View source for Curation Tutorial Draft - Getting Started

This is a basic tutorial (up-to-date as of Flashpoint 7.1) explaining what a curation is and how you can get started curating games yourself. If you want to jump to a specific section of the tutorial you can do so here:
# '''[[Curation Tutorial Draft - Getting Started]]'''
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Your First Curation]]
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Grabbing Good Pictures]]
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Curating Games with More than One File]]
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Different Ways of Curating Flash Games]]
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Curating Random Flash games]]
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Submitting Your Curation]]
# [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Tips and Tricks]]
# [[Platforms]]

I'm going to assume you already know what Flashpoint is and have used in the past; however, if you haven't, I highly recommend you check out [https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/ the homepage of Flashpoint] and run it for yourself.

If you have any problems while curating or following this tutorial, don't hesitate to ask for help in the #help-me-please or #curator-lounge channels in our [https://discord.gg/kY8r2BbPQ9 Discord]. Provided you know how to read and have the attention span of at least a semi-focused squirrel, you should be able to follow this tutorial.

== Introduction ==
Have you ever wanted to add a game to Flashpoint for everyone to play but don't know how? Then you've come to the right place. We're always looking for more people to help save internet history.

But hold up there buckaroo! Before you jump straight into this tutorial, please keep a few things in mind:
* '''Always''' extract ".7z" files with 7zip. Although some other programs may work, this ensures there are no issues with the extraction.
* Games can range anywhere from being '''super-easy''' to '''incredibly difficult''' to add to Flashpoint. If curating something seems way too hard, you can ask for help in the #curator-lounge channel in the [https://discord.gg/kY8r2BbPQ9 Discord] or just mention it there and move on to a new game. There's plenty of other games that need saving.
* Your first curation might take a long period of time (probably around 30 minutes), but do not be discoraged! Curating games gets easier as you do it more often.
* Don't jump the gun if you don't know what you're doing. Skipping steps in this tutorial could lead to a lot of confusion or you giving up.
* Stay humble; nobody likes a know-it-all. Don't use words like "we" or "our" in the Discord if you've done very little for Flashpoint.
* Most importantly, '''don't give up!''' Flashpoint '''depends''' on people like you putting hard work and effort into this very process. Without your hard work and effort, it's possible that some games could be lost '''forever''' to the abyss of the internet.

== The Curation Process ==
So what exactly does "curating" mean when adding games to Flashpoint?

Well, because of the way Flashpoint works - and for everyone's sanity - games are added to Flashpoint through a specific process we will call '''The Curation Process'''. When you follow this process for any game, you become a '''curator''' who is '''curating''' that game.

Although the curation process differs slightly between games, it always follows this general format:
# Find the webpage holding the game of your choice
# Play the game and download all files needed to run the game
# Package the files up and add necessary metadata and images
# Run the game and test it
# Repeat steps 2-4 until you have a working game
# Submit your curation

Don't worry if you don't fully understand this process now, we will go over it step by step in later tutorials.

== Getting Familiar with Flashpoint ==
[[File:HowFlashpointRedirects.png|thumb|A diagram showing how Flashpoint's technology works.]]
In order to curate games in Flashpoint, it's important to understand how it works (duh).
Flashpoint isn't just a program that launches and plays games, its a collection of three programs working together:
# A '''web server''', which hosts the games from your computer on a fake-internet resembling their original websites,
# A '''redirector''', which tells the games to use the fake-internet, and
# A '''launcher''', which holds and makes all the games available for you to view and play them.

These three programs allow flashpoint to bypass '''sitelocks''' - special code that only allows a game to run on the original website - and let special multi-asset games (which we will discuss later) load external files to run alongside the main game. If you want more detail on how these programs work together to fake the internet, check out [[How Flashpoint Works]]

Flashpoint itself also comes in three different versions:
# '''Ultimate''', the original version of Flashpoint that contains every game available for offline use,
# '''Infinity''', the version of Flashpoint that downloads games from online when you run them, and
# '''Core''', the version of Flashpoint set up similarly to '''Ultimate''' but is specifically designed for curators.

We will be using '''Flashpoint Core''' for this tutorial. Download and extract it from the bottom of [https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/downloads/ the Downloads Page].
Side note, version 4.1 of Core didn't properly allow you to run and test games. Make sure you're using version 4.1R or higher before continuing the tutorial.

== Setting Up Your Workspace ==
Curating games for flashpoint doesn't require a whole lot of extra programs; in fact, all you should need to continue is
* '''Infinity Core''', which if you were following the tutorial you should have downloaded from the bottom of [https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/downloads/ the Downloads Page] and
* A modern browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox. These programs have built-in tools we can use to grab game files.

There are other programs we will use in later tutorials, but these two should be all you need in order to continue.

== When Can I Get to the Good Stuff?!?!? ==
We ''will'' get there eventually; don't worry! All this setup and learning is necessary for you to become a good curator. As soon as we get all of this stuff out of the way you'll be curating games in no-time!

For now, lets get started on your first curation.
Go to [[Curation Tutorial Draft - Your First Curation]] to continue.