Re: [Flashcoders] Converting .swf playback to .mov
This does work just fine with CS4, scripted animation and all. A couple of tips: - Export the movie at 100% size. I've found the exporter does a lousy job of scaling. If you need to scale the output, use minimal QT compression, then use a tool like MPEG Streamclip or ffmpeg to scale and compress the final QT files. - Remember: Unless you've told it to stop at a particular timecode, the exporter will play the movie until it reaches the end of the timeline. Therefore, if there's a loop or stop action in the timeline, the exporter will *never* reach the end of the timeline, and the export process will hang. -Jim Ashim D'Silva wrote: Pretty sure CS4 handles it fine. Including actionscripted animation. Haven't pushed it hard, but worth a shot. 2009/10/21 Joel Stransky : Ok, I'm well aware of the limitation in exporting an .fla to quicktime. You only get the main timeline, no sub clips or scripted animation. What I'm asking is if there's some new product on the market that has tackled this issue successfully. So far is looks like a screen reader is the way to go, I'd just like to get some alpha (key) control over the output that doesn't require me recording it over a green background. Thanks for any direction. ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Timeline Streaming Sounds Playing Early?
Dave Dev wrote: I have a frame with a stop actionscript command. The next frame has a streaming sounds and a frame label. At runtime, Flash stops at the stop command frame, but then plays a very brief portion of the streaming sound in the next frame. Placing some frames in between the sound and command seems to fix(?) the problem. This occurs on Windows XP, but not Mac OS X using Flash Player 8. Has anybody else encountered this? I want to make sure my fix stays fix in different player versions and Os's. We had the same problem. In our case it also happened on MacOS, playing the movie on slower CPUs. Our project was published for FP9 or later. (FWIW, we were developing in AS2.) We worked around it in a similar manner - we created several extra frames after the frame containing the stop action - and it seems to be OK. -Jim ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Distributing packaged file on the Mac
Paul, Simplest route: If your app is self-contained, just place it in a folder, then drag the folder onto the Disk Utility application (installed in /Applications/Utilities). Choose "compressed" for the format - which will also make the volume read-only, and choose a location. If you want to tweak the appearance of the Finder window that opens when the disk image is mounted, then choose the "read/write" format instead of "compressed". After the image has been created, mount it and make the changes you want, unmount it, and use Disk Utility to convert it to a compressed image. There are a couple of tools out there to help you customize the image - just Google. (I haven't used any so I can't recommend one.) A very unscientific test just now suggests that a compressed disk image adds about 50 K of overhead to the size of the material (after compression). Hope this helps, Jim Paul Steven wrote: Thanks Jim I did look into the disk image option but it appears to create huge files. My game is self contained and approx 7 mb in size however it seems to create a disk image that is about 40mb. Any advice on how to create the disk image much appreciated. Thanks Paul ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Distributing packaged file on the Mac
Depends on the target audience, and the requirements of your application. Many smaller Mac apps, especially shareware or freeware published online, is distributed in .dmg (disk image) format. Double-clicking the .dmg file mounts the image, which can be in a compressed, read-only format. The appearance of the Finder window that opens when the image is mounted can be customized to include design elements and simple instructions. One common technique is to place an alias to /Applications at the root level of the disk image, allowing the user to copy your application's folder into their Applications folder. Firefox and Thunderbird both use this approach. That works only if your application is self-contained, and doesn't need to install files into other locations before first launch. Let me know if you want more info. -Jim Paul Steven wrote: I have created a game using Flash CS3 and would like to distribute it for the PC and Mac. For the PC, I am using the free "Inno" installer to create an installer. However for the Mac, I am not having much joy finding a suitable installer application. Can anyone recommend a Mac installer? This is a one off job so I don't want to spend too much on the Mac installer software. The game is a single file with all assets embedded so I am not looking for anything too complex. I guess the alternative is just to zip the file and distribute it as a zip but my client is keen to have an installer to make it really simple for users. Thanks and a happy new year to everyone!! Paul ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] frameworks and flash
Micky Hulse wrote: Can anyone suggest a framework that would work best for cartoon/experimental animations (vs. a website-oriented framework.) To reiterate what some have said: take a look at Gaia. I used it on a large (for us, anyway) site that includes lots of cartoon animation: http://www.ftc.gov/youarehere I don't know how I could have done it without a framework like Gaia. The asset management features alone are invaluable. Let me know (maybe off-list) if you have any specific questions. -Jim ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Fwd: Reasonable Expectations (might be off topic)
Bo Parker wrote: I have recently completed a project for a client that involved a heavy video component (by their request). [snip] The ones that weren't working were IBM thinkpads running a 1 ghz celeron processor with 512MB of RAM. That's the only thing that I can think of that is caused the hiccup. According to the Flash Player system requirements[1], the minimum recommended config for stanard or hi-def video playback is a Pentium 4 2.33 GHz. Surely they understand system requirements? I think you have some ground to stand on, especially if they requested Flash and video. I can only speculate - and it's a totally unfair judgment - but the first thing that comes to mind is they're looking to cut costs. [1] http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/systemreqs/ -Jim ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Disabling Print Screen key
If you have any Macs in your target audience, remember that the OS's screen capture routine doesn't involve the clipboard, but creates a PNG file directly on the desktop. Remember too that there is a variety of screen grab utilities out there on either platform... this might be a losing battle. -Jim Pedro Taranto wrote: In AS2 I used to create an onEnterFrame loop to overwrite the clipboard content using the System.setClipboard(string) function, it still works in AS3 Bests, -- Pedro Taranto Andrew Murphy wrote: Hi. :) I'm attempting to disable using the Print Screen button for an AS3 movie on a web page. The stage doesn't appear to fire a KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN when the Print Screen key is pressed. Is there a way to detect the Print Screen key? Or another method for disabling the user's ability to do a Print Screen screen cap of a Flash movie? ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Printing filters from the Flash Player
Gert-Jan van der Wel wrote:
Hi there,
We use filters (shadows and glows) to make the scene look better. At
some point a user can print what they've created, but the print shows no
filters. Is there an easy way to get the filters on the print?
Have you tried printAsBitmap? I found that was the only way to get some
stuff to print the same way it was displayed, even when filters weren't
involved (like some hand-drawn shadows using transparent fills).
My project was written in AS2; I don't know whether the implications are
different for code running in AVM2.
(code simplified from my app, untested)
--
private function printPoster():Void {
var posterPrintJob:PrintJob = new PrintJob();
if (posterPrintJob.start()) {
var pgsQueued:Number = 0;
this.printPg._visible = true; //printPg is the MovieClip to print
var printArea:Object = {xMin:0, xMax:printPg._width, yMin:0,
yMax:printPg._height};
var printOptions:Object = {printAsBitmap:true};
if (posterPrintJob.addPage('printPg', printArea, printOptions)) {
pgsQueued++;
}
if (pgsQueued) {
posterPrintJob.send();
}
}
}
--
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Re: [Flashcoders] Compare brightness of RGB values
Hans Wichman wrote: Hi, just guessing here, but i think converting them to HSB first might work. Then you only need the B value. hth JC On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 8:55 PM, Jim McIntyre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Does anyone know a good formula for comparing brightness of RGB color values? Thanks. I found this, the beginning of which should work: http://www.easyrgb.com/index.php?X=MATH&H=18#text18 -Jim ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] ColorPicker.selectedValue to #hex?
Merrill, Jason wrote:
If you're manipulating the number, as opposed to storing or
displaying it,
Thanks, but yeah, the purpose is to display the hex #, the full 6
digits, to the user as #006699. thanks though!
The function I included at the bottom should do that. I modified it to
pad the output with a pound sign and leading zeroes.
//--
function decimalToHex(decVal:Number):String {
var digits:String = "012345689ABCDEF";
var returnStr:String = "";
while (decVal) {
returnStr += digits.substr(decVal & 15 -1, 1);
decVal >>= 4;
}
return "#" + ("00" + returnStr).substr(-6,6);
}
trace(decimalToHex(65535));
// outputs "#00"
//--
-Jim
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[Flashcoders] Compare brightness of RGB values
Does anyone know a good formula for comparing brightness of RGB color values? Obviously, 0xCC is brighter than 0x33. But one can't always infer that a larger number is brighter than a smaller: 0x33 is a larger number, but much darker than, 0x00. Would averaging (or simply adding) the three color components work, or is it more nuanced than that? Thanks, Jim ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] ColorPicker.selectedValue to #hex?
Merrill, Jason wrote:
How can I translate the ColorPicker.selectedValue to a 6 digit hex
number? i.e. if the color selected is, 66, if I trace
ColorPicker.selectedColor, traces 102. I tried gooling for an
Actionscript hex converter, but didn't come up with anything. Thanks.
This may not help, but you can get each RGB color value from the
selectedValue:
//--
redValue = selectedValue >> 16;
greenValue = (selectedValue >> 8) & 255;
blueValue = selectedValue & 255;
//--
If you're manipulating the number, as opposed to storing or displaying
it, can't you just work with it in decimal, even if you're using hex
numbers as operands? This should change the green value to 256:
//--
newColorValue = selectedValue | 0x00FF00;
//--
If you do need to convert it, what about something like this? (Tested
only in AS2, but you get the idea.):
//--
function decimalToHex(decVal:Number):String {
var digits:String = "012345689ABCDEF";
var returnStr:String = "";
while (decVal) {
returnStr += digits.substr(decVal & 15 -1, 1);
decVal >>= 4;
}
return returnStr;
}
trace(decimalToHex(65535));
// outputs ""
//--
-jim
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Re: [Flashcoders] AS3 - Problem with first item in Array
Kerry Thompson wrote:
Jim McIntyre wrote:
I got the impression from the AS2 documentation that one *should* set an
initial value for a variable in the class body, as long as the initial
value could be defined at compile time.
However, I've seen many folks leave the value undefined by not assigning
anything in the class body, like your example below.
What's the real deal? Is there a reason it's better (or worse) to favor
one practice over the other?
I'm not sure what you mean by "class body", but in the example you cited,
the variable is initialized in the constructor. That guarantees that the
variable will be initialized.
As for initializing it in the variable declaration vs. in the constructor,
it's purely a matter of style and circumstance. Sometimes you can't
initialize a variable until the class is constructed--for example, a path.
It's crucial to initialize your variables--uninitialized variables are the
source of more bugs than any other single thing I can think of. It doesn't
matter a lot where you initialize the variables, though.
Sorry for my sloppy terminology! By saying "class body" I meant
initializing it here, which is what the documentation recommends:
class myClass
{
public var myVar:Number = 10;
}
as opposed to here:
class myClass
{
public var myVar:Number;
public function myClass()
{
this.myVar = 10;
}
}
Thanks for the input, though. The documentation I cited is in the
section dealing with coding practices and style, after all, so I guess
there's no real technical reason to do it one way or the other... as
long as it's done.
-Jim
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Re: [Flashcoders] AS3 - Problem with first item in Array
I got the impression from the AS2 documentation that one *should* set an initial value for a variable in the class body, as long as the initial value could be defined at compile time. http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/main/wwhelp/wwhimpl/common/html/wwhelp.htm?context=LiveDocs_Parts&file=1116.html However, I've seen many folks leave the value undefined by not assigning anything in the class body, like your example below. What's the real deal? Is there a reason it's better (or worse) to favor one practice over the other? -Jim jonathan howe wrote: Hi, SJM, Hypothesis: Don't know if this is different for AS3 (couldn't find the appropriate documentation in a quick search) but I got into the habit of avoiding assigning values for declared variables in the class body unless they are static variables. My recommendation would be declare variables like your arrays in the class body: public var containerX:Number; And then initialize them in your mainClass() function containerX = (stage.stageWidth / 5); Otherwise you may get unpredictable results based on what's in memory at the time. ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
Re: [Flashcoders] Is there any way to get a list of the classescompiled into a SWF?
The OP mentioned in another post he's on a Mac - so am I. I'd love to use Flash Develop too but it seems it is Windows-only. Is that true? Romuald Quantin wrote: I think Flash develop should show you the content of your SWF. Sothink decompiler will do the job as well, but PC software. I remember FDT is showing the content of a SWC, you might be able to do the same with a SWF. Romu www.soundstep.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Piers Cowburn Sent: 17 June 2008 11:07 To: Flash Coders List Subject: Re: [Flashcoders] Is there any way to get a list of the classescompiled into a SWF? AS3, and I'm using Flash CS3. I wouldn't be opposed to using something else though! Piers On 17 Jun 2008, at 10:53, Hans Wichman wrote: Hi, as2 or as3? In as2 i'd use the verbose option on mtasc. greetz JC On Tue, Jun 17, 2008 at 11:33 AM, Piers Cowburn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I'm trying to nail down where a reference to an unwanted class is coming from, and I need to be able to work out which classes are being compiled from my classpath. The reason is because I'm trying to take small element out of a larger project and put it into its own SWF. I've done this by extending the classes that are involved to override anything which has references to parts of the app which won't be in the smaller SWF, but one of them is still being included from somewhere, and I can't work out where. ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
[Flashcoders] Underscore in class file path name: no-no?
Flash (CS3, Mac, working in AS2) is silently crashing every time I compile a movie. The movie compiled fine until I started moving and renaming class files (cleaning up after myself). The path to the class files causing the problem is: gov.xyz.adv_shuman_game.ClassName If I remove the underscores from the last directory name (and adjust everything else accordingly), all is well. Is this a known issue, am I ignorant of naming limitations, or is something else going on? I haven't created a test case yet to see if it's replicable - I'll do so and file a support request if it's warranted. Thanks, Jim ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
[Flashcoders] Function Scope with Listener Objects (AS2)
I'm working on a small game that uses a bunch of buttons that perform
similar actions. In the main class for the game I've set up a
listener object ("gameButtonListener") to detect all the button
clicks and call the appropriate game functions, which are also
defined in the main class.
Here's a simplified version of the relevant code. (Broadcasting the
"buttonReleased" message is handled in the button's class.)
---
var gameBroadcaster:Object;
var gameButtonListener:Object;
AsBroadcaster.initialize(this.gameBroadcaster);
this.gameBroadcaster.addListener(this.gameButtonListener);
this.gameButtonListener.buttonReleased = function(b:MovieClip) {
doButtonClick(b);
}
private function doButtonClick(b:MovieClip):Void {
trace('button clicked!');
// do some other stuff with b's properties
}
---
The code above doesn't work, of course, because doButtonClick() is
not a method of the gameButtonListener object. right?
How should I be specifying the scope of the doButtonClick() function
in the anonymous function defined for the listener? Although "_root"
and "_level0" would work in a standalone situation I know they're not
good ideas (and the latter would break when the game's loaded into
another level), and "_parent" doesn't work with Objects the way it
does with MovieClips.
Thanks,
Jim
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[Flashcoders] AS2 class definition problem, Gaia framework
I'm working in a framework for the first time (Gaia). I'll be
including games on some of the site's "pages," and most of the games
will need to load a few external SWFs.
In the (AS2) class file for the page I'm trying to modify, I'm trying
to add this code inside the class constructor function (which is
provided in the Gaia AS template), so that the SWF is loaded when the
page is initialized:
--code begins--
private var posterMc:MovieClip = this.createEmptyMovieClip('posterMc',100);
this.posterMc.loadMovie('adv_saleposter.swf');
--code ends--
The second line of the above code is producing a compile error that
says "This statement is not permitted in a class definition." (The
script is actually full of lines that produce the same error, which
indicates I'm way off base.)
Can someone help me pull my head out of my AS2 and tell me what's
wrong with my approach? I'm sure this points to a bigger design
problem than I realize...
TIA,
Jim
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RE: [Flashcoders] semi-OT: Pseudo-random number sequence
At 10:50 AM +0100 7/19/06, Danny Kodicek wrote: > I get the impression it is a set number of turns. In that case, you'll need to be a bit canny, doing something like biasing the roll according to the distance to the goal. I enjoyed this problem way too much, so I've written an implementation (in Lingo, I'm afraid - it's my first language. But it should be easy enough to follow) Danny, Wow! Thanks. I ended up doing something much simpler, basically because I don't really care too much about the apparent distribution. Yours is way more elegant. Here's what I did. In pseudo-code (mostly because I'm embarrassed this is still AS1): To move S squares in N turns - Fill an array of length N with random numbers - While the sum of array members' values does not equal S: * Sort the array * Calculate the difference between S and the sum * If the difference is positive, increase the value of the first array member by the difference or by 5, whichver is smaller * If the difference is negative, decrease the value of the last array member by the difference or by 5, whichever is smaller - Sort the array - If the last array member is smaller than the number of spaces to move plus one minus the number of remaining turns, start over - Remove the last array member and store in a variable - Randomize the array order, then push the last member to the array I'm not 100% sure this will work, especially the test near the end to determine if the final roll is big enough to allow extra turns to be added. Thanks again. -Jim ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
Re: [Flashcoders] semi-OT: Pseudo-random number sequence
At 1:58 AM -0500 7/19/06, ryanm wrote: - there are n integers in the sequence - the sum of the integers in the sequence is x - the value of each integer in the sequence is between 1 and 6, inclusive There are a couple of things that I'm not following. 1. Does the board have a static number of spaces? Yes (25 in this case). 2. Are there a set number of turns, or can it take as long as it takes? There are a minimum of 7 turns, and a maximum of 9. Each turn consists of a roll, a move on the board, and a question for the player to answer. If a player answers all questions correctly, the game must consist of exactly 7 turns. If they get one or two wrong, one or two turns need to be added so they can still achieve a perfect winning score. If they get more than two wrong, they can't get the perfect score (we have only 9 questions to work with, so the game can't be extended beyond that). 3. Why do you need to know all of the rolls in advance, can't you just make your "roll" function ensure that the last roll is always exactly the right number of spaces? I don't need to know the rolls in advance, but the player has to be able to reach the end on the last roll. Given 7 turns, 25 spaces and a six-sided die, if a random-only solution produced [1,3,4,2,1,2] for the first six rolls, it would be impossible to reach the end space on the seventh roll. I figure the best way to do this is generate the roll sequence based on where they are, examine it to make sure they can reach, adjust it if necessary, and redo the whole thing if the number of turns changes. -Jim ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
[Flashcoders] semi-OT: Pseudo-random number sequence
Hi, I'm trying to come up with a way to generate a pseudo-random sequence of integers that meet the following conditions: - there are n integers in the sequence - the sum of the integers in the sequence is x - the value of each integer in the sequence is between 1 and 6, inclusive Basically, I'm trying to create a game in which users roll a die and move their piece along a game board, but arranging things so that on the last turn they reach the "finish" space exactly. (It's all for fun, so there are no ethical concerns about "rigging.") There are a few times during the game where the number of turns remaining might increase by one, so I have to be able to recalculate the sequence on the fly based on the player's current board position. I suppose I'll also have to make sure the player doesnt' get too close to the finish space on the penultimate turn, in case an extra turn needs to be added. If anyone has any ideas, I'd be most appreciative! Thanks in advance, Jim ___ Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
Re: [Flashcoders] Calc max radius of a circle
The difficult part of the question is that the circle is really a 3D object ie it can be rotate about the x or y axis. Do you mean rotate into the "z" axis? X and Y are still just 2-D spaces. 'rotating around the x-axis' is a perfectly reasonable statement for a 3D object: rotate something in the x-y plane by 90 degrees about the x-axis and it will end up in the x-z plane. Rotating around the z-axis would keep it in the same plane. You can't rotate a 2-d object about an axis at all, only a point. Well, then, if you rotate a circle around the global x or y axis by 90 degrees (picture a coin standing on edge), the radius of the largest circle that would fit in a rectangular bounding box would be 1/2 the diagonal of that rectangle, or ((x^2 + y^2)^0.5)/2. ...because you can then rotate the circle around the global z axis until its local x-y plane is parallel to the diagonal of the rectangle. OP, is that what you were looking for? ___ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
