Hi there!
To make our work being more productive and easier, I wrote this page to explain all basics you need to learn while preserving old episodes.
This is the public storage at my server which contains episodes which was already uploaded:
https://smbxarchive.wohlsoft.ru
To upload new episodes, you will need to use the FTP protocol with the FileZilla client
(you can download it here https://filezilla-project.org/, it's free).
If you have no FTP login credentials, please ask me (@Wohlstand) them via DM at the Discord, or via any
other messenger like Matrix, Telegram, or XMPP, I don't publish them for security reasons. And even more,
I may change them sometimes to maintain the security.
P.S. You will need the 7-Zip archivator (https://www.7-zip.org/, it's free)
to remove unwanted game saves and junk files, and re-pack odd archives into something common (7z for the best
compression, or zip for the compatibility with everything). If you want to modify RAR archives, you'll need WinRAR,
unfortunately, it's paid, or 30-days trial.
Tips for uploading
- Suggested to check the archive inside for what game need to use to play this episode
If author didn't specify the target engine (Vanilla SMBX 1.3, LunaLua-SMBX, SMBX2, or SMBX-38A),
-
There are next cases:
- Vanilla SMBX: contains LVL/WLD, MP3, GIFs and NPCTXT files only. Also may contain some of WMA files.
- to detect the 38A, you should open one of level files in a notepad, and if you see something like
SMBXFile6*, etc at the begin, and lines separated by | - it's 38A.
If you see the 64 first line and short lines - it's vanilla. Also, 38A-episodes
do use PNG graphics. Using GIFs at 38A is impossible because it automatically converts them into PNG without of asking.
- LunaLua-SMBX does use the lunadll.lua, lunaworld.lua,
lunaoverworld.lua, and even lunadll.txt script files,
still use GIFs, and few non-MP3 or just all-MP3 music
- SMBX2 may have LVLX but WLD only. Can support PNG and uses the OGG instead of MP3 for music).
It uses luna.lua name for scripts. Has the support for
many new INI and TXT-based formats.
(You will need to put an episode into the directory for what game episode was made)
- If episode contains inside own copy of game include modded SMBX assets and executable, put them into `Packed games` folder.
P.S. If you don't wan't bother to check episode content, simply upload it into
_unsorted directory. Once upon I'll check them by myself and will
put them into the proper directory.
-
please remove forgotten game saves (
save1.sav,
save2.sav, and
save3.sav) from
the archive before upload it. If it's packed into RAR and you have no WinRAR archiver, just re-pack into 7zip.
Also, please remove LunaLua junk too:
LuaData_*.txt,
save*-ext.json,
progress.json (appears at SMBX2),
LunaData_*.txt,
LunaSavedVars*.txt, etc.
-
Please always re-pack episodes into just 7zip if original episode was packed by odd way (such as
exe-based installer or non-popular formats like b1, etc.).
-
Please DM to me (@Wohlstand) if you have troubles with files uploading ("can't connect", "too slow speed",
"I don't know how to upload", etc.).
-
if you met a namesake episode, please change the name of archive into something like the
Super Episode by <AuthorNameHere>.7z or somehing also (for example, the
Boss Rush by Very-Cool-Dude.7z) before to upload it, make easy to recognise each other.
-
Please make a TXT index file for the database (it's an episode/level/asset description) for each episode/level/assets pack with the same name as its archive. Please
use this specification to learn how to form it.
You can download pictures and videos (mostly screenshots and trailers) and place them together with the
downloaded archive(s) and list them in the "Showcases:" section of the file. Suggested to give them name
like "Episode Name - Showcase X.png" but it's allowed to name the appendix differently if that required to
preserve titles and/or categories given by author. Any YouTube videos should be downloaded and places as
standalone MP4 or WebM files: it's no guarantee video will survive any events like account deletion or
copyright attacks.
See
the example file is here.
- Info file must have the same name as the archive file itself, otherwise you should add the Files: entry to list the archive. However, if you have multiple files for the same entry, please fill the "Files:" section of the info file.
-
Feel free to don't care about episode description TXT if episode that you upload is from your personal archive,
and you have totally no idea from where and when you downloaded it. Upload it as-is (Be careful,
don't override namesake episodes, please compare, is this the same
episode, or different).
- If you uploaded an episode, please post the link to original post at #logging and your comment against it if you want,
or just an episode name if you don't know where you downloaded the episode
I hope, this manual was helpful for you.
Best regards, Wohlstand, the maintainer of the SMBX Archive Server.