CPPS Launcher

A lightweight, optimized desktop launcher for Club Penguin Private Servers (CPPS) that require the Adobe Flash Player plugin. This application is built with a legacy version of Electron (11.5.0) to ensure Pepper Flash compatibility.

Note: AI assistance was used for some functions and bug fixes.

Features

• Multi-Server Support: Easily switch between popular servers via the Servers menu:

  • New Club Penguin
  • CPPS.to
  • Antique Penguin
  • Club Penguin Zero
  • Original Penguin
  • Club Penguin Dimensions

• Flash Plugin Verification: Automatically checks on startup if the required pepflashplayer.dll files are present. If not, it provides a detailed error message explaining the exact paths needed.

• Clear Browsing & Flash Data: A simple menu option (Options > Clear Data) to clear all cache, cookies, and Flash Player data (LSOs), which can resolve common login or loading issues.

• Discord Rich Presence: Automatically shows your "Playing Club Penguin" status on Discord (only in the packaged application).

• Native App Controls:

  • Toggle Fullscreen: Switch to a native fullscreen window using F11.
  • Zoom Controls: Zoom in (Ctrl+=), out (Ctrl+-), or reset (Ctrl+0) to adjust the game's size.
  • Fit Flash: An option to attempt stretching the Flash game to fill the entire window.

• Check for Updates: A menu item (Options > Check for Updates) that opens the project's GitHub Releases page.

• Lightweight & Optimized: Built to consume minimal system resources (CPU/RAM) using optimized Chromium flags.

• Ad & Tracker Blocking: Includes a basic blocklist for common ad and tracking domains.

• Black Screen Fix: Modifies headers (X-Frame-Options, Content-Security-Policy) on the fly to allow CPPS sites that normally block embedding to load correctly.

Technology Stack

• Electron: 11.5.0 (Crucial for Flash support).
• Node.js: 18.x (Required for electron-builder and compatibility with Electron 11).
• Pepper Flash Plugin: Requires manual addition of pepflashplayer.dll (Windows only).
• Electron Builder: Used for packaging the application into an installer and portable .exe.

Usage (For End Users)

1. Download the latest installer (CPPS-Launcher-Setup-X.X.X.exe) or portable (CPPS-Launcher-Portable-X.X.X.exe) from the GitHub Releases page.
2. If using the installer, run it.
3. Launch the application.
4. Select a server from the "Servers" menu to begin.

Development Setup

To build or modify the launcher:

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18.x: You must install a version from the 18.x series (e.g., 18.20.8). Newer Node versions will not work. Node.js Previous Releases.
• Git: For cloning the repository.
• Pepper Flash Plugin: You must obtain both the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions of pepflashplayer.dll.

Building

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Dragon9135/CPPS-Launcher.git
   cd CPPS-Launcher

2. Add the Flash Plugin: This is the most critical step. The app is hard-coded to look for plugins based on the computer's architecture.

   • Create a folder named plugins in the project's root directory.
   • Inside plugins, create two more folders: x86 and x64.
   • Place the 32-bit pepflashplayer.dll inside the plugins/x86/ folder.
   • Place the 64-bit pepflashplayer.dll inside the plugins/x64/ folder.

   The final structure should be:

   CPPS-Launcher/
   ├── plugins/
   │   ├── x86/
   │   │   └── pepflashplayer.dll  (32-bit version)
   │   └── x64/
   │       └── pepflashplayer.dll  (64-bit version)
   ├── icon.ico
   ├── main.js
   ├── index.html
   ├── preload.js
   └── package.json
   

3. Install dependencies:

   npm install

4. Run in development mode:

   npm start

5. Build the executables:

   npm run build

   The output files (installer and portable) will be in the dist folder.

Project Rationale

With Adobe Flash Player's end-of-life, accessing older CPPS that have not migrated to new technologies became difficult. This launcher provides a self-contained, legacy environment to continue playing these servers.

⚠️ Critical Security Warning

This application uses outdated technology (Electron 11.5.0 and Adobe Flash Player) that no longer receives security updates.

• The underlying Chromium version has known, unpatched vulnerabilities.
• DO NOT use this launcher for browsing any website other than the intended CPPS URLs.
• DO NOT enter sensitive information (passwords, credit cards, etc.) on any site other than the official CPPS login pages.

Use this software at your own risk.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.