Flash & AS3 info, source, & experiments
Tweener
Flashplayer and AIR Benchmark Test app
21737 days
I’m currently using the Flashplayer in more of an embedded system configuration. We’re evaluating multiple hardware configurations to decide what hardware to use and we’re also evaluating multiple version of the Flashplayer to decide which Flashplayer to use. So I made a quick open source test app to help with this evaluation. It allows you to compare animation performance between an EnterFrame animation vs a Tweener animation vs a Timeline animation. You can also apply various effects to see how they impact things. Since scaling can skew results, the app is designed to run at a specific resolution, but it is easily scalable to whatever resolution you wish to test (and steps are included in the source).
The results have been rather bewildering at times. Depending on the hardware (and I think the OS as well), I have seen filter effects drastically decrease the performance, drastically increase the performance, I have seen full screen mode have great impact or no impact, I have seen the AIR version help the performance and hurt the performance, and just about everything inbetween. Crazy! Anyway, tell me what your hardware/OS/Flashplayer version combination are, and what sort of results you get in the comments.
Usage:
It should be fairly straight forward. Just drag the sliders to add a new ball that is animated in the specified method. You can click on the top half or bottom half of the DiagnosticStats window (thanks Mr. Doob!) to increase or decrease the max fps. Use the + or – keys to increase/decrease the maximum # of balls allowed. In the AIR version, press Q or X to quit and click and drag the background to move it around.
Demo | Source | AIR | AIR Source
Tweener Transition CheatSheet
102198 days
Have you ever wished you could have all of the different Tweener transition types (based on the Robert penner easing equations) on a single cheatsheet? I have too. So, I finally got around to making said cheatsheet. Enjoy.
TweenerTransitionCheatSheet.pdf
Tweener + Bezier + Zeh = Brilliance
12213 days
Zeh, the brains behind Tweener, has done it again. One of the main goals of Tweener was to create a system designed to allow the creation of animations (be they simple or complex) very easily. This goal was definitely accomplished. However, designing something that is appealing to the crowd wishing for simplicity, often leaves the crowd looking for more power, in wanting. Furthermore, attempting to appease both crowds congruently, is often like getting a camel through the eye of a needle.
I never thought Brazil had camels, but Zeh just threaded the needle with one. Introducing, Bezier curves in Tweener. Check it out.
The Little Tweener that Could
22221 days
I used MC Tween all the time. When AS 3.0 came out, I loved everything about it, except the fact that there was no MC Tween. I sent an e-mail to Zeh asking if he was planning on porting it. He mentioned that he was working on a new implementation called Tweener, but that it was only for AS 2 and not yet ready for the public. Zeh was kind enough to send me the source so I spent that week porting it to AS3.
It’s funny to think back to those days, which was really not that long ago, and now I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to make a Flash app without using Tweener!
Well, apparently I’m not the only one. It’s been great to see John Grden talk about how easy it was to learn and use in conjunction with Papervision3D, or to hear Ricardo Cabello (aka, Mr. Doob) say, “If you need a tween class, don’t look [at] any other, you only need Tweener!”
If you don’t know what Tweener is yet, head over to the project on Google Code and read the quick description. I promise it is worth it!