How to save state of a .swf file?

Question

I have some swf files (games) which I play using Swiff player...

Is there any way to save the state of the swf file ?? so that I don't have to start the game all over from level 1 again !!

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 15 '15 at 15:42

Is there any way to save the state of the swf file ??

Yes, there is actually a very simple solution the requires no programming skills or entering manual commands:

Run the game on a virtual machine and save the state. I've had the same problem and then had the idea to use VirtualBox' "Snapshot" function.

Get the software at virtualbox.org

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 17 '22 at 00:53

It is possible to save the state of a process and load it later. There is an appliction, SmartClose (freeware) that save snapshot of the system and kill applications process to temporarily gain resources: Look at it!

It is possible so, to use it to close (kill) flash player or web browser, and restore the snapshot later. The application is intended to close all programs, but it can be customized to close just the flash player. It might (should) exist a simple command line app to do it, and it is not necessary to kill the process, just save the snapshot (C:\save flashplayer.exe snap1.sav for example). I don't know how to program such thing, but it is possible!!

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 14 '11 at 17:16

2

From a programming standpoint the only way that you can save the state of a flash game is if the developer wrote code to allow state to be saved.

If I understand you right, it sounds like you are looking to duplicate the behavior you might find in, for instance, a super nintendo emulator - but that level of control there, that allows you to save state in any given ROM, is operating at the runtime level.

Unless you write your own Flash Player that gives you the ability to save state in a similar way you're not going to find the same functionality.

I hope that makes sense, let me know if you have any other questions.

answered Mar 14 '11 at 17:16

Myk

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It looks you are right (the state of the game is saved in the .swf file itself)... I have two games 1. 'forest temple.swf' and 2. 'damn birds2.swf' .... 1. forest temple has the ability to save the state of the game but only if it remains in the same directory (folder).. if you move it to other folder then the game starts from level 1 again... but if you move back to the original directory the game state is reloaded !!!! ... I cleaned the temp folder and searched for any hidden files in the game folder (there were none) ... and then restarted the game... the game state was preserved !!! – user646093 Mar 15 '11 at 15:11
(which confirms that game state is saved in the swf file itself and with the directory name !!!)... 2. damn birds2 doesnt save the game state no matter what I do .... :( ..... What I dont understand is why do people create games having multiple levels having no save options and knowing that the user will have to play for days on a continuous stretch to complete the game !!!!!!!???????? – user646093 Mar 15 '11 at 15:11
Dunno man, developers make all kinds of decisions in the process of building a game - maybe they originally meant for it to be saveable but ran out of budget, maybe they expected people to be able to play through it faster. I mean look at Mario Brothers, right? No saving there! – Myk Mar 15 '11 at 20:24
Hmmm....good point...though seeing so many games having multiple level but no save option, it seems like a new trend from the developers or maybe the same developer is making the mistake again and again!! :) LOL – user646093 Mar 16 '11 at 17:23

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered May 03 '13 at 08:15

If you are using Swiff, which means you publish your flash app as a html-css-javascript file, then you can create a database and save it there with the help of php or asp.net. But when you want to publish it by swf file, you can reference here for further info (Saving state in AIR applications for iOS devices).

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 14 '11 at 15:40

I'm not familiar with Swiff player. Is the game being played in the browser? If so, you can save state in a cookie on the user's local computer. Otherwise, there's really no way to persist state locally. The only other option would be to use a server-based solution and save state in a database.

How to save state of a .swf file?

5 Answers5