SMF Arcade

This page contains many questions that have been asked multiple times before. If you can't find answer please post into forums.

General

These apply to all versions, unless otherwise specified.

"Test Failed" during installation

If you get a "Test Failed" for any file during arcade installation you must manually edit the file(s) in question. For 2.0.x versions, read install.xml for instructions. For 2.5 versions, read main.xml, language.xml, and rc1.xml.

I don't see any games/where are the games?

The arcade download goes not contain any games in it. You must download and install games from the download links on this site or you can find compatible games by reading the sticky here:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,4787.0.html

Please remember that not all games will work with the arcade and only flash games will work with it. Shockwave games do not currently work with SMF Arcade.

Upgrading to or already upgraded from SMF 1.1.x to 2.0.x?

BEFORE YOU UPGRADE:
You MUST uninstall your mods first! Most mods will not work properly or at all AFTER you upgrade SMF to 2.0.x. This is because they are not coded to work with it. There are new files, many code changes between files and also database changes. After uninstalling your mods, please make sure that all code has been removed. If you have SMF Arcade Hacks installed then please uninstall/remove them first BEFORE removing the arcade.

Your mod info should be safe as long as you do not mess with the database. Most mods install their data there.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY UPGRADED:
If you have not uninstalled your mods before upgrading then you will probably have to manually remove them. You can do this by deleting all of the arcade files and uploading new copies of the files that have been modified by the arcade for SMF 1.1.x. This is the easier way but will possibly kill other mods and you will have to reinstall or re-edit them to make them work.

The slowest and best way is to check every file that the arcade modified and make sure the code has been removed. If you already install the new version over the old, it is best to remove both and start over. Otherwise, you'll most likely have conflicts.

Some members/membergroups can play while others cannot!

Check "Permissions Mode" in "Settings". If it is set to "Category Only" or "Category or Game" or "Category and Game" you will need to change the Category permissions.

For Category permissions, go to "Categories" and click on the little + next to the category you have created or wish to use. This will show the member groups that have permission to access that category. Add or remove member groups as needed.

If for some reason your members still cannot play games, set "Permission Mode" in "Settings" to "None". If they can not play then you have not set the permissions properly according to the above instructions.

You can also enable/disable member group permissions for each game separately. You can also set it for member group access or category access. Make sure these are setup correctly for the user and member groups you wish to have access to just specific games.

Please remember that there are SMF permissions as well as category and individual game permissions. If you create a new member group after you install any mod you will most likely have to give that new group permissions to use your mods.

Also, note that if you create new member groups AFTER you install any mods that you will have to give your new groups the permission to use your mods.

Scores do not save

There are a number of reason why this may occur. Please, try all of these solutions before asking for help.

1.  If you have "Search engine friendly URLs" enabled in SMF Admin it will conflict with the arcade. Disable it.

2.  If you have the Pretty URL's mod installed, either uninstall it or try this fix:

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=146969.msg1564990#msg1564990

3.  If you are using games with a /gamedata folder:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,3261.0.html

4.  Check to see if your URL's for the Arcade match those of your SMF Server Settings. If you have recently moved your forum to a new server or even a new directory on the same server you must run repair_settings.php to reset your forum URL's to match your new sever settings.

http://download.simplemachines.org/index.php?thanks;filename=repair_settings.php

5. Remember that the /Games folder must have a capital "G" and not a small "g". Also, make sure that the URL to /Games does have a trailing backslash like this: /Games/

6.  Check that the "internal name" of a game and its "file name" are exactly the same. However the "file name" should have the extension ".swf". The"internal name"should not have an extension. Please see this:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,4815.msg29531.html#msg29531

7. Look in your Server Settings and see if you URL has a "www." Whether it does or not, the Arcade URL must match it. If it does match it but scores will not save either add it or remove it from both places. This depends on the server for which one will work best for your forum and arcade.

8. FOR SMF 2.x/Arcade 2.5.x ONLY! Check that the Submit System is correctly set for the type of games you have installed. Remember, that this is a game's individual setting. To find this setting, go to: Admin -> Arcade -> Games -> Edit Games -> (choose the game in question) -> Advanced Settings -> Submit System.

9.  If you are using TinyPortal:
It could possibly be a RSS block or another block with incorrect code or not setup correctly. RSS Feeds can be a beast and if not setup correctly can cause other mods to not work as well. Disable them one by one or all blocks and see if it solves the problem. This could also cause other forum issues.
 
For other portals you'll have to ask at their respective sites.

Error: You need to enable javascript in order to play games!

Try this first... Find /Themes/default/script.js . CHMOD this file to 644.

This might be due to invalid permissions in some of javascript files. Make sure every javascript file is accessible by setting the file permissions to 644, 755, or 777. This depends on your server's configuration. Your hosting company can tell you what your files should be set to.

Usually, files are set to 644, 755 or 777 while directories are usually set to 755 or 777. Please make sure that your files AND directories have the correct permissions. If the directories do not have the correct directory permissions then you will not be able to access the files within them even if the file permissions are correct.

SMF Database Upgrade Error

If you see something similar (the error and SMF version will probably be different depending on the issue) to this: Note: It appears that your database may require an upgrade. Your forum's files are currently at version SMF1.1.4, while your database is at version 1.1.2. The above error might possibly go away if you execute the latest version of upgrade.php.

This is an SMF issue that happens when you upgrade your forum but the database is not upgraded along with the files for some reason. The first part of the error is not what is important but the 2nd half is about the database requiring an upgrade. Download the SMF upgrade package (not update) that is the same as your SMF forum version number.

Extract upgrade.php, upgrade_1-0.sql, and upgrade_1-1.sql and upload them to your root folder of your forum. Run http://yourforum.com/upgrade.php. "yourforum.com" is the complete link to your forum.

If you run into a smiley error during the upgrade follow the link below and then run upgrade.php again. This is an SMF upgrade issue.

http://docs.simplemachines.org/index.php?topic=1079.0

Please note that this may or may not fix the error you are having for the mod in question but it will upgrade your database to the proper version.This should help with the installation of your SMF mods.

Arcade code seen at the top of the forum

The code is probably from /Themes/default/languages/Modifications.english.php or Modifications.english-utf8.php. Other php files such as index.php may also have this issue.

It probably did not install correctly. Check the file and find the opening php tag "<?php" and the closing php tags " ?> ". Make sure that everything is within those tags and that the closing tag is on a separate line by itself with a blank line before it.

If you do not fix this, you'll have problems installing other mods. This probably happened because of the last mod you installed before this one did not edit that file properly. Every mod you install after it will probably have that same issue until you do fix it.

No Files Selected! Error

You get "No Files Selected!" if you install the same game(s) or gamepack(s) more than once. But if you click on "Games" in the "Install" screen you will see the game and all will be fine. You can play the game as before.

"No Files Selected!" actually means that when you installed the same gamepack or game more than once, it does not have to select files to install because they are already there.

The problems that users have is, they see the error and think the game or gamepack did not install when it actually did.

Games do not show an image

This is due to one of 2 main issues. You must make sure that the name of the image file matches the game (.swf) file exactly. For instance, "game123.swf" and "game123.gif".

Also, make sure that the game's directory in the settings is correct. This is especially true if the game is in a subdirectory like "/Games/gamepack1/gamepack1/game.swf". The directory setting would be "gamepack1/gamepack1". Do not put a / in front of the directory setting like: "/gamepack1/gamepack1".

Incorrect file permissions or have hot linking of images in cPanel enabled can also cause images to not be shown.

Error: You are not allowed to play games!

1.  SMF Arcade Shop Mod - Shop Administration --> General Settings --> Arcade Pass Enabled...uncheck it.

2.  Pretty URLS mod - causes problems.

3. TP blocks not setup properly. Remove one block at a time to find the block causing the problem. Reasons include: Block coding in an incorrect block type, code not properly copied to the block, or bad coding (misspellings, php open and closing tags were included, or something left out of the code when copied).

I'm missing text for my language

Please see this post to find out how to make language files for your language. You can also check that board to see if some have already been posted there for you to download. Please, check the proper board for your language when requesting help.

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,3595.0.html

How to install games with a /gamedata folder

Please see this topic:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,3261.0.html

I use UTF8 for my language

Go to SMF and download the UTF8 language files for your language...even English, if you are using it, from:

http://download.simplemachines.org/?languages

If you are still missing files then just save your language files to UTF files. For example, Modifications.english.php should be saved as Modifications.english-utf8.php. Both files contain the same info and both files are needed! Language files can be found in /Themes/default/languages for the SMF default core theme. For custom theme just change "default" to the actual name of your theme.

If a mod, such as SMF Arcade, supports UTF8 then you will need both files versions for all language files.

Can't upload a large zipped game/memory error

This is a hosting issue where PHP is set to a specific upload size value. To overcome this you can ask you hosting to adjust it for you. Or you can create a php.ini file (for php 4 and older) or php5.ini (for php5) in your root folder with the following settings:

upload_max_filesize = 50M - sets the max size for file uploads.
memory_limit = 50M - adjust the memory limit higher if you get a "memory exhausted" error.

Values are in megabytes, ie, "50M" = 50 megabytes.

Replace the values such as "50M" with the size value that you think you will need plus a little extra. Please be aware that some hosting companies do not allow this and it might cause them to shut down your service. It is highly advised to ask them (politely) about this and/or review their Terms of Service (TOS) first.

Error: 500 Internal Server

This is usually because index.php has the wrong file permissions. Check with your hosting to find out what they should be.

This can also be cause by an incorrect manual edit made to index.php.

File Permission Issues - chmod/chown

This is for linux servers only! There are 2 types of permissions issues to address in a linux server. CHMOD - file and directory/folder issues and CHOWN - ownership of your files and directory issues.

CHMOD - If you have issues not being able to see or access your files then you may have CHMOD issues. You would have to ask your hosting to be sure but, generally speaking, directories/folders are set to 777 or 755. Files should be set to 777, 755, or 644. You can ask your hosting to fix them for you or fix them yourself. If your hosting is not willing to fix them for you then I suggest you get new hosting. To fix them yourself, you can do this via FTP using a program similar to FileZilla. Use its recursive option to include subdirectories and files to include the selected directories as well as the subdirectories and files beneath them. This may take some time to complete, depending on the amount of files and directories you have chosen.

All of this depends on how your hosting has configured the server's permissions.Those can vary from one server to another. So, if you move from one hosting to another or even to a different server within the same hosting company, they can change. Ask your hosting company to be sure of the proper settings for files and directories/folders.

CHOWN - Means if you own or have the right to do things with the files or directories/folders. If you cannot delete/move/edit files then this may be your problem. You will have to ask your hosting to fix this for you. Only root or those given root server permissions can do this.

Normally, server with 777 permissions for directories/folders have CHOWN issues, while servers with 755 directory/folder permissions generally have CHMOD issues.

How To Create A Test Site

Here's a link to an article that should help:

http://www.skhilled.com/docs/index.php?page=13

SMF Arcade 2.0

These apply only to SMF Arcade 2.0 for SMF 1.1

How Do I Upgrade My Arcade To A New Version?

BEFORE YOU UPGRADE:
You MUST uninstall the old arcade first! You should use the SMF default core theme when installing and uninstalling any mods. This is because most SMF mods will only install to the default theme. If you get a "Test Failed" during the uninstall process, you must manually remove the code from those files.

Completing The Upgrade:
You can then install the new arcade. You should use the SMF default core theme when installing and uninstalling any mods. If you get a "Test Failed" during the installation process, you must manually add that code manually. The code can be found be reading install.xml and finding the part of the file that contains the code for the files that had "Test Failed".

MYSQL/gameDuration Error with IbProArcade games

Ifyou get error similar to this when playing games made for ibProArcade:

You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to usenear '
endTime = 1227714436, gameDuration = 1227714436, memberIp = '***.***.***.***'' at line 3
File: /home/****/public_html/Sources/Subs-Arcade.php
Line: 710

See following message for instructions:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,4601.msg28061.html#msg28061

How do I add an "Arcade" button?

The code for SMF forum buttons is near the bottom of /Themes/default/index.template.php.

To add another one, we suggest that you copy the "Search" button code.Then replace every instance of "search" with "Arcade". For this part, "$txt[182]", change it to "$txt['arcade']". Then add your new arcade button code after the "Search" button code on a separate line.

Please note that for themes other than the default core theme the code will most likely be very different. However, if you follow the same instructions as noted above it should work.

I'm missing text for the arcade

This is probably because your forum language is set to UTF8 OR you have not added or uploaded a language file for the language you are using.

For UTF8, go to SMF Admin -> Server Settings. Check to see if your language is UTF8 or not. If so, then you'll need to download the UTF8 files for your language and upload the language files from here for the arcade. You can also set your forum to a non-utf8 language. You'll not need UTF8 language files if you do this but you may have to reinstall the arcade.

For language issues, go to SMF and download the UTF8 language pack for your forum. Then download the language files for the arcade which can be found in our Language Support board:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/board,54.0.html

If there are no language files for your language then you can easily create them following this topic:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,3595.0.html

If there are no language files for your language and you have created some, PLEASE, attach them to a post in the Language boards.

See red X's or do not see the images for the arcade

Most mods install to the SMF default core theme ONLY. If you are using a different theme then you will need to copy the images from the default theme to your custom theme. Try to see if the images show in the default theme first. Then add them to your theme if necessary.

If you see a red X, right-click on it and select "Properties". This will give you the URL to where the original image should be located using the default theme. Copy that image to the same place in your custom theme.

You may also need to check the permissions of the image files. Incorrect permissions can cause them to not show.

How Do I Make the Help text show?

You will need to edit ArcadeMenu.template.php as described here:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php/topic,2115.msg14698.html#msg14698

Can't uninstall via Packages/Don't see uninstall

This is because you upgraded SMF and the mod does not recognize the new version. You have to uninstall the last smf update(s)/upgrade(s) until you do see it then uninstall the arcade.

Remember to make sure you reinstall SMF to it's updated version again.

PM Notification fix and also how to disable

Please see this topic:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php?topic=3775.msg44923#msg44923

SMF Arcade 2.5

These apply only to SMF Arcade 2.5 for SMF 2.0

Can't uninstall via Packages/Don't see uninstall

This is because you upgraded SMF and the mod does not recognize the new version. You need to emulate RC1 to uninstall arcade.

Down on the bottom right in the Package Manager you will find "advanced". Click on it and select to emulate "SMF 2.0 RC1" (or whatever version you are using) and click "apply".

You should now have the uninstall option in the arcade or whatever mod that does not have it.

After you have uninstalled the arcade you should revert to your original version. This link is just below the text "Emulate version:" in advanced. Just click the link and then "apply".

Adding A Button To A Custom Theme In SMF 2

You can add a button to a custom theme that is already installed at the time you install a mod by select the theme(s) during installation.

You can also add a button if you've installed a custom theme after you have installed a mod. Please refer to this topic for more info:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php?topic=6752.0

How Do I Make the Help text show?

  You will need to edit /Themes/default/ArcadeGame.template.php as shown here:

http://www.smfarcade.info/forum/index.php?topic=6619.0

How Do I Use The Arena?

SMF Arcade/Arena