I am looking for some script writing help that will allow me to create random rain. These are my goals:

1. The rain needs to have random size, alpha, fall speed, and acceleration.
2. The rain needs to start at random location on the x-axis at the top of the screen.
3. The amount/quantity of raindrops needs to evolve from a very light drizzle to a totally down poor, as in covering the screen, over a set period of time.

I have been read a bunch of books on action script lately, and I think I know how to do the random size, alpha, and location on the x-axis. I have a vague idea of how the fall speed will work, but I have no idea how to incorporate the acceleration into that.

My biggest problem is Goal 3. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to do clip duplication that increases along a wave (so it start slowly and then picks up rapidly and then tapers off rapidly, just like normal rain) and does so over a set amount of time.

I want to be able to say: I have a clip named “drop” and I want my random storm to cover the full range (as in light, heavy, down-poor, light) of quantity and do it with “3” seconds.

I am going to Barns & Nobles to flip through a few books right now, and will post any script that I get working under this thread. This movie is something that I have been meaning to do for sometime, and would really appreciate any and all help that I can get.

Thank you everyone!

-Dave