Hi and welcome to my 'Ultimate guide to r49+ Retros Making'. Obviously, even if the name may refer to it, I can't cover all informations related to retros-making in a single life. If you need any support or that something IS NOT in this (Massive) tutorial, please limit your contact with me trough this thread. I recommend that you read the full tutorial first before proceeding to work. As last note, i think that you can learn about habbo retros here even if you're not planning to create your own retro.
Requierements :
Habbo Retro Server.
Compatible CMS.
HTTP Server.
SQL Server.
Habbo Client.
Assorted SWFs.
1. A bit of theory :
Habbo Retro Server : It's obvious that you need to choose a good server... But what's a good server? It's an application that can communicate informations with the client (The player). To have a 'good' server, you need to fill that role perfectly. The best way to know that is to test the server yourself, and for that, you'll need to go trough this tutorial and do it over and over again for a lot of servers, and you will eventually know how to setup one without my help. Don't worry, that was only to see if you were ready, it'll be easy! You need to look for something that isn't going to disconnect the client without apparent reasons. Also, you need something that will not die after some hours. Some servers have this coding problem. Here's a small list of what you should be looking for when seeking for the best habbo retro server.
No server disconnections.
No random downtime.
Open Source.
Support from developper(s).
Is it an edit?
Free to use without licence.
No virus in download.
No integrated member limit. ±
Complete features support for server version.
Type of client.
Debugged Server Interface.
MySQL Connector version.
If you are planning to do a successful awesome stable hotel, look into those criterias. Having a nice emulator AT HOTEL LAUNCH is ideal to keep your player base. Here are some links for you :
PHP Code:
http://www.otaku-studios.com/forumdisplay.php/756-Server-Releases
http://xrl.in/5tfd
http://britania.ws/forum/forum-56.html [ENGLISH]
Still... Try searching yourself.
Exemple of an Emulator running.
[INDENT]Compatible CMS : The frontend homepage you see on pretty much all recent hotels is the the output of a CMS (Content Management System). The CMS is creating the website with a System + Style + Content. You are the one editing the content trough a backend password-access admin zone. You need to find one that works with your Emu and that has complete list of features, and no bugs in the layout or script. You can code on from scratch pretty easily using whatever web language you want, just need to embed/link your client somewhere. Try to look for one on these links :
http://www.otaku-studios.com/forumdi...5-CMS-Releases
http://www.otaku-studios.com/showthr...MS-3.0-Release
Exemple of a CMS output
HTTP Server : Well... There's not a lot of them. They are used to host the CMS. I definitly recommend to download the Xampp package (Windows). Download it here : http://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/.
Sure there are other solutions, but that's the most stable, fast and easy setup you can have.
Xampp Control panel running.
SQL Server : The Xampp package also include a MySQL server. (BTW, there's also a Filezilla FTP server and a bunch of useful tools like Phpmyadmin and Help system...)
Phpmyadmin, a good tool for handling SQL easily.
Habbo Client : There's high chance that it's included in the CMS or Server download. If not or you are coding your own website, trying looking at CMS releases (As linked up), as they may contain a client.
Latest Habbo revision client.
Assorted SWFs : That should be included with the Habbo Client, so don't worry about them.
How to set everything up?
Now that you have all small software chunks, try to find a good server. Your personal computer is a BAD IDEA for production purposes. But you may use it for setting up your first hotel.
First things first, set up a good work station. Put all files and compressed folders you downloaded in the same folder, take a deep breath and some water. Drinking is always good for staying concentrated.
1. Set up Xampp
Now, I think that you should first set up your HTTP server. All informations about setting up a well explained for new peoples like you at the Apache friends page : http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html. Just scroll down a bit on that page for a nice tutorial with pictures! Still, if you have any questions regarding Xampp installation, ask on this thread, I'll be more than happy to answer.
DIRECT LINK TO XAMPP : http://www.apachefriends.org/downloa...in32-1.7.3.exe
2. Install the CMS on your HTTP server
Go into your Xampp installation directory (The one you choosed during installation. Default is C:\xampp\), then visit the 'htdocs' folder. This is where a your website will be. So keep it opened. Put all files of your cms in the 'htdocs' directory. Then, open up your XAMPP control panel (Should be in the start menu now), and click on the 'Start' button next to 'Apache' AND 'Mysql'. Wait 30 secondes or so while it loads.
Press the two buttons high-lighted here.
Open your favorite browser and go to this link : http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ (If you use Xampp...). If they ask for a password, the username is 'root' and there is no password. Create a new database. Name it like you want, here it's named 'ubercms'.
The 'Create new database' area.
Then go to 'Import' tab in phpmyadmin. Press the button to choose a file and upload your database. The database is a '*.sql' file.
After that you need to go to your 'htdocs' folder, go to the 'inc' sub-directory and open the 'inc.config' file in any text editor (Eg. Notepad). You should have something looking like this :
The 'inc.config' content.
Change the $config['Site']['www] = "HOTEL URL"; line to $config['Site']['www'] = "http://localhost/";.
Change the $config['MySQL]['password] = "PASSWORD"; line to $config['MySQL]['password] = "";
Change the $config['MySQL']['database'] = "DATABASE"; line to $config['MySQL']['database'] = "ubercms"; (Or to whatever database name you wrote some steps ago.)
Change the $config['MUS']['ip'] = "LOCAL IP"; line to $config['MUS']['ip'] = "127.0.0.101";
Now, open up your favorite browser again and go on http://localhost/. There you will have your site ready and up!
The fun part is finished now. Start the emulator and keep your XAMPP services opened.
3. Making a 'good' hotel.
There's a lot of retros created everyday. In fact, I estimate there is around 8 new hotels every days. That means that out of those ~3000 retros created each year, you need to have the best one for players to get on it. There are a lot of reasons why you set up your hotel... Maybe it's just for fun and chilling, maybe for learning or it's an actual serious project? Think about what are your objectives with your new hotel. Take a sheet of papers and write things on it. Things like... "What do I want to have in my hotel?", "What is the user experience when visiting my hotel?" or "What is my budget?", and the corresponding answers. Analyze what you wrote yourself or somebody about.
You need to know that you want players. That means that you need to have an awesome virtual place to hang out. It shouldn't "bug" and members should be nice with each-others.
---------- Post added at 11:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 PM ----------
TODO :
- r49+ TOTAL PACK (Big name... xD Just a all-in-one pack including all the requierements for the tutorial. I prefer to wait for a stable Emu before releasing pack for now...)
- Section 3. (How to make a 'good' hotel, advertise.)
- Section 4. (Source edits and PHP basics)
- Layout change for more clarity.
- Explanation about other tools like Navicat and other HTTP servers.
- Video covering the whole thing.
- ?...
