[CS3] What's in your classpath

[.hooligan]

Hey all,

Recently got stuck back into flash after a long 1 and a half years working on another project in another language. So just started mucking around with flash again. Was mucking around with this terrain generator from a game idea I have,

flash terrain generator

I started thinking I haven't got many classes that I would use from project to project. Only 3 classes really,

fps - displays the average fps of the movie
debugger - a nicer way to output and debug my movies - also outputs arrays like print_r method in PHP
keystroke - Only just added this one thanks to the post from lesli_felix

So was wondering, what are the classes you always use in your projects?

[Squize]

For as2 I've got

gamingyourway.common
- ColourHandler
- EventBroadcaster
- FontPlotter
- Rumble ( Now that one doesn't get used every game )
- SoundHandler
- XMLmakeObj ( Converts xml files to objects )

gamingyourway.debug
- Profiler ( Alternative trace / code profiler )

as3 is a lot more barren:

com.gamingyourway.fps
- Debug_fps

com.gamingyourway.Math
- MathX ( Quicker alternatives plus other bits and bobs )

com.gamingyourway.Utils
- Key
- Web ( getURL replacement )

com.gamingyourway
- FontPlotter

And that's it for the general use stuff. Things like scroll engines and polygon classes are also in my common package but I'm not using them every game.

Squize.

[PRadvan]

That terrain generator is really cool

[ImprisonedPride]

Mine are all pretty self explanetory:

as2.com.hsg:
BoatControls
Databases
FpSCounter
MazeBuilder
MenuSystems
Preloaders
TerrainEngine (generator I wrote from scratch)
WindowSystems
WoodGrain
XMLtoObject

[renderhjs]

some not to specific ones:

KeyBind
bind functions to keys

MathOptimized
very quick math functions

Poly
polygon data

UV
UV map transformations

ImageLoader
load multiple images as bitmapDatas

BitmapFrames
sprite sheets as animations or rotate able frames, split, join and arrange frames (animation or billboard/sprite wise)

I use KeyBind for testing alot it allows me to bind functions with parameters with 1 line of code to any key bei either integer ID or string label. The one thing that sucks in AS3 is to bind code to buttons so this is my personal answer to that issue.
Most of my code however gets rewritten over and over because I think I can improve it each time and by that better learn AS3.

[Flashkit]

hey squize whats in MathX......

[Squize]

I'm too lazy to open Flex right now ( I'm as2 boy atm ), but this is in there:

http://blog.gamingyourway.com/PermaL...2742edbb1.aspx

I think there were "faster" sqrt's in there that I need to remove ( After running these tests:
http://blog.gamingyourway.com/PermaL...631745ba5.aspx
), if there's anything else worth sharing I'll post it back here.

Squize.

[.hooligan]

Squzie: With your Debug_fps class, do you include the mem-usage data that I see with most fps counters these days?

PRadvan: Thanks, the version up is an older version. I'll hopefully be able to show the new textured version sometime soon.

ImprisonedPride: Do you have any examples of your TerrainEngine class at work? Would be interesting to see the output.

renderhjs: I figured you would have a Poly and UV class. The KeyBind class sounds like a smart one.

With you Math class are you optimising existing flash Math functions or ones that are not covered by the Math class?

I know how you feel about improving constantly, that's how I am with everything too. Always thinking something can be made better.

Do any of you guys include any of the physics API's such as Box2D from project to project?

Thanks for the tips guys, now I know what my default package is missing.

[Squize]

I have Box2D ( Which annoyingly seems to change a great deal between even minor versions ) and Papervision in my classpath, but obviously don't use them every game.

My Debug_fps is just that, my old as2 fps counter converted to as3. I really have no interest in memory usage and to be honest I just find all the fps counters with a little memory graph scrolling beneath them as over the top. Just 'cause you can read the memory doesn't mean to say you have to ( imho ).

Yeah render, going to share some of your Maths routines ? They're always nice to see.

Squize.

[renderhjs]

With you Math class are you optimising existing flash Math functions or ones that are not covered by the Math class?

I am developing a 3d engine atm. and I was searching on the net how to speed up flash AS3 code (because speed is all I care in AS3)- I got tons of sites with alternative ways calculating most trigonometry and basic stuff like Math.max/min/abs,sqrt... but like 10,20,100 times faster. Alot is done using bit operations and other smart stuff. - so I added those smart tips in similar methods like the math class has.
For example I also cached some values like Math.PI but with less digits so that it runs faster in certain calculations in cost of beeing less accurate - I have very good expierences with that in the past.
I haven't used it as much as I thought i would so far however for my current engine.

about the keyBind it basicly is used like this:

var keys:KeyBind = new KeyBind(stage);
keys.add("h",trace,"you pressed the H key :)");
keys.add(32,trace,"now you pressed the spacebar key"); 

(damn I am tempted to use obj tags instead of php ones in order to see the code in the new greasemonkey scripts by WeIsGood)

I know how you feel about improving constantly, that's how I am with everything too. Always thinking something can be made better.

personally I think my code gets faster and so much more improved each time I restart writing the code over and over - as my brain tries to find a smart shortcut each time finding a more effecient way.
Its the path I've taken so far and its what brought me so far - the way I see it. Cancerinform wrote about it once as well saying he would basicly also rewrite most of the code just to learn things better and improve it each time - and he certainly knows his AS.


about the math class:

package {
    /**
    * renderhjs.net
    speeds up varius math operations mainly for the 3d engine loop
    */
    public class MathOptimized {
        
        public var pi_180:Number;
        
        public function MathOptimized():void {
            pi_180 = 0.0175;//quicker?, Math.PI/180;//Math.PI/180
        }
        public function modulo(a:Number, b:Number):Number {
            //x = a%b;    ~ 600% faster
            return a & (b - 1);
        }
        public function flip(a:Number):Number {
            //a = -a;    300% faster
            return (a ^ -1) + 1;
        }
        public function abs(a:Number):Number {
            //Math.abs(a);    2600% faster
            return (a ^ (a >> 31)) - (a >> 31);
        }
        
        public function ceil(a:Number):int {
            //a = Math.ceil(a);    1000% faster
            return int(a)+1;
        }
        public function floor(a:Number):int {
            //a = Math.floor(a);    1000% faster
            return int(a);
        }
    }
} 

the x % faster is what I got from the optimization sites,- I have not tested them all yet myself. Also a few things have yet to be added - but I haven't got the time yet to do so.
Also regarding speed even though this is off topic here- smart placed local variables can boost alot of performance as you can reduce in some cases alot of lookups of arrays, objects and alike data types.

[renderhjs]

update:
wooot I used the modulo operation from my math class an its boosted suprisingly +5 fps in my engine - will try to use them all in my render loop and see what it does in the end

update2:
I think it messes around makes my engine leave out faces. Hmm gonna have to research that. Might be that the modulo function is kind of buggy

update3:
so here was my source:
http://lab.polygonal.de/2007/05/10/b...-integer-math/

If the divisor is a power of 2, the modulo (%) operation can be done with:
modulus = numerator & (divisor - 1);
This is about 600% faster.

he he now that makes sence, guee I'll have to modify that function a little bit

[Squize]

Nice posts mate.

I'll have to dig out some of my Maths speed-ups that I don't have in the class ( The method look-up normally wipes out the speed up advantage, so you're left with a method which isn't as accurate and about the same speed as the built in one ).

Squize.

[iopred]

Render, your ceil function is incorrect, if the number is already an integer it will add 1 to it.

[renderhjs]

ah thx for letting me know,- like I said before its a fairly new class and I haven't used it alot yet.

[hatu]

I have just one at the moment, all others I usually tend to modify a bit for each project.
The one I have is BitmapRead, it reads a bitmap into an array

[ColbyCheeze]

Ive got a bunch....
there is my math library
my Input managers
My screen switching system / core
my rendering system
I have a few Util classes such as XML loaders etc
I've got a powerful custom particle system I built
an AI library with FSM capability and boid behaviors
ummmm..... I think thats it?

You can get some of my code from my websites google code page that I've made public to anyone else to use for thier projects for free.

http://code.google.com/p/cheezeworld/

[WesIsGood]

I talk a lot about reusing code, but if I'm completely honest, I don't reuse that much. Like render I always end up reprogramming everything in order to learn how to do things better. Wastes a lot of time, but meh.

[Sietjp]

@render : int(a) is not floor when a<0 (I think) thus ceil and floor will e wrong for negative numbers. Nice class by the way.



Nothing in the classpath for me, I always copy the classes in my project. Because my nightmare is to compile a 5 years old game and it doesn't work because the classes in the libraries have changed.

The libraries I used so far :
- data stuctures for games by polygonal labs
- png/gif/jpg libraries (by adobe I think)
- TweenLite
- base64/hash/md5/crypto by hurlant.com
- Box2D

[lesli_felix]

I don't have any either, for similar reasons.

I re-use stuff all the time, but the benefits of fixing a bug in a package are way smaller than the risks of breaking a project by amending a package, or having a third party update it themselves.

Also, most of my commercial work includes giving up the source files, so again, I never exercise any cross-project dependency.

[ImprisonedPride]

.hooligan: Yeah but not online... if I get some time in the near future I might post an example. It runs a vertical or horizontal "cave" (with one or both walls), comparing each "slope" as a vector for collisions. Sadly that part is a little buggy and I never got around to fixing it. Also I should have technically called it a scrolling terrain engine...