SWiSH 2 was is a great app but here are some features that I would love to see in the next version.
1. A grid mesh tool (similar to illustrator and flash mx).
2. Improved gradient tool (similar to freehand mx).
3. A newer more slicker interface but not as big and cluttered Macromedia apps (maybe custom sizeable)
4. An eyedropper (more like Macromedia eyedropper where you simple anything on screen).
5. A saveable script pad where you could save and locate you best actionscripts.
6. Better integration with Flash mx and Director mx would be ace.
7. Polygon (like in illustrator and freehand)and perspective tool (like in flash mx and photoshop) would be nice.
8. More memory efficient.
These feature would make one nice app.
Last edited by ramonguthrie; 03-10-2003 at 07:57 AM.
Originally posted by ramonguthrie
1. A grid mesh tool (similar to illustrator)
Can you explain what this does .. I don't have illustrator to see
[B][QUOTE]
2. Improved gradient tool (similar to freehand mx)
[B][QUOTE]
We do all we can (pretty much) with gradients now .. we are limited what SWF format supports: ie two types (linear/radial) and to 8 gradient points. If there's something in particular that you think would make the gradient tool better (within these constraints) .. please let me know (eg. next release lets you hold shift-key down while dragging gradient points to make them snap to certain positions and has some predefined gradients you can select).
3. A newer more slicker interface but not as big and cluttered Macromedia apps (maybe custom sizeable)
Out UI is already custom sizeable .. you can turn toolbars on and off, you can change menus and toolbar content, you can dock float or combine panels, you can change hotkeys. What part of the UI is it that you want to change?
4. An eyedropper.
We already have an eyedropper for colors. Are you after something more?
5. A saveable script pad where you could save and locate you best actionscripts.
Might be able to do that as part of scripting improvements
6. Better integration with Flash mx and Director mx would be ace.
We already integrate about as well as we can .. we are limited by what Macromedia will allow on import of SWF files.
7. Polygon and perspective tool would be nice.
We already have a polygon tool.
What exactly do you mean by a perspective tool?
After looking through this tread and viewing the demos shown by Rodger am I right in concluding that Swish 3 will be able to handle variables and if so, will it be able to interact with PHP
I am expanding on some of the questions posted on my first post
1. A grid mesh tool (similar to illustrator)
Can you explain what this does .. I don't have illustrator to see
A1. It’s a tool similar to the one found in flash mx but more advanced It’s a tool that creates a net grid around the object that allow you to freeform the object.
4. An eyedropper.
We already have an eyedropper for colors. Are you after something more?
A4. It would cool if the eyedropper was more like Macromedia eyedropper where you simple anything on the screen.
7. Polygon and perspective tool would be nice.
We already have a polygon tool.
What exactly do you mean by a perspective tool?
A7. there is not a polygon tool in swish 2 like one found in illustrator and freehand.
A perspective tool could act similar like the one found in photoshop and the latest version Flash.
1. A grid mesh tool (similar to illustrator)
Can you explain what this does .. I don't have illustrator to see
A1. It’s a tool similar to the one found in flash mx but more advanced It’s a tool that creates a net grid around the object that allow you to freeform the object.
So you want to be able to adjust the shape by doing things by dragging handle points to (say) make one side shorter than another .. so a square would distort to a trapezium etc.
4. An eyedropper.
We already have an eyedropper for colors. Are you after something more?
A4. It would cool if the eyedropper was more like Macromedia eyedropper where you simple anything on the screen.
Yes .. as I said .. we alerady have an eyedropper that can pick colors from anywhere on the screne.
7. Polygon and perspective tool would be nice.
We already have a polygon tool.
What exactly do you mean by a perspective tool?
A7. there is not a polygon tool in swish 2 like one found in illustrator and freehand.
Are you after one that draws hexagons etc.
A perspective tool could act similar like the one found in photoshop and the latest version Flash.
Sounds pretty much like what you're asking for in #1 above.
I think you'll be please with the new release then.
-The ability to create 3D shapes
-The ability to import FLA
-The ability to have BOLD or Links in one section of text.
-No place pop up
-Maybe If, THen ,Else statemnts?
-Option to have different cursors over different things.
-FORMS, this would be awsome!I think this should be the number one thing to do!!
-The ability to incorperate external text or images easier.
-The ability to incorperate a database in to a site
-Better swf compression
-The ability to import midi or at least convert from midi
-I'm not sure if you can do this already but, import images that have a transparent background
-The ability to save individual sprites, timelines, actions so that you do not have to keep making them again, you could just select them.
-Auto align pixel fonts/text to whole pixel positions
-Keep it simple
Thats about all I can think of right now,
Oh, and also please keep the cost of it low I live in canada and we have the crapy exchange rate so Swish v2 costs me about $75
I would like to see the ability to "group edit" actions that are the same if you have such a monster. by "group edit" i mean to change the length of actions that are of the same type and are highlighted. Change the internal options of said actions.
currently if you have an action intensive movie and you have to change the settings in one of the actions then to re synch them you have to manually change every one one at a time. this can be very time consuming and maddening....lol
Originally posted by demon_master -The ability to create 3D shapes
Any in particular?
-The ability to import FLA
Not going to be possible .. its a private proprietary format that only Flash can read (just like no other app can read SWI files other than SWiSH). But we have improved SWF import further.
-The ability to have BOLD or Links in one section of text.
There will improvements in text formatting
-No place pop up
Lots of people have asked for that .. we've made it an option.
-Maybe If, THen ,Else statemnts?
There will be improvements in scripting (including all the things we documented ahead of time in the help files).
-Option to have different cursors over different things.
SWISH still aims to be SWF4 compatible where possible .. and SWF4 doesn't support setting mouse cursor shapes.
-FORMS, this would be awsome! I think this should be the number one thing to do!!
Certainly is an often requested feature, and one area where you currently have to go out of SWiSH.
-The ability to incorperate external text or images easier.
You can already dynamically load images into a sprite or level in SWiSH .. use the Load Movie action. It's a feature of Flash Player 6, so just make sure your HTML says that is the version you want viewers to have.
Importing text would come under improvements to scripting language.
-The ability to incorperate a database in to a site
If you have support for importing text, then that means you can access databases from servers etc via server side scripting (eg php).
-Better swf compression
Lots more options for that (on top of the very good compression we already have). Further, improvements in scripting could mean some animation that in V2 required effects could be done with scripting instead (resulting in smaller file sizes).
-The ability to import midi or at least convert from midi
Not much point importing MIDI files, as SWF format does not support exporting to it. You are much better converting your MIDI files to WAV files (which involves internal software sound synthesis .. not something that we'd include in SWiSH). There are tools out there for doing that, if you need it.
-I'm not sure if you can do this already but, import images that have a transparent background
You can already do that in V2
-The ability to save individual sprites, timelines, actions so that you do not have to keep making them again, you could just select them.
You can do the equivalent in V2 by opening another SWI file and copy and pasting.
-Auto align pixel fonts/text to whole pixel positions
There are improvements in snapping that should help
recently, a member in another forum posed a question regarding
expansion and rotation of a circle made of parallel lines (not
segmented lines that are available through standard line styles).
the "custom" line style allows use of the minus sign and spacebar.
in 3.0, will it be possible to substitute other characters, or even
objects, for the minus sign?
Originally posted by bpaulsen2000 the "custom" line style allows use of the minus sign and spacebar.
in 3.0, will it be possible to substitute other characters, or even
objects, for the minus sign?
The minus and space are simply markers to indicate that ratio of solid line to gap. The actual shape of a minus makes no difference .. its shape is not used. The rendering of the dotted line is determined by the flash player .. the blobs that make up a non-solid line are not individual shapes.
1- OFFSET to Goto Frame Next and Previous Actions (+2, -3, etc)
2- brush paint mask, be able to paint or erase a shape frame by frame using a brush with scalable size
3- import video (mov, avi, mpeg, etc)
4- IF...THEN statements
5- copy / paste action from one object to another
6- better text control, be able to change text style per selection inside a text object
7- soft shadow should be nice
8- be able to load an external movie while user is using current movie
9- export .exe with options for full screen, no title bar, etc
10- shape morph
I have been a creative in web/interactive development for some time. I have queried your company regarding port to Mac several times over the last 2 plus years, to which your company has claimed you no plans since AND I QUOTE "They have no plans for porting since interactive (Flash, Director, ETC) development is primarily done on PC's".
This is a falsehood. While there may be a majority of developers on PC's (with the vast majority inclusion of backend devs), Mac Users have been in web interactive development since it's inception. Most creative used for interactive development is created on MAC's at some point in time. All Adobe products started on Macs, Macromedia products began on MAC's. So to say Mac Users are irrelevant is naive.
For your company to exclude such a large group of creative professionals is a travesty. For myself, I've had to purchase PC emulation and dealt with a lot of hassles to use PC programs that are exclusive to the OS, yet the majority of my creative work is still on MAC.
Please take the time to consider the potential revenue advantages of servicing such a large creative customer base.
We have indeed considered the potential revenue from a Mac version .. and the costs (in time and developer resource) of porting SWiSH code. Ahd that is WHY we do not currently have a Mac version. Its simply not economically viable for us to do so at present.
We have never said (to my knowledge) that Mac users are irrelevant. But they are a minority (as you yourself admit) and the costs of porting are significant. If some nice person came along tomorrow with a truckload of money/resources for a port of SWiSH to Mac, we'd probably be very happy.
We continually reassess our position on this .. and as market shares and technology change, and as the SWiSH product(s) develop and mature, we regularly reconsider porting to Mac platform. A Mac version of SWISH is certainly not ruled out for the future.
(NOTE: these are my own personal views and not a statement on behalf of swishzone.com - I'm a merely not-so-humble programmer)
If you believe that the CREATIVE aspect of web development is done primarily on PC's, I do not agree with you. If you look at professional interactive development for consumer clients (P&G, Auto, Tech Products) they demand high levels of creative appeal, something backend developers are not known for.
You make mention of blanket statistics of overall marketshare but omit the statistics of Interactive Creative Development on PC vs. Mac.
No, It's the Creatives that have to create visually appealing site designs, and the MAJORITY of Creatives work on MACs. Hands down. Doubt this? Look at print and publishing? Interactive stemmed out of it.
So I pose this question to you. In professional site design do you really have people working on Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash on exclusive PC enviroments? No.
For all the web development teams out there, I wonder what percentage would say that the CREATIVE which comes to them for posting originates from artwork done on MAC's.
In conclusion, I'm not flaming your company. You make a good product. But just to say that Mac development is not fiscally feasible? You state numbers of overall PC's vs. MAC for marketshare but not of Creative development on PC's vs. MAC. There I believe we differ in opinion.
Venio
