Extended FAQ

Be sure to check the main FAQ if you don't see your question here, then ask in the #flashpoint-help channel of our Discord if you are still not satisfied. If you are using an old version of Flashpoint, you might also want to read the Legacy FAQ.

Note that not all entries here are fully up to date yet.

General questions about the project

Q: Why do I need Flashpoint to play the games offline? Can't I just use a standalone player like the Flash Player projector to play them?

A: Many web games have what is known as a sitelock, which means that they will not work unless they are being played on the original site they were hosted on. Since the projector is not connected to the Internet and cannot identify those sites, those games will refuse to load on it. Flashpoint gets around this by running the games through a local server proxy which, simply put, tricks them into thinking they are being played on the original sites they were meant to be played on. Moreover, web games are commonly spread across multiple files rather than just one; those are known as multi-asset games. These types of games are less likely to run with just the projector on their own, but Flashpoint also deals with that. For more details, see How Flashpoint Works.

Q: Can I have a zip or ROM of a specific game? Can I download just the games I want?

A: Flashpoint Infinity downloads games on demand, so you can keep only the games you like by using Flashpoint Infinity. But because game files must be laid out the same way as they would be on the internet, for most of Flashpoint's existence it was impossible to separate game files cleanly into individual packages. With Flashpoint's GameZIP Server, games can now be served from standalone ZIP files, but many of the Legacy games that were saved before the GameZIP Server was implemented still need to be converted. We're working on it!

Q: Didn't all Flash games disappear after December 2020?

A: Flash games don't disappear by themselves. However, since Flash support was removed from browsers, most people aren't able to play Flash content unless they downgrade their browser and Flash versions to one that does not contain the kill switch. Emulators like Ruffle exist, but they have many flaws and are not compatible with all Flash content. Because of this, many sites that hosted Flash games have decided to remove them. As we cannot rely on the assumption that sites will stay up, we're working hard to grab as many games as possible while they're still here.

Q: My antivirus flagged Flashpoint! Does Flashpoint have any viruses?

A: Flashpoint does not have any viruses. However, several antivirus programs falsely detect certain files in Flashpoint as viruses. Avast, AVG, and BitDefender are even known to render Flashpoint inoperable; you'll need to follow the instructions for Troubleshooting Antivirus Interference.

Q: What is the legality of this?

A: "The only real answer is nobody knows and really, nobody should care. Games that more or less have a ticking clock until they die need to be saved now, as fast as possible."

- BlueMaxima

Q: Where can I see what websites have been archived?

A: We are working on consolidating and listing all of our scrapes, but for now, there are several places to look.

• The Flashfreeze Google Drive folder contains all of our early site scrapes, up to August 1, 2018.

• Dri0m's Archive.org account has many site scrapes available.

• A few more site scrapes are available from this Archive.org item and BlueMaxima's Archive.org account.

• We track the sites we're saving on this spreadsheet. If you'd like a site saved, just add it to the appropriate column of the sheet.

• The #flashfreeze channel on our Discord server also has some leftover rips people have gotten into our submission system.

Q: Can I use Flashpoint to play my own SWF or DCR files?

A: Follow our Curation Tutorial to add games to Flashpoint! Flashpoint comes with standalone projectors for Flash and Shockwave, and in some cases it will work to simply open an SWF with a Flash projector or open a DCR with a Director projector. But to ensure that games are preserved and work properly, you'll need to curate them.

Q: Won't the games just be converted to HTML5?

A: No. HTML5 is an entirely different technology, so they can't be converted automatically. Developers could port them over to the platform, but most will not have the time or resources to do it. Besides, the capabilities of HTML5 are different from those of Flash, so a game ported to HTML5 will never be identical to the original.

Q: Can't I use the Wayback Machine to play them?

A: The game has to be archived there in the first place, which may or may not happen. Wayback is specifically poor at grabbing multi-asset games (games that use more than one file), so chances are that it will not work there. Games with sitelocks won't work there even if they are archived.

Q: How do I check whether a game is in Flashpoint?

A: See Searching the Collection.

Q: Are you able to add/support this game? It's based on Facebook/is online multi-player.

A: Probably not. To support always online games, the emulation of a server is required. To be able to do that is almost as much work as all of Flashpoint itself, so it really wouldn't be practical to put time into it.

Q: Where are my favorite Nitrome games?

A: All of Nitrome's games were removed from Flashpoint 8.0 at Nitrome's request. This is per our removal policy. If you disagree with Nitrome's decision, you may contact them and politely ask them to reconsider. Please do not harass or behave rudely towards Nitrome. They are within their rights to request removal; please respect that.

Q: Why is <questionable content> included in Flashpoint?

A: Web games, like any other form of art, have always been used as a medium for indie developers to exercise their freedom of expression. Often, this includes homophobic, racist, sexist, and other objectionable content. As a preservation project, Flashpoint aims to archive as much content as possible from this era. It will not play the role of gatekeeper so that future generations can see what these technologies were used for. All of these works are a snapshot in time and provide a window into what humans wanted to create at the turn of the century as the internet was in its infancy. You do not have to agree with nor enjoy said content. In order to responsibly provide the means to organize the vast collection that is Flashpoint, it's required to tag questionable content appropriately so that others may use search filters to exclude it from the rest.

Q: I watched a video by Nick Robinson on YouTube which said that games in Flashpoint connect to the internet! Is this true?

A: The short answer is no, this is not true. Games in Flashpoint never connect directly to the internet; they connect to Flashpoint's "fake internet," which is a proxy server running locally on your computer. If you are using Flashpoint Infinity, this proxy server will connect to Flashpoint's server at infinity.unstable.life to download any files that are unavailable locally. Once the game files are downloaded, the game can be played offline. If you are using Flashpoint Ultimate, an internet connection is never required to play games. See How Flashpoint Works for more information.

To address the specific claims in Nick Robinson's video: Mission in Snowdriftland has been fully archived in Flashpoint since 2019 and is fully playable offline in Flashpoint Infinity once the game files have been downloaded. We have tested this with all network adapters disabled via the Windows Control Panel. Nick Robinson used a third-party "internet killswitch" tool that may have unusually interfered with Flashpoint. He did not speak to us before the publication of the video and did not report any issues with our software to us, but later corrected the claims in his video as a comment on the video's page.

Q: Why isn't Flashpoint on Android?

A: There are a multitude of reasons why a version of Flashpoint for Android isn't feasible at the moment.

• The last version of Android to support and run Flash natively is 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) which was released in 2011. Very few, if any, current devices can support this version of Android. Even if you were able to obtain a device running Android 4.0, installation of Flash would be impossible as the installer requires connecting to https://settings.adobe.com/ which is now disabled by Adobe.
• The vast majority of games in Flashpoint were designed to be viewed on desktop monitors and played with a keyboard and mouse, and would not be suitable for a handheld touchscreen.
• Flashpoint includes and supports more than just Flash, bringing Flashpoint over to Android would also mean developing Android support for many other Flashpoint components (Launcher, Web servers, QEMU VM).
• While Android is Linux-based, it does not support docker or provide the same utilities/sockets/environment settings that allow Flashpoint to run on Linux.
• All software in Flashpoint is written for x86 architecture and is incompatible with ARM, which is the most common architecture on Android devices.

Setting up Flashpoint

Q: What version of Flashpoint should I get? What's the difference between Infinity and Ultimate?

A: If you have a lot of free disk space, bandwidth, and time, you should get Flashpoint Ultimate. But if you don't have a lot of free space, want to get Flashpoint up and running quickly, or only want to play a few games, you should get Flashpoint Infinity. See below for a detailed description of each edition of Flashpoint.

• Flashpoint Ultimate: The full package. All games are fully playable offline. Also includes a logo and screenshot for each game. You'll need more than a terabyte of free disk space - see the Flashpoint downloads page for more details.
• Flashpoint Infinity: A minimalist build - games download as you choose to play them. Once games are fully downloaded, they will work offline. Logos and screenshots for games are also downloadable on demand, but Extras are not available.
• Flashpoint Core: A lightweight copy of Flashpoint with one game per platform to aid curation. Deprecated, with its tools merged into Infinity 12.

Q: How do I update Flashpoint when a new version is released?

A: If you have Flashpoint Ultimate, you can use FlashpointUpdater. Starting with version 12, Infinity uses an Installer and Manager for Installation/Updating components. When new components release, open the Manager by either opening FlashpointManager.exe in the Manager folder, or clicking Open Flashpoint Manager in the bottom left corner of Infinity. You can transfer any playlists you'd like to keep from pre-Manager versions of Flashpoint to the new versions by following the instructions below.

Q: How do I move my playlists to a new version of Flashpoint?

A: If your old version of Flashpoint is 8.1 or above, you'll need to export your playlists first:

1. Open your old copy of Flashpoint. Click the appropriate tab, then click the playlist you want to keep.
2. Click the "Export playlist to a file" button (this is the 2nd button from the left).
3. Repeat the process for any other playlists that you want to save.

To import your playlist files into your new copy of Flashpoint, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you've closed your old copy of Flashpoint, then open the new one.
2. If you are transferring a Games playlist, click the Games tab of the launcher. If you are transferring an Animations playlist, click the Animations tab.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the left sidebar, then click the "Import Playlist" button.
4. Navigate to the folder where your old playlists are stored.
   • If your old version of Flashpoint is 8.0 or below, your playlist files will be located inside its Data\Playlists folder.
   • Otherwise, your playlist files will be located in the folder where you exported them.
5. Double-click a playlist (JSON file) to import it. Repeat the process for any other playlists that you want to import.

Q: How do I uninstall Flashpoint from my computer?

A: As Flashpoint is a fully portable application, it can be uninstalled by simply deleting its main folder.

Q: What's the best way to download Flashpoint Ultimate?

A: If you're updating to a new version or you're low on disk space, we recommend using FlashpointUpdater. In addition to updating an existing copy, it can also be used to download a full copy of Flashpoint Ultimate by pointing it at an empty folder. This lets you avoid downloading and extracting a 7Z file, saving a lot of disk space.

If you want the download to be as quick as possible, we recommend using the torrent. It will be faster, but it comes in the form of a large 7Z file. That means you'll need sufficient free disk space both to download and extract it.

Q: Can I use Flashpoint on Linux?

A: Yes, although not all platforms and features are supported. See Linux Support.

Q: Can I use Flashpoint on a Chromebook?

A: Yes, but only if your Chromebook's processor architecture is x86_64. This video explains how to check your Chromebook's processor architecture.

You'll also need to install Linux on your Chromebook if you haven't done so yet.

Once Linux is installed on your x86_64 Chromebook, see Linux Support for instructions on how to install Flashpoint.

Q: Can I use Flashpoint on Mac?

A: A heavily experimental Flashpoint package is available for MacOS. See Mac Support.

Playing games

Q: How do I create a shortcut to Flashpoint on my desktop/taskbar/start menu?

A: Go into the Launcher folder that's inside your Flashpoint directory and look for Flashpoint.exe. Right-click it and click Send to > Desktop (create shortcut), or drag it to your taskbar or start menu. CAUTION: Do NOT drag Flashpoint.exe directly to your desktop as that will move the file, which will make the launcher not work.

Q: How do I create a shortcut to a specific game/animation in Flashpoint?

A: This feature is planned for Flashpoint Launcher, but for now, you'll need to download two separate tools. Follow the steps below:

1. Download the latest static release of CLIFp.
2. Extract the ZIP file and move CLIFp.exe into your Flashpoint folder.
3. Download Flashpoint Shortcut Maker.
4. Extract the ZIP file and move FlashpointShortcutMaker.vbs into your Flashpoint folder.

Now that you have CLIFp and Flashpoint Shortcut Maker set up, follow the steps below to create a shortcut:

1. Open Flashpoint Launcher and find the game/animation that you want to create a shortcut for.
2. Right-click the game/animation and click "Copy Game UUID".
3. Double-click FlashpointShortcutMaker.vbs.
4. Paste the UUID of the game/animation that you copied in step 2. Click OK, and a shortcut will appear on your desktop!

Q: Why can I not find X game/animation in the launcher? Why do some games/animations not appear?

A: There are a few possibilities:

• Make sure you spelled the name of the game/animation correctly when searching. If a search fails, try searching for partial names rather than full names. Varying punctuation is also a common culprit. We are planning on overhauling the Search feature to allow for more customizable and dynamic browsing in the future, so stay tuned!
• If the game/animation has adult content, you'll need to follow these instructions before it will be visible.
• Make sure you don't have a playlist selected by accident; Searching in a playlist will not work. So make sure you have All Games selected in the left-hand column before making your search.
• If you see the game on the Master List but don't see it in Flashpoint Infinity, then it might only be available in Flashpoint Ultimate. Follow these steps to show broken games in Infinity, then search for the game again. If you see the game and the "Broken (in Infinity)" checkbox is checked, that means the game is only available in Flashpoint Ultimate.
• It's also possible that we don't have the game yet. If you wish to request a game or an animation to be added to Flashpoint, you can do so via the Request Form. Alternatively, if you want to ensure that the game/animation is added, you can learn how to curate it yourself by following our Curation Tutorial. In either case, please thoroughly search the master lists above to make sure that we don't have the game or animation already.

Q: How do I show/hide Extreme content in Flashpoint?

A: To show Extreme content in Flashpoint, click the Config tab of the launcher and scroll down to the "Content Filters" section, then turn on the "Show Extreme Filters" option. To hide extreme content, just switch the option off again.

To hide or show content matching a specific filter, click the eye icon next to the filter to toggle its visibility. When the eye icon is lit up, it means that content matching that filter is visible. You can also create your own filter by clicking the + button in the bottom-right corner. Here is a diagram to help explain.

If you want to hide these settings altogether, for example if you have children using Flashpoint, you can edit the file config.json with any text editor to change the false value next to disableExtremeGames to true, saving the file afterwards.

Q: Can I play the games in fullscreen? Can I make them bigger?

A: The answer depends on the type of game you're playing. See below:

• For Flash games that open in the Flash projector, you can drag the corner of the window to resize it. Do your best to maintain the window's original aspect ratio, otherwise some games might behave in unexpected ways.
• For Flash, Shockwave, and Java games, you can play them in fullscreen using IntegerScaler. However, this program doesn't play well with multi-monitor setups.
• For most games that open in a browser, you can press Ctrl + + and Ctrl + - (Ctrl-plus and Ctrl-minus) to zoom in and out. In most cases, fullscreen is not possible for these games.
• Another option for Shockwave is to use SPRS, a version of the Shockwave projector that runs the games in fullscreen. Though keep in mind that this feature is experimental and has only been tested with a handful of games, therefore it may not work well with all games.

To use SPRS:

1. Click the pencil icon on the upper right of the game info section for the game you want to play in fullscreen (if you don't see the icon, enable editing on the Config tab).
2. Scroll down to the field labeled Application Path and change SPR.exe to SPRS.exe.
3. Click the checkmark button at the top to confirm.
4. Launch the game.

To close the game, press Esc (or alternatively, Alt + F4).

Q: Can I view a list of my recently played games?

A: As of Infinity 12, this is a native feature of the launcher. Make sure Track Playtime is enabled in the Config tab, and set your search view to Last Played and Descending.

Q: How do I edit a game or playlist in my copy of Flashpoint?

A: To add a game to a playlist, drag it onto the playlist in the left sidebar. To remove a game from a playlist, select the playlist and the game, then click the X button in the top-right corner next to the game's title.

To allow editing games in your copy of Flashpoint, click the Config tab of Flashpoint Launcher, then check the "Enable Editing" box. Then click "Save and Restart." When Flashpoint Launcher re-opens, you'll notice the following changes:

• Clicking the pencil icon on the right sidebar will allow you to edit a game entry.
• Clicking the trash icon on the right sidebar will allow you to delete a game.

Q: Where are the games stored?

A: Zipped games are stored in the Data\Games folder within Flashpoint's directory (wherever you extracted it to). Non-zipped games are stored in the Legacy\htdocs folder. To find the files for a specific game, right-click the game entry in Flashpoint Launcher, then click "Open File Location."

Q: Where is the games' save data kept? How can I delete it/transfer it to another computer/drive?

A: You can find the location where each platform keeps their save data in Save Data Locations. For your convenience, there are two batch scripts included in Flashpoint's FPSoftware folder which can be used to back up and restore Flash save data to another computer or drive; Namely Saves Manager - Backup.bat and Saves Manager - Restore.bat. If you want to delete save data or manage non-Flash data, you are going to have to find it manually at the locations listed on the aforementioned page.

Q: I want to play Happy Wheels! What should I download?

A: We have a few options:

• The Happy Wheels Demo is available in Flashpoint Infinity. The demo is missing the user levels and other extra content from the full version.
• The full version of Happy Wheels is included with Flashpoint Ultimate. It includes all user levels up to 2019-03-24.
• We also offer a standalone download called Happy Wheels Offline. It only includes user levels up to 2018-11-26, but it's only 8GB.

Q: I want to play Moshi Monsters! What should I download?

A: Moshi Monsters is available in Flashpoint Ultimate and Infinity. If you want a full, offline copy of Moshi Monsters but don't want to download Flashpoint Ultimate, you can download our standalone Moshi Monsters package.

Troubleshooting

Q: Why doesn't my old version of Flashpoint Infinity work anymore? I can't download games or logos/screenshots.

A: Due to SSL certificate issues outside of our control, old versions of Flashpoint Infinity (10.0 and below) do not work anymore. You will need to update to the latest version of Flashpoint.

Q: I'm using Flashpoint Infinity, launching games always shows a blank white screen, and no logos and screenshots are loading! How do I fix this?

A: Follow each of these steps and check to see if Flashpoint works properly after each one. If it still shows a white screen, try the next step.

1. Follow the antivirus interference steps to prevent an antivirus such as Avast or AVG from interfering with Flashpoint.
2. If Flashpoint still doesn't work, your router probably has internet filtering software installed that is blocking our Infinity server. A common one is McAfee Secure Home Platform; here is how to disable it.
3. If Flashpoint still doesn't work, you might be experiencing a different problem. Follow the Troubleshooting steps in the Manual.

Q: After I updated to the latest Flashpoint Ultimate using the updater, no games are working! Is there a fix?

A: Follow the steps below to fix the problem:

1. Download this file.
2. Replace the existing file in Flashpoint's Server folder with the file that you downloaded.

Q: When I double-click Flashpoint.exe, nothing happens! What can I do?

A: When you open Flashpoint Launcher, a bug may occur that prevents it from showing the window. If this happens, open Windows Task Manager, click the Details tab, and look for any process named Flashpoint.exe. Then click "End Process", and double-click Flashpoint.exe again to see if it starts normally.

If the issue persists, or if the Launcher doesn't open after the first time you started it, close all Flashpoint processes again, then look for a 0 KB preferences.json file in the same location as the Start Flashpoint shortcut. If it is 0 KB, replace it with this default preferences file. Once done, launch Flashpoint using the Start Flashpoint shortcut and it should now open normally. Note: If you previously changed some settings on the Config tab, you will have to set them again.

The problem can also be caused by a port conflict between Flashpoint and another application. Restarting your computer is the easiest way to fix the problem. Or if you have a program that uses Hyper-V (such as Windows Subsystem for Linux/Android), you can try adding port 12001 to the excluded port range by following these instructions. If you haven't heard of Hyper-V before, this solution probably doesn't apply to you.

Q: I extracted Flashpoint into my Downloads folder, but now I can't find it! Where is my Flashpoint folder?

A: If your Downloads folder is grouped by date, you'll need to scroll down to the "Earlier this year" or "A long time ago" section to find your Flashpoint folder. This is because Flashpoint's files were packed into the installer "a long time ago", so they appear on your computer as being from that date, even though the installer file itself was downloaded to your computer recently.

Q: I accidentally deleted a game/animation from Flashpoint! How can I reset it?

A: Follow the steps below:

1. Back up any playlists that you want to keep.
   • If you are using Infinity 12 or above, backing up playlists is not necessary. Playlists are stored in Data\Playlists.
2. Get the appropriate database file for your edition of Flashpoint:
   • If you are using Flashpoint Ultimate, download the database file. Then open your copy of Flashpoint Ultimate and replace the flashpoint.sqlite file inside its Data folder with the file you downloaded.
   • If you are using Flashpoint Infinity, delete the flashpoint.sqlite file and either redownload it with the Manager, or download it with the Update metadata button on the homepage of Infinity.
3. Restore any playlists that you backed up.

Q: I accidentally marked a game as Broken (in Infinity), and it disappeared! How do I find it again?

A: Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Flashpoint folder.
2. Open the preferences.json file in a text editor such as Notepad.
3. Find the line that says "showBrokenGames": false, and change false to true.
4. Save the file and restart Flashpoint.

Q: I can't see the left (or right) sidebar of the launcher anymore! Where did it go?

A: Click the arrow buttons on the top-right corner of the launcher to toggle the left and right sidebars. --->

Q: Why can't I see the games' logos/screenshots?

A: Switch to the Grid viewing mode using the drop-down menu at the bottom-right corner of the launcher window. Flashpoint Infinity does not display them by default for perfomance reasons.

Q: Why won't my Ultimate torrent work?

A: You will need a torrent client such as qBittorrent to open the .torrent file. The .torrent file tells your torrent client how to download Flashpoint Ultimate.

Do not use the torrent from Archive.org! Because of the size of Flashpoint Ultimate, Archive.org will not seed its torrent. Instead, use the torrent link on FlashpointArchive.org.

Q: Why is Flashpoint Ultimate not working after my download?

A: Make sure you unzip the program, as it will not work while still zipped. Please use 7-Zip when doing this, as WinRAR is known to fail. If Flashpoint is still not working, follow the Troubleshooting steps in the Manual.

Q: When I try to open the Flashpoint Ultimate 7Z file with 7-Zip, it says "Cannot open as archive." What's the problem?

A: The download was probably corrupted. Browsers are not designed to download gigantic files like Flashpoint Ultimate, so you'll need to use a download manager such as Free Download Manager to download the file.

Q: How can I check whether Flashpoint Ultimate downloaded successfully?

A: You'll need to check whether the hash of the file you downloaded matches the expected hash. First, install 7-Zip if you don't have it already. Next, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the 7Z file that you downloaded.
2. Choose "CRC SHA...", then choose SHA1 or CRC32.
3. Go to the Flashpoint downloads page and click the button labeled "Mirror" or "Archive.org" underneath the Flashpoint Ultimate heading. This should take you to Flashpoint Ultimate's Archive.org entry.
4. Scroll down and find the "Download Options" sidebar on the right. Click the "Show All" link.
5. Click the file ending in _files.xml. For example, on Flashpoint 6.3's page, the file is called Flashpoint6.3_files.xml.
6. You should see a list of files in XML format. Check the hash listed for the file, and make sure it matches the hash you found in Step 2. For example, if you chose CRC32 in Step 2, make sure the CRC32 hashes are the same.

Q: Most games are working, but when I try to open a specific game, I get an error like one of these:

• "The file __ is not a Director file."
• "Error launching Unity Player: bad file length"
• "Failed to initialize player's 3D settings"
• A stuck loading bar
• Partially loaded images, missing elements on a page or in a game, or other problems indicating file corruption

A: If you are using Flashpoint Infinity, it's very likely that Flashpoint Router failed to download a complete file. To solve the problem, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the game that you are trying to play, then click "Open File Location."
2. This will open a folder; delete all of the files there.
3. Clear the cache by following these steps.
4. Try launching the game again.

If the problem persists, try updating Flashpoint Router. If that doesn't help, follow the Troubleshooting steps in the Manual.

Q: How do I update Flashpoint Router?

A: Follow these steps:

1. Download this file: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FlashpointProject/Flashpoint-Router/master/router.php
2. Place the downloaded file in the Legacy folder of your Flashpoint folder, overwriting the original router.php file.

Q: I am playing a 3DVIA Player webgame and the audio is loud and distorted, how do I fix it?

A: Your computer has an issue with MP3 playback caused by the LAV Audio codec. Follow the steps below to fix the problem:

1. Find LAV Audio in the Start Menu and open it. This will open the LAV Audio Configuration window.
2. In the LAV Audio Configuration window, under Output Formats, uncheck 24-bit Integer, 32-bit Integer, and 32-bit Floating point.
3. Click OK to save the settings and close the LAV Audio Configuration window.

If you don't see a LAV Audio shortcut in your Start Menu, you may need to re-run the LAV Filters installer.

Q: Games are not working, and an error like this one appears constantly in the Launcher's logs:

Server exited with code 3221225781

A: First, make sure that you have installed all of the latest Windows Updates. Next, install the Microsoft .NET Framework and the Visual C++ 2015 x86 Redistributable. When you install the Visual C++ Redistributable, make sure to install the x86 version, even if you're on a 64-bit machine!

Q: When I open Flashpoint all I get is a black/grey screen. What should I do?

A: If your computer has an older graphics card, it may not support the launcher's hardware acceleration. To get around this, disable hardware acceleration by following these steps:

1. In your main Flashpoint folder, select the Start Flashpoint shortcut by clicking it once.
2. Press Alt + Enter to bring up its properties window.
3. In the Target field, add a space at the very end of the field followed by --disable-gpu.
4. Click OK
5. Launch Flashpoint by double-clicking the Start Flashpoint shortcut.

Note that this change only affects the launcher itself, and shouldn't have any impact on its performance.

Q: Most games are working, but when I launch a Flash game such as Super Mario Bros. Crossover, it crashes on a black screen! What's the fix?

A: If you're experiencing this issue with Super Mario Bros. Crossover, follow the steps below to fix the problem:

1. Open your Flashpoint folder and navigate to the Legacy\htdocs folder.
2. Delete the data.explodingrabbit.com folder.

Or if this issue is occurring with a different game, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the game and click "Open File Location".
2. Delete all of the files inside the folder that opens.

Finally, clear the cache by following these steps.

Q: Launching games never does anything, and a message like this appears on Flashpoint's Logs tab:

[Game name] failed to start, spawn [path] ENOENT

A: To launch games, Flashpoint must be able to access the Command Prompt. Follow these steps to check this:

1. Press Windows+R to open the Run box.
2. Copy and paste the path from the message (between spawn and ENOENT) into the box, then press Enter.

A Command Prompt window should open. If it does not open, follow the steps below to fix the problem. If it does open, skip the below steps.

1. Press Windows+R to open the Run box again.
2. Type/paste sysdm.cpl into the box and press Enter.
3. Click the "Advanced" tab, then click the "Environment Variables" button.
4. Under System Variables, double-click the ComSpec variable to edit it.
5. Change the variable value to %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe and click OK.
6. Click OK again to exit out of the dialog boxes that are still open.

If the problem persists, Flashpoint may be missing necessary software to launch games. The path to the software will be listed in a line of the log starting with applicationPath. Here is an example:

applicationPath: "FPSoftware\Flash\flashplayer_32_sa.exe",

Open your Flashpoint folder and check whether the file path exists. If it does not, it may have been deleted by antivirus; see Troubleshooting Antivirus Interference. If all else fails, try re-installing Flashpoint.

Q: Flash games are just showing a black/grey/white screen, but I can still hear the game's audio. How do I fix this?

A: Recent versions of the AMD Adrenalin graphics driver (22.5.2 and later) cause Flash content to only display a black/grey/white screen, while the audio still works and the content can still be interacted with.

If you have an AMD Radeon RX 6000 series or later GPU and are using the Adrenalin graphics driver, you'll need to either roll back your driver to 22.5.1 or older, or disable hardware acceleration in Flash Player to fix the visuals.

To roll back your driver:

1. Open the Start menu, then type Device Manager and click the first result.
2. Click the arrow next to "Display adapters" to reveal your graphics driver.
3. Right click on the item that pops up, then click Properties.
4. Select the Driver tab, then click "Roll Back Driver."
5. Click "Yes" to confirm the rollback, then click "Yes" again to restart your computer.

If you don't want to or can't roll back your driver, you can instead disable hardware acceleration in Flash Player:

1. Open the Command Prompt as an Administrator by following these steps.
2. Paste in the following command, then press Enter:

mkdir "%WINDIR%\SysWow64\Macromed\Flash" 2>NUL & echo DisableHardwareAcceleration = 1 >> "%WINDIR%\SysWow64\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg"

Note that disabling hardware acceleration may significantly reduce the framerate of some 3D Flash games. (Other Flash games should not be affected.)

Q: I'm trying to play a Flash game such as Steppenwolf or Drakens värld in Flashpoint Navigator or Basilisk, but the keyboard controls aren't working! Is there a fix?

A: On some computers, Flash Player does not obey the browser's Protected Mode setting, so it must be set in the system's Flash Player configuration instead. Follow the steps below:

1. Open the Command Prompt as an Administrator by following these steps.
2. Paste in the following command, then press Enter:

mkdir "%WINDIR%\SysWow64\Macromed\Flash" 2>NUL & echo ProtectedMode = 0 >> "%WINDIR%\SysWow64\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg"

Q: The Flashpoint window won't show more than 250 entries at once. Can I fix this?

A: Yes, look in the Config tab for "Search Limit", and change "250 Results" to "Unlimited".

Work & Curation

Q: What is the difference between requesting and curating a game? Can I "submit" a game?

A: Requesting - This option adds your game to an ever-growing list of ones people want added. You will need to fill out the request form which takes 1-5 minutes. Chances of game being saved by any of the curators is small because there are thousands of games waiting on the list, some of which have been waiting for over a year. If you want to increase the chances of it being saved, we suggest that you try to write an engaging description of the game and/or the reason you want it saved.

Curating - This is the process of actually adding the game to Flashpoint. It requires testing the game using procedures detailed in our curation guides. It takes about 30 minutes to do the first time, but as you learn the process you can get it under 5 minutes. To get started, follow our Curation Tutorial. Once you curate a game, it will be saved and added to the next version of Flashpoint.

If you'd like to learn more about the concept of digital curation, read this article. It explains the principles behind what we do.

Q: How do I correct a problem with a game's metadata? Does editing the game in my copy of Flashpoint update it for everyone?

A: No, editing a game in your copy of Flashpoint does not update it for everyone. To get your change included in the next version of Flashpoint, follow the instructions in the Metadata Edits page.

Q: What tools should I use to archive whole websites?

A: See Helpful Tools.

Q: How do I tell what platform a game is?

A: The easiest way to check these kinds of things is to right-click the game window and look at the context menu that appears. If it says something about Flash, it's a Flash game. If it says nothing out of the ordinary or no context menu appeared, it's probably HTML5. See this image for a summary.

You can also use Inspect Element to look at the embed of the game for the following file extensions:

.swf - Flash

.dcr/.dir/.dxr - Shockwave

.unity3d - Unity Web Player

.jar/.class - Java

.stk - ShiVa3D

.xap - Silverlight

.vmo - 3DVIA

If a game runs only in Internet Explorer, references a .cab file, and is not one of the above types of games, it is probably an ActiveX game.

If a game does not require any plugins or ActiveX controls to run, then it is probably an HTML5 (or HTML/JavaScript) game.

If it's something else it may be under one of our other platforms, but these are the most common types. The full list of the file types that our platforms use is on the linked page.

Q: Where can I submit my collection of SWFs?

A: This is our public upload location.

It is highly encouraged that you first check whether each game/animation is already in Flashpoint and only upload ones that are not.

Q: What is a good tool to decompile/hack SWF files (Flash games)?

A: The recommended program for this purpose is JPEXS Free Flash Decompiler.

Q: How do I clear the Flash projector's cache?

A: The Flash projectors use WinINet to perform network requests. Some other Flashpoint platforms, such as 3D Groove GX, also use WinINet. To clear the cache for these programs, follow these steps:

1. Enable Editing in the Config tab.
2. Open it, and click Clear WinINet Cache.

Alternatively, you can run the command manually by following these steps:

1. Press Windows+R to open the Run box.
2. Type or paste in the following command, then press Enter: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8

Note that for games that use the Flashpoint Navigator or Basilisk browser, you will need to clear the browser's cache instead.

Q: How do I clear the Flashpoint Navigator or Basilisk browser's cache?

A: Open the Flashpoint Navigator or Basilisk browser and follow these steps:

1. Press the Alt key
2. Click "History," then "Clear Recent History..."
3. Change the time range to "Everything" using the dropdown menu, then check the boxes next to "Cache" and "Offline Website Data."
4. Click "Clear Now."

Q: I'm curating an HTML5 version of a Flash game that is already in Flashpoint (or the other way around). Should I submit it as alternate of Flashpoint's existing entry?

A: No, you will need to submit a new, separate curation. Currently, alternate versions of a game are required to be of the same Platform (technology) as the main game entry.

Q: My curation works fine in Flashpoint Core, but when I import it into Infinity, it doesn't work anymore! Is there a problem with my curation?

A: Probably not. For Infinity, files need to be placed in the cgi-bin folder, following the same structure as they would in the htdocs folder, if they meet one of these criteria:

• The file has a PHP, PHP5 or PHTML extension. These files are always loaded from cgi-bin.
• The file doesn't have one of these extensions, but does have a PHP script in it that you intend to run.

This restriction exists because it would be unsafe for Infinity to download and execute PHP on demand.

If your curation does not include any PHP scripts and it still isn't working, clear the cache and try launching the game again.

Q: I filled out tags for my curation, but after I exported it, I noticed that the tags are missing! Why did this happen?

A: To add a tag to your curation, first type it into the Tags box, then select it by either clicking it, or pressing the Tab key and hitting Enter when the tag is highlighted. If you type a tag without selecting it, it will not be added to your curation!

Q: I'm curating in Flashpoint, and launching my curations shows a blank white screen. What do I do?

A: This issue may be caused by your file system not supporting symlinks, which are enabled by Default in Flashpoint. To fix this, switch off the "Symlink Curation Content Folder" option on the Curate or Config tab. This issue may arise if you're using Flashpoint on an external device such as a USB or portable hard drive. Keep in mind turning off symlink will disallow you from using the MAD4FP curation tool.

Technical questions

Q: How does Flashpoint's ActiveX support work? What happens when an ActiveX control is registered?

A: Flashpoint Secure Player powers our ActiveX support. It provides a lightweight wrapper around Internet Explorer's engine, so it can load ActiveX controls just like Internet Explorer can. It has a significant advantage over Internet Explorer though: it allows us to use Internet Explorer's engine with Flashpoint but not change your Internet Explorer settings. It can load files through Flashpoint's proxy and load Flashpoint's ActiveX controls that do not work with Internet Explorer's default settings. In addition, Flashpoint Secure Player resets all changes that it makes to your system after it closes, meaning that ActiveX controls can be used without being permanently installed. All of the ActiveX controls supported by Flashpoint are included in the FPSoftware\ActiveX folder; no ActiveX controls are downloaded from the internet.

Q: How can I add Flashpoint games to my LaunchBox collection?

A: You can use this tool to import games and playlists from Flashpoint into LaunchBox.