New project AS2 or AS3?

[Boombanguk]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to plan/start a new game project. I've already created some AS2 stuff, but now I'm wondering if I should start again in AS3. I reckon the completion will probably be 6 months off.

oh and thats another thing. Are there any specific game related advantages to using AS3? I thought I read somewhere about being able to unattach a parent object, and the child still exists?

[tomsamson]

It depends on too many factors so its not possible to give a general answer whether as2 or 3 might be a better choice.
If you don´t have a certain deadline and are into learning as3 its not a bad choice to do so, you will surely need some longer for your first project,on the other side,yup, good to get into as3 while you can.
Besides the code side performance increase there are few game dev related things which one can only do in as3´,i´m not sure how much most developers here will use things like Bytearray or Soundspectrum doodling for example, but yeah,nice to have em once the need is there.
Besides added new features some changes in setup of exisiting functionality are for sure nice for many though, like for example not having to bother with depth managment of displayobjects that much anymore, beeing able to reparent displayobjects (handy when you load in assets and can add them to any displayobjectcontainer,compare with painful workarounds for such things in as1/2) and many more things like that.

[renderhjs]

for me right now AS3 is a big frustration as with each project I want to start with AS3 and code- I do it in the end in AS1/2 simply because I can´t declare right from the beginning wich classes I will need and what structure is usefull.
So I think 70% for me is still old school flash and the rest AS3 because of the new features. Using simply MovieClips from the stage or library is a hassle in AS3 as well- and coding in Flash 9 IDE no fun at all.

[Cimmerian]

for me right now AS3 is a big frustration as with each project I want to start with AS3 and code- I do it in the end in AS1/2 simply because I can´t declare right from the beginning wich classes I will need and what structure is usefull.

But you can do that in AS3 too, just go putting everything on the main timeline and thats it

[The Helmsman]

If you planning to re-use the code written before - go with AS 2.0, otherwise do it in AS 3.0
Besides that, it will be wise if you start using AS 3.0 in a small project and not a big one.

Good luck and happy coding!

[Boombanguk]

thanks for the advice.

The more I look at AS3 the more I like what I see, but the more I'm also convinced that its going to really split Flash users down the middle. I like to think of myself as a "designer/developer" I can do graphics and I can do programming in Flash. I think AS3 changes that. I had just about got my head around AS2 when AS3 came out, and it changes things quite a lot. Yes, its still OOP like AS2 but the underlying structure seems to have completely changed with the display list etc. And its a lot to learn. Where as in the past designers could dabble in Flash development, because it was so easy to get it to do certain things, with AS3 I don't think that will continue. There will be a FEW designer/developers but I think by in large, the days of those kinds of Flash creatives is over (or soon will be).

[Boombanguk]

oo i just thought of something.

In AS3 can you duplicate .swf's that are loaded in dynamically?

[Squize]

"There will be a FEW designer/developers but I think by in large, the days of those kinds of Flash creatives is over"

Good. From a working in the industry point of view it means less dross produced by designers "Who know a little bit of actionscript".
It means everyone here's value will go up.

As to duplicating a loaded swf, why would you want to mate ?

Squize.

[Boombanguk]

"There will be a FEW designer/developers but I think by in large, the days of those kinds of Flash creatives is over"

Good. From a working in the industry point of view it means less dross produced by designers "Who know a little bit of actionscript".
It means everyone here's value will go up.

As to duplicating a loaded swf, why would you want to mate ?

Squize.

Animation in Flash. I think AS3 still can't load/display animated .gif's. Theres a tilesheet approach to load in animation, but if someone has the Flash authoring system then they could use that to create animation, and now if its true that you can duplicate content from a dynamically loaded .swf, copy that animation.

I agree about less dross, but even though that was a weakness of Flash from a quality of output point of view it was also one of its strengths, that someone who was primarily a designer could create design through code. Looking back at the coders of the 80s (we both know who they are), I would say these people were "designer/developers", people who showed artistic talent through programming, and not through a paint brush so to speak. Btw, yes in should generally increase the standards.

Yes, you can access graphics and code within loaded swf and use it in other places of your movie

Do you know of any code examples of this?

From a cv point of view, go with AS3, especially if the deadline isn't too near. Pretty much every single job advert that I've seen in the last 6 months has put AS3 knowledge as either advantagous or crucial. I know that it's mostly bull****, and half of them wouldn't need you to go near it, but it will still be a nice feather in your cap to have an AS3 project under your belt.

The problem I have with AS3, is that even though digital agencies are getting all excited about it, I don't know of any that are actually using it in their projects. They have JUST moved on to projects that use F8. Maybe 1 or 2 top agencies might dabble with AS3 for a project, but the clients are firmly fixed in F8-

So when it comes to commercial work, its AS2, but yet at the same time I've got to learn AS3 for a year down the line, but they are so different!

[Squize]

"So when it comes to commercial work, its AS2, but yet at the same time I've got to learn AS3 for a year down the line, but they are so different!"

Amen to that

Mr Moock's lovely as3 book has just turned up today, so I'm hoping that will save me having to google for every little problem ( ie, every other line ) I get in as3.

Squize.

[Kakihara]

New Mook book? Have to get that for the office me thinks.

I havent even touched AS3 yet but over the next few months im gonna start learning bits and pieces.

I really do not understand why every job advert is asking for AS3 experience when there are pretty much no clients that actually have a need for it. It will take a good couple of years before AS3 really kicks in and becomes useful from a commerical POV because the client base wil be there for it.

Having said that its obviously advantageous to learn it now so it comes round youll be profficient with it.

[tonypa]

In AS3 can you duplicate .swf's that are loaded in dynamically?

Yes, you can access graphics and code within loaded swf and use it in other places of your movie.

[happinessSam]

From a cv point of view, go with AS3, especially if the deadline isn't too near. Pretty much every single job advert that I've seen in the last 6 months has put AS3 knowledge as either advantagous or crucial. I know that it's mostly bull****, and half of them wouldn't need you to go near it, but it will still be a nice feather in your cap to have an AS3 project under your belt.

Even if you're not looking for a new job or to move it's still worth thinking about.

[AfternoonDelite]

I highly suggest going into AS3.

I was a bit scared at first from reading posts on here about it thinking that it'd be too complicated to just dive into.

But after reviewing a few entries on kirupa and this, I think the way they've structured it gives the developer so much more control over what they're doing.

I recently started my first head-on AS3 project and using the events and display lists allow more control for the developer. It's also a lot easier to have your .fla empty except for the main class.

You should definitely do some reading before hand though, rather than looking up snippets. I think the link I posted earlier, along with the livedoc, is very helpful.

[The Helmsman]

Here is an Colin Moock interview on Essential Actionscript 3.0 - for those who want to know why AS 3.0 is better then previous versions.

Happy coding