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 simulates connecting to the internet to make games think they are playing on their original websites (see the previous answer for a more detailed explanation of that). Since the files are laid out the same way as they would be on the internet, games are not separated cleanly into ZIPs or "ROMs." Flashpoint Infinity downloads games on demand, so you can keep only the games you like by using Flashpoint Infinity.

Q: Will Flash games disappear from the Internet when December 2020 hits?

A: They won't disappear by themselves. However, once Flash support is removed from browsers, most people won't be able to use flash content unless they downgrade their browser version. In addition, they will have to downgrade their Flash version to one that does not contain the kill switch. In that situation, the sites that are hosting the games might decide to remove the Flash games because the vast majority of people won't be able to play them anymore. As we cannot rely on the assumption that sites might stay up, we're working hard to grab as many games as possible while they're still here. For more information on the road map for Flash's End of Life, see Flash EOL.

Q: I heard that Flash Player will block all Flash content from running after 2020. Will Flashpoint also stop working?

A: No. Flashpoint will continue to work in 2021 and beyond. The Flash plugin and projectors that we use do not contain the "kill switch"; this was added in a later version of the plugin.

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.

• 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 a few hundred gigabytes 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. For developers and curators only!

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

A: If you have Flashpoint Ultimate, you can use FlashpointUpdater. There is no updater available for Flashpoint Infinity or Core yet; you'll need to download and extract the new version. You can transfer any playlists you'd like to keep to a new version of Flashpoint 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: Flashpoint being 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 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, it might have been marked as Extreme, in which case 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 look for the game in that playlist specifically. 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, first click the Config tab of the launcher and turn on "Extreme Content." Next, scroll down to the "Tag Filter Groups" section and turn off the specific tag filter groups applicable to the content you want to view. Because a lot of Extreme content has not been categorized yet, you may also need to turn off the "Extreme Generic" filter.

To hide extreme content, just reset the settings mentioned above. 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: Flashpoint does not track your recently played games by default, but you can install the FPL History extension to add this functionality. See the Launcher Extensions page for more information.

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

A: 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:

• Dragging a game onto a playlist in the left sidebar will add the game to the playlist.
• Clicking the pencil button on the right sidebar will allow you to edit a game entry.
• Double-clicking the trash icon will allow you to delete a game or playlist.
• When a playlist is selected, double-clicking the X button on the right sidebar will remove the currently selected game from the playlist.

Q: Where are the games stored?

A: If you have Infinity 9.0 or higher the games and all of their assets are stored in the Legacy\htdocs folder within Flashpoint's directory (wherever you extracted it to). In Ultimate non-zipped games are stored in the same place Legacy\htdocs, zipped games are stored in Games. 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 Flashpoint 9.0 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: I disconnected from the internet and now games don't show up! How do I fix this?

A: Click the Config tab of Flashpoint Launcher, then uncheck the "On Demand Images" box. Then click "Save and Restart." When Flashpoint Launcher re-opens, the problem will be fixed.

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.
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, just re-extract it. Re-download it first if you don't have the original file anymore.
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: Flashpoint Infinity does not come with the game logos by default due to size reasons. However, they can be downloaded on demand as you use Flashpoint. First, click the Config tab of Flashpoint Launcher and make sure the "On Demand Images" box is checked. Then switch to the Grid viewing mode using the drop-down menu at the bottom-right corner of the launcher window.

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 Bluemaxima.org.

Q: Why is Flashpoint 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: 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.
3. Clear the cache by following these steps.

Q: Some Unity games ask to update the plugin and will not play the game! What's the fix?

A: Follow the steps below to fix the problem:

1. Open your Flashpoint folder and navigate to the FPSoftware\FlashpointSecurePlayerConfigs folder.
2. Extract this file into the folder, confirm to replace files.
3. Restart Flashpoint.

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-extracting 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: The newest version of the AMD Adrenalin graphics driver (22.5.2) causes Flash content to only display a white/grey/black screen. While the visuals are bugged, the content itself can still be interacted with and the audio still works.

If you have an AMD graphics card and are using the Adrenalin graphics driver, check your version number to make sure it hasn't updated to this new version. If it has, you'll need to either roll back the driver to the previous version, or disable hardware acceleration in Flash Player.

To roll back the driver:

1. Open the Start menu, then type devmgmt.msc and click the first result. This will open the Device Manager, where you can change the hardware's drivers.
2. Click on the arrow next to Display adapters to show your graphics card driver. Right click on the item that pops up and click Properties. This will open up a window that gives you further information about the driver.
3. Click the Driver tab and check the version number. If it says anything other than 22.5.2, you can stop now. If it does say 22.5.2, you'll have to roll back your driver. You can do so by clicking the Roll Back Driver button. This will pop up a window asking you to confirm and state why you are rolling back.
4. Choose whatever option (it doesn’t really matter which), then click Yes to roll back the driver to the previous version. Once that's done, it'll ask you to restart to apply the changes. Click Yes again to restart your computer.

If everything went smoothly, you should now be using an older version of your graphics driver and can now play Flash content again without issues.

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

1. Open the Command Prompt by right-clicking it and clicking Run as administrator.
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.)

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.

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. Navigate to the FPSoftware folder within your main Flashpoint folder.
2. Double-click the Clear_FP_Cache.bat file to run it.

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 Basilisk browser, you will need to clear Basilisk's cache instead.

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

A: Open the 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: After I type a URL or filename into the cURLsDownloader window, it immediately closes! Am I doing something wrong?

A: This bug is fixed in the latest version of cURLsDownloader. You can find the download link on the Helpful Tools page.

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 using Flashpoint Core, 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 Core. To fix this, switch off the "Symlink Curation Content Folder" option on the Curate tab. This issue may arise if you're using Core 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.