Whats New?

[jonas14]

What is new in Version 8...


they say that its a mayjor update....

post info and news here!

[pellepiano]

Welcome here!

There are several threads about this already. Either make a search or check .....

www.macromedia.com

... or search

[betaruce]

there are filters. we can apply it to animations.
for the new AS, there's also filters and Bitmap processing. We can process pixel details now. We can also upload and download files with flash.

[Mr Libido]

I feel like a partypooper for saying this but so far i'm not all thrilled about what i've seen. Sure, that flash now supports video with alpha channels and there's also some nice gadgets and updates (it took eight versions to be able to draw a line with a straight corner) BUT what's up with all these ms powerpoint transitions?? Dropshadow, pixel revealer, bevel etc. etc. It's so confusing. Why did macromedia put down all this effort in creating this??

[>flashl!ght<]

Because alot of people are begging for it.

Realtime Filters, Realtime Blending Modes, Curve Animation Editor(property specific), cacheAsBitmap and Realtime bitmap manipulation, and a slew of other tweaks... to an animator this is the most significant update of Flash ever(or in a long time... I wasn't around with the first few version of Flash... so I can imagine an update that allowed animation at all was the most important update for an animator ;) :) ) This isn't PowerPoint Transitions, this is more in line with After Effects made live.

If you weren't an animator, I would still think you'd be pretty pleased about the incredible performance spike provided with cacheAsBitmap, and some other features, such as the Browse feature?

If it's confusing, I'm sorry. But to those who get it, it's absolutely thrilling!

[Mr Libido]

The confusing part is that i don't understand what flash is trying to be nowadays and in what walk of any production the, let's say, Realtime bitmap manipulation might come in handy. This is dated eye-candy that's been available for java and shockwave for years.

The last two versions really set focus on implementing flash with the rest of the internet via competent back-end solutions. Now the focus seems to be on implementing bitmap graphics. Most of these effects we've seen in flash already thru tweaking but now it will be even easier to, let's say, create a car with motion blur. That's nice but somehow i feel that it won't raise any eyebrows soon.

[>flashl!ght<]

> Most of these effects we've seen in flash already thru tweaking
No, most of these effects were barely dreamed of. Sure, you could fake motion blur by importing bitmaps. But realtime motion blur? And blending modes at all, much less realtime? Bitmap manipulation? This is a massive advancement, I'm sorry if you don't appreciate it, that is entirally acceptable; you aren't a villian just because it doesn't interest you, but understand it does interest alot of people to an incredible extent.

You raise an interesting question concerning your confusion, as to what Flash is "trying to be". I am not qualified to really answer this, but my simple thoughts is that naturally Flash is trying to be both to some extent. Its more recently being evolved into a serious development and web applications tool, but trying not to forsake it's media/animation grassroots. MX'04 and to some degree MX had some serious development advancements, but the animators began to cry neglect, so MM is now answering that cry. But still, have any of the dev features been taken out in this version? No, they are all still there, and in fact some sweet new ones have been added.

And I most certainly won't tred in the 'vs. java & shockwave' arena, but Flash is different. There must be a reason java and shockwave don't have the same level of success as Flash does, so seeing java/shockwave level 'eye-candy' in Flash is still entirally new.

Whatever, just opinions. And in my opinion, I'm just stoked about this release, and surprised at how many people aren't. :)

(Of course, we've yet to see how stable the IDE actually is... let's not forget to pray ;) )

[FlashGuru]

Your not the only one flashlight. Im also very stoked about this release. Wait till its available to the public and those haters will change their mind for sure :)

[>flashl!ght<]

I had a feeling someone else might be stoked :)

(get my PM, FlashGuru?)

[toulouse2k]

I'm too stoked...I mean I'm stoked too....wait a minute, I am too stoked, too.

[jonas14]

lol!

this is very great!!!

[NyteStarNyne]

Can't Wait. Seeing some uh....Adobe inspired features with this realese...I wonder why >.>

[>flashl!ght<]

Adobe hasn't touched this release in any way - the aquisition hasn't even gone anywhere yet. Adobe won't be able to touch MM for awhile longer too.

[Ray Beez]

I think the bottom line is, if you don't have the imagination to see any use for the new features, then...

A. Don't upgrade

B. Let other people with imagination come up with the new creations that push Flash further

Personally I've been waiting for the blending effects since F5. I make game, and having "additive" / "subtractive" type of blending modes is VERY desirable.

[gerbick]

In a lot of cases, it has zero to do with imagination, as much as it really does have more to do with what the client - you know, the people that pay the bills - wants the most.

I mean, seriously; how much imagination does it take to use an layer application mode in Adobe Photoshop or in Macromedia Flash 8?

Not much from what I've seen. Too many examples that look the look, but add nothing to the interactivity, or better yet, to what a client wants. Flash for the heck of being Flash is just a waste.

Unless you're getting paid for it. Imagination or not; the glitzy features offer nothing. But the stability of Flash 8 - I've got the trial - is what I've been asking for all along.

[MikeMD]

B. Let other people with imagination come up with the new creations that push Flash further

I'd say these "improvements" are more geared towards people without imagination. People with imagination don't really need anything above Flash 5.

We upgrade to every new version, but other than some video stuff, absolutelly nothing that we couldn't have done in Flash 5.

[audas]

I have been knocking this version of flash for the security issues, many will know this, however to say that there is nothing that can be done in f8 that could not be done in f7 is not true. I could build a full blown online photoshop (which is where the web is heading, online apps, online desktops, and only this version could really handle that)
File uploads, browsing etc although acheivable create a whole new world of this that COULD NOT BE DONE before, including multiple file uploads and tracking this in flash.
BUT WAIT......
the javascript interface is well cool.
there are also several coding enhancements that ROCK.
so this is a truly excellent upgrade. (despite my earlier gripes).
cheers,
sam

[Ray Beez]

I'd say these "improvements" are more geared towards people without imagination. People with imagination don't really need anything above Flash 5.

We upgrade to every new version, but other than some video stuff, absolutelly nothing that we couldn't have done in Flash 5.

Just as one minor example is the ability to finally do a blending mode that results in "additive" type of effect. What this is used most for is realistic lighting/glow effects while still retaining transparency. You couldn't do this before 8. And like I said, for some effects in games (fire, lasers, glowing things, etc), I've been expecting this feature to appear as early as F6, but it never happened. (It's a blending mode that has been in Director since at least 1998).

But like I said, if you have no use for it, don't use it. Don't upgrade. Me, I'm exstatic that I can push my game development and graphics quality further without having to move to another language and development environment (ie: C++, JAVA, etc)

I guess what you're getting at is do we NEED this stuff? Probably not. But do we NEED bigger and sharper textures in every new 3D game? Do we NEED to upgrade game consoles to get better gaming experiences? Not really, but at the same time, we can just freeze progress. Some advancement is a good thing...

[MikeMD]

But like I said, if you have no use for it, don't use it. Don't upgrade. Me, I'm exstatic that I can push my game development and graphics quality further without having to move to another language and development environment (ie: C++, JAVA, etc)

I don't think we should stop progress, but all those glowing, fire effects we still will do in a 3D app and import as a sequence of .pngs. And there are examples of those done with gradients and duplicated movie clips. I'm sure there will be some use for new effects, but it's far from any real progress. Even the stability issues with MX 2004, supposedly fixed. I have no clue what people are talking about as I haven't had Flash crash once in the last couple of years ( must be Mac people :-) complaining ).

It's very similar to all those components they added with MX which we never used, because we'd already developed our own long ago. Lets face it, some of the XML and networking stuff will be helpful, but most of this is for lazy people who want a fancier powerpoint.

Until Flash can do 3D in a way Director does, it's all same old stuff with a few breadcrumbs thrown in.

[eviltwinisdead]

i've had problems with flash crashing if i've been using a files with alot of keyframes - irrelevant of the actual file size (both on pc and mac).

anyway. i'm looking forward to getting it..eventually - but i'd agree that there maybe isn't a huge advancement on the program.

[cancerinform]

You can upload and download files from the flash movie directly. I like that part. You can also load external gif,png files, which was so far not possible.

Regarding the blending modes it was possible in flash MX. All you need to do is create duplicate Movieclips and play around with color, x, y and alpha and you have blur or dropshadow. I am not so particularly thrilled by that alone.

One thing is true though that the effects are more realistic now.

I like every upgrade including MX2004, which I think was a big jump forward in scripting and regarding components.

So in summary if it were only for the blending modes Flash 8 is not for me. I bought it because of the whole package offered but regard it as just another more advanced version of flash. I still think the jump from 5 to 6 was the most spectacular so far.

I am looking forward to see performance improvements with xml parsing for example.

[Ray Beez]

I don't think we should stop progress, but all those glowing, fire effects we still will do in a 3D app and import as a sequence of .pngs. And there are examples of those done with gradients and duplicated movie clips. I'm sure there will be some use for new effects, but it's far from any real progress.

You can't do real "additive" blending no matter what in older versions of Flash. People don't seem to understand the difference between alpha blending and true additive/subtractive blending. The fire effects for example: People seem to think the big deal is "particles", but that's not what I'm getting at. The big deal is being able to overlay bitmaps and have them blend in an "additive" way. (I guess you have to see it to understand it. I'll make some demos... )