Cool Demo

[Colin]

Here's something cool that Desmond came up with using AutoPlay Media Studio 5.0.

It demonstrates a number of features that are new to v5.0, such as:


Publishing to a compressed executable
Alpha channel transparency
On-the-fly image opacity
Dynamic object positioning
Advanced math functions like Sin and Cos
Self-referencing ("this")
Button objects
Label objects


http://www.indigorose.com/temp_web/logodemo.exe
(1.8 MB)

Cool isn't it?

[Bruce]

That was very cool! I would love to see the code. ;)

[eric_darling]

I'll second that... The source code would reveal a lot to me, too.

[AGRO]

I'll third that!!

"show me the money. uh............I mean code" :D

[Corey]

OK please bear in mind that I am truly not in the same league as Desmond et al here, but attached is my amateurish simulation of Desmonds project. I used a dot instead of a logo but it's easy enough to alter that. Please don't be surprised if my code is ridiculously stewpid, I know for a fact the math is flawed but since the preview looked similar to Desmond's right off, I didn't bother to spend any time fixing it... As Colin says, elegance isn't as important as getting it done quickly and looking good enough to satisfy the majority...

P.S. Code is On Page Show and On Timer...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[eric_darling]

Hey Corey...

That looks pretty darned close to me. Thanks for doing your darndest. One of these days, I think I'll take math again. :D

[Corey]

Yeah I really should start taking some night courses myself... Great quote from my roomate just now:


"In an ideal world, everything would be ideal."

- Marvin Yakoweshen

We were looking through some night course catalogs a while ago from local colleges. We saw one for "infant massage", we were thinking about enrolling our friend Steve the goon (think miniature Andre the Giant) so he could walk in, peruse the other students' babies and then pop off his shirt and lie down face first on the table stating, "I don't know how THEY plan to fix THIS sacroiliac with THOSE weak little hands but since I'm already here... Time is money people [clap, clap]..."

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[Bruce]

OK please bear in mind that I am truly not in the same league as Desmond et al here, but attached is my amateurish simulation of Desmonds project. I used a dot instead of a logo but it's easy enough to alter that. Please don't be surprised if my code is ridiculously stewpid, I know for a fact the math is flawed but since the preview looked similar to Desmond's, I didn't bother to fix it.

PLEASE!

[Colin]

Just for fun, here is the code desmond used. Just put it into an image object's "On Click" event and go. It uses a pretty cool (and a bit advanced) technique for an object to reference itself without knowing its name...

Corey's code that uses timers is an improvement, as you'll notice the rest of the runtime environment remains responsive while the animation occurs. That's awesome and really gives you a glimpse into the power of AutoPlay Media Studio 5.0.

-- The original example script
-- Put this script into an image object's On Click event
global_speed = 30;

--count used to keep track of position in loop
count = 0;

--gets the current position of the object
pos = Image.GetPos(this);
while count < 100 do
x = Math.Sin(count);
y = Math.Cos(count);
Image.SetPos(this, pos.X+(count*x), pos.Y+(count*y));
Image.SetOpacity(this, Math.Abs(count-100));
Application.Sleep(global_speed);
count = count + 1;
end

while count > 0 do
x = Math.Sin(count);
y = -Math.Cos(count);
Image.SetPos(this, pos.X-(count*x), pos.Y-(count*y));
Image.SetOpacity(this, Math.Abs(count-100));
Application.Sleep(global_speed);
count = count - 1;
end

[Corey]

Flash is timeline based so timers will make sense to most flashers because it's exactly like a frame loop which is how they think. Desmond clearly has a better understanding of how this works, (and math) I just fluked out.

As you know I specialize in fluke luck, and once you learn to *really* depend on luck it's amazing how reliable it actually is. :) I call this hypothesis the, "Theory of Lazniess". Kind of like the Frank Grimes episode of the Simpsons.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[Lorne]

I like the way your version produces a trail by modifying the opacity, Corey. :)

[John-oh]

Wow,

I'm lost in admiration.

Corey, I always thought I was lucky, but I suspect your luck requires more ability than mine.

Of course, obviously, Desmond's just a clever b_eeder.

I hope you 'soaring eagles' keep throwing this stuff out, so that we sparrows can keep feeding on the crumbs.

Cheers

[Corey]

BTW Further to the Flash comment, I've said it before and I say it again now, if we could get it across to the Flash developer community what AMS can do for them, i.e. finally they can easily make complete, secure, professional windows software out of their apps we could expand our user base by double or triple in a very short time. I've always meant to do that but time has been like a rabid schnauzer snapping at my britches for the entire year...

And I don't suspect the next year will be any less leisurely given John-oh's sudden thirst for trinketry. :) Still it would be nice to barnacle onto a couple of these fat fish as best we can with 5.0... Then again the MX line's popularity is waning rapidly so maybe this is old news but then again market is SO HUGE that even a near miss could double our users... And I'm not just wheezing Dixie.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[AGRO]

I downloaded the logodemo.exe from Colin and it works great.

If I click on the logo and the animation starts, I can not close the window. I have to wait for the animation to stop. Is that designed to work that way, having to wait for the animation to stop?

[Colin]

Due to the way that example works, it basically enters a loop and doesn't end until it's finished, the application "blocks". Corey's example uses timers, so the app remains responsive. Two different techniques!

[eric_darling]

Wasn't it Einstein who said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge?"

[Derek]

Indeed it was, Eric. :)

[John-oh]

John-oh's sudden thirst for trinketry.

Not so sudden .....

[TJ_Tigger]

Originally posted by Corey
"In an ideal world, everything would be ideal."

- Marvin Yakoweshen


Sounds like a quote from the Department of Redundancy Department.

[MadNav]

Originally posted by AGRO
I'll third that!!

"show me the money. uh............I mean code" :D

Amiga Daze??? oh that would have been "Where is the money"

I prefer All YOur baSe arE bElong tO uS :) ..
This is slick stuff though :) I'm with ya ARGO
... "show me" ..

Guys give us some streaming training clips on some techniques .. if you can't provide then let some of us help some of you with our tools :)


I really like the sin/cos functions here .. simple yet effective.

Is there a plug-in possibility here for making a complex path module ???
I like point and click ... what can I say .. I'm not a math lamer just time deprived .... "whats in your wallet" :)

Nice touch ... gives rise to new functionality & usabilities.

I've been having fun just toy'n with simple movements now I won't get sleep for a week..

Desmond ..... sweet ...
Corey ..... Nice touch on maintaining interactivity during action ...
Colin ..... Thanks for keeping us in the loop ... and updating !!!!

[Corey]

Pure co-incidence, never even occured to me... I can't speak to the math stuff, that's not my dept. but for the record all I did was copy an idea Desmond came up with. This would never have occured to me in a hundred years left to my own devices. :)

Show me the monkey!

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[TJ_Tigger]

Originally posted by Corey
Show me the monkey!

Uh . . . ok (http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/3995/monkey.html)

[Corey]

Show me the Monet!

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[TJ_Tigger]

Originally posted by Corey
Show me the Monet!

Show me the Monet! (http://webpages.marshall.edu/~smith82/monet.html)

One of my favorites
http://sunsite.sut.ac.jp/wm/paint/auth/monet/first/monet.coquelicots.jpg

[TJ_Tigger]

How about the
new color of money? (http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/)

[eric_darling]

So, now that you're taking requests, Tigg...

Show me the Monty.

[eric_darling]

Oh, this would be for our international bretheren:
Marketing the New Color of Money (http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/16/pf/banking/marketing_new_money/)

Pretty depressing.

[Corey]

Yay! That painting takes my breath away, what a gift of vision... If there were 30 hours in each day I'd spend 3 painting but alas...

That new money is a chump. Here's a 1/4 Monty Eric, it's the best I can muster this early...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[TJ_Tigger]

Originally posted by eric_darling
So, now that you're taking requests, Tigg...

Show me the Monty.

With so many Montys to choose from I will let you choose.

Monty (http://www.comics.com/comics/monty/)

The Full Monty (http://www.thefullmonty.com/)

Monty Python (http://www.serve.com/bonzai/monty/)

Monty Hall (http://letsmakeadeal.com/)

[Corey]

There's only one Monty in my heart, excellent...

http://www.geocities.com/rjmohl/graphics/burns.gif

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[TJ_Tigger]

When I hear Monty, it always reminds me of the Golden Child. Go figure.

[eric_darling]

Heh... Yeah, I'd figured you'd have a field day with that open-ended one. Thanks, Tigg. :)

[TJ_Tigger]

Blame it on the cold medicine. My brain is fully saturated with Hall.

[eric_darling]

As long as it's not fully saturated with Oates. No one would want that.

[Corey]

Deck the brain with Hall and Oa-tes fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la... Must be the snow.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[AGRO]

Originally posted by Corey
... Must be the snow.

Snow? What is that? We don't see that much here in AZ. I think I have seen some on the movies, yeah its that white stuff that falls from the sky right? :)

[Corey]

Nope, little green men who put money in your pockets while you're sleeping...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)