Play Doom in Flash?
November 23, 2008 on 6:52 pm | In flash, tools | No Comments
Wow. We knew the day would come when Flash would be able to actually run Doom, just did not expect it so soon. Of course, it was done with the magic of Alchemy, which allows the porting of C/C++ based code to Flash bytecode. This is still absolutely amazing that the Flash player can handle it. Admittedly, the Flash version game play is not quite the quality of the original, and will consume your memory like pop corn, but it’s Flash right?
Amazing what is now possible in Flash. Just as Doom was the shot heard round the gaming world that ushered in the FPS, it is only fitting that it be the first out of the gate for what is now possible in Flash. It is not too hard to see why Microsoft has entered this browser based player arena, with their SilverLight entry. I have absolutely no doubt that online is the way that all software is going to go, and Microsoft has to have a decent player to compete. I can’t wait to see what will be released next.
-DCF
Moving to Flex Builder
November 18, 2008 on 5:24 pm | In flex | No CommentsI have recently begun messing around with Flex Builder 3. Most of the development that I do for my job does not require that I use Flex. We use FlashDevelop for editing AS3 and compile directly from the Flash IDE. Most of the stuff we are doing is custom and requires a designer, so the short story is that for the most part, we have not really had a need to design anything in Flex until now.
There is an interest in automating the process of how we develop our Flash based Learning Modules. In the past, when we developed our modules, each was pretty much custom, requiring the designer to tweak or detail per application. Obviously this is time consuming, and in many cases painful based on types of edits and upgrades that are requested by the client.
The trick is now going to be based on can we incorporate the Flex way of designing applications into our workflow. Based of what I’ve read, from the design side it will be as simple as taking the Flex components that the developer has selected and simply re-skinning them. I imagine it can’t be much harder than that as I have seen many Flex applications out there with obviously re-skinned components.
This is exciting to me because I hail from the Visual Studio world and have missed that way of developing. I have gotten used to FlashDevelop, and its little quirks (not bad, just different). It will really be nice to be able to completely prototype an application without going into Flash at all. It will also be nice to build tools using Flex that help automate our development. Did not think I would need Flex, but now it looks like I’m becoming a believer.
-DCF
Book Review: ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook
November 11, 2008 on 11:04 am | In books, flash, reviews, tools | No CommentsI have a few books that I keep around for handy reference. One at the top of the list is “ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook”, by Joey Lott, Darron Schall, and Keith Peters. This book has helped me through a number of projects like no other book in my library.
Much of it is code snippets and examples, in ‘recipe’ form based on a given programming problem. Each recipe presents the problem, the solution, and a discussion of the solution. In cookbook fashion, the book is meant to be browsed or perused based on the need for a solution for a problem. It can be read straight through, but is really one of those ‘how do I do x, y, or z?’ reference books that really is outstanding in its content offering.
The book has helped me greatly in coming up to speed in AS3 and making the transition from AS2. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is well versed in an older version of Flash, but needs to understand the new way to do things. It was written in 2007, but since it is code centric, it is still quite relevant for use with CS4. I can’t praise it enough for its usefulness. This book stays in my book bag, and pretty much is with me most of the time.
-DCF
Entries and comments feeds. Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^ Powered by WordPress