First right-click on the track in the library then adjust the compression settings to give you higher quality.
Next test the swf by using file->publish (Not just ctrl+enter)

Hope this helps drop me a line if it doesn't

Generally its the developers that take the role as "project lead". This is usually because they are the ones who assemble all the different aspects of a project and put them together as a finished project.

If you want to find a good coder I would showcase the work you have on flashgameart.com and use the collaborations forum at flashgamelicense.com to find a developer. (This being one of the places I know that coders go to find work).

As a developer myself I might be interested. I mainly work in application development and every game I have made so far falls flat on its face for lack of graphics (and lack of money to hire a good artist) PM if you want.

I think a major point has been missed out so far...

RESEARCH! :)

Possibly the most boring, but most useful thing you will ever do.

Before you begin I would advise you to look in the game genre you want to make.

1)Find the Games that were a big hit

2)Find the games that failed to make it. These are harder to locate but if you look around NG or Kongregate you will find quite a few. (Do not look at games that are half-finished since this will be the reason in itself why the game failed)

3) Analyse the differences between the two (You will be surprised how many fully polished games failed to achieve popularity) What did the successful ones have that the others didn't.

4)Try going back a few years and see which games in your genre were successful (often these are much simpler than modern ones), look at a collection of hits since then until now. What did each new game add to the genre? Why were players willing to pick these games over others? Make a list of all of these features. (Bare in mind that they can be ANYTHING even something like "They use lots of blue in the background" or "They all have an instructions screen")

5)Look at your list, and identify traits that have appeared more then once in successful games. Mark them out. (These features are keepers)

6)Once you have this beautiful list, come up with a couple of ideas of your own (Doesn't have to be anything major, just has to be something new and original) feel free to take an idea or two from an unsuccessful game (Just make sure that the idea is NOT shared across them).

7)Got that? Brilliant! Now copy all of your good and fresh ideas out onto a new sheet of paper/txt-file. (Keep the original list since it will save you much time if a year down the line you want to make a similar game)

8)Add to this list all the things you need to learn about the game engine you want to make (If you want to make a platformer I would imagine things like "platformer physics" "Enemy AI" etc etc Anything you need to know that's obvious) Then mark out ANYTHING from your research that you need to learn.

9)Make time to do tutorials/study on the things marked out. Make sure at the very least you understand the concepts of each of these things before you begin.

10) Time to begin! Look at your lists and plans and work out what needs doing first. My advice is to find the thing on your list that you are dreading the most and do that first. (After that you tend to feel good about yourself and you have lots of momentum for the rest of the project). Alternatively if the project feels really daunting or you lose motivation all together start with the simplest action to gain more confidence.

11) If it feels like something can't be done break it into smaller steps and do more research, until it becomes a sequence of small simple steps.

11)Often when in a project (especially if you are new) you will come across things you didn't plan for. When this happens look at the new item, break it down into smaller steps (research more if need be) then make sure you understand what needs to be done (and why) before you do it.

------------------------------------

Most importantly, learn and understand BEFORE you start! Not only will you be able to sort out issues faster and generally work better, you will know much more for your next project.
Accumulate enough research on different genres/engines and so long as you keep learning. in a years time all of these steps will take no longer then twenty minutes.

Remember that for every minute you spend planning you save yourself 10 minutes of work!

Best of luck to you.

(note: I have left out steps such as story-boarding or concept art. These are to do at your own discretion or at the discretion of your artist. They ARE important and will save you time.)

The limit is 9. (CS3)

I found this out the hard and EXTREMELY annoying way when it became stuck on my old shitty machine. (My boss at the time was also not impressed that if I came into the office I could effectively do no work) That week I also learned just how crap Adobe tech-support is.

My advice would be to learn how to script such things your-self before using external resources.

Also try to remember that game development is a big step for someone new. Might be an idea to try your hand at basic applications before you jump in the deep end.

You said he was controlling the sponsor stuff?

Ask the sponsor if they have heard anything from him or if they have an alternate means of contact.

Unless you are the designated project lead I would recommend you wait on it.

Unless the sponsor explicitly gives you a deadline then you can afford to wait, after all if he comes along tomorrow telling you that he found a better deal, you will be kicking yourself.

Make sure all of you classes etc are exporting.

Then make sure your preloader is working correctly.

If this fails then start debugging. Take out sections of code and see if the result you expect is the result you get.

If you cannot find any problems on your local machine but the problem still persists in the browser, pm me and I will give you a hand.

(Before you jump to contacting me please use google for at least a solid hour to find a fix)

Have a look at asgamer.com and run through the beginner tutorials there. Otherwise if AS2 is your thing run through the "shootorial" at kongregate.com/labs

More importantly have a read through the documentation in flash. Start with the basics and work your way up.

Pure evil?
Not sure about that, you wouldn't survive in this world if you refused to do anything that would be appreciated by someone else.

Though the people who come the closest have to be....Apple.

At 9/5/09 06:58 PM, therealanimator wrote: i realized it was time for me to go unfortunately i didnt get her name or her phone number.

At 9/5/09 07:00 PM, therealanimator wrote: yeah..walking for like 6 hours to her house no thanks.

Something doesn't add up here.....

First song I learned was "Knocking on Heavens Door"
Simple enough
G,D,A-minor
G,D,C

repeat!

Can I ask what your budget is for the project?

Are you planning to make any money from this project?

Any deadlines etc etc.?

Have you got a script written?

Are there any assets already developed?

I work as a developer in the web-dev industry. So could fill the role of "Flash Exper"
I also run a small audio project for game developers and movie-makers who need voice-over artists (So I could set you up with all the voice talent you need)

Why are you worrying about the file size of the .fla?

(Sorry its late and I might have missed something)

It is an advertisement which will be used to pitch a transport project for london.

The ad itself may gain revenue for my client (through his webpages and youtube partnership) However I won't see any of the it.

Hence why he is willing to pay for the music.

I know it isn't that much, but you will also have credit in the movie. (If that makes any difference)

At 7/28/09 09:28 AM, nathanallenpinard wrote: Hello there,

I'd like to know your expected revenue from this project, and if you are prepared to share some of that with the composer before I submit something.

Unfortunately there is to be no revenue generated from this project. (None that I will see at any rate)

The project itself is an animated advertisement, I'm being paid in the region of £200 for it. I am happy to send you a little money for your troubles if I pick your track (Would be somewhere in the region of £10 or £20)

Don't worry though I won't be stealing your work :)

Since this is a commercial project you could actually sue me if I did! (Since that would be a violation of the NG license) If I do pick your track I will have to send you a little paper-work to sign.

Thanks guys!

All this sounds great I'm having trouble picking. Final Decision for all the music I'm looking at will be made at 4pm(GMT) today (4 and 1/2 hours from now)

You are all going on the short-list as well. Many thanks again!

At 7/27/09 06:58 AM, sorohanro wrote: Hi
Would be nice if you could define more precise your project.
What you do with this music, where, how...
As a light tracks, I can think from mine to:

Hi sorry I wrote the above in a bit of a rush,

The music would just be for the background. The animation itself illustrates the inventors concept. We are thinking more "elevator" music.

I'm about to check out your links now, thanks for getting back to me.

Hey guys,

I'm currently working on a project for an inventor and require some music.

Since this is a live project and could eventually be an advertisement for a commercial venture I need to have a written approval from the artist to use it. (To my knowledge I cannot use the music on the portal under the current license.)

If there are any musicians here that would be happy for me to use the track I would be most appreciative. The artist would of course get credit in the animation which will be published to a variety of portals (including newgrounds and youtube etc) as well as the website which commissioned me.

If you live in the UK (South-East) or are going to the NG meet-up in a couple of weeks I would more then happily buy you a drink. I'll also see if I can get you something between £10 and £20. (Sorry about the low amount but I've already stretched my budget to the limit)
Also it might be something you could put in your CV/Portfolio.

We are hoping to finish the project by the end of the week at the latest, so let me know ASAP

The kind of music I'm looking for:

Needs to be light and upbeat. Something that sits nicely in the background. have a look at this video for an idea

Send me a link to ANYTHING you have that might be suitable (The worst that can happen is that I say no and then add you to a list of musicians that I will contact first for all future projects)

I'll also be scouting around the portal for the rest of the day.

I thought I might give you guys the opportunity first since without NG I would never have gotten into animation and would never have got this job in the first place :)

Wahey.

I get the payment for my first animation contract that morning :)

Seems fitting that I should show up and meet the people who got me into the Flash industry in the first place (Whether or not you know it)

See you there!

If you ask me Apple will never allow Flash on the iphone.

Why?

The iPhone has lovely programs such as iTunes and the App Store (Where you can buy anything from games to organisers.)

Here is the thing, when you download music using iTunes you tend to PAY for it. When you download a game, you also tend to pay for it. This makes Apple more money.

If they allowed flash the following would most likely happen within a few seconds.

1) People start using flash mp3 sites such as deezer.com to play their music (Assuming a net connection is available on the device)

2) People stop buying movies and pretty much everything on iTunes because now they can stream it for free.

3) People go to wonderful websites (Such as newgrounds.com) to play their games.

Now some people argue that a games controls wouldn't work on the device...This is true...To an extent.

But having played a few mouse controlled games on a touch-screen, there are some out there that are already perfectly suited to a device like the iphone (Especially RTS Games, If you can find a touch-screen computer, have a go at the Mastermind game and you will see what I mean).

In addition if Flash did go live it would only be a matter of time before developers started making things that would work with the iPhone.

And this would take away from the profits made by Apple.

When the iPhone first came out I looked into developing some applications. At first I was pleased to see that the SDK could be downloaded and used FREE.
What pissed me off is that I would need to fork out £1500 for a good mac to run it on. Also I would probably need to buy my own iPhone to test it on.

I COULD be completely wrong and right now the tech guys over there are working on a solution. But considering the lack of information surrounding it I think that it is unlikely (But then again Apple have always kept things quiet)

But no matter how much this irritates me, I have to agree that if I ran a business and stood to lose that amount of money, I would probably block it as well.

Shame really because its a very nice piece of kit. (which probably runs faster then my Desktop)
My bet is on that someone will find away around it, should be an interesting issue to watch though.

And as soon as I ask for help I find exactly what I needed. (I count how many times this has happened)

Also realised how retarded my question is (after seeing the answer)

Hey guys, I hate asking for help but I could use a bit right now

I was looking through lots of forums regarding efficient collision detection. I keep seeing this reference to "radial" collision detection. I've looked over google etc etc but can't find any tutorials or documentations. (Now that I've said that someone will probably find it really easily)

I'm guessing that its quite simple (I'm assuming you use Pythagoras) and usually I'd have a lot of fun working this kind of thing out. Only problem is I've entered myself into comp this evening and being able to use something like this would save me LOTS of hassle. (especially since most of my MCs tend to be circular anyway. :P )

Thanks in advance,

I've been smoking since I was 13 (about 5and half years)

I managed to quit about a year and a half ago. I made it about 5 months.

Then one day I was at a funeral (A friend of mine was in a car accident, but that's a different story)
I was standing with a friend who was having a cig, I felt like crap and for some reason was craving.

One cig didn't make me feel better. Neither did two. Neither did a pack. And now a year later I'm paying the price. (again)

The fact is that the cravings never really go away. Ask any ex-smoker.

(I only managed to quit that one time because I was in a hospital for two weeks)

I'll never forgive myself for having that first one when I was 13. I'm in bad physical shape, I cough all the time. My friends tell me how much I smell of smoke, I have to stand alone in the rain when my non-smoking buddies are sitting in the warm

Oh and don't forget the thousands I've spent on it. (Plus additional money I spend on mints)

Take it from me. Its a bad idea, one you will live to regret. Most of the guys I know who smoke started off on "one pack a week" or "one on the weekend". But that "one" becomes "two" or "Better have just one before my interview" etc. until you don't make the decision any more. You just need as many as you need.

You probably won't end up listening to most in this topic, you'll either smoke or you won't.

Just try and think of what you would do ten years down the line. Believe me its something you will regret, and it takes much more then "will-power" to stop.

Vcams are a very useful tool, in fact I see no reason why they can't be used in games.

I think the issues you are having are caused through the AS2 version. I used to have similar problems but when I broke up with AS2 I found that the AS3 vcam was much more efficient.

I believe Brian even talks about this on his web page.

As stated above; the time it takes depends entirely on complexity and quality.

Frankly I think its a great thing that you have spent 20 hours!

Producing quality work is actually easier then it sounds, its producing quality work in a short period of time that's the trick. None the less remember that professional animators (the guys who make cartoon series or movies) usually take at least a full year with an entire team. (But I guess you also have to factor in that a part of that time is spent in pre-production/post-production)

Good luck to you and send me a PM when you finish this project so I can check it out!

cool? Maybe

Social? Yes!

The amount of friendships that started with the immortal words "Do you have a lighter I could use?".
Or "Damn smoking ban! It's pissing it down out here!"

Of course smokers are usually the ones who get to witness most of the outside brawls as people are chucked out of the pub.

Also there's a sort of unification of all smokers (More of a joint sneer) when a non-smoker walks past saying "Killing yourself?"/"Urgh! Dirty Smokers!"

I use in in games, applications and animations. But only when I need to use it.

On the "lag" I've only ever noticed anything when using it with AS2.

quoted from the first result from a google search of "toon boom swf" (www.digital-web.com) :

"Although you can use Toon Boom to produce standalone SWF files, it's likely that your cartoons will be integrated with files/interfaces produced in Flash. Toon Boom Studio is specifically an authoring environment for character/set animation, and thus does not offer the complex interactivity provided by Flash MX."

(Note that this was written in 2003)

Hope that helps

At 5/18/09 02:17 PM, Gustofwind wrote: Just wondering what you guys think the best order is when creating a flash movie, to record all the voices first then animate around the voices or to animate the entire thing and add voices in later.

Or just add voices as i go.

First as said above, Storyboard.
Always get your audio sorted before you start. (This is the way I work, though I can't think of doing it any other way)

You will find it extremely hard to lip-synch dialogue to characters that are already animated. And when you consider perhaps animating characters to the music......the list goes on.

Good luck to you.

At 5/17/09 11:36 AM, billowillo wrote:

At 5/17/09 11:23 AM, Slim-Bean wrote: If games are your thing then flashgamelicense.com

ive been to this site before, signed up and everything but when it got down to it the whole idea seemed too good to be true, do that many sponsors really look at your game and give you direct feedback on it? because taht sure would be easier than sending it into a million different sites through email.

It is a fantastic site. For the most part fellow developers will be giving you feedback. But if sponsors are interested they will often give you the details you need.

The only thing they expect in return is a 10% commission, which is pretty generous when you think about it.

I take it you are interested in making games then? :P