Flash MX Extension Components

[Terro]

I was wondering how many users here use Flash MX for their projects. I have a idea for some components that we can colaborate on for use with MX and higher ersions of flash.

My plan is to create a animation toolkit component that will add more fuctionality to flash as a animation program.

Some of my ideas are

Simple ones:


Text Effects - A premade library of text FX that would make it easier to do titles and credits.
Color Pallets - A combination of some nice pallets (Skin, foilage, technology...ect)
Frame Rate/Time counter - A frame counter with real time combined with a pause rewind and forward button. A simple component that would over lay over your animation allowing you to pause your animation in areas where you think you need extra work or corrections. The frame rate would tell you wht frames need fixing.
Readymade preloaders
Harder Ones:


Custom Brushes - This seems to be a big problem with Flash, im not even sure if a component like this is possible if the brushes are hardwritten in the main code.
Inbetween calculator - You would specify the 1 and last frame of your segment and the in betweener would give you middle frame number. It would save counting by hand.
Bones System - Which I think is very possible within the flash environment.
Blue Screen - A way for flash to automatically make a certain color transparent
Anyhow post back with ideas of animation extensions you would like to see in Flash.


Extensions can be loaded into Flash by placing their FLA files in your flash/RunFirst directory.

[Wmic - ?]

sounds great and I would like to help you with that....
but I don't really know what you definately mean with making components? :confused:

How the components work? And how to create them? And how to load them?
You mentioned that they can be loaded by putting them into the Flash/Runfirst directory...only put a fla. file in, and it will work? Really?

A little overview of how to do, or a little tutorial would help. ;) I like the project.
So my questions above concerning more the realisation, so how they can be realised in Flash? And how it is done that they work? ;)

[ori@r.a.m]

sound great, i have always think about changing some things about flash, specially the drawing tools, text effect etc.
actually, to make a plug-in like v-cam (sham is working on v-cam button, it will be awesome!)
if i can help with something, just ask :)

[Terro]

Sure I can do a simple overview. First thing you want to do is open up your flash directory and look in the Run First Folder. You will notice a whole bunch of sub folders like Components, Layouts , Pallets....ect. If you go to your components folder you will see a FLA file of the standars components used in flash (Like the scroll box and Radio buttons) If you Erase this file and run flash , flash will no longer have the radio buttons and such for you to use. But by copying a FLA file that we make into that folder you will have additional components for you to use in flash.

All it is , is a Flash file that we make to do a certain task. So lets say you make a FLA of a litte guy running and it keeps looping. You can then take your FLA pop it into your component folder and it will pop up in the componets window when u load flash. You can also for instance have a FLA file that has all your reusable sound files in it. Take that file and copy it into your /Library folder . When you launch flash and go to Library they will be availabe to choose from the menu. Macromedia created this easy way to use your FLA to extent the Flash work environment. There are a lot of components out there available for purchase already. Like text exxefts and such, but not a lot of them have to do with animationg. We can slowely start working on some. I'll be honestand say that I have never worked on components before, but in reality it's just a normal FLA file with parameters.

[Wmic - ?]

mmh..sounds great, I'm in. :)
thx for your explanation

[kayoto]

Terro your explanation is great, I didn't know all that !
it's a great way to build cool tools for any use (Animation as you mentioned and more).

I'll see if I can help with this in any way, but whenever I'll have free time... working hard on pre-production these days.

I must say it's a great Idea !

[KOTK]

Sounds nice.

Does Flash 8 have the cam??

[Terro]

Sounds nice.

Does Flash 8 have the cam??

The cam he's talking about is a Virtual Camera Components written for Flash Mx 2004. It should work just fine with flash 8, since they are both written in Action Script 2.0 . It will not work in the Original Flash MX and the earlier versions though. I tried :(

Now if you mean a normal Cam, then yes . All the Flash applications since Mx have a Video Cam ability included in it. Flash Mx even has voice commands accesibility which not a lot of people know about , and it is a very cool thing. There are a few animations/games out there on the web that require you to talk commands into your mice to progress the flash movie/game.

But back to the V-cam, it's a very awsome concept that is included in Toon Boom already. It makes a lot of nice effects very simple and it would be very nice if we could create one. Eventually we'll all end up upgrading to Flash 8 anyways, but we can all start learning components on Flash MX.

BTW a quick note about Flash and Action Script effect. There is a bug when exporting your flash movies to quicktime format if your movie is using action script effects in it, just ask NooB. Quicktime supposably only records the actual displayed items on each keyframe and does not recognize anything drawn by action script. So if you want to make a Quicktime version of your action scripted animation, the only way to do it at the moment is by using a Screen Activity Recorder. I bought one for $19.00 and it works great.

[KOTK]

I need to get off my arse and get Flash 8... *shifts in seat* my arse wont move. :Xead:

[Terro]

Lol King, everypost of yours today has been about your mission to get Flash 8. You currently using any form of Flash?

[NOOB!]

yeh shams vcam is the ****, * i gave u a link to it on cgtalk terro when we first met*

but i wanna see sum new features for the camera,like fish eye lens. :D

[TheEYE]

In regards to the V-Cam, Sham emailed me today to let me know that the V-Cam version 2 is in testing as we speak, and will be released very, very soon! ;)
And guess what folks? We have rotation!! :eek: (As well as some other great new features I cant comment on just yet until I get the go ahead from Sham!
His blog yaks about it here:
http://weblog.motion-graphics.org/archives/2005/09/vcamv2.html

As well, there is an MX version as well as a Flash 5 version of the cam available! ;)