Potential of the FTP Object

[Eminence]

Many of you are probably aware of the Vitalize Object in MMF, but I'm surprised noone has risen an eyebrow to the potential it has for games/applications.

Idea 1: Online Data

Let's say you had a web folder set-up as this:

http://test.sepwich.com/game/data

Pretty much at the end of each session, it would upload a file with a unique file name the user chooses... IE: eminence.dat

Pros: You could then file all those files into a "database", and have "High Score" lists such as:

Longest Played.

Most Rings.

Most Bandiks Killed.

Most Deaths.

Cons: You'd probably have to set up a Password system, or have each name individually linked to each computer.

It's really not worth all the trouble.

Idea 2: Player Uploaded Content

Let's say our game allowed us to create our own characters/levels.

A played could upload the level to this directory:

http://test.sepwich.com/game/levels/unapproved

A moderator could then go through these levels and see which ones were acceptable, and move them to: "http://test.sepwich.com/game/levels/approved" with a click of a button.

We'd then have a list object list all the files in "http://test.sepwich.com/game/levels/unapproved" they'd all be level files of course. They'd save like this:

Download File "Current FTP Directory + "Current List Selection" to "Application Directory" + "/Levels" + "Current List Selection".

Pros: It'd bring longevity to fan-games, and it could be a community project... This would all be done through the Application itself so it would be 100% user friendly for the player and the moderator. This could also be adapted to new characters, such as the way characters are in Mugen.

You'd just need to program an engine that'd load individual images as "Frames" of animation. Then you'd just need a text file to "program" character speed, jump, ect...

That could be programmed within application aswell.

Cons: None apparent.

Idea 3: Official Releases

http://test.sepwich.com/game/official

For this idea to work to its full potential if the majority of the game would have to be read off external files.

Let's say we have "Shop 1.0.dat" in our directory for the application on our Hard Drive.

The Application would then search for, http://test.sepwich.com/game/official/shop 1.0.dat"

If it could find it, the game would go on as normal... If it could not, the game searches for shop 2.0.dat. If it can find that, it will download it to the directory: "Application Directory +"Shop""

The game would then change the Shop Value from "shop 1.0.dat" to "shop 2.0.dat" so it would properly load the correct file.

At the end of the application, we'd use the File Object to delete shop 1.0.dat from the users hard drive.

Pros: We'd essentially have a never-ending fan-game. We'd be able to add new items, skins, characters, stats, storylines, levels... That is if most of those things were contained on external files.

Hell we could always perform a "core" update on the Application itself.

Cons: None apparent.

In Conclusion:

If this is all true, we have the potential to make a "Mugen" esque community project... Where people would consistently upload new levels, characters, storylines, ect... Except it's up to the user to decide which ones he (But not she, women get no choice. ) no wants.

Questions, Comments, Critques...?

[Eminence]

No replies! Ice Skating was your dream mom, not mine!

[DimensionWarped]

A web-based submission portal is both easier and safer for the purpose of managing user-made content for a project. And you probably wouldn't want to use FTP for the purpose of managing high scores and things... you could just use a simpler online communication type thingy for that.

[Eminence]

A web-based submission portal is both easier and safer for the purpose of managing user-made content for a project. And you probably wouldn't want to use FTP for the purpose of managing high scores and things... you could just use a simpler online communication type thingy for that.

Well I'm suggesting this for the means of it being user-friendly... You design a level within game, you submit it within game... Cha-ching! Rather than designing it in the game... then having to go onto a website and upload it.

I didn't mean to use the FTP to literally manage the data such as high-scores, more of a means to get the data onto the server. Once it's there you can do things very easily with it... I just don't know how else you would get it there without the FTP object.

I'm just suggesting more web-interface within fan-games, and as far as I can tell... FTP is the only Extension made to do just that, and it seems people have ignored it.

I know there may be "security issues", but the user can only do as much as the application allows it to do. If all we're doing is giving the user access to a single folder on your server for 30 seconds max to upload something that the game designates, I really see no harm. (Of course you'd have to limit file size, and how much you could upload in a day...)

I'm not parading around saying all my ideas are practical but this is the R&D Laboratory:

"For in-depth discussion about the inner mechanics of game creation and non-game applications. This is not a help forum, but rather a place to discuss the way things are (or could) be done and to show off non-game applications and tools."

I'm just trying to think outside the box a little, in theory I know some of these things would work... and I know there would be trouble within them...

I know I'm not even close to a "respected" member of these forums, and I've been a lurker for quite a while... But it seems as if I've brought up cold fusion or something...

EDIT: ...and if you are suggesting there are much easier ways to do the following things, then why hasn't it been toyed around with even lightly...? Are these ideas not even slightly nourishing to a creative mind?

[LarkSS]

I didn't mean to use the FTP to literally manage the data such as high-scores, more of a means to get the data onto the server. Once it's there you can do things very easily with it... I just don't know how else you would get it there without the FTP object.

That's how I managed high scores in a game I've made in the past and though it worked, I was forced to make the file a certain size so the ftp object would retrieve it correctly which in turn made getting the scores from the database rather slower than it should have been. There's most likely much better ways to do this rather than using this extension, which I guess would hold true with any type of online communication using mmf2. ( Personally though, I do not know of another way atm and I have yet to try out any of the Moo extensions. )

Also, I've thought of these ideas years back, as I'm sure many other members have as well. It's really just a matter that it's a lot of work to set up this kind of system; finding a reliable server, using a fast-working method, and making sure the system doesn't backfire and screw things over. In any case, it's much easier to just handle things over the web, and though running it in the application may make things more user-friendly, most people use the web as a daily routine so web-content can't be considered un-userfriendly. =/

[Gamerdude]

I've done some work in the saving of high scores/rings/etc to a database. The FTP extension could be used, but something like the MooSock object has more potential for something like that. Using MooSock you can have the game send GET/POST commands to a webscript. I used this in my ET:CF online time attack mode. Stuff is set from the game to a php script. The script then verifies, validates, and stores the information in a MySQL database. The extension can also query pages to retrieve content from the server.

The "danger" I see with using something like the FTP object for retrieving updated content is the fact that the content can be meddled with after being retrieved. For example, say you have a shop.dat file which contains entries of items and prices for a shop in your game. If you either don't encrypt, or if you someone finds a way to decrypt that data and alter it, then obviously there could be problems. I also suppose this would depend on how secure you want your game to be. If it's an MMO of sorts, you'd obviously want to avoid this. If it's a single player with no real online competition, it probabl wouldn't matter much.

Overall, this is a cool concept. It could be potentially used for some pretty neat stuff, but you'd have to be careful on the execution for security purposes.

[Epon]

FTP Object is useful for tricking people into running your program whilst scanning their entire hard drive, uploading a text output of it, and seeing what pictures of their naked girlfriends exist.

Then resend the EXE with those filepaths included to upload to server.

No really, the FTP object is a piece of shit. Use Moo