FLASH: Re: Flasher wish list

[A.R.]

flasher-digest wrote:


> flasher-digest       Tuesday, February 1 2000       Volume 01 : Number 2354

>

>    FLASH: Flasher wish list

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

> Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2000 11:40:19 +0000

>

From: Jeff Sibley <jsibearthlink [dot] net>

> Subject: FLASH: Flasher wish list

>

> I am currently using several good 3D design programs that have very intuitive

> interfaces that utilize hierarchical folders that allow you to specify objects

> to folders thus forming child / parent family relationships. For instance if you

> put a hand model in an arm folder and the arm folder in the body folder than all

> objects in the body folder are linked together forming a jointed arm

> relationship.

>

> I would like to see Flash allow for a Hierarchical folder arrangement in the

> layers listings of the timeline window. Why use individual scenes in separate

> windows when all the scenes could be listed in a few folders on one timeline

> window. Any scene could be viewed at anytime by double clicking on any folder

> and having it pop open, revealing all levels of the scene in parent / child

> hierarchical fashion. No searching over several timeline windows required. And

> because the scenes are composed of parent / child folders, the scene can be

> viewed in as much detailed as needed by simply opening or closing object folders

> inside the main scene folder. This would provide a simple and clean interface

> where everything can be viewed in one window with no searching simply by

> expanding indivual folders as much as needed thus eliminating unnecessary

> clutter.

>

> More importantly, if all movie objects are listed in parent / child relationship

> fashion than there would be no need to specify where a movie clip or variable

> resides (example: /mc instance:variable name), simply name them and the program

> would know how to align them since they are already aligned on the timeline.

>

> This parent / child relationship would also offer other benefits such as tying

> transitions to a folder would allow everything in the folder to have the same

> transition; closing a folder would automatically lock everything in the folder;

> folders could form the basics for a BONES structure where objects in child

> folder are logically connected to objects in a parent folder (example: hand

> objects in an arm folder would be connected at the joint allowing for realistic

> animation).

>

> Also, there should be a way to fold up parts of the timeline frames. For

> instance, if you have a movie 400 frames long, why not allow the use to take the

> first 200 frames of the opening animation and collapse it into a one frame

> folder so you don't have to scroll 200 frames to get to the rest of the movie.

> The movie could be encapsulated in several folders making the entire 400 frame

> movie viewable in one window, no scrolling required.

>

> All this would make for a cleaner and more intuitive interface.

>

> ------------------------------


YEEES Jeff,

i totally agree with you! I think you describe some very important

detailes here -

that is influencing our every-day-work strongly...


Other programs (i.e. EMAGICS Logic Audio) SHOW that it is possible what youre

asking for: Logic also works with a timeline, but you can pack every

"Scene" into folders,

still beeing present on the timeline, containing all the other "Layers"

or in this case "Tracks".

Very practical, very intuitive!


Still i think Macromedia also should not forget the important Bugs to be fixed!


Things like color-management. The algorythms for picture-import could be

much better!

(Every 3rd-class Paintprogram can do it well, why not Flash?)

For instance if you trace-bitmap, the result of imported stuff youll get

all kind of results

but never color like the original - unless you use 1px-adjustment, wich

blow your file

up to 100%.


Errors in sound-compression: ever tried to import a .wav with 44,1 kHz 

and then

export your swf with 5kHz? Sounds horrible (Ok. 5kHz anyway sound

horrible, but even

if you. post-produced your files in "GOOD" 5kHz-quality the result is

the same)

Import the same thing in 5kHz, export with 5 kHz - crackling will arise

in the swf-file

- even if the imported sound was 1a-clear in the original version...so

it must be a Bug in

the compression algorythm!)

At least there are some much better algorythms around.Maybe MM should

build alliances

with well known firms (that know how to do it!) about this issue.

(i.e. Q-design-codec, real-audio, LiquidAudio)


Here are some more (my personal) wishes to macromedia for

future-versions of Flash:


Font-management: why aint it possible to SAVE the Fonts with the

swf-file, i.e. like the

PDF-format does it? This would be much saver for cross-platform projects.


Remember Pallette-positions: why is that not possible? Everytime you

start Flash, you

automatically have to drag palettes to their desired positions,

specially when you work with

2 Monitors this can be absolutely enerving. Should be possible to save

with the Preferences!


The Preferences itself: what can you save here? Nothing! Just some

unimportant detailes about

dragging and snapping stuff...

So make the PRG more User-friendly and let us have control over it!

Palettes, Color-depth, give us default options like basic movie options

(lets say i want to start of a new Movie with 5 pre-defined Layers, 5 scenes...

in a speed of 30 frames, black stage color (and so on...) - that ll save

us a lot of timeconsuming work everytime we start a new project!


Macromedia also should think about the EXPORT-algorythms of the swf-files.

It is nice that everything will be compressed as Hell when exporting a

movie, to make it as

small as possible for the web.

Still it would be nice to CONTROL the amount of compression (lets say i

want this movie

to be uncompressed or only with 20%, coze i want to put the swf on a CD anyway...).

Sure you can do this by adjusting the export-parameters, but still this

will never be 100% quality

coze it will ALWAYS be compressed, even with Jpeg in 100% and Sound in 44,1kHz!


If we talk about our wishes, well then this will be my list...

MACROMEDIA can you hear us???? Or do you care????


I m not toooo positive about that, but lets see...  ;-))


Alex


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