EDITING GAMES FOR IPBA VIA SOTHINK

SWF QUICKER V1.5

This is a small guide I have cooked up for all those enthusiastic people
who would like to edit Flash games (.swf files) for IBproarcade MOD

WARNING: DO NOT edit flash files which are not authorized by its
author... don’t take such risks... and I personally do not take any
responsibility for the misuse of this guide…

This is a MOD for Invision Board ( www.invisionboard.com )

Key Features of Invision Board Include:

• Fast and efficient programming and database usage

• Customize the look of every page using standard HTML in the
skinning system
• Powerful and easy to use administration area and tools to control
your board and your members
• No limits on storage of posts or topics
• COPPA support to comply with new laws
• Professional support services and enhancements

Ok.. Let’s get started…

Here is a quick summary of what we are going to do

Basic Steps :

• Edit the flash game or convert it to .fla extension first

• Find the ending of the game in its timeline
• Insert a code into the place where the score is submitted
• Export the file, make gif files for it and PLAY…
 SOFTWARES USED

There are basically 2 software’s most used by the modders of IBPA for
editing games

• Imperator FLA ( http://www.ave-imperator.com/ )

This is so far the best software I know which can be used to

convert .swf to .fla extension and then edited easily. But the catch
is that its demo version does not allow the conversion of Action
Scripts.. This is the most essential part of the editing games.. And it
costs around € 79.00 .. So u basically cannot use the demo version
of this software for editing games for IBPA

• Sothink SWF Quicker v1.5 ( http://www.sothink.com/ )

This is the software which is the best alternative of Imperator

FLA.. This software costs $ 49.99 but here is good news .. You can
use the DEMO VERSION of this software for editing games..
Unfortunately it will only work for 15 days starting from the day of
the installation of the software.. And also a small watermark
appears at the top left of the edited flash file

I will be using Sothink SWF Quicker v 1.5 for showing you how to edit
games for IBPA

NOTE : If you people are thinking.. Let’s get a crack for the software and
enjoy.. I am sorry to say.. Don’t waste your time goggling because there
isn’t any crack for both the software’s..
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This is the basic look of the main page of the software

Now Import the flash game file you want to edit..

Now when the file has opened you have to search for the right timeline..

You have to find the timeline where the score is getting submitted.. Many
at times when the game ends there is “Send Score” button there which
submits the score.. If this to be found in the game.. It will make the work
much easier.. All the editing has to be done in the Action Script Layer
Now the timeline is always not straight.. i.e. the last key of timeline does
not need to be the ending of the game.. It can be anywhere in the
timeline.. You will have to find it..

Now here is a useful tip :

To find the submit button.. Instead of going thorough the timeline u can
go to the Library tab and start looking at the symbols one-by-one from the
END.. Because the Submit Score symbol is normally at the end of the
list…

By this method when u locate the symbol.. Right click on it and click on
“View Instances” This will take u to the timeline where the symbol is in
the flash file.. Now click on that symbol in the flash file.. In the Action
Tab some script will appear which will be containing the script for
sending the score..

Replace it with this code : ( Case – Sensitive )

var gname="[gname of that game]";

var gscore = _root.score;
getURL("index.php?act=Arcade&do=newscore", "_self", "POST");
Here comes the explanation of the code..

gname = this is the name by which the game value is going to be stored
and the name of the flash file to be.. ( Case Sensitive )

gscore = this variable will store the score of the game..

Now here comes a small task.. In the above code we are assuming that the
score of the game is being stored in _root.score .. But this is not true for
all games.. You will need to find the correct variable which is actually
being used by the game to store its score.. There is also an easy way out
for this..

Make a file in notepad called index.php and put this code inside it :

<?php
foreach ($_POST as $key => $value) {
echo "Key: $key; Value: $value<br
/>\n";
}
?>

Provided by Chris in the forum

Now save and store it in the directory from which you are going to test
the game.. This file will show all the values being stored by the game…

Export the flash file.. And place it in the same directory as the index.php
you just made…

Play the game.. Score some points and then kill yourself.. When the game
ends remember the score u had.. The press the “Submit” Button ( NOTE
: u must have already inserted the code given on top in the “Submit
Button” Actionscript frame.. )
You will get some page like this :

Key:percent;Value:100
Key:yourname;Value:-
Key:ballCount;Value:8
Key:session_id;Value:815108733
Key:runs;Value:30
Key:player;Value:3
Key:balls;Value:17
Key:frequency;Value:8
Key:sprite;Value:5
Key:awsome;Value:WELLDONE!
Key:namel;Value:
Key:fname;Value:-
Key:fnameRaw;Value:-
Key:fnameClean;Value:-%20
Key:fnameArray;Value:-
Key:i;Value:1
Key:ballsleft;Value:17
Key:scoremagic;Value:300000000
Key:v1;Value:h
Key:v2;Value:R
Key:v3;Value:Z
Key:v4;Value:d
Key:v5;Value:C
Key:v6;Value:l
Key:v7;Value:q
Key:v8;Value:D
Key:v9;Value:a
Key:cid;Value:ZdClqDahR
Key:gname;Value:[gname of that game]
Key: gscore; Value:

Now you do not need to be concerned with all the values.. In the game
example I have taken, I had scored 30..

You will notice that the last two are the keys you have put in.. Look at the
gscore.. It has no value.. That means the variable we had taken “
_root.score “ is not the correct value of the score I made.. Look into the
page for the score u had made.. You will find it in

Key:runs;Value:30

This means the Variable “ runs “ is storing the correct value of the game..
Go edit the file again change this line

var gscore = _root.score;

To

var gscore = runs;

Now if u export the game again and play it.. You will see that the correct
value is being stored into the gscore variable..

Key:percent;Value:100
Key:yourname;Value:-
Key:ballCount;Value:8
Key:session_id;Value:815108733
Key:runs;Value:30
Key:player;Value:3
Key:balls;Value:17
Key:frequency;Value:8
Key:sprite;Value:5
Key:awsome;Value:WELLDONE!
Key:namel;Value:
Key:fname;Value:-
Key:fnameRaw;Value:-
Key:fnameClean;Value:-%20
Key:fnameArray;Value:-
Key:i;Value:1
Key:ballsleft;Value:17
Key:scoremagic;Value:300000000
Key:v1;Value:h
Key:v2;Value:R
Key:v3;Value:Z
Key:v4;Value:d
Key:v5;Value:C
Key:v6;Value:l
Key:v7;Value:q
Key:v8;Value:D
Key:v9;Value:a
Key:cid;Value:ZdClqDahR
Key:gname;Value: cricket
Key: gscore; Value: 30
You must change the gname to a desired name of your choice and the
flash file you have created MUST BE of the same name as the gname...
i.e. if the gname you have kept as
var gname="cricket";

Then the output filename should be cricket.swf

Sometimes when the game ends... it asks for Ur name, email address etc...
U can simply remove them by deleting the symbols...

This is it... if the game exports properly without giving any errors and the
game plays properly then you have successfully created your first game
hack...

Now you have to do 2-3 other minor things

We have to now make gif files for the games to show next to it.

Take a snapshot of the game and open it in any photo editor like
Photoshop or Paint... you can then create a small image of the snapshot
and resize it to 50 x 50... Save it as gname1.gif... i.e. in the above
example we will save it as cricket1.gif

Then resize the same file to 20 x 20 size and save it as gname2.gif i.e. in
this case cricket2.gif

We also have to make a small file containing all the information about the
game...

Open notepad and make a file similar to this format:

Title: Name of the Game you want to give

gname: gname of the game

Game Info:
Description of the game

Game Keys:
Controls instructions..

Game Size: Size of the flash file to be in the IBPA .. e.g.

500 x 500
Save it as gname.txt (not compulsory)

So now you have 4 files all together

1) Flash file : cricket.swf

2) Gif file 1 : cricket1.gif
3) Gif file 2 : cricket2.gif
4) Text File : cricket.txt

Zip them up and VOILA!!! U r a SWF Game Editor…

 AADDDDO
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Now here is a small, quick, easy guide for those who use the tar add-on
script or who want to submit games in a tar format for easy uploading
instead of manual uploading via zip file..

Now create a file called template.php containing the following script :

<?php

$config = array(

gname => '',

gtitle => '',
bgcolor => '000',
gwidth => '400',
gheight => '400',
active => '1',
gcat => '1',

//optional leave blank if not using

gwords => "",
object => "",
gkeys => "",

);

?>

Now enter the details required for the game above.. The descriptions for
the variables are :

gname = Gname of the game (should know by now :P )

gtitle = Title of the Game

bgcolor = The background color of the game area corresponding to the

game (normally u can leave the default value )

gwidth = Width of the game

gheight = Height of the game

active = Put “1” to leave the game active in the category and put “ 0” to
make it inactive by default

cat = Put the value of the corresponding arcade u want to put the game
into ( can leave it to the default value )

gwords = Description of the game

object = Objective of the game

gkeys = Keys to play the game

Put all the values within the inverted commas ..

Then rename the file to gname.php i.e. cricket.php as the example I have
taken..

Now make another file called tar_create.php and insert the following
code in to it :
<?php

DEFINE( "ROOT_PATH" , "./" );

if( file_exists(ROOT_PATH."tar_create.lock") )
{
die("This file is locked");
}

class tar_create
{
var $tar = "";

function tar_create()
{
require ROOT_PATH."sources/lib/tar.php";
$tar = new tar();

if( isset( $_POST['gname']) )

{
$gname = $_POST['gname'];

$dir = "./arcade/tar";
$full_dir = getcwd()."/arcade/tar";
chdir($dir);

$tar->current_dir( $dir );
$tar->new_tar($full_dir ,
"game_".$gname.".tar");

$files = array( $gname.".swf" ,

$gname."1.gif" , $gname."2.gif" , $gname.".php" );

$tar->add_files($files);
$tar->write_tar();
}
else
{
$html = $this->do_form_html();
print $html;
}
}

function do_form_html()
{
$return = "<html>
<head>
<title>Tar Creation
Script</title>
</head>
<body>
<form
action=\"./tar_create.php\" method=\"post\">
Game gname? <input
type=\"text\" name=\"gname\" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<input
type=\"submit\" value=\"Create Tar\" />
</form>
</body>
</html>";
return $return;
}

$create = new tar_create;

?>
Then make a directory called “tar” in the arcade folder and CHMOD it to
777

Now upload all the five files to the directory i.e. gname.swf , gname1.gif
,gname2.gif , gname.php and tar_create.php

Run the script tar_create.php .. it will ask for the gname of the game..
give it and it will create the tar file for u..

NOTE : After you do this you can create a tar_create.lock for protection
of unauthorized use of the script.. Simply open notepad and save it as the
above filename and upload it to the “tar” folder… then nobody else could
use the script… the next time you want to use it... just delete the file and
you can reuse the tar_create.php

VOILA.. Your tar file has been created.. now u can use it to upload
games into the arcade easily…
 AADDDDO
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Ok, now for this part all the procedure is same.. Just a little off the way…

When the game ends, there has to be a “Game Over” Screen.. There is
where our editing has to be done..

Play the game, watch the ending screen and remember it..

Now there are two ways to go around it :

1) Adding own “Submit” Button : In this method open the file

in Sothink SWF Quicker… Then find the end screen.. if there was
a “game over” text find it in the Library

Once the link is found go to the key frame.. Now press “ CTRL + F8 ” or
click on “Insert New Symbol”

Leave the Symbol name as it is and choose the type “Button”

You should get similar window

Now click on the “Rectangular” box in the “Tools”… Drag and make a
small box in the center of the screen.. Then click on “Text” and make a
box inside the rectangular box you have just made.. Type “SUBMIT”
inside it.. It should look something like this :

Tool Menu Submit Button

Now go back to the “Main Movie” Screen.. Go to the ending screen (
where game over is written ) .. In the Library at the end you will find a
button has been created with the name “Symbol 1” ( if you did not change
the name )

Drag it on to the screen and place it in the Game over Screen… Now
click on the button and then in the Action TAB down below add the
following code :

on (release)
{
var gname="[gname of that game]";
var gscore = _root.score;
getURL("index.php?act=Arcade&do=newscore", "_self",
"POST");
}

Of course change the gname and gscore with the appropriate one as
shown above..

The on (release) feature actually makes the button submit the score when
the user clicks on it.. This makes it look more professional

That’s it… Export the Game and now u will have a button at the end of
the game..

NOTE : Some games have multiple “Game Over” Screens depending on

the score you have made.. Find all the screens and add the button
 2) Automatic submission : Now this is a rather easier one… Just
find the “Game over” screen and then click on the whole frame.. In the
action tab below just add the code ..

var gname="[gname of that game]";

var gscore = _root.score;
getURL("index.php?act=Arcade&do=newscore", "_self",
"POST");

What this will do is as the game gets over and the “Game Over” Screen
comes… it will automatically submit the score…. No need of a button ☺
 AADDDDO
ONN :: HHO
OWW TTOO DDO
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OAADD SSW
WFFF
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OMM TTHHE
EW WE EBB
This is a very basic question and easiest one to be answered.. If you want
to download a flash file from a website there are three ways steps

1) If you already have Sothink SWF Quicker v1.5 installed then in

your Internet Explorer there right click on the page of the flash file
and you will see a link called “Sothink SWF Catcher”… just click
on it and save the file to the directory you want to…

2) Download 3rd party software like 123saveweb (

www.123saveweb.com ) and Arty’s Flash Ripper… Basically
Google for them and you will find loads of such software’s…

3) Look into the temporary folder of your internet explorer and you
will find the flash file there

WARNING : DO NOT use this method to download flash files

illegally .. Only use it for them whose permission you have…
 CC H
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V 1.3
• Now there are live links i.e. u can click on all the links in this
Guide which will open up in a new Web Browser..
• Minor Changes done and played with fonts…

V 1.2

• Added : How to create buttons for games without one

• Added : How to save Flash files from the web
• Added : Change log
• Fixed : Error spotted by Elijah
• Removed Personal contact information
• Other typo’s fixed

V 1.1

• Fixed : Bug Spotted by Miteysquirrel

• Added : How to create TAR files

V 1.0

• Basically Guide started from here… ☺

 PERSONAL NOTES

I personally thank all the members of

www.ibproarcade.com for making me use my
wasted time for some good work…

I thank Princess and LAwebTEK for the

screenshots and wasting their time on me..
:P

I will keep updating the Guide when more

suggestions / tips etc come in...

K.H.A.N.D.U. : Kinetic Hydraulic

Assassination and Nocturnal Destruction
Unit
☺