SWF of the game:
https://chat.kongregate.com/gamez/0000/3268/live/gateway_2.swf?kongregate_game_version=1581667106
Try curating this SWF as described above and testing it in Flashpoint with the Run button. You'll only get to the language select screen before the game freezes once you pick one.  


Instead of manually downloading lots of assets, this time we'll use a program called cURLs Downloader.
Select the Logs tab in Flashpoint.  Find the Filters menu in the top-left corner and uncheck everything except "Redirector", then look near the bottom of the log. You should see a line with "200 HTTP/1.1" followed by a directory to the main SWF, followed by one or more lines with "404 HTTP/1.1" followed by directories to additional assets.


'''Option 1:''' Download assets called by the game as you test it in Flashpoint Core.
This means the game was calling for one or more assets that it didn't have offline, making the game freeze because it failed to load a required asset. Thankfully, Flashpoint can handle these assets as long as they're downloaded properly.  
* cURLs Downloader should be in your Flashpoint Core folder > Utilities > cURLsDownloader.
* In the Redirector, select Copy > Copy all 404 Not Found URLs and paste the results into a text file.
* Save the text file and drag it over cURLs Downloader.
* Wait for cURLs Downloader to finish fetching assets. Use option 1 when finished if it detects broken filenames, which will very likely fix them.
* Copy the contents of the Downloads folder in cURLs Downloader to a new content folder.
* Delete your old curation and re-import with the new content. Test your game and repeat if the game 404s on additional assets.


'''Option 2:''' Download all the assets the source page of a game loads as you play it on the live Internet (but some assets downloaded won't be part of the game).
Once again, instead of manually downloading lots of assets, we can use cURLsDownloader to save time and effort.
* Once again, open the Network viewer and refresh the page.
 
* When you're confident you've loaded all a game's assets on its original Internet source, click the "All" tab in the Network viewer this time and right-click on an asset.  
'''Option 1:''' Download the assets called by the game as you test it in Flashpoint Core.
* Select Copy > Copy all as cURL (cmd) and paste the results into a text file.  
# Click the Copy Text button in the top-right of the Logs tab.
* Save the text file and drag it over cURLs Downloader.
# Paste the results into a text file and remove every line except for ones beginning with "404 HTTP/1.1". Remove that section from each line along with anything before it such as timestamps, then add "http://" to the beginning of each line.
* Wait for cURLs Downloader to finish fetching assets. Use option 1 when finished if it detects broken filenames, which will very likely fix them.
# Save the text file and drag it over cURLsDownloader.
* Open the Downloads folder in cURLs downloader and determine which folder contains the necessary files to play the game.
# Wait for cURLsDownloader to finish fetching assets. Use option 1 when finished if it detects broken filenames, which will very likely fix them.
* Copy the contents of your chosen folder in cURLs Downloader to a new content folder.
# Move the contents of the Downloads folder in cURLsDownloader to the content folder of your curation.
* Delete your old curation and re-import with the new content. Test your game.
# Test your game with the Run button. If anything fails to work as it should, look for more lines beginning with "404 HTTP/1.1" in the Logs tab and repeat this process.
 
'''Option 2:''' Download all the assets that the source page of a game loads as you play it on the live Internet (but some assets downloaded won't be part of the game).
# Once again, press F12 to open your browser's Network viewer, then refresh the page.
# Play through your game on the Internet, loading assets as you go.
# When you're confident you've loaded all of the game's assets, click the "All" tab in the Network viewer and right-click on an asset.  
# Select Copy > Copy all as cURL (cmd) and paste the results into a text file.  
# Save the text file and drag it over cURLsDownloader.
# Wait for cURLsDownloader to finish fetching assets. Use option 1 when finished if it detects broken filenames, which will very likely fix them.
# Open the Downloads folder in cURLsDownloader and determine which folder contains the necessary files to play the game.
# Move the contents of your chosen folder to the content folder of your curation.
# Test your game with the "Run" button.


When testing games, if a game lets you get through more than one level without loading another asset, you'll ''generally'' be okay to assume that there's no more assets to be found, but this is never a guarantee, and you should always test your game in Flashpoint as much as you can.
When testing games, if a game lets you get through more than one level without loading another asset, you'll ''generally'' be okay to assume that there's no more assets to be found, but this is never a guarantee, and you should always test your game in Flashpoint as much as you can.


== Wrapping It Up ==
== Wrapping It Up ==
Try curating your own game now that you know about curation. '''Be sure to check the [[Game Master List]] before curating!''' Otherwise, you might waste time and effort to save a game that's already been saved.


If you think your game might not be a Flash game, try viewing the tutorials for other [[Platforms]] like Shockwave or HTML5. If you know your game is Flash but still can't get it to work, check the [[Flash Curation]] page for more detailed info on specifically Flash games. If all else fails, ask away in #curator-lounge on our Discord and we'll try to solve the issue together.
Once you're sure you've gotten a game working in Flashpoint, it's time to add the additional parts of any curation. The [[Curation Format]] page tells you how curations are laid out in order to add it to the master build of Flashpoint with as much information as possible. '''You should read the [[Curation Format#List of Metadata Fields|List of Metadata Fields]] section specifically; there are more than a few fields that need to be filled in on each curation this tutorial didn't specifically cover.'''
 
'''Note:''' Any save game data will not be included in your curation
 
When you've created a proper curation in the Curate tab, click the "Export" button at the bottom of your curation, which will save a .7z archive of the curation ready to be imported into the master build. Name it something relevant (typically the name of the game), and save it wherever you'll remember it.


Once you're sure you've gotten a game working in Flashpoint, it's time to add the additional parts of any curation. The [[Curation Format]] page tells you how curations are laid out in order to add it to the master build of Flashpoint with as much information as possible. Once you have a proper curation ready, follow these steps to make sure it gets added to Flashpoint:
Once you have your .7z ready, follow these instructions to make sure it gets added to Flashpoint:


{{:Submitting a Curation}}
{{:Submitting a Curation}}
Congratulations! Your submitted game/animation will appear in the next version of Flashpoint.
==After Submitting==
{{:After Submitting}}
<noinclude>
[[Category:Curation Guides]]
</noinclude>

Revision as of 20:42, 4 June 2021

This page is a basic tutorial on how Flashpoint works and how to curate games for addition to Flashpoint.

Additionally, please read the Curation Format page for a more detailed explanation on what a curation should look like before submitting.

If you would like an overview, check out this video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im7tlzhd4fg

How Flashpoint Works

Flashpoint is more than just a program to play files; rather, it's a combination of two programs working in parallel:

  • a web server, which hosts game files from an internal or external drive and pretends to be the original Internet source the games ran off of,
  • and a launcher, the user interface to select and play games from.

Flashpoint itself also comes in three primary versions:

  • Infinity, the version that downloads games and animations from a server as you play or view them,
  • Ultimate, the gigantic version with every game and animation included and ready for offline play and viewing,
  • and Core, the version with only a few games for testing, most often used by Curators to add games.

Infinity will download files as you play games that request them, while Ultimate and Core know the files are already there. All three make the files believe they're being ran on their original source. This has numerous benefits, the two most important being bypassing sitelocks and supporting multi-asset games. Before we understand how Flashpoint handles those cases, though, let's walk through the simplest case possible; curating a single-asset SWF file.

Setting Up Our Software

To download game files from the Internet, you'll need:

  • Flashpoint Core, used to add and test new games. It can be found at the bottom of our Downloads page. DO NOT use Flashpoint Infinity to curate.
  • A modern browser such as Chrome or Firefox, which have a built in Network monitor that we can use to find and grab individual SWFs, and sometimes multi-asset titles with low amounts of resources.
  • cURLsDownloader, found in the Utilities folder of the Flashpoint Core directory. This isn't strictly necessary, but it helps immensely; you'll see why later on.

Download Flashpoint Core, extract it to an internal or external drive, run it via its shortcut in the extracted folder, and make sure that the included games play properly before you continue.

Finding the Source of a Flash Game

The SWF for Interactive Buddy in Chrome's network tab; it should look similar on Firefox.

Be sure to check the Game Master List, Not Accepted Curations and the Curations channels in the Flashpoint Discord server before settling on a game! Otherwise, you might waste time and effort to save a game that's already been saved.

As a tutorial, we'll start by curating the simplest type of Flash game: a single SWF file that isn't sitelocked, specifically Interactive Buddy. You might need to enable Flash in your browser to get it to play (this tutorial won't work if you're using another player such as the Newgrounds Player).

  • If you're using Chrome or Firefox, press F12 to open the Developer Tools and click on the Network tab. This shows us every asset that loads on the page in real time.
  • You can filter miscellaneous types of assets such as Flash files by clicking the Other tab within the Network tab.
  • Refresh the page to find that a few assets loaded. The game file has an extension of .swf, and has a type of x-shockwave-flash in the table.
  • Once you find the SWF, you can hover over it to see its URL and confirm that it ends in .swf.
  • Right-click the asset and select Copy > Copy link address.

If you know your game is Flash but still can't get it to work, check the Flash Curation page for more detailed info on specifically Flash games. If all else fails, ask away in #curator-lounge on our Discord and we'll try to solve the issue together.

Other Methods for Obtaining Game Source URLs

If you're having a hard time finding the game's source this way, or just desire a more convenient method, two additional options are available.

Option 1: Use the Game Saver Chrome Extension to save Flash game files automatically. After you do this, you can skip directly to the Curating with Flashpoint Core section. The Game Saver Extension currently does not work due to the killswitch. Ruffle support is being worked on.

Option 2: Press Ctrl+U on the page the game is embedded on to open its source HTML file. Press Ctrl+F to open the search bar, then type in ".swf". You'll likely come across a link directly to the game's SWF source file., which you can copy and save for later.

Be careful of red herring SWFs! Use common sense when finding SWFs this way, as some pages may embed multiple SWFs at once, only one of which is the actual game file. Kongregate games notoriously use a konduit SWF instead of the game's source SWF within the HTML embed, making it impossible to find the link using this method.

Option 3: Open Developer Tools, but instead of clicking on the Network tab, click on the Elements tab instead. Use Ctrl+F just like with Option 1 to find and copy the link to the game's source file. This is useful when neither of the above options work, especially when attempting to find flashvars.

Non-Flash Games

If a context menu that mentions Adobe Flash Player doesn't appear when right clicking the game canvas, it's probably not a Flash game. Don't worry, we got you covered! Try viewing our tutorials specifically tailored for other Platforms like Shockwave or HTML5.

Generating Content Folders with cURLsDownloader

If you've followed the tutorial up to this point, you should have copied this link to the SWF for Interactive Buddy:

https://uploads.ungrounded.net/218000/218014_DAbuddy_latest.swf?123

Flashpoint calls files from a file directory created from the URL of a game, packaged into a folder called content for each curation. Instead of creating a content folder manually, though, we can use a tool called cURLsDownloader to do it automatically.

  • cURLsDownloader should be in your Flashpoint Core folder > Utilities > cURLsDownloader.
  • Open cURLsDownloader and paste your game URL into its input.
  • Select Option 1 to grab the SWF file.
  • cURLsDownloader will automatically download the SWF and create a content folder for Flashpoint, located in its Downloads folder. Use option 1 when finished if it detects a broken filename, which will very likely fix it.

We'll come back to this Downloads folder later to move it to its proper place.

Curating with Flashpoint Core

What your curation should look like when you're finished. Note how the Launch Command matches the Content Files. For details on the other fields see the Curation Format page

The expected way to curate is to use the Curate Tab in Flashpoint Core. First, take a look at our visual Curate Tab guide. Next, open Core and select the Curate tab, then click the New Curation button to see a list of fields to fill in. These are the most important ones:

  • The Title, which tells the game apart from others. Name it "Interactive Buddy" or "Test Game" or anything you like, it doesn't matter right now.
  • The Platform, which determines where the game goes inside our database, split into several platforms (Flash, Shockwave, Unity, etc). When using Core for testing purposes, this isn't massively important, but Flash is selected for SWF files and by default.
  • The Application Path. This determines what piece of software is used to start up the file we specify. In this case we're using a single, simple SWF, so we'll use the Flash Player Projector; in the current version of Core, this is listed as "FPSoftware\Flash\flashplayer_32_sa.exe", and is selected by default.
  • The Launch Command, based on the URL of the game's source file.

To summarize, the Launch Command of a game is most often the URL of its source file. However, be extremely careful about the beginning of this game's URL; it uses HTTPS instead of HTTP. Flashpoint can't handle using HTTPS, and will download assets from the live Internet instead of from its fake Internet server, which can lead to a game going off the web later and not working in Flashpoint when that happens. To summarize, no matter the URL, always use http:// at the beginning of any Launch Command, NO EXCEPTIONS.

To add the content you generated earlier using cURLsDownloader, click the "Open Folder" button at the bottom of your curation and you should see a "content" folder. Move all of the folders from cURLsDownloader's "Downloads" folder into this "content" folder, and then click the "Refresh Content" button.

Take a look at the image to the right to see how your tutorial curation should look. If any field is highlighted in yellow, it's a warning; take another look at your own curation and see what's wrong. Curations of your own should have as much metadata filled in as possible, but the fields mentioned above ensure the game will work in Flashpoint. You can fill in the rest of the fields if you like, but it's not necessary right now.

Once you're confident your curation looks good, click the "Run" button next to the "Open Folder" button to test the game and you should see Interactive Buddy pop up.

Using MAD4FP

MAD4FP (Multi-Asset Downloader for Flashpoint) has recently been integrated into Core 8.2 and higher and allows for automatically downloading game assets. It can download content files directly into your curation's content folder and create the proper folder structure automatically. For more information, see MAD4FP.

Congrats! You've successfully made a curation. Now let's see how to deal with more complex games.

Sitelocks

The sitelock telling you to go to Andkon Arcade, despite the game already being on Andkon Arcade.

Some Flash games will check the domain the game is being hosted on, and "lock" the game from being played if it's not on the correct site, called a sitelock.

This can even occur, though very rarely, on the original site where the game was hosted, as is the case with Monster Slayers. Click this link and try to play the game; your result will be the image on the right. Despite the game already being hosted on andkon.com, it'll activate its sitelock and tell you to go to Andkon Arcade. Try to find and download the SWF using the method described in the previous section.

You should find this source URL:

http://andkon.com/arcade/adventureaction/monsterslayers/monsterslayers.swf

This ironic sitelock is due to Andkon's main domain changing to "andkon.com", when it used to be "arcade.andkon.com". Therefore, changing the "andkon.com" in the URL to "arcade.andkon.com" will give us a Launch Command that bypasses the sitelock:

http://arcade.andkon.com/arcade/adventureaction/monsterslayers/monsterslayers.swf

This particular URL uses http:// instead of https://, but always make sure the Launch Command uses http:// regardless.

Try to create a new curation by downloading the SWF from the top URL using cURLsDownloader, and setting the bottom URL as the Launch Command. Use the Curate tab in Flashpoint Core to test your game; Flashpoint should bypass the sitelock and allow you to play Monster Slayers, just like Andkon used to.

It's important to use correct Launch Commands and proper content folders for every curation you make (even if you're curating a non-sitelocked SWF), to ensure that all the game's assets are loaded exactly as they would be on the real Internet, without running into any possible sitelocks on the way (even if the game appears to be playable outside of Flashpoint).

Using cURLsDownloader for Multi-Asset Games

Up until now, we've only curated single-asset SWF files. However, many web games were made at a time where downloading one large file was intensive on Internet speeds and took longer than it should. This meant lots of games were split into several, smaller assets so the overall game loaded faster. Whether these games load all of the assets when the game first starts up or intermittently as you play the game depends on how they were programmed, making curation of multi-asset games more difficult than single-assets.

Let's check out a multi-asset game called Gateway II. Here's the link to the main SWF of the game:

https://chat.kongregate.com/gamez/0000/3268/live/gateway_2.swf?kongregate_game_version=1581667106

Try curating this SWF as described above and testing it in Flashpoint with the Run button. You'll only get to the language select screen before the game freezes once you pick one.

Select the Logs tab in Flashpoint. Find the Filters menu in the top-left corner and uncheck everything except "Redirector", then look near the bottom of the log. You should see a line with "200 HTTP/1.1" followed by a directory to the main SWF, followed by one or more lines with "404 HTTP/1.1" followed by directories to additional assets.

This means the game was calling for one or more assets that it didn't have offline, making the game freeze because it failed to load a required asset. Thankfully, Flashpoint can handle these assets as long as they're downloaded properly.

Once again, instead of manually downloading lots of assets, we can use cURLsDownloader to save time and effort.

Option 1: Download the assets called by the game as you test it in Flashpoint Core.

  1. Click the Copy Text button in the top-right of the Logs tab.
  2. Paste the results into a text file and remove every line except for ones beginning with "404 HTTP/1.1". Remove that section from each line along with anything before it such as timestamps, then add "http://" to the beginning of each line.
  3. Save the text file and drag it over cURLsDownloader.
  4. Wait for cURLsDownloader to finish fetching assets. Use option 1 when finished if it detects broken filenames, which will very likely fix them.
  5. Move the contents of the Downloads folder in cURLsDownloader to the content folder of your curation.
  6. Test your game with the Run button. If anything fails to work as it should, look for more lines beginning with "404 HTTP/1.1" in the Logs tab and repeat this process.

Option 2: Download all the assets that the source page of a game loads as you play it on the live Internet (but some assets downloaded won't be part of the game).

  1. Once again, press F12 to open your browser's Network viewer, then refresh the page.
  2. Play through your game on the Internet, loading assets as you go.
  3. When you're confident you've loaded all of the game's assets, click the "All" tab in the Network viewer and right-click on an asset.
  4. Select Copy > Copy all as cURL (cmd) and paste the results into a text file.
  5. Save the text file and drag it over cURLsDownloader.
  6. Wait for cURLsDownloader to finish fetching assets. Use option 1 when finished if it detects broken filenames, which will very likely fix them.
  7. Open the Downloads folder in cURLsDownloader and determine which folder contains the necessary files to play the game.
  8. Move the contents of your chosen folder to the content folder of your curation.
  9. Test your game with the "Run" button.

When testing games, if a game lets you get through more than one level without loading another asset, you'll generally be okay to assume that there's no more assets to be found, but this is never a guarantee, and you should always test your game in Flashpoint as much as you can.

Wrapping It Up

Once you're sure you've gotten a game working in Flashpoint, it's time to add the additional parts of any curation. The Curation Format page tells you how curations are laid out in order to add it to the master build of Flashpoint with as much information as possible. You should read the List of Metadata Fields section specifically; there are more than a few fields that need to be filled in on each curation this tutorial didn't specifically cover.

Note: Any save game data will not be included in your curation

When you've created a proper curation in the Curate tab, click the "Export" button at the bottom of your curation, which will save a .7z archive of the curation ready to be imported into the master build. Name it something relevant (typically the name of the game), and save it wherever you'll remember it.

Once you have your .7z ready, follow these instructions to make sure it gets added to Flashpoint:

Submitting a Curation

Submissions are uploaded in the Flashpoint Submission System, which requires you to join our Discord server first. An explanation of how the site works is available here.

If you have any questions, ask in #curators and a Curator will answer them.

After you have uploaded your curation to the website, a Curator will check it. This can take some time, so please be patient. You will be pinged in #fpfss-notifications about whether or not your submission was approved, and if any changes need to be made.

Once your first submission is approved, you'll be given the Trial Curator role. That means you will be able to submit more curations and upload bigger files.

Congratulations! Your submitted game/animation will appear in the next update to Flashpoint.


Congratulations! Your submitted game/animation will appear in the next version of Flashpoint.

After Submitting

What Happens After I Submit My Curations?

At some point, BlueMaxima will download curations from the submission channels, add them to Flashpoint, and mark them with the Tools.PNG emoji. This means that every submission above it, including the marked one, have been added.

If there are no issues with your submission, the game or animation will be available with the next release. If there are any issues with the submission, you will be pinged to fix it.

Once a new release is in the works, a cut-off date for submissions will be posted. Any curations not already submitted by that date will not be in the new release; you'll have to wait for the next one.

Editing Your Curations

If you notice a mistake with your curation after you've submitted it, read our article on Metadata Edits and head over to the #pending-fixes channel in our Discord so you can make necessary changes.

If you're wondering whether your curation has been added to Flashpoint yet, look for a Tools.PNG emoji reaction anywhere below your post in the Curations channel.

Having Problems?

Because we can't remind you enough already, join our Discord and ask away in the #curator-lounge channel.