Contents

• System Requirements


• What if I have an older version of Flash?
• How do I know if I have the correct version of Javascript?
• Why should I make sure cookies are enabled?
• Why does my computer need to have the correct date and time?
• How do I enable popups for this site?


• User Accounts


• What features do I get when I register for Much Games?
• How do I edit my profile and other information?
• How do I find the URL for my User Page?
• How can I change the look of my User Page?
• How do I view/edit my Favorites?
• What if I accidentally delete all my Favorites from a particular list?
• How do I add other people as friends?
• How do I add view / remove friends?
• How do I embed videos, playlists and other media to my page?


• Point System


• What are experience points?
• What are levels?
• How do I earn experience points?
• Why are my comments receiving bad feedback?


• Game Developers


• How do I submit a game to Much Games?
• What are the game submission guidelines?
• Why won't the Flash Portal accept my submission?
• Why is it that my submission "exceeds the file size limit" of the Flash Portal?
• Does Much Games have a Game API?
• Why are my comments receiving bad feedback?

There are two key components required to take full advantage of the features on this site:

    * Adobe Flash version 9.0+ . Download Now!
    * Javascript version 1.2+ . Download Now!

Q: What if I have an older version of Flash?
A: Many site features require Flash 8, without it users will not be able to play brand new games, Audio Player visualizations, or Chat. There is a pretty good chance you'll still be able to view many Much Games games and movies, but an increasing number of submissions take advantage of newer Flash features. Do yourself a favor and upgrade now.

Q: How do I know if I have the correct version of Javascript?
A: Most browsers ship with Javascript enabled. If it has been disabled for some reason, then critical site features – such as Flash submissions, review and comment forms, and even the login fields at the top of every page – will not work. Users can check their browsers' settings to make sure Javascript is enabled.

Q: Why should I make sure cookies are enabled?
A: This site uses browser cookies to keep users logged in as they jump from page to page, and for other small tasks such as displaying the last time a user visited the Much Games Forums.

Q: Why does my computer need to have the correct date and time?
A: Changing the date or time on your computer may affect the cookies used by this site by causing them to expire prematurely, and could potentially cause login errors.

Q: How do I enable popups for this site?
A: Below are the instructions on how you would enable popups for your specific system.
	

	
PC Users
	Internet Explorer 6.0 on operating system Windows XP Service Pack 2
	
	   1. From Tools point to Pop-up Blocker, and then click on Pop-up Blocker Settings
	   2. Type www.qantas.com.au in the box 'Address of Web site to allow' and click Add
	   3. Set the Filter Level to Medium: Block most automatic pop-ups
	   4. Click Close
	
	Firefox 1.0.x
	
	   1. From Tools select Options
	   2. Select the Web Features icon
	   3. Ensure Block Pop-up Windows is not checked
	   4. Click OK
	
	Alternatively:
	
	   1. From Tools select Options
	   2. Select the Web Features icon
	   3. Click Allowed Sites
	   4. Type www.qantas.com.au into the field
	   5. Click Allow
	   6. Click OK
	
	Mozilla 1.7.x
	
	   1. From Edit select Preferences
	   2. From the left hand side menu, click on + to open Privacy & Security
	   3. Under Pop-up Windows, tick the check box for 'Block unrequested pop up windows'
	   4. Then select Allowed Sites
	   5. Type www.qantas.com.au in the box 'Allow pop-ups from the following web sites' and click Add
	   6. Click OK
	   7. Click OK
	
	Opera 8.x
	
	   1. From Tools select Preferences
	   2. Under the General tab ensure 'Block unwanted pop-ups' is activated in the Pop-ups drop down box
	   3. Click OK
	
	Note: When using 'Block Unwanted Pop-ups', your result on our Viewing Tips page will still be FAILED, yet pop-ups will work. A PASS will only be noted if you select 'Open pop-ups in background' or 'Open all pop-ups'.
	Netscape 7.x
	
	   1. From Edit select Preferences
	   2. From the left hand side menu, click on + to open Privacy & Security
	   3. Under Pop-up Windows, ensure the 'Suppress pop-ups' radio button is selected
	   4. Then select Exceptions
	   5. Type www.qantas.com.au into the field and click Add
	   6. Click OK
	
	
Mac Users
	Opera 8.x
	
	   1. From Opera select Preferences
	   2. Under the General tab ensure 'Block unwanted pop-ups'^ is activated in the Pop-ups drop down box
	   3. Click OK
	
	Note: When using 'Block Unwanted Pop-ups', your result on our Viewing Tips page will still be FAILED, yet pop-ups will work. A PASS will only be noted if you select 'Open pop-ups in background' or 'Open all pop-ups'.
	Safari 1.3.x and Safari 2.x
	
	   1. From the Safari menu, ensure 'Block pop-up windows' is unchecked
	
	Mozilla 1.7.x
	
	   1. From Mozilla select Preferences
	   2. From the left hand side menu click on + to open Privacy & Security
	   3. Under Pop-up Windows, tick the check box for 'Block unrequested pop-up windows'
	   4. Then select Allowed Sites
	   5. Type www.qantas.com.au in the box 'Allow pop-ups from the following web sites' and click Add
	   6. Click OK
	   7. Click OK
	
	Netscape 7.x
	
	   1. From Netscape select Preferences
	   2. From the left hand side menu, click on + to open Privacy & Security
	   3. Under Pop-up Windows, tick the check box for 'Block unrequested pop-up windows'
	   4. Then select Allowed Sites
	   5. Type www.qantas.com.au into the field and click Add
	   6. Click OK
	

			

Q: What features do I get when I register for Much Games?
A:
	* Ability to add favorite games
	* Ability to rate games
	* Ability to comment on games
	* Ability to score comments others write
	* Access to chat with others while playing games
	* Ability to send messages to other gamers
	* Ability to private chat with others using instant messaging
	* Ability to upload your photos and share them with your friends
	* Access to write notes on your friends pages
	* Ability to create and fully customize your gamer page
	* Ability to embed videos and playlists to your page


Q: How do I edit my profile and other information?
A: Users can make changes to your account from the Account Profile area, a link to which is located at the top right corner of every page on the site while logged in. Once there, the link to edit General Information is located in the User Page Configuration section. Publicly viewable information can be seen on every user's User Page.

Q: How do I find the URL for my User Page?
A: Your personal Gamer Page is a subdirectory of Much Games.com generated from your username. For example, a user with the username Bob could find his public information by navigating to http://www.muchgames.com//users/Bob.

Q: How can I change the look of my User Page?
A: There are several ways to give your User Page a distinct look. You can access your page by clicking on your username top left or wherever you see it. Whether it's simply changing the look through the layout code or rearranging your panels, it is a very simple process. To change the background, fonts, colors etc, you need to copy a layout code and place it via the Profile Page. To rearrange the panels, simply drag them around whether its up down or left right through your page.

Q: How do I view/edit my Favorites?
A: Located on your account page, the Configure Favorites section is where you can edit any games you have identified as a favorite. If you want to simply view one of these lists, they are also displayed on your My Favorites Page, which can be access from top right account panel or from the left side of your account pages.

Q: What if I accidentally delete all my Favorites from a particular list?
A: Unfortunately, if you click the link to clear an entire list of favorites and then confirm your decision by selecting "OK" on the subsequent dialog, you will have to recreate your list from scratch. We do not archive this information, so make absolutely sure you want to clear an entire list before pressing the button.

Q: How do I add other people as friends?
A: To become friends with someone, both sides must agree on the friendship. To request a friendship, you can click the + icon next to the gamer pic OR you can click the red friends icons located on the top right of a gamer's page. Once the gamer has approved your friendship, you two become friends. To approve friendships others have requested to you, you need to go to the "My Feeds" page. On the right, you will see pending friendship requests. Click the thumb icon to approve the friendship.

Q: How do I add view / remove friends?
A: To see your friends, you need to go to the "My Friends" page which can be accessed from the top right icon of your account panel. You can end a friendship by clicking the x icon.

Q: How do I embed videos, playlists and other media to my page?
A: You need to install the BillBoard application in order to embed media on your page. The billboard application can be found under "More Applications" link found on the left side of your account navigation panel. Once the application is installed, you can access the "My Billboard" account page. On that page, you can place the embed code of your media.
			
			

Q: What are experience points?
A: Much like a traditional role playing game, registered users may acquire experience points and gain levels resulting in higher status. The best reason to gain experience points is added weight to your votes. Users with an abundance of points will have the strength of multiple voters, meaning they can hurt the games they hate and help the games they love. We make the assumption that anyone who visits the site daily will have a better idea of what good content is, so frequent visitors have more influence over the rankings. Remember, you must be logged in for your voting power to be augmented! Experience points also unlock secrets, which can be accessed from your Account Options page after you log in.

Q: What are levels?
A: Experience points determine the level of a user. Levels determine the rank of the gamer of the site. The higher the level, the longer the gamer has been actively involved with the site. Currently levels dont give you any special abilities other than mutual respect. In the future, we will implement a lot of new features to the site which will grant more power to the higher level users.

Q: How do I earn experience points?
A: To advance levels, you must earn experience points. Experience points are gained by performing various activities such as:

	* +1 xp for every distinct game played
	* +5 xp for every game you rate
	* +10 xp for receiving positive feedback on a comment you wrote. If your score goes below -3, your comment is dropped and you receive a warning point.
	* +50 xp for reporting a valid issue on the site
	* +100 xp for inviting a user to join the site
	* +25 xp for signing up on the site
	* +100 xp for first time you upload an avatar
	
Q: Why are my comments receiving bad feedback?
A: Game comments are made to help gamers and authors identify key components or issues of the game. They should be precise and informative to all audiences. They need to depict the details of the game and say a few interesting thing about it. Its not just about whether the game was good or bad. They need to be qualitative comments in order to receive positive feedback.

			

Q: How do I submit a game to Much Games?
A: Click on "Submit Game" at the bottom of the site. In there, you will be provided a form where you can fill out the game details.

Q: What are the game submission guidelines?
A:
    * We do not seek games that are racist or excessively pornographic. Developers should use their best judgment, based one what they see here at Much Games.
    * We do not want "demos" that have no functionality. If a developer has a decent demo, they should consider posting them to the Alphas section. If we see multiple entries in the Portal such as "Crap Game v0.3" then "Crap Game v0.5", we will delete them because they are annoying.
    * We despise games that auto-redirect or auto-spawn windows to other sites. If people like a submission they will click on a link that takes them there anyway. If we catch a user using an auto-redirect or auto-spawn, the offending Much Games account may be deleted.
    * Developers should not beg for high votes. If a comment reads "Vote a 3 or higher and I'll make more" or something similar, we will most likely delete it. Also, ploys like "Vote a 5 if you support Napster!" warrant deletion too.
    * Users MUST NOT upload games that they did not make. We will ban the IP address of any offenders and Much Games suddenly won't be so fun anymore. Also keep in mind that a user uploading a movie to the Portal is making a legal claim that it is their original work. It is a good idea to put a Much Games validated e-mail address somewhere in the beginning or ending of a movie so we can easily determine if the movie is stolen or not. We also love it when users put the Much Games logo in their games. You can get the Much Games logo here.

Q: Why won't the Flash Portal accept my submission?
A: Users need to make sure their games are in .swf format. When a Flash game is created, the source file is labeled with the .fla extension, while the compiled movie is an .swf file. Selecting "Export Movie" from the file menu in Flash is the simplest way to create a Portal-compliant Flash file. The Portal will also reject a game if it is too big.

Q: Why is it that my submission "exceeds the file size limit" of the Flash Portal?
A: The Portal has a 10 MegaByte file size limit. We set this limit to encourage more optimized Flash submissions. Making a 150k Flash game and adding a 2.5meg .mp3 file is just wasteful. Users who have files over 10megs that are more than just stick figures shooting each other can e-mail them on the off chance that we'll watch them.

Q: Does Much Games have a Game API?
A: Yes. Our API is very simple. It simply involves linking the game you submit with our highscore system. We require three variables to be sent out to the following url:

	The data needs to be sent to the following URL using POST:
	http://www.muchgames.com/requestHighscore.php
	
	Variables:
	intGameId = ( id of the game )
	strName = ( name of the person submitting the score )
	fltScore = ( score achieved in integer or float format )