Difference between revisions of "Flashpoint"
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{{Infobox emulator | {{Infobox emulator | ||
|title = BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint | |title = BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint | ||
| − | |logo = | + | |logo = Fp_logo.jpg |
|logowidth = 155 | |logowidth = 155 | ||
|developer = BlueMaxima<br/>Flashpoint Team | |developer = BlueMaxima<br/>Flashpoint Team | ||
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}} | }} | ||
| − | '''BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint''' is an ongoing [[Preservation projects|preservation effort]] for games designed in commercial web frameworks. Named after [[Flash]] (which | + | '''BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint''' is an ongoing [[Preservation projects|preservation effort]] for games designed in commercial web frameworks. Named after [[Flash]] (which was discontinued in 2020), the maintainers have preserved over 78,000 games and animations since its inception. The full list of games is available via the [http://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/datahub/Game_Master_List "Game Master List"] on their wiki. Flashpoint covers games, animations and tools developed in Adobe Flash, Adobe Shockwave, Unity Web Player, Java Applets, Microsoft Silverlight, ActiveX, 3DVIA Player, 3D Groove GX, PopCap Plugin, HTML5, Superscape Viscape, Vitalize!, Authorware, GoBit Games Plugin, ShiVa3D, Hypercosm, Pulse, Burster, TCL and VRML, with support for all web technologies to add in [https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/datahub/Technologies_to_Add this list] and (natively) Scratch possibly coming in the future. |
Flashpoint (and every game in it) was originally released as one gigantic download until a system was developed to download these games on-the-fly. The full download (which, upon completion, requires no further internet connection to use) has since been retroactively titled "Flashpoint Ultimate", and the "lite" version was given the name "Flashpoint Infinity". When the limitations of Launchbox started to show, a discrete launcher was developed. | Flashpoint (and every game in it) was originally released as one gigantic download until a system was developed to download these games on-the-fly. The full download (which, upon completion, requires no further internet connection to use) has since been retroactively titled "Flashpoint Ultimate", and the "lite" version was given the name "Flashpoint Infinity". When the limitations of Launchbox started to show, a discrete launcher was developed. | ||
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Flashpoint is available in several different versions: | Flashpoint is available in several different versions: | ||
| − | * <i>Flashpoint Ultimate</i> - The full package, ready for use offline. ~ | + | * <i>Flashpoint Ultimate</i> - The full package, ready for use offline. ~478 GiB download, ~532 GiB extracted. You'll want to use a download manager and the latest version of 7-Zip. |
| − | * <i>Flashpoint Infinity</i> - | + | * <i>Flashpoint Infinity</i> - 2 GiB extracted. Games download as you choose to play them. Certain games don't work. |
* <i>Flashpoint Core</i> - A lightweight copy of Flashpoint with one game per platform designed for curation (preserving games). | * <i>Flashpoint Core</i> - A lightweight copy of Flashpoint with one game per platform designed for curation (preserving games). | ||
Revision as of 17:49, 17 July 2021
| |
| Developer(s) | BlueMaxima Flashpoint Team |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 13 "Dart Frog" |
| Active | Yes |
| Platform(s) | Windows Linux, Mac (experimental) |
| Emulates | Web game servers |
| Website | bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/ |
| License | MIT (Launcher) |
| Source code | GitHub (Launcher) |
BlueMaxima’s Flashpoint is an ongoing preservation effort for games designed in commercial web frameworks. Named after Flash (which was discontinued in 2020), the maintainers have preserved over 78,000 games and animations since its inception. The full list of games is available via the "Game Master List" on their wiki. Flashpoint covers games, animations and tools developed in Adobe Flash, Adobe Shockwave, Unity Web Player, Java Applets, Microsoft Silverlight, ActiveX, 3DVIA Player, 3D Groove GX, PopCap Plugin, HTML5, Superscape Viscape, Vitalize!, Authorware, GoBit Games Plugin, ShiVa3D, Hypercosm, Pulse, Burster, TCL and VRML, with support for all web technologies to add in this list and (natively) Scratch possibly coming in the future.
Flashpoint (and every game in it) was originally released as one gigantic download until a system was developed to download these games on-the-fly. The full download (which, upon completion, requires no further internet connection to use) has since been retroactively titled "Flashpoint Ultimate", and the "lite" version was given the name "Flashpoint Infinity". When the limitations of Launchbox started to show, a discrete launcher was developed.
Download
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Official release Includes both Ultimate, Infinity and Core versions. Read our overview for details. | |
  
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Launcher Standalone builds of the launcher on GitHub | |
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Linux support Datahub page about Linux support. | |
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Mac support Datahub page about Mac support. | |
Overview
Flashpoint began on December 26th, 2017, a little while after Adobe announced it was ending support for Flash at the end of 2020, as an attempt to preserve as many Flash games and applications from the early 2000s onward as possible before the cutoff point. The focus has since shifted to all web browser technologies as they face the same risk of obsoletion.
Flashpoint is not a conventional emulator; none of the frameworks it targets is being emulated which is why it requires users to have the original platforms these frameworks were on. (It's also why Linux doesn't have a lot of the frameworks that Windows does.) Many games also use some form of copy protection by connecting to a server to test if a game can be played, thus requiring an internet connection for it to work. Flashpoint is a server emulator that repeats and relays the responses and files that were originally captured at the time the game was preserved. This causes problems for Avast and AVG as they've detailed on the Datahub.
Flashpoint is available in several different versions:
- Flashpoint Ultimate - The full package, ready for use offline. ~478 GiB download, ~532 GiB extracted. You'll want to use a download manager and the latest version of 7-Zip.
- Flashpoint Infinity - 2 GiB extracted. Games download as you choose to play them. Certain games don't work.
- Flashpoint Core - A lightweight copy of Flashpoint with one game per platform designed for curation (preserving games).
Resources
- BlueMaxima's articles:
- Discord
- Changelog
- The Datahub, their wiki
- instance_archive(); - A similar project for games made with GameMaker.
- Kahvibreak - Another project for J2ME games.
