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Thread: About Lack of Adequate Tutorials/AS3

  1. #1
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    About Lack of Adequate Tutorials/AS3

    The 3DFA team has created wonders in supplying a great product, however the product lacks tutorials and for the causal Flash creative person, the scripting wizards have vanished.

    Unfortunately, those who are not proficient in AS3 and in 3DFA in general, will have a most difficult time using the product.

    For this reason, the now AS3 compliant 3DFA is ever more out of reach for many. This is not to blame 3DFA. The combination of Adobe's move to a Java syntax for AS3, no manuals for operating 3DFA and the removal of script builders, I think spells bad news for an already thinning 3DFA community.

    3DFA historically presented to the user, wizards which assisted in building AS2 scripts. This is hardly the cast now for AS3. A simple task, for example, of adding a load_movie function is unavailable as the load_movie function no longer exist for AS3. However for 3DFA to maintain its niche market of casual to serious AS coders, script wizards which builds the sentence must keep up with the new AS language.

    Historically what has been distinctive and attractive about 3DFA fails short with each version. The ability to building interactive experiences without knowing how to code is no longer the case. As a result, 3DFA user base, as we know it, will continue to erode. It is already too quiet in the 3DFA forums.

    Solution: Create operation manuals by asking volunteers to create learn-by-example tutorials and by re-incorporating script generators.

    R.
    Last edited by rblanc; 04-13-2008 at 05:11 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member creekmonkey's Avatar
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    Being a user of 3DFA since the earliest versions, I must agree. I got interested in 3DFA for its ease of use to the recreational user like myself. I was able to lean a good amount of AS2 scripting through tutorials, trial and error and mostly the user forum. I find that the new releases of 3DFA have become "almost" un-usable for the novice or recreational user. Although I am not giving up on 3DFA, it is very sad to see the direction it is headed.

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    Response to 2 previous posts

    I appreciate your feedback on this issue. I have been using Swishmax for years and recently got 3DFA BECAUSE of it's compatibility with AS3. As we all know once a language changes it's version number - it is time to move up and forget the old.
    I don't have prior experience with 3DFA. But as someone that has programmed flash at various levels for years - if I am having as much trouble as I am learning the program - someone completely new would be lost as well. For the life of me I can't figure out how the Waddle Fox sample can be duplicated.
    There is no doubt in my mind that 3DFA is an excellent program at a great price. Evolution of the program is inevitable and I am thrilled to find an affordable program that is AS3 compatible. Some explanatory step by step tutorials would be a tremendous help to the sales and user base. I see a Wiki has been set up for just this need. I can only hope it doesn't remain empty.

  4. #4
    Senior Member creekmonkey's Avatar
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    If my memory serves me correct. The waddlefox examply was created a few versions ago.

    It was exported in flash 8 or possible flash 7, and of course as2.

    It appears the movie was created using the pre-built moveto or morphto functions.

  5. #5
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    Hi creekmonkey,

    I do not understand the connection with what you have posted and the topic of this tread.

    R.

  6. #6
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    Just bought the program tonight. I'm probably blind but I saw nowhere in the help where it even tells you where to or how to run an as3 script. There's a compendium of commands etc but no actual info on how to get started. I copied some as3 code from various websites but couldn't figure out what to do with any of it. I'm glad you started this thread. There surely needs to be some tutorials.

  7. #7
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    difficulty learning the program

    If anyone from 3DFA reads this I hope they learn from Macromedia. Several years ago their program started to get a reputation that you had to know code well to use it properly. To regain their market Macromedia quickly made sure the complexity was there for those that needed it but adequate interface and tutorials were present to assist those learning the program and the language. They came out with a series of books and step by step tutorials that explained each step in detail.
    Whether it is true or not I don't know, but in a recent discussion forum this program came up and the comments were that even those that have tried to assist with documentation have been put off by 3DFA. Maybe because the program was rapidly evolving, I don't know.
    Either way I am not a novice having programmed in AS2 and Swishmax for years but this program presents more challenges than I feel is necessary. I didn't expect it to make me an expert coder in AS3 but I did expect to be able to understand and fully utilize the program interface. I expected to be able to understand HOW the samples were built AND the logic to them. Even this eludes me on too many samples. In short - all I see is POTENTIAL with this program but I haven't been able to turn that potential into productivity.
    I am not saying I can't do anything with the program, I can. But I get stuck too many times with no real help available. I am one that will read manuals and study step by step tutorials and can figure out most programs. But unfortunately, 3DFA, I think, is headed for the shelf.

  8. #8
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    I teach a high school animation class and have done several 3dfa tutorials (about 5). 3dfa is making such broad changes that each revision breaks my previous tutorials. My class has become pretty frustrated with 3dfa.

    I (and others) have requested ASCII or HTML text copies of the 3dfa help dialogs and it was refused. This has prevented me from creating a small reference manual for my kids. One of my reasons for purchasing 3dfa was to provide a low cost development environment for my students.

    The polarized help is rather interesting. I have received above average assistance from this forum but the necessary formal documentation (or support for someone willing to open source some) is conspicuously missing. The lack of documentation and support for customers wishing to help has been expressed for several years in this forum. 3dfa's customer support certainly is biting the hand that feeds them!

    Here are some of the tutorials, I have several others that will be posted in the near future...

    www.flash.neatinfo.com/public/3dfa/

    I am also making a help system for myself and kids I teach; it is available at

    www.flash.neatinfo.com\public\3dfa-forum

    The help system is still being setup but is available to the public.
    Jan Zumwalt - http://www.flash.neatinfo.com

  9. #9
    Senior Member Zoranan's Avatar
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    lol, dolfin

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