Think 3DF as a specialized tool

[rblanc]

July 24, 2004

Can a hammer ever be a screwdriver? Have you over the years, accepted that you may just need to carry specialized tools around if you are going get work done?

This scenario describes 3D Flash Animator. As is, 3DF is a highly configurable and rapid development authoring tool which possesses distinctive advantages over current applications. For instance, you can be very expressive by assigning wieght and volocity to any object. Having this kind of control with relative ease is impossible to find anywhere else. It is factual that event building that uses a playlist rather than a timeline is faster. A progressive application will allow you to use both playlist and timeline to build events. There advantages to each. If I had to choose one it would select the playlist.

Another example, to build flying logos, for instance, it would take longer in Flash MX or Koolmoves. Animating text is of much better quality than you will find in Swish or Koolmoves. Try moving an 18 point text around you’ll understand my point.

3D Flash Animator lacks the common, standard scripting language – Action Script. This is the greatest disadvantage along with having outstanding important bug fixes unresolved and no future development.

Withstanding these three items, 3D Flash is a viable product for concept animation, building ad banners and slide shows with audio. Doing anything more with this program is not wise. If you can resist and thus retrain yourself to doing just ad banners and slideshows, than you will working smart. Use Flash MX, Koolmoves, Swish for events which calls for conditional statements. Don’t use a hammer where a screwdriver is needed.

[lopez1_de]

SHUT UP.

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH 3DFA

[rblanc]

Does this guy read English?

[lopez1_de]

sorry. i read that you don't like 3dfa.
why open thousend threads about this?

again. nothing is impossible with 3dfa. this is not a specialized tool. your imagination is the only limit. i bought flash (the last two versions) and a always go back to 3dfa. because 3dfa is much faster and more efficient.

check this: ...player

sorry for bad english

[lopez1_de]

i read your message 5 times and don't understand what exactly you want to say. sorry

[rblanc]

I am saying that 3DF is great for ad banner and slidshows. And you should use it for those reasons. It is better in many ways than Swish or Koolmoves.

Using the words, "Shut Up" is not good and should not be used.

I understand you do not know English well, so I hope this helps you.

I also like 3DF and I am sad to see it go away.

Rick

[FLASHPULSE]

Originally posted by rblanc
It is better in many ways than Swish or Koolmoves.

I would have to disagree. I bought 3DFA before KoolMoves and enjoyed it but after finding KoolMoves, 3DFA became more of an icon just sitting on my desktop.

Why...
Koolmoves has a cleaner interface, uses less memory, uses actionscript, updated at least every 3 months and the creator post to peoples questions on the forum.

For Swish, well I don't care much for it but at least it's still in developement.

[rblanc]

Koolmoves has a cleaner interface, uses less memory, uses actionscript, updated at least every 3 months and the creator post to peoples questions on the forum.

This may be true. When you compare 3DF in its ability to generate broadcast quality animations like for instance, text at larger sizes, large objects or moving several objects at the same time, 3DF wins out.

How easy is it to give the properties of velocity with collision to an object with Koolmoves?

How difficult is it to assign weight and velocity to an object once it collides with another object without scripting?

The rendering engine in 3DF is quite elaborate and is thus different from others.

How can anyone compare a 2D engine with a 3D engine? Of course, a 3D engine will use more memory even if you are not producing 3D objects from 3DFA.

What is the highest frame rate 3DF allows? It excceds the capability of MX. If I were going to produce digital sinage (large screens plasmas) I would use 3DF - hands down. There is question the quality is just better. You can not get good broadcast quality animations with frame rates that max out at 32 fps.

As I say in my post stating that 3DF should be seen as a specialty tool and shold not be used for general purpose.

Rob even has NTS broadcast frame rates as part of an output option.

For all around use, I think, yes, Koolmoves is probably the tool of choice and not 3DF.



The ability to control rather sophisticated events and assign attributes to objects with 3DF is quite remarkable.

[FLASHPULSE]

Originally posted by rblanc
This may be true. When you compare 3DF in its ability to generate broadcast quality animations like for instance, text at larger sizes, large objects or moving several objects at the same time, 3DF wins out.

I don't understand, KoolMoves can do this.

How easy is it to give the properties of velocity with collision to an object with Koolmoves?[/B]

Easy, use actionscript. Gives you more control over your animations.

How difficult is it to assign weight and velocity to an object once it collides with another object?[/B]

Same as above.

The ability to control rather sophisticated events and assign attributes to objects with 3DF is quite remarkable. [/B]

While each has there own preference on what they like to use, it seems silly to stick with a program that has no future. For some though, 3DFA is all they need. I'm not against 3DFA but I'm sure not happy how Rob just left it. Could have at least fixed the final bugs and sent out reg keys that would work no matter if you reformated your hard drive or not. Not sure if you know this or not but the domain name "3DFA.COM" expires 4-29-2005. So unless Rob updates this and keeps paying for his webhosting, we're out of luck if we reformat our hard drives or buy a new pc.

Back to your statement, there's nothing that 3DFA can do that also can be done in KoolMoves besides 3D. Which the 3D isn't that great anyway. If you make a model in 3DFA using nothing but vectors, the colors bleed and some parts when animating disapear. Oh well, that's my input anyway.

[rblanc]

While each has there own preference on what they like to use, it seems silly to stick with a program that has no future.

This is true - but the argument is that 3DF should not be thrown down because it does not have a future, or that Rob is pushing up daisys or that it is not action script compatable. It fits a specific need that Koolmoves does not offer.

Flash will not stream past 30 fps or is it 32, although the Flash plugin will allow the client to see 60+ fps. Koolmoves does not offer this. How can a person discount 3DF? If you are just creating website than you do not need anything past 30 because of the limit of MX 7.0. If you want to create a kiosk, or DVD you better have a higher frame rate than 30.

With 3DF you can actually create ads for t.v. because if uses the NTS standard format.

The topic of this tread is not if 3DF is better than Koolmoves of Swish, it is that it has certain qualities that others programs do not offer - including MX. This makes 3DF a specailty tool for producing ad banners, Kiosk or broadcast work.

Koolmoves is a general purpose tool while 3DF is for special work.

[FLASHPULSE]

WOOOOOO!

If you're creating a website, 12 fps is all you need. For TV, 29.97 fps and DVD is around 24 fps. 60 would be way to high for anything, except for gaming and that would be using C+ or some other programming language. Any game in flash runs fine at 32 fps and below, depending on your game.

In KoolMoves you can type in your movie speed from a range of 1 to 32 fps. You do make a good point, I should ask Bob if he could include decimals, so something like 29.97 fps could be used.

[rblanc]

Obviously FLASHPULSE we have different standards of quality. Twelve fps is quite unacceptable but I will not argue the point.

My statement post maintains that 3DF is distinctive in producing broadcast quality animations and ease of use.

a) Broacast quality / Koolmoves does not offer the degree of liquid smooth-like animation that 3DF delivers.

b) The ease of use.

Sure with action script you can make objects stand on its head. How many people can program in action script?


Rick

[lopez1_de]

sorry for missunderstanding.

you all say the truth.

[FLASHPULSE]

Originally posted by rblanc
a) Broacast quality / Koolmoves does not offer the degree of liquid smooth-like animation that 3DF delivers.

HAHA! You kill me man. You can create smooth animation in any flash program. As for fps, 12 to 16 is good for any website. Anything more then that is just bloating your swf file. Cheers