New HTML/Flash Hybrid

[C4_Tom]

http://www.c4multimedia.co.uk

We have just done an big update to our website and have gone from an all flash site to a hybrid.
We've tried to push HTML further than it is generally used and think we have done a good job. The use of Flash is primarily to give the site a special feel, most of the site is HTML, that our clients will be used to, but there is also the animated flash content that makes it that little bit different.
Layering is used so that we don't have to decide between flash and html, we can simply use both.

All constructive critisism is welcome.
Thanks in advance.

[tonytryout]

Nice design/concept. But I noticed that it sometimes is "jerky" -- particularly noticeable in the buttons bit.

I liked the guy thing walking. Pretty cool. But a user may move the mouse and if a guy grabs hold of the mouse pointer.. s/he may not like it and may think of it as a bug or a "gimmick". For me, it is cool.

[mx_kid]

How did you get Stimpy to talk on you website?

Oh Joy Ren!!!

Nice site, looks good. Like it alot mang.

[C4_Tom]

tonytryout:
By jerky I assume you mean it runs a bit slow on your machine. May I ask what spec it is? Since there's a fair ammount of effects on the site it may require a reasonable machine, we've tried to minimize the complex javascript where possible.
The guy that grabs the mouse pointer is a bit of a gimmick really, it's something that hopefully users won't have seen before and will help them remember the site. To avoid it being irritating we've made it so that he only holds the pointer for a couple of seconds and then gives it back to you. Would you say it's too long or about right?
Also would you say the frequency that he appears is too much, too little or about right? Over time we will be adding a few more animations and hopefully make him interact with the site and the user a bit more.

mx_kid:
To get him talking it's simply a transparent swf loaded into a layer between the other layers in the site. We've used javascript to communicate between the html and the flash. Since it's on a seperate layer it won't just disappear as you move around the site.
Thanks for the compliments.

[tonytryout]

C4_Tom:
well, if you look at my footer -- here is my PC spec. But I did try your site at work (Pentium III 600, 256 RAM, Geforce 2, v. fast connection).

The whole point is that most people are still using a dial-up so your site may not be able to reach a wider audience.

Maybe you should check the graphics and use as many instances as you can to reduce the loading time and size.

Just my 2pence.

[C4_Tom]

Yep, I myself am still on 56k
We've tried to make the site accessible to modem users too by precaching the whole site in the background once the first page has loaded.
On ISDN once you have read the front page the rest of the site already exists in your cache.
With 56k or slower it's not quite as quick, but it shouldn't be any slower than a normal html site.

We're going to look into it being jerky, with your spec it should run plenty fast enough, we'll see if there's any more optimizing we can do.

Thanks

[engstrom]

nice design. but i think you could use a higher fps!

[tonytryout]

Originally posted by engstrom
nice design. but i think you could use a higher fps!

This leads to bigger sized Flash. Not good.

C4_Tom:
Something just occurred to me..... maybe not ALL frames were loaded into cache in the first place?

[C4_Tom]

engstrom:
I assume you mean higher fps in the flash content. At the moment we're using 20 fps, which should really be enough.
Also, currently the flash content is quite minimal, this will change in the future.

Do you think the html content isn't running quick enough?

tonytryout:
That SHOULDN'T happen, but it's possible, there are a few issues with the preloading at the moment, only noticable on 56k, but the issues are there. I'll look into it a bit more.

[peterpan2000]

Hi tom

I'm sorry but the html part is not working on my computer
I get the first page but i cant navigate.

The flash part works well like the concept.

56K modem pentium III

Cheers peterpan2000

http://www.luxsky.com
http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...hreadid=376782

[C4_Tom]

peterpan2000:
Hmm, that's a definite problem. May I ask what browser you're using?
It should work ok on all browsers >IE4

[peterpan2000]

Hi
I,m using IE5

Cheers peterpan2000
http://www.luxsky.com

[mx_kid]

Hey peterpan, you dont have to type you site each time you post, you can put it in your sig.... click on profile at the top of the screen...