User:LemurianPatriot/sandbox/Flashpoint Archive

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Flashpoint Archive
Other namesBlueMaxima's Flashpoint
Original author(s)Ben "BlueMaxima" Latimore
Developer(s)Community contributors
Initial releaseZero / January 15, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01-15)[1]
Stable release
12.1 (Salamander) / October 27, 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10-27)[1]
Repositorygithub.com/FlashpointProject/launcher/
Written inTypeScript, Go, C++, C#, C[2][3][4][5]
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows, macOS, Linux
LicenseMIT (launcher),[6] proprietary (engines, games)
Websitehttps://flashpointarchive.org/

Flashpoint Archive (formerly BlueMaxima's Flashpoint) is an archival and preservation project that allows browser games, web animations and other general rich web applications to be played in an secure format, after all major browsers removed native support for NPAPI/PPAPI plugins in the mid-to-late 2010s as well as the plugins' deprecation.[7][8][9] The project contains over 160 thousand applications from 91 browser plugins, most notably Adobe Flash, which can be installed and played using the provided Flashpoint Launcher and its associated tools.

History[edit]

The project was initiated by Australian Ben "BlueMaxima" Latimore in late 2017, initially as part of a separate project from the Archive Team.[10][11][12] The project has since developed a launcher for playing the archived games and animations, and has reached a total size of 1.48 TB. The project allows games to be played through a proxy that receives and blocks any web requests and calls needed, bypassing any DRM that relied on the web.[13][14] BlueMaxima stepped down as leader of the project in early 2023 in order to move on to other projects[15], including a book dedicated towards the early history of web games named after Flashpoint.[16]

Supported plugins[edit]

While named after and mostly focused on Flash content, media using other discontinued web plugins are also preserved, including notable examples such as Shockwave,[17] Microsoft Silverlight, Java applets, the Unity Web Player,[18] as well as software frameworks such as ActiveX. Other currently used web technologies are also preserved in Flashpoint, like HTML5. As of Flashpoint 12.1, 91 distinct web technologies are currently listed as being preserved.[19]

Legality[edit]

The legality of the project has been described as "unclear" but creators who do not want their games included can ask for their removal.[7] A notable example of this is when Nitrome removed their games from the archive in 2019, as they were planning to remake their games under HTML5.[20][21]

Editions[edit]

There are two editions of Flashpoint that are currently released, Infinity and Ultimate. The Infinity edition is an official launcher that downloads and manages games for the user, which provides an alternative to downloading the entire archive. The Ultimate edition contains every archived game and animation preinstalled, and is designed to be used by archivists. A Core edition was also released with older versions, which was a version of the launcher with limited content included, designed to be used by curators for adding games to the archive, however has since been merged into Infinity as a separate mode starting with Flashpoint 12.[22]

Reception[edit]

Flashpoint has received acclaim for its dedication towards both its preservation project and the launcher it provides for easy access. Flashpoint has also led to the creation of a similar project, Kahvibreak, which is dedicated towards the preservation of Java mobile games used on feature phones during the 2000s.

Major version releases[edit]

Beginning with version 3.0, new versions also included a codename for each major release.

Flashpoint Archive release history[23][24]
Version Release date Comment Codename Total number of apps
"Zero" 2018-01-15
  • First published release
 N/A
1.0 Early 2018
1.1 2018-04-13
1.2 2018-04-22
1.3 2018-04-30 850
1.4 2018-05-01
2.0 2018-05-14
3.0 2018-05-30
  • Introduced the Redirector, which allowed games to be played without requiring modification of its DRM or anti-copying features.
 Keys to the Kingdom
3.1 2018-06-09
  • Added Flashpoint Theatre, a modification of LaunchBox to launch games through an UI instead of the file browser
 Opening Night
3.2 2018-06-27
  • First version to support Shockwave titles
 Shock and Awe
3.3 2018-07-17
  • First version to have over 4,000 applications
 Ultra HD
4.0 2018-08-12
  • First version to introduce Infinity, which was a version of Flashpoint with an updated version of Flashpoint Theatre which was able to download and launch games from the web, removing the need to have the entire archive downloaded
  • The full archive was repackaged into Ultimate, which includes all applications into a single download
 The Living Infinite
4.1 2018-08-28 Javality
5.0 2018-09-28
  • Replaced the Theatre with a brand new launcher, designed specifically for Flashpoint
 Go for Launch
5.1 2018-10-27
  • Added support for creating playlists
 The Great Filter
5.2 2018-11-26 Type III
5.3 2018-12-23 Revolution
5.4 2019-01-29
  • Animations were merged into the games launcher
  • A hotfix dubbed "74%" was released the same day to add various patches
 Recombination
5.5 2019-02-27 Iron & Copper
6.0 2019-04-26 Alignment
6.1 2019-05-30 Preservationware
6.2 2019-07-22 Moe's Great Escape
6.3 2019-09-28 We're Talking About Flash Games, Not Abstract Philosophy
7.0 2019-12-22 Eight Thousand Hours
7.1 2020-01-27
  • Major bugfixes
 Stay on Target
8.0 2020-04-30
  • Redirector was removed from the server stack
 301
8.1 2020-08-01 Spirit of Adventure
8.2 2020-08-28 Approaching Planet Nine
9.0 2020-11-17
Glorious Sunset
10 2021-05-10
  • First version released after the discontinuation of Adobe Flash
 Absence
10.1 2021-10-02 Absence II
11 2022-08-20
  • Added support for 36 new plugins
 Oops, All Plugins!
11.1 2023-01-13
  • Final version with BlueMaxima as lead
 Operation Cherry Blossom
12 2023-07-10
  • Flashpoint Launcher can now update and patch itself, preventing the need to reinstall Flashpoint on every new release
 Axolotl
12.1 2023-10-27 Salamander

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "News – Flashpoint Archive". flashpointarchive.org. Archived from the original on 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  2. ^ FlashpointProject/FlashpointSecureTools, Flashpoint Archive, 2023-12-30, retrieved 2024-01-29
  3. ^ FlashpointProject/FlashpointProxy, Flashpoint Archive, 2023-12-30, retrieved 2024-01-29
  4. ^ FlashpointProject/launcher, Flashpoint Archive, 2024-01-28, retrieved 2024-01-29
  5. ^ FlashpointProject/FlashpointUltimateUpdater, Flashpoint Archive, 2024-01-24, retrieved 2024-01-29
  6. ^ Flashpoint Launcher, FlashpointProject, 2021-12-09, archived from the original on 2021-12-11, retrieved 2021-12-11
  7. ^ a b "Ontwikkelaars maken tool om 38.000 oude Flash-games te archiveren en te spelen". Tweakers (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  8. ^ "You Can Now Play 36,000 Saved Flash Games Offline Ahead of Flash Browser Support End". HYPEBEAST. 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  9. ^ Morton, Lauren (31 January 2020). "Flashpoint launcher is saving Flash games from extinction". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Flash Games As We Know Them Will Die Forever In 2020. One Guy Is Trying To Save Them All". Kotaku Australia. 5 May 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. ^ Prescott, Shaun (3 February 2020). "Thousands of old Flash games have been saved from obsolescence". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ^ Kidwell, Emma (2 May 2018). "Flashpoint is archiving Flash games before they disappear forever". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ Hoon Chan, Khee (18 March 2021). "Tracing the Sprawling Roots of Flash Preservation". VICE. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  14. ^ Grosso, Robert (24 December 2018). "Flashpoint Preserves over 10,000 Web-Based Flash Games; Playable With New Launcher". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. ^ "BlueMaxima on Twitter: "Flashpoint 11.1 is out, and with it, I'm announcing my retirement from the project."". Twitter. 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  16. ^ Ben "BlueMaxima" Latimore (2023-04-30). Flashpoint: A Tribute to Web Games.
  17. ^ "Flash is Dead, but Its Culture Should Live on". 25 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  18. ^ "How to Play Old Flash Games in 2020, and Beyond". 29 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  19. ^ "Statistics". flashpointproject.github.io. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  20. ^ "Not Accepted Curations - Flashpoint Datahub". flashpointarchive.org. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  21. ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "The Ragtag Squad That Saved 38,000 Flash Games From Oblivion". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  22. ^ "Downloads – Flashpoint Archive". flashpointarchive.org. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  23. ^ "News - Flashpoint Archive". flashpointarchive.org. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
  24. ^ "Flashpoint Changelog". Flashpoint Archive. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links[edit]

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