The End of Flash

[TomFulp]

Today is the “true” End of Flash day, where Flash no longer works in browsers.

We had prepared for this with Newgrounds Player but there was a new surprise waiting for us this morning; Microsoft made several Windows updates over the past year that now block Flash completely from running on Windows.

@Sonucais shared a way to get Flash working if you want to be daring BUT since this post was made, @dclxvi-satan made a config file edit suggestion that appears to be a better alternative. We'll be looking into this with an NG Player update, as well.

Jan 13 Update: Sonucais consolidated the best info into his post, which has a clear guide to get Flash working.

There will likely be more tricks and counter-measures to come but at this point a lot of Flash content will be on a hiatus until it is supported by Ruffle, the open-source Flash emulator we’re using to already run a lot of Flash content in the browser.

Today I enabled Ruffle on more of my own games. Both Dad ‘n Me and The Room Tribute are now running via Ruffle, despite a lack of SetVolume support that will be addressed in a future update. You’ll notice music and some sounds don’t crossfade correctly at the moment.

I’ve also enabled Ruffle for Madness Accelerant, which likely runs fine on newer computers. Ruffle is currently focused on compatibility vs speed optimizations; expect things to run better and better over time.

I’ve created a Ruffle Testing / Flash Preservation Crew for people who would like to help test Flash content with Ruffle.

It seems like an insane effort is going towards erasing Flash from history, the same way an insane effort is going into preserving it. We have a path forward and progress will be steady. It will be exciting to see more and more classic content return to the web in the months to come, thanks to the efforts of the Ruffle team and everyone who helps test compatibility.

I feel like I should have more to say today but this is life; you keep moving forward.

More About Ruffle and Flash Preservation

Most of the content shared on NG nowadays isn’t Flash; you can share your HTML5 games and any sort of original animation you’ve made in video format, as well as art, music, voice reels and podcasts. As the original Flash Portal we continue to host both old and new Flash content.

Newgrounds sponsors the development of Ruffle.rs, to run Flash content in the browser without Flash. Flash will be removed from browsers at the end of the year but thanks to Ruffle, we can enjoy Flash forever! Ruffle doesn’t support everything yet, which is why we have Newgrounds Player as a desktop fallback until it does.

Ruffle was created by @Mike as an open-source alternative to the Flash plug-in, free of all the legacy problems associated with Flash. Lots of smart people have gotten involved with the project and you can sponsor it with money or help as a Rust developer.

Community News

The Best of December were announced this week! $900 in prizes were awarded and the Tankmas ADVENTure team donated theirs to our Drawing Tablet Giveaway. If you know an artist who is in need of a tablet, let them know applications are still open.

The top animation based on original material in January will win $250 and the top three games based on original material will each win $100.

Pixel Day, January 23rd, with almost $1,200 in prizes!

NG is hosting a Flash Forward Jam. We’re gonna surprise people with a bunch of new interactive Flash creations, running in browsers this January thanks to Ruffle, after Flash has been officially removed. Over $2,600 in prizes!

@Xinxinix is hosting a Sexiest Outfit Art Contest and Concept of Love Art Contest.

@SevenSeizeHasCookies is hosting a Valentine’s Day-Themed Writing Contest.

@Xinxinix made a great series of Best of 2020 Playlists.

Read this week’s edition of The Tank Tribune!

[Urichov]

Wait Flash is dying?

[MarikBentusi]

Oh that's interesting! I didn't know Windows updates also had a role to play here. Thank you for the links and information, great news post!

[Deity-Donkus]

Goodnight Flash. I haven't updated my computer in a year so i'll be fine.

[StickmanMarkinson]

Well this is really surprising for me, as much as the rest of you on Newgrounds. Well I don't know on what to think about this... Well I hope that the people behind the program, Ruffle, can get it's code to work for the old files. I wish them luck on getting the AVM 1 and 2 codes for Ruffle working on 100%.

[tinyunknown156]

Good by old friend flash. You will be missed. Heres to the future with ruffle.

[Little-Rena]

[RobC3]

At 1/12/21 10:52 AM, TomFulp wrote: I feel like I should have more to say today but this is life; you keep moving forward.

Aw man, I wasn't expecting the Newgrounds Player to be affected too. But in the end I think you summed it up perfectly, moving forward and to keep going is a very important lesson we all learn at some point.

[JuneSSantos]

Although it's understandable why Flash is stopped being supported all together, it still hurts to see it go

Flash shaped many of the things, content, games and creators to what they are today, but now I guess just like everything in life, it's in the past

Hopefully the Newgrounds Player and Ruffle might be able to salvage a little bit of what's left

Rest in peace friend, you've been a real champion.

[MacBookAircade]

Flash Games waiting for the day they play good

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

[SpinnlesTFox]

flash just started being blocked for me, and I can't use ruffle without waterfox having a stroke, so I'm pretty much fucked until they put newgrounds player on mac os 10.8.

[Alexander]

"Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower; 

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay."

Robert Frost

[Wiesi]

Truly a nightmare.

[MonoXD]

Flash was my childhood and for many others too, there are substitutes but none will ever be like it.

I hope Ruffle development goes well, and that the legacy of Flash is never forgotten.

[dclxvi-satan]

There's another workaround different from https://sonucais.newgrounds.com/news/post/1137244 that suggests uninstalling updates (that's generally a bad idea) - edit Flash's config file mms.cfg.

Reference:

https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/flash_player_admin_guide.html

I'm running Adobe Flash 32.0.0.465 on Windows 10 x64 (same trick works on my old PC with Windows 7 x64).

After making changes in the config - both browser's Flash plugin works (while it is still supported by the browser), as well as Newgrounds Player.

My settings in mms.cfg specific for Newgrounds:

EOLUninstallDisable=1
EnableAllowList=1
ErrorReportingEnable=1
AllowListUrlPattern=*://*.newgrounds.com
AllowListUrlPattern=*://*.ngads.com
AllowListUrlPattern=*://*.ngfiles.com
AllowListUrlPattern=*://*.ungrounded.net

[Manderby]

I am really happy to have whitnessed this evolution. Hours of gameplay, hours of animation. All because of a software solution which just worked (at least for the viewer). I'ts a good thing to remember as nothing comes close. But if the time truely has arrived, so be it. The efforts to preserve the memory are in full swing. Maybe something even better arises from that in the future.

[BobbyBurt]

Man, Adobe’s really taking the extra step to kill flash. Not just discontinuing support, (which is justified,) but other companies are going the extra mile to make it as inaccessible as possible. Makes it clear that the motivation is more than “security purposes.” I’m upset that a lot of games that I’ve played as a kid / inspire me now are gonna be hard to access until Ruffle catches up.

What’s more upsetting is that there’s no successor to the authoring tool. HTML5 is a magically wizard’s portal, but saying that it’s a viable alternate for Flash disregards what made Flash special. Despite how limiting Flash was, HTML5 nor any authoring programs have caught up with what it did so well. I keep trying to figure out how to emulate the style and certain technical aspects in HTML5 and I just can’t. SVGs aren’t SWFs.

I missed out on the flash boom and didn’t have any accessible authorizing tools like it. Kids today won’t either. These kinds of software needs make me wish I was a good programmer and could address them. With the way things are going, I don’t think a big company will make a content creation platform that combines the benefits of flash with the power of HTML5. If a smaller, passionate group tackles it then it’ll take a long time to surpass Flash’s capabilities. But I hope it happens someday.

[Sonucais]

At 1/12/21 12:48 PM, dclxvi-satan wrote: There's another workaround different from https://sonucais.newgrounds.com/news/post/1137244 that suggests uninstalling updates (that's generally a bad idea) - edit Flash's config file mms.cfg.

Reference:
https://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/flash_player_admin_guide.html

I'm running Adobe Flash 32.0.0.465 on Windows 10 x64 (same trick works on my old PC with Windows 7 x64).
After making changes in the config - both browser's Flash plugin works (while it is still supported by the browser), as well as Newgrounds Player.

My settings in mms.cfg specific for Newgrounds:

I did not try this but makes sense! Can someone more confirm this? I'm about to try it on my laptop.

[xxxLumierexxx]

A generation of children will grow up not knowing what shockwave flash is or that y8 once ruled computer class.

[PegasuTV]

I feel like I should have more to say today but this is life; you keep moving forward.

damn this hurts, but then I went on to test some old favorites with the /format/flash?emulate=flash thing again, and I´m happy that it seems there´s been a lot of progress, most games play decently at first glance and only have weird text glitches. feels like when I first discovered video games, where my only source was random shitty bootlegs with glitchy texts, speedy gonzales reskined as Sonic saving mario, weird soccer game localizations and all that crap, made me smile.

It somehow feels like there´s a renaissance coming.

also, I was super happy to see one of the greatests is already switching to ruffle by default, without weird text glitches!! was this gem featured on the Flash without Flash thing at some point?

[BoMToons]

At 1/12/21 01:19 PM, BobbyBurt wrote: lots of stuff

I agree with all of @BobbyBurt's comments whole-heartedly!

The Microsoft block is disappointing. Brings up some feelings of frustration and powerlessness, but I am grateful for the offsetting hope provided by Ruffle.

Those who loved and continue to love Flash, rally behind Ruffle however you can! Support is growing, but they need a lot more to really kick into high-gear!

• Donate
• Contribute code
• Join the Discord

[TomFulp]

At 1/12/21 12:48 PM, dclxvi-satan wrote: There's another workaround different from https://sonucais.newgrounds.com/news/post/1137244 that suggests uninstalling updates (that's generally a bad idea) - edit Flash's config file mms.cfg.

Thank you for sharing this! I've updated the original post to include it and we'll look into this as part of the NG Player install process.

[Vampfairyx]

Welp, May Flash rest in peace... I had a lot of fun playing flash games throughout my childhood, especially on my old account which I may have abandoned, but let's see if Ruffle is worth it.

[Sonucais]

At 1/12/21 01:38 PM, TomFulp wrote:

At 1/12/21 12:48 PM, dclxvi-satan wrote: There's another workaround different from https://sonucais.newgrounds.com/news/post/1137244 that suggests uninstalling updates (that's generally a bad idea) - edit Flash's config file mms.cfg.

Thank you for sharing this! I've updated the original post to include it and we'll look into this as part of the NG Player install process.

It worked perfectly. Updated the blog entry.

[SomefatfuckWiththein]

At 1/12/21 10:52 AM, TomFulp wrote: Today is the “true” End of Flash day, where Flash no longer works in browsers.

We had prepared for this with Newgrounds Player but there was a new surprise waiting for us this morning; Microsoft made several Windows updates over the past year that now block Flash completely from running on Windows.

@Sonucais shared a way to get Flash working if you want to be daring BUT since this post was made, @dclxvi-satan made a config file edit suggestion that appears to be a better alternative. We'll be looking into this with an NG Player update, as well.

There will likely be more tricks and counter-measures to come but at this point a lot of Flash content will be on a hiatus until it is supported by Ruffle, the open-source Flash emulator we’re using to already run a lot of Flash content in the browser.

Today I enabled Ruffle on more of my own games. Both Dad ‘n Me and The Room Tribute are now running via Ruffle, despite a lack of SetVolume support that will be addressed in a future update. You’ll notice music and some sounds don’t crossfade correctly at the moment.

I’ve also enabled Ruffle for Madness Accelerant, which likely runs fine on newer computers. Ruffle is currently focused on compatibility vs speed optimizations; expect things to run better and better over time.

I’ve created a Ruffle Testing / Flash Preservation Crew for people who would like to help test Flash content with Ruffle.

It seems like an insane effort is going towards erasing Flash from history, the same way an insane effort is going into preserving it. We have a path forward and progress will be steady. It will be exciting to see more and more classic content return to the web in the months to come, thanks to the efforts of the Ruffle team and everyone who helps test compatibility.

I feel like I should have more to say today but this is life; you keep moving forward.

More About Ruffle and Flash Preservation

Most of the content shared on NG nowadays isn’t Flash; you can share your HTML5 games and any sort of original animation you’ve made in video format, as well as art, music, voice reels and podcasts. As the original Flash Portal we continue to host both old and new Flash content.

Newgrounds sponsors the development of Ruffle.rs, to run Flash content in the browser without Flash. Flash will be removed from browsers at the end of the year but thanks to Ruffle, we can enjoy Flash forever! Ruffle doesn’t support everything yet, which is why we have Newgrounds Player as a desktop fallback until it does.

Ruffle was created by @Mike as an open-source alternative to the Flash plug-in, free of all the legacy problems associated with Flash. Lots of smart people have gotten involved with the project and you can sponsor it with money or help as a Rust developer.

Community News

The Best of December were announced this week! $900 in prizes were awarded and the Tankmas ADVENTure team donated theirs to our Drawing Tablet Giveaway. If you know an artist who is in need of a tablet, let them know applications are still open.

The top animation based on original material in January will win $250 and the top three games based on original material will each win $100.

Pixel Day, January 23rd, with almost $1,200 in prizes!

NG is hosting a Flash Forward Jam. We’re gonna surprise people with a bunch of new interactive Flash creations, running in browsers this January thanks to Ruffle, after Flash has been officially removed. Over $2,600 in prizes!

@Xinxinix is hosting a Sexiest Outfit Art Contest and Concept of Love Art Contest.

@SevenSeizeHasCookies is hosting a Valentine’s Day-Themed Writing Contest.

@Xinxinix made a great series of Best of 2020 Playlists.

Read this week’s edition of The Tank Tribune!

https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/777537

Rest in peace flash

1996-2021

don’t be sad it’s ending be happy it started

(yes I reposted this so what)

[AnthonyTheMemer]

My day was so fine. Then boom, flash is completely dead...

[squidly]

People putting so much effort into erasing Flash as if it's a bad thing we need to move beyond. I fucking hate these silicon valley types. They need to get a reality check.

Hopefully there's some military/govt system that's reliant on Flash so they immediately realize what they've done and spend millions trying to fix/update it.

[FrozenFire]

@TomFulp - You are doing the work of gods and I just want you to know it doesn't go unappreciated. My fucking hero.

It truly is incredible the efforts that you and your team have gone through in order to compete with an increasing number of challenges.

"You keep moving forward." Reminds me of that line from The Martian. "You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem and you solve the next one, and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home."

[BalloonstheAngryNoob]

At 1/12/21 10:52 AM, TomFulp wrote: Today is the “true” End of Flash day, where Flash no longer works in browsers.

We had prepared for this with Newgrounds Player but there was a new surprise waiting for us this morning; Microsoft made several Windows updates over the past year that now block Flash completely from running on Windows.

@Sonucais shared a way to get Flash working if you want to be daring BUT since this post was made, @dclxvi-satan made a config file edit suggestion that appears to be a better alternative. We'll be looking into this with an NG Player update, as well.

There will likely be more tricks and counter-measures to come but at this point a lot of Flash content will be on a hiatus until it is supported by Ruffle, the open-source Flash emulator we’re using to already run a lot of Flash content in the browser.

Today I enabled Ruffle on more of my own games. Both Dad ‘n Me and The Room Tribute are now running via Ruffle, despite a lack of SetVolume support that will be addressed in a future update. You’ll notice music and some sounds don’t crossfade correctly at the moment.

I’ve also enabled Ruffle for Madness Accelerant, which likely runs fine on newer computers. Ruffle is currently focused on compatibility vs speed optimizations; expect things to run better and better over time.

I’ve created a Ruffle Testing / Flash Preservation Crew for people who would like to help test Flash content with Ruffle.

It seems like an insane effort is going towards erasing Flash from history, the same way an insane effort is going into preserving it. We have a path forward and progress will be steady. It will be exciting to see more and more classic content return to the web in the months to come, thanks to the efforts of the Ruffle team and everyone who helps test compatibility.

I feel like I should have more to say today but this is life; you keep moving forward.

More About Ruffle and Flash Preservation

Most of the content shared on NG nowadays isn’t Flash; you can share your HTML5 games and any sort of original animation you’ve made in video format, as well as art, music, voice reels and podcasts. As the original Flash Portal we continue to host both old and new Flash content.

Newgrounds sponsors the development of Ruffle.rs, to run Flash content in the browser without Flash. Flash will be removed from browsers at the end of the year but thanks to Ruffle, we can enjoy Flash forever! Ruffle doesn’t support everything yet, which is why we have Newgrounds Player as a desktop fallback until it does.

Ruffle was created by @Mike as an open-source alternative to the Flash plug-in, free of all the legacy problems associated with Flash. Lots of smart people have gotten involved with the project and you can sponsor it with money or help as a Rust developer.

Community News

The Best of December were announced this week! $900 in prizes were awarded and the Tankmas ADVENTure team donated theirs to our Drawing Tablet Giveaway. If you know an artist who is in need of a tablet, let them know applications are still open.

The top animation based on original material in January will win $250 and the top three games based on original material will each win $100.

Pixel Day, January 23rd, with almost $1,200 in prizes!

NG is hosting a Flash Forward Jam. We’re gonna surprise people with a bunch of new interactive Flash creations, running in browsers this January thanks to Ruffle, after Flash has been officially removed. Over $2,600 in prizes!

@Xinxinix is hosting a Sexiest Outfit Art Contest and Concept of Love Art Contest.

@SevenSeizeHasCookies is hosting a Valentine’s Day-Themed Writing Contest.

@Xinxinix made a great series of Best of 2020 Playlists.

Read this week’s edition of The Tank Tribune!

https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/777537

Tom it least some games with html5 still works but not flash games!

We hope Ruffle will save flash games hopefully!

[x-SemAn]

I have a Mozilla browser and flash works everywhere except Newgrounds, I don't understand.

("newgraunds player" shows nothing)