Flash :: 2 Little Things

Does It Make Things Easier To Plan Things Out Before Programming?
I know this may seem like a stupid question, but as a Actionscript beginner i'd like to know if its easier to plan things out before hand. Basically i've got to make a Class that does the following:

- Creates a shape with a size and colour defined by values passed through the constructor
- the initial position of the shape should be passed to the constructor
- the horizontal vertical speed should be passed to the constructor
- the initial direction (up or down) should be passed through to the constructor
- the shape should reverse direction on "impact" with the stage top and bottom.

Now i want to make the thing itself, but i think im going to struggle. unless i make a really decent plan of the class. so can anybody recommend what the best way to plan out this is?

if anyone can help, i'd appreciate it - if not, no worries.

[F8] How Do I Get Things To Follow Things?
I'm trying to get the enemy follow what you control in an overhead game and my current actionscirpt is...

onClipEvent(enterFrame){
function locate(uuuxe) { //function name is locate()
xd=this._x-_root.uuuxe._x //the difference in-between this symbol's x and the other symbol's
yd=this._y-_root.uuuxe._y
npx=(xd+yd)/Math.pow(2,1/2)
npy=(yd-xd)/Math.pow(2,1/2)
if(npx>=0 && npy>=0) {
this._rotation=0
this._y-=2.5
return 1
} else if(npx>=0 && npy<=0) {
this._rotation=270
this._x-=2.5
return 2
} else if(npx<=0 && npy>=0) {
this._rotation=90
this._x+=2.5
return 4
} else {
this._y+=2.5
this._rotation=180
return 3
}
}
}

What am I doing wrong? Thanks!!

FlashNoobXanthus

2 Things
How do u do an equalizer for the music on your website?
and what is defaultapp.exe and where can u get it?

Help With A Few Things, Please
I have a few questions.

1) When I have a mc that is a width of about 2500 pixels or longer, how do I edit it when I can't see the entire thing? I tried to reduce it and move it around, but either way I am not able to get to the beginning or end of it. Also it will not allow me to change the info prameters if it is over a certain size.

2) Can someone take a look at this site I am working on.
http://www.heisourlife.com/bettale
There are probably a few things I need to change with the code, but I need some help. Right now the images, timeline, and everything else is in its own mc. I think the only thing that should be in a mc are the images. Is this correct? Also, the timeline from 1950 - Present should stay in place, that is 1950 should remain at the left of the black box and Present should go to the far right side. The little box should move along that line. This is where I need help. I think it is rather obvious when you look at it. Sorry no preloader right now. It might take about 45 sec to load on 56k.

Thanks for your help
jhb

How Do I Do These Things..?
Hi All,

I really like this nav menu and image slide/blur effect.

http://www.lightray.com/flash/index.html

How the hell would i do it...is there any good tutorials available for each.

I have a book coming in the mail on flash MX, until then all i have is you guys....

Thanks alot

dvdvault

PS: I imagine ill be using this forum LONG after the new book has been absorbed

One Of These Things Is Just Like The Other?
Hi
In relation to using color.setTransform could someone clear up one point of confusion for me.
What is the difference between these two items, they seem to be the same thing expressed in a different numerical style? I have always wondered about this in the "advanced" tab of the effect panel as well. This is copied from the flash help....

ra is the percentage for the red component (-100 to 100).
rb is the offset for the red component (-255 to 255).

oh and why is it possible to set a negative percentage and offset. I would have thought 100% or no red was the logical limits? OK thats two points I know ;-)
thanks mark

You Know Those Things...
You know on Macromedia.com's pages for product info...

Those menus that when you click on them have a menu drop down below them, and all the other headers drop down below the sub-headings?

W3bdevil

A Few Things I Need To Ask
Okay, i have just a few questions,
i learn a musical instrument, and my teacher says i need a metronome.

How do i make it? i would like to know how to set up the script to make the pendulm swing, also how to set up the tick sound to work when the wsing hits a certain place and how to display a slide which allows you to control the speed fo the metronome

if you could help me it would be very appricated

thanx

What Are The First Things You Need To Know First?
If I wanna create a game using flash. What do I need to know how to use. What program do you use to make games anyways?

If I wanna create a cartoon animation. Do I use Macromedia Flash MX? What are the main things you need to know in order to create a flash cartoon animation.

Could Anyone Help Me With Some Things?
Hi I was wondering if anyone who is good with actionscripting could help me out a bit cause i want to make a flash but its going to require lots and lots of actionscripting, i am reading up on how to do things but i wanted an expert to help me understand a little better about this stuff and maybe teach me a bit of it so any help would be great, thanks in advance. -Ziggster

First Things First...
first of all, "instence1" is the default name fkash gives to MC's, just for your convinence make a name for that MC. lets say you called it "myClip". if myClip reside on the main time line, the best way to reffer to it from anywhere in the movie is: _root.myClip.downtrigger
got me?
good luck.

Tried Many Things... Help
I am making a build your own snowman game and I am having trouble with the script. I have all the pieces on the stage but I want to be able to click a hat and it duplicates and drags on the same click. I have that to work but I want to be able to do this as many times need, I can only get 2 at once then when you go for the third one disappears.

heres an example...

http://www.flasharcade.com/game.cgi?christmastree

Thanks in advance,

First Things First
Hi,

I'm totally new to Flash and what i would really like to know first is; What are the visual media handling capabilities and limitations of Flash?

Thank You

3 Things I Can't Fix
I've been making this site for awhile, but there are some things I can't figure out.

the FLA is at
http://www.tcurranmusic.com/work/20.fla

the SWF is at
http://www.tcurranmusic.com/work/20.swf

Problem 1:
When going from page to page, I can't seem to get the scroll to set to 0 withough briefly showing the currently loaded text "jump" up to the top. I'd like the current text to fade out, the new text to load, reset to 0 scroll, then fade in.

Problem 2:
I've tried setting a variable for the mute button on the first page, but have failed. I want the button to "remember" the user's setting so that when they come back to the home page the mute button would be on and no music would play. I'm not talking about a cookie thing, just on the same visit to the site it would remember.

Problem 3:
My nav buttons all have their own sounds. I would like for each of them to "stop all sounds" except the loop that's playing on the home page. Rught now they bleed into eah other and it sounds like a mess.

Please, any help is appreciated, I'm ALMOST done with this thing!

-spack

Things I Need To Know.
Ok i have just entered the Animation part of Flash5 and there are a few questions i have. I created one movie so far, http://www.sfdt.com/flash/movies/7696.html, its decent I guess. But I feel like im missing the whole concept of animating. So let me ask a few questions that i need to know.

1) How do I get animation time to match real time? What I mean is I am having problems with matching, for example, the speed i am animating a character to walk compared to the speed of a normal person walking in real life. Understand?

2) How do I ANIMATE a character to walk? I am having the hardest time with this. Is there a plug in, prefferably free, of bones to add to a character? Sort of like Bones in 3d programs.

3) How do I copy and paste frames properly?

4) How do I animate Properly? I currently animate like this. I give each Character a new Layer for each body part: Head, Body, Left arm, Right arm, Left leg, Right leg. This is because when i have to instances on a layer in motion tween, it combines the two together messing it all up. But Creating a complex scene with 3 or more characters would take up many frames, so is that how its suppose to be? I also animate very tedious, such as animating 7 out of 10 keyframes sometimes. This is because ShapeTweening of lines flips the line when you cross two end points. Is there a way to stop that, because at the rate im going it will take me forever.

5) Can I create GOOD animations without having to use Scripting? Id really like to not have to get into scripting just to create good animations. Are the 3D animations i see made with scripting? If so can i get some good links on good scripting for animating? not for like webpage stuff, jut animation.

Thank you for your help.

A Few Things
Hi guys. I have a few questions regarding Flash actionscript.

First: Does the "go to next scene function" on a button only work if it places on the scene 1 stage?
(because i have tried once which i have put a button that contains that action in a movie clip, but when i view the movie, the button doesnt work. i need the button to be inside the mc but not on the stage)

Second: Instead of having horizontal and vertical kind of volume slider, can it be done in any other way?
(say......a C shape slider, or L shape...etc...as long as it is not vertical or horizontal)

and the last: Where can i find a tutorial on how to create a dj turntable?

Thanks guys

2 Things..
hi

how do i script a nav button to play the rest of the currently loaded movie and then load another into the main movies level 1...

also how do i create a slider... it doent have to change anything... just move...

cheers

2 Things...
hi

how do i script a nav button to play the rest of the current movie and then load another into the main movie with loadmovie or another scene,

you see i want an animation when comming into the scene and an animation leaving the scene, then goto the scene that the button was pressed for..

also how do i create a slider... it doent have to change anything... just move...

cheers

Help On A Few Things
ok
firstly,
how do you make a masking circle follow the mouse? do i just do the action script that makes the mouse hide and shows the masking?

secondly,
in swift 3d im having heaps of troube with this program!!! how can i make a background that has a door that you can walk through and then like another room inside. like the effect on xiao xiao 4 the game where the person walks around and then he goes into rooms to shoot people. i wanna know how to make something more simpler but like that!

lastly,
thanx for your help!!!!!!!!!

-reece

Help 2 Things....
Hi!

I have to ask 2 things today.

1) is there a way u can put html and use it thru flash?
2) Can someone help me make a login window...where username and password is required (just pw is ok) and if they/it are/is correct it links you to another web page.

I know how to do that with HTML and JaVa scripts but not flash...problem is my site is flash and i just dont want to make it really ugly by goin to another page and puttin the script there and then logging in.

Dream come true is goin to be UserN Password right on the web site just like with PHP!

Help Thnx...

2 Things...
how do i make a button stay a certain color or shape once a viewer has clicked on it, to show which buttons have already been pushed, and second how can i make my head in my site http://www.xscapeproductions.com/index1.htm spin back to whatever section the viwer choses, rather then start at the begginning everytime. i dont know if i being clear, on that question or not, hehe, i want my head to reverse back or go forward to every section, i dont want it to start at the beginning everytime, just not sure if there is an action to do that...........THNX

_Sean

2 Things
First: Im trying to create a flash sniffer, if the person does not have flash installed i would like to show a pic rather then thew animation, telling them to get flash!!

Second: I would like some kind of script that would randomly load flash animations into a website. I have 6 flash animations, the customer would like to load them randomly, whenever the person visits the site again and again they will get a different animation
everytime!!

Thnx in advance

sean

Ive Tried......many Things
i am having such a problem getting a simple form to work.....

i have read many forums and tried several scripts.

is there anyway that someone can look at my file and tell me what the heck i am doing wrong?

i have no hair left...ive pulled it all out...

i am wondering at this point if it is my server? i use powweb, i have uploaded a php file, etc.

i just want to be able to have visitors enter in their email in the field, click submit, have the field clear and be sent an email that says they have joined an email list (with their email obviously).

ugh......

thanks in advance!

Having Things Go By...
I am making a movie and I am wanting to do like a space travel theme and I want to make it where it seems like you are moving forward. How can I do this? I have tried looking it up and nothing has helped me yet. Anyone know?
thanks,
Dillon Millsap

When And How To Use These Things []
I have some code im tryign to get to work usign a loop. Im not sure how to lay it out to get it to do what im trying to do with these brackets []

Code:
function loadclips() {
for (i=0; i<RecCount; i++) {
//How do I lay this out to append the i to the movie clips
this.p1.two.attachMovie("casebutton", "casebuttond"+i+"_mc", this.getNextHighestDepth(), {_x:xposition, _y:yposition});
//How do I lay this out to append the i to the movie clips
this["p1.two.casebuttond"+i+"_mc"].caseouterbtn_mc.casename = cases[i];
yposition = yposition +50
}
}

[F8] 2 Things
I need to know these 2 things:

-How to make walls

-How to make a side scroll on the y axis so that it goes u and down not left and right

2 Things
The site is here:

http://bartolomy.com/test/index.html

I would like to have it centrered, whatever I try in the html or wherever it wont do it.....

Secondly I seem to have "lost" the preloader, something I did not know until I went semi-live....as on the local hdd the pre loader is non existent...

the source files are attached, if u need anything else then plz lemme now

Plz if you can help then I would appreciate this BIG TIME

Thanks a lot.

B

Two Things
i have made this widget that looks has a refrigerator background and i have made letters and i can drag them around and write words.

first issue: i would like to put this on my mysace page, but i would like it to be able to save from sessioin to session.

second issue: i would also like people to be able to reset the letters to their original state on the fridge.

can someone help me out? thanks!

Are These Two Things Possible?
Is it possible to:

A. Get a property that returns the current path of the SWF?
B. Change the current path used by the loadmovie function? (without prepending anything to the argument)

If yes, how?!?

Thanks!

Two Little Things...Hopefully:)
First off i'm getting a error with this.onEnterFrame code did this change to something better or what ?

Secondly, I'm still trying to find a way in action script 3 to make a button in flash to close the pop up window that the SWF is nested within?

Here is the code for AS2

Code:
exitbut.onPress = function(){
getURL("javascript:parent.close()");
};
Can anyone help me out Thanks in advance!!!

Two Things:
The first of the two problems (more of a lack of creativity than problem) I'm having is with my scrollbar:

I have a scrollbar that works when scrolling a movieclip of a fixed length. Unfortunatly, what I wish to scroll is a dynamic text field whose length will vary. I can get it to work with simple scroll buttons, but i really like the whole bar thing.
I am trying to keep the website as dynamic as possible, so i need the scrollbar to just figure out how long the external text file is and go from there. Is this possible, or am i just going to have to find another way of doing this. The code i have currently is a bit too long to post, if anyone has some time they'd like to waste on me then i would gladly send it to you.

Next problem:
I have an empty movie clip on the stage that is a certain size, a size i want. I am importing into it a picture that is considerably larger than that certain size. I wish to resize the aforementioned picture so that it the size of the movie clip prior to the loading of the external image. I have tried to do this two different ways (both of which you can see at the bottom of the message) and no, i don't run them at the same time.
In the code, flyerLoader_mc is the movieclip that i am loading the image into, "flyer/1.jpg" is the the image, and extBar_mc is my preloader bar. Both sets of code are probably not working for the same reason, i just can't figure the reason, or more importantly, a way to fix it.

Thanks a lot for even reading this collossal post.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

-Sean

Attach Code

// THE FIRST WAY \
flyerLoader_mc.loadMovie("flyers/1.jpg",flyerLoader_mc);

var myInterval:Number = setInterval (flyerLoad, 10);

function flyerLoad() {
var current = flyerLoader_mc.getBytesLoaded();
var total = flyerLoader_mc.getBytesTotal();
var getpctLoaded:Number = Math.round((current/total)*100);
extBar_mc._xscale = getpctLoaded;
if(current >= total){
//resize it
flyerLoader_mc._width = 205;
flyerLoader_mc._height = 314.9;

clearInterval (myInterval);}
extBar_mc._visible = false;
}

//THE SECOND WAY\
var flyerLoader:MovieClipLoader = new MovieClipLoader();
var flyerListener:Object = new Object();
flyerLoader.addListener(flyerListener);

flyerLoader.loadClip("flyers/1.jpg",flyerLoader_mc);

flyerListener.onLoadProgress = function(flyerLoader_mc:MovieClip,bytesLoaded,bytesTotal) {
var pctLoaded:Number = Math.round(bytesLoaded/bytesTotal*100);
extBar_mc._visible = true;
extBar_mc._xscale = pctLoaded;

if (bytesLoaded >= bytesTotal){
extBar_mc._visible = false;
//resize it
flyerLoader_mc._width = 205;
flyerLoader_mc._height = 314.9;
}
}

How To Put Things Together
I'm new to Flash/AS3. I am reading books that are teaching coding syntax. All this is good to the point where I would want to try a sample of code. That is where I have a problem and any of the books doesnâ€™t explain how to set up the environment. Should I create a project first? How to set the root folder where the top package will reside? How to make all your custom classes visible in relation to that root folder. If I have any external objects like movie clips or drawing where they suppose to be saved at? Can anyone advise me how should I put everything together?

These Things
hey i was wonderingif you guys knew how they create these graphics...its at this site on the bottom right...the grey withthe lines...i keep seeing these as like backgrounds and im wondering if how they make them...isit photoshop?

heres the link.. www.harvest.org

Just A Few Things :)
First off, I want to say hi since I just signed up for the forums so hopefully ill learn some things here and be able to help people in the future. I just started learning flash about three days ago so might not be helping people anytime soon . Now for the question, im not sure if this has been asked before but im half asleep because i havent slept in about 36 hours or so, so I didnt look all that much to see if it has been posted before. Does anyone have a tutorial on intros for say menus or something? such as on elitepvpers.de ? thanks for the input.

2 Things
ok i am posting alot becoz people are good here and reply

1: how do you make your own scroll bar, i want it so the is a symbol at the bottom and top (up and down :- )

2: how do you make a navigation so there is a cylinda shape and when you click it "open" your words spin round and then stop but when you press close the keep spining, so you can not see them

a good example is on www.rockstargames.com

on the right click on "GAMES"

you see the way the hand comes round, i want that sort of thing

anyone think they can help

It's All Those Little Things
I am having trouble with simple next buttons of all things. I seem to have some kind of conflict in the scripting or something. Has anyone else had this kind of problem? Every part of the navigation is working fine then I add some content, and next thing it's either jumping back to the start or going nowhere. I've tried alot of work arounds but I can't fix it. Someone please help me as the deadline looms.

Two Things...
I need help with two things:

1) I'm creating a website in Flash. I have my 'home page' which links to a number of other parts and all have preloaders. In the preloader, it loads the movie and waits for you to press a button. I was wondering, how can I make it so that Flash skips the preloader if its already loaded that page before because having to press the button every time is irritating?
I have the preloader in scene 1, and the rest in scene 2. As an example, I linked from the home page to a downloads section, and then in the downloads section, I created a button with the following code:

on (release) {
    unloadMovieNum (0);
    loadMovieNum ("homepage.swf", 0);
    gotoAndPlay ("Scene 2", 1);
}

I was hoping that it would load the movie and jump straight to scene 2 where the main part of the home page is (skipping the preloader altogether), but it didn't work.

2) Second thing...a while back, someone posted a thread about a java applet or something which shook your browser (looked like there was an earthquake on your screen). Where can I get this applet, and how can I incorporate it into Flash. The reason I ask is because I have an idea where the movie loads and as it plays a certain part, it shakes the screen.

As always, any help is appreciated...

Big Things
Does anyone know if you can make the workspace bigger in flash mx version 6.0

I dont mean the stage size but rather the grey area around the outside.

Gaz

Another Way Of Doing Things?
Hi All,

I have used arrays to generate some vars. The problem is, is that with the rules I apply to the system the code could in theory go on and on...

What I have is this:

7 countries, Argentina, Belgum, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany

Living in each of the countries are sixteen people of three types of a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, b1, b2, b3, etc...

I want to list a number of countries/people depending on user input.

The problem is, is with the rules and as I said doing it my way with arrays leads to very long code.

If the number of countries choosen = say 16 that would give something like Ca, Eb, Ah, Cd etc...

The rules are that Canada and Germany can be followed by any other coutry Belgum can only be followed by Canada and the remaining countries can be followed by either Canada or Germany. A country cannot be followed by itself, but something like Canada, Germany, Canada is allowed providing the instances of Canada have different people ie. Canada a, Germany h, Canada g

To compound this further similar rules apply to the people, so a person cannot be followed by the same type ie. a1, a1 but say a1, a4 would be allowed.

As I'm new to Flash I thought there might be another simpler way to do this. Is there?

Thanks for any help.

Help With Shooting Things
I have a little guy that shoots arrows. He can shoot while moving or when standing still. Problem is, eg.

I shoot an arrow using the ctrl key. Fine. If I happen to hit the ctrl key again, the original arrow that was shot off dissapears and a new arrow is shot. Also, if I just hold down the ctrl key, the arrow just sits at the point where it will start from and when i release the ctrl key, the arrow fires as it should. I know that it is something not put in the right spot or loop maybe? Here is my code attached to main char:

onClipEvent (enterFrame) {
shoot = 0;
arrowCounter = 0;
if (abletomove == true) {
if ((Key.isDown(Key.CONTROL)) && shoot == 0) {
n = _root.player._currentframe;
if (n == 1) {
arrowCounter++;
_root.arrowS.duplicateMovieClip("arrowS"+arrowCoun ter, arrowCounter);
_root["arrowS"+arrowCounter]._visible = true;
shoot = 1;
}
if (n == 2) {
arrowCounter++;
_root.arrowN.duplicateMovieClip("arrowN"+arrowCoun ter, arrowCounter);
_root["arrowN"+arrowCounter]._visible = true;
shoot = 1;
}
if (n == 3) {
arrowCounter++;
_root.arrowW.duplicateMovieClip("arrowW"+arrowCoun ter, arrowCounter);
_root["arrowW"+arrowCounter]._visible = true;
shoot = 1;
}
if (n == 4) {
arrowCounter++;
_root.arrowE.duplicateMovieClip("arrowE"+arrowCoun ter, arrowCounter);
_root["arrowE"+arrowCounter]._visible = true;
shoot = 1;
}
}

So I have a var called 'shoot' that basically prevents more than one arrow from being fired at a time. Please help me, I know this is one of those 'DOH' easy problems but I am stumped. :s

How Do I Disable All The Bad Things?
How do i disable all those things that pop up when somebody right clicks on your flash movie?
I know that you cannot take away the
"About Macromedia Flash 5"
thing, but how do you get rid of all the other junk?

Placing Things
I have a movie clip on the over state of a button, and I want to possition it in the same place as in the over state, how do I do this so it will match perfeclty, because no matter how hard I've tried to do it manualy there's always a diference, very small diference but I was wondering if it could be exactly alike.

Thanks for any help you can provide on the matter.

In Flash Are All Things Possible...?
I recently began studying databases...I am partial to ColdFusion due to the connection to Macromedia. I'm wondering if it is possible for one to access a .swf from a database and, if so, how can this be done? I really need your help on this one...

Fuzzing Things
Hey, Im having a little trouble trying to "fuzz" things. I really don't know where to start. What i mean by fuzz is like on a camera when its not focused. I would like to fuzz things on flash, ive seen it before on flash. But do you know if it needs another program? and which one? Well, thanks for your time. bye =).

Getting Things Back
Hi

I have a problem.
Lets say that i have a menu with 4 buttons and when i push a button i want square 1 to magnify 8x or something.
When i push another button i want square 2 to magnfy 8x AND square 1 to go back to its original possition.

The problem is how to a square back to its "start possition" when i push any other button.

See what i mean?

Martin

BLuRinG ThinGs
Hi, Ive seen on flash movies that some have blured movements. How do they do it?

example: a movie has a ball moving very fast and is blurred to emphisize the speed.

thanks guys. hope you understand what im talking about.

Like:

NORMAL: o <---ball
BLURRED: -==- <---blurred ball

i dunno. =)

Need Two Things To Be Done At The Same Time?
I'm trying to make a space shooter game. It works Ok as of now, but it still has some bugs. When an enemy ship explodes, the animation takes up several frames; and the ship can still be shot while in mid explosion. ALso, the laser goes right through the ship exploding it and others behind it in one shot. I can fix either one of these peoblems, but not both, it all depends if I place the
|| this.removeMovieClip(); || line third to last, pushing the other two lines down, or last. Can somebody lend a hand? Tks in advance.

for (i=1; i<=_root.numEnemy; i++){
if (this.hitTest( _root["enemy"+i]) and _root["enemy"+i].hitFlag==false){

_root.score+=100;
_root.enemiesDestroyed+=1;
_root["enemy"+i].gotoAndPlay(2);
_root.spaceship.laserCounter--;
_root.levelUp();
_root["enemy"+i].hitFlag=true; _root["enemy"+i].gotoAndPlay(2);
this.removeMovieClip();