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You are here: Home / 2012 / March

Archive for month: March, 2012

Will HTML5 Ever Catch Up to Flash on Features?

Category: Industry News     |     Tags: Games, HTML5

While reading Transitioning.to, a blog ‘Supporting the Flash Community’s Diversification into New Technologies’, I came across a good post about Flash vs. HTML5.

I shudder at the constant comparison and the partisan callousness on both sides. The article was indeed good, but I wanted to clarify something. When I hear the title question “Will HTML5 Ever Catch Up to Flash on Features?”, I rephrase it a bit. Will ‘HTML5′ (Meaning HTML5 + JavaScript + CSS) and community libraries for each, and developer-friendly IDE’s, create a cohesive replacement that runs predictably across browsers for what is offered by the technology of the Flash Player.

Well, will HTML5 do it?

I say yes, and no.

HTML5 Is Open

I’m underlining here the fractured nature of the HTML5 offering. I think HTML5 is awesome. It can do so much, it performs so well, and as a developer I love that it ‘compiles’ in 1 second instead of 5 or 10 or more with Flash. I think that the low level capabilities we see in HTML5 on Chrome (for instance) facilitated by a useable library (such as a game framework) could cherry pick most any feature offered by Flash and create compelling feature-parity. It could create competition feature per feature. However it is more correct to ask and more challenging to expect that that one feature-set to easily play with some other set of features created by some other developer for another library perhaps focused on another platform or device. HTML5 is by its nature spread more thin than the ‘closed’ Flash System. This allows for more freedom in what the community can do but also places a huge responsibility on the community.

As a game developer, there exist, today, HTML5-based game engines which present an compelling alternative Flash. Some are playable only on the hottest latest browsers, some can also be packaged to mobile ‘apps’ and offered in mobile marketplaces, and some need some time before they can be played by enough people. Depending on the target audience (and their browsers and devices) the feasibility of using a game framework may or may not be viable yet.

What I suspect is that based on early adoption, solid bug and new feature management, and good marketing several of these game frameworks will mature and become defacto choices for game development. But then the question is not – can HTML5 ‘catch up’ to Flash, the question becomes – can ‘Game Framework X’ catch up to Flash.

As a quick aside, AS3 for OOP developers, is a dream compared to JavaScript. Sure, both will mature, but I’m unsure a wholesale improvement in JavaScript is technically or politically possible.

There is news of ActionScript 4.0 though;
http://www.rivellomultimediaconsulting.com/actionscript-4-revealed/

Relevant to this issue, I have recoded one simple, complete game using many (13 as of today) different game frameworks. Check out all the source and learn from it. Its all available free and it is ideal for those who are interested in transitioning.to.

FLYER GAME, ONE GAME, MANY FRAMEWORKS
http://www.rivellomultimediaconsulting.com/flyergame-one-game-many-many-frameworks/

Alternativa3D Engine for Adobe Flash Goes Open Source

Category: Industry News     |     Tags: 3D, API, Flash, Games

The Alternativa3D 3rd-party 3D engine for the Flash Platform recently announced it is going open source after 6 years of closed development. An example of this kick-ass engine is the recent release of LastStand Deadzone for Facebook.

The source code is published on the GitHub, and support can be found on the Knowledge Base and community discussion can be found on the forum.

No concrete reasons are given for the change to open source.

The Alternativa company hopes that the community will continue to use and extend the engine. It hopes this is only the beginning of a new life for the engine.

Going Open Source (Is Not Evil)

Going open source is interesting. Open source is the philosophy which promotes free distribution of a code-base and the community involvement to modify that code-base. Many AS3 projects start as open source and I think the general reception is ‘wow, thanks for starting this project, I may use it, and maybe I’ll even help extend it’. However the community response seems to be quite different if a close project exists for some time as a closed project and then goes open source. It feels to many like the project which was ‘created for my use for free’ now has been ‘abandoned’.

The community reaction to the Adobe Announcement that Flex went open source was strongly negative. Same when the popular Pushbutton Engine was recently rebranded as the community-based ‘Smash‘ game engine.

These fear based reactions are reasonable. The feeling is that what was once taken for granted as a concrete cared-for project now has a questionable future. However like most fear based reactions they are not beneficial reactions.  Project owners are free to chose if/when they release a project open source, and the community can care for a project or choose an alternative. The power is in the hands of the community.

Conversely, and open source project that becomes closed and introduces fees to the community (I have no examples of that) is indeed sad. But that is not the case here.

Stay Tuned

  • Sign up for ‘Free Member’ level of this blog now. Its free!
  • Like RMC on Facebook. We like likes!
  • Follow @srivello on Twitter.

What do YOU Think?

  • Is going open source good or bad?
  • Please comment below.

Adobe Flash Player Premium Features for Gaming

Category: Industry News     |     Tags: Business, Flash, Games

So…

On March 28th, 2012 Adobe Announced “Adobe Flash Player Premium Features for Gaming“. Adobe will have new pricing for those creating certain types of advanced content. Content that is much more performant and of much higher quality than what developers (and their end-audience) are used to seeing in the browser.

It is my estimation, that the amount of current projects that this pricing will affects is very small. The amount of developers now or in the future that this pricing will affect is very small. However overreaction and misunderstanding about Adobe, this announcement, and the last 6 months of related news does have a negative affect on public perception, business owners, and the technologies chosen for new projects.

Before the community takes it out of context that “Adobe explains that in the near future, some developers will be required to pay Adobe on royalties from their projects” and overreacts about it — here is a clear programmer-friendly explanation shown below.

Who Pays?

Image URL: http://www.RivelloMultimediaConsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/adobe_flash_player_premium_v1.jpg

How Much?

Let’s assume a company (or individual) creates a royalty-applicable project (see above). Here are a few sample payment scenarios to Adobe. If my math is wrong, please send a comment below. Prices are USD$.

  • 50,000 revenue (or less):  Payment to Adobe = 0
  • 75,000 revenue:  Payment to Adobe = 2,250
  • 100,000 revenue:  Payment to Adobe = 4,500
  • 500,000 revenue:  Payment to Adobe = 40,500
  • etc…

Community Reaction

Using Google, Twitter, and Facebook we see the reaction of the community over this announcement. The gross majority of media, bloggers, and developers are exaggerating the effect of this announcement. I appreciate the anger, but not the libel. Many err to say something like ‘all Flash developers will pay Adobe soon’, which is as we I’ve outlined here, not true.

The few balanced reactions to the announcement are here;

  • Rob Rusher’s –  Adobe Flash Player licensing doesn’t apply to you!
  • Lee Brimelow’s – Quick comments about Unity and premium features 
  • Any more?

Full disclosure: Some of those listed are of course Adobe employees or have an otherwise vested interest in Adobe’s side.

Related Posts

  • Setup Flash Builder For AIR 3.2 Stage3D for iOS/Android
  • FlyerGame – One Game, Many Many Frameworks
  • Angry Birds’ Screams on Facebook with Flash
  • Considering Flash-To-Mobile Development

Stay Tuned

  • Sign up for ‘Free Member’ level of this blog now. Its free!
  • Like RMC on Facebook. We like likes!
  • Follow @srivello on Twitter.

The Vocal Minority

Bad press will hurt Flash being chosen for new projects. That I agree with and that is sad. Blame the messenger sure, but also blame the sensationalism of the community.

Truly, relatively few developer’s projects are affected directly by this pricing. And the quality offered by ‘Flash Player Premium’ is different than what is currently considered ‘Flash’ and is so high-quality that there are no rival alternatives to in-browser technologies. Don’t agree..

  • Please comment a  link to any ‘Flash Player Premium’ project (Using BOTH API’s mentioned, regardless of revenue) which is in-development or already launched?
  • Please comment a link to any in-browser non-Flash project that rivals the quality of a ‘Flash Player Premium’ which is in-development or launched?

What do YOU Think?

  • Is this good or bad? Remember taxes pave your roads. Ha.
  • Please comment below.

Setup Flash Builder For AIR 3.2 Stage3D for iOS/Android

Category: Quick Tips     |     Tags: AIR, Flash, Flex, Mobile

Stage3D was introduced in Flash Player 11. It allows for GPU-Accelerated 2D and 3D performance in the Flash Player that is 1000x faster than before. It was not publicly available for AIR mobile projects until AIR 3.2.

There are lot of new significant features like mouseLock, middle click, right click, silent auto-update and Stage3D on mobile.

Super Easy Setup

  1. Download the new SDK (“Step 2”)
  2. Unzip the new SDK
  3. Open Flash Builder. Open Preferences. Search for “Installed Flex SDKs”. Look at the URL for an existing SDK. See the image below.
  4. Open Finder (or Windows Explorer) to that ‘sdks’ folder. Drag the new SDK next to the existing sdk(s).
  5. Open the same Flash Builder Panel. preferences panel again. Choose ‘add’ and browse to the new SDK. Don’t set it as ‘default’. But for each new project you create, it will be a choice for you to use.

For Step #3

Thats it. Enjoy!

Next Steps

Checkout other related articles.

  • Intro To The Starling Framework For AS3 with Stage3D
  • Angry Birds’ Screams on Facebook with Flash with Stage3D
  • What *IS* Wrong With AIR 3.0 Native Extensions!

Live Online Training: Intro To The Starling Framework For AS3

Category: Events, Full Tutorials
Starling is a 3rd-Party AS3 framework For Flash Development. It mimics the Flash displaylist API but enables powerful 2D GPU-accelerated rendering.

With the help of the Hawaii Adobe Flash User Group, on Thursday April 26th at 5pm EST (2pm PST), I will give a live online screencast to explain more about Starling. Come join us!

Live, Free Online Training

Title: Introduction To Stage3D Flash Gaming With Starling
Date: April 26, 2012 05:00 PM – 06:00 PM (GMT-5 Eastern Time US & Canada). Duration: 50-60 minutes.
RSVP: The event is closed.
Location: Free, On-line through Adobe Connect. The event is closed.
Speaker: Samuel Asher Rivello is the principal of Rivello Multimedia Consulting (RMC). RMC’s Flash and Flex services include software architecture, consulting, development, and training. Sam has over a decade of experience creating games and applications, and is currently traveling the globe to collaborate with top companies. Sam is an Adobe Certified Designer and Developer for Flash, an Adobe Flex Champion, an international public speaker, and a university instructor. His writing and coding have appeared in leading publications such as Adobe’s “EDGE”™ online magazine, and Futurenet Publishing’s “Computer Arts Projects”™ print magazine.

Follow Sam on Twitter: @srivello

Agenda:The session will start with the benefits of Flash for gaming and some new features. We’ll look at Stage3D – Flash Player 11’s GPU accelerated rendering pipeline for 2D and 3D gaming. The bulk of the session will be looking at code for a very simple, yet complete 2D game built with the Stage3D Starling Framework. All source code will be provided to attendees.

Bonus: Time-permitting we’ll checkout two hot Starling extensions – a vector graphics plugin and a particle effects plugin.

Next Steps

  • Now Available!: The full 65 minute recording of the online session (See ‘Member Resources’ below).
  • Now Available!: The full source-code will be available (See ‘Member Resources’ below).
  • Now Available!: The presentation slides will be available (See ‘Member Resources’ below).
  • Now Available!: The relevant links will be available

Member Resources

[private_Free member]Enjoy this members-only content!

Watch Recording of Adobe Connect Session

  • Here is the video!

Watch Slideshow

[slideshare id=12707922&doc=rmcintrostarlingframeworkv1-120426171841-phpapp01]

Links

  • The official Starling Site
  • The official Particle System Editor for the Starling particle system extension
  • My Intro To Starling article
  • My review of the fantastic Starling DynamicTextureAtlas Generator extension

Download Source Code

  • Download ‘Hello World Starling’, ‘FlyerGame’, & ‘FlyerGame (OOP Version)’ from the repository on Github.com

[/private_Free member]

Robotlegs Framework Template

Category: Quick Tips, Source Code, Standards & Best Practices     |     Tags: AS3, Flash, Flex, Mobile, Robotlegs

Robotlegs (from Robotlegs.org) is  a great architectural framework for AS3. It works for both Flash and Flex projects. I have been a fan since the beginnings of the framework and I even created the official “Robotlegs Framework Diagram“.

One of the drawbacks of using an architectural framework is the time required to setup the project. To help new developers, veteran developers, and myself, I create and update several templates for Robotlegs (RL). Each is a complete publishable “Hello World” type project. When I start any new RL project I begin with one of these Robotlegs Templates (RLT).

It kicks ass, enjoy!

Screenshots

It is a simple app. (Note images may vary slightly depending on template)

Mix-ins

I combine RL with some other fantastic technologies in some templates.

  • AS3-Signals – Events replacement
  • BabelFX – Language localization
  • Union Platform – Multiplayer

Next Steps

  • RLT_Web_Flex – The original! (See ‘Member Resources’ below)
  • RLT_Web_Flex_AS3Signals – My favorite! (See ‘Member Resources’ below)
  • RLT_Web_Flex_AS3Signals_BabelFX – (See ‘Member Resources’ below)
  • RLT_AIR_FlexMobile_AS3Signals_BabelFX – (See ‘Member Resources’ below)
  • RLT_AIR_FlexMobile_AS3Signals_Multiplayer – (See ‘Member Resources’ below)

Member Resources

[private_Free member]Enjoy this members-only content!

  • RLT_Web_Flex – The original!
  • RLT_Web_Flex_AS3Signals – My favorite!
  • RLT_Web_Flex_AS3Signals_BabelFX
  • RLT_AIR_FlexMobile_AS3Signals_BabelFX
  • RLT_AIR_FlexMobile_AS3Signals_Multiplayer

[/private_Free member]

FlyerGame – One Game, Many Many Frameworks

Category: Industry News, Quick Tips     |     Tags: AS3, Games, HTML5, Loom, PushButtonEngine, Smash

I wanted to test out a few game frameworks learn more about AS3, Unity, HTML5, and other platforms. Here is a complete list of many, many versions with full source code (See ‘Members Resources’ below).

UPDATE: A new contender in the HTML5/JavaScript gaming space is phaser.io. I may add a demo to this page soon. Leave a comment if you’d like to see it.

Articles

I wrote ‘Flyer Game’ for a series of articles I wrote for Adobe’s “Inspire” (formerly ‘EDGE’) online magazine. To appreciate the HTML5 versions of the game, its great to look back at the general game theory as well as the Flash theory shown in these articles.

  • In “An introduction to developing games on the Adobe Flash Platform” I overview the complete AS3 source code in my article
  • In “Developing Flash Platform games with the PushButtonEngine” I used a popular framework (PBE) to create the same game.

Downloads of FlyerGame

I provide full source-code to several versions of the FlyerGame. You can compare how each works, and learn more about gaming frameworks that way.

[nonmember]
FLASH VERSIONS

  • 1. Flash Pro and AS3 (Very Simple) – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • 2. AS3 and PushButtonEngine (Component-Based) [PBEv1] – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • 3. AS3 and PushButtonEngine (Component-Based) [PBEv2] – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • 4. AS3 Stage3D [Starling Framework] (Very Simple) – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • 5. AS3 Stage3D [Starling Framework] (OOP Version) – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • 6. AS3 and Smash Framework – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • 7. AS3 and Flixel (Coming soon!)
  • 8. AS3 and FlashPunk (Coming soon!)

OTHER VERSIONS

  • Unity3D w/ C# – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • Loom w/ LoomScript – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]

HTML5 VERSIONS

  • EaselJS Framework – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • ImpactJS Framework – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • CraftyJS Framework – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • MelonJS Framework – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • Spaceport.io Framework – [Download in ‘Members Resources’ below]
  • LimeJS Framework – Github Source (Coming soon!)

[/nonmember]

Next Steps

  • Wow, there is so much content here!
  • Are you new to gaming? There is tons of gaming basics in this posts and code.
  • Are you a veteran? Learn to compare/contrast each framework for yourself using the source code (See ‘Member Resources’ below).

Member Resources

[private_Free member]Enjoy this members-only content!
FLASH VERSIONS

  • 1. Flash Pro and AS3 (Very Simple) – Great Article w/ Source Code
  • 2. AS3 and PushButtonEngine (Component-Based) [PBEv1] – Great Article, Github for Flash Professional, Github for Flash Builder ActionScriptOnly
  • 3. AS3 and PushButtonEngine (Component-Based) [PBEv2] – Github for Flash Builder ActionScriptOnly
  • 4. AS3 Stage3D [Starling Framework] (Very Simple)- Github for Flash Builder ActionScriptOnly
  • 5. AS3 Stage3D [Starling Framework] (OOP Version)- Github for Flash Builder ActionScriptOnly
  • 6. AS3 and Smash Framework (Component-based)- Github for Flash Builder ActionScriptOnly
  • 7. AS3 and Flixel (Coming soon!)
  • 8. AS3 and FlashPunk (Coming soon!)

OTHER VERSIONS

  • Unity3D w/ C# – Github Source (Component-based, like #2 above)
  • Loom w/ LoomScript – Great Article & Tutorial, Github Source (Component-based, like #2 above)

HTML5 VERSIONS

  • EaselJS Framework – Github Source (Simple, like #1 above)
  • ImpactJS Framework – Github Source (Simple, like #1 above)
  • CraftyJS Framework – Github Source (Component-based like #2 above)
  • MelonJS Framework – Github Source (Simple, like #1 above)
  • Spaceport.io Framework – Github Source (Simple, like #1 above)
  • LimeJS Framework – Github Source (Coming soon!)

[/private_Free member]

Polls

[polldaddy poll=6052370]

Intro To The AS3 Smash Game Framework

Category: Industry News, Quick Tips     |     Tags: Games, Smash

After years of experience with PushButtonEngine from the PBLabs company, they released PushButtonEngine 2. PBE2 was a quantum improvement on PBE1, but PBE2 had a short life before being rebranded as Smash. It is now available at Smash.io and I have completed a simple, complete demo game.

By default most game developers use inheritance-based architecture. Make a class and fill it with method-based functionality, then subclass and subclass to create a hierarchy (e.g. PlayerClass, EnemyClass, ItemClass etc…) of concrete classes. This has drawbacks which I outlined in article I wrote for Adobe “Developing Flash Games with the Pushbutton Engine“. It is a good read and still is relevant to how Smash works.

I love component-based gaming. This means functionality is added as classes within an entity and is contrary to inheritance-based gaming. Its a bit of a mind-bender when you first start, but the benefits become obvious to most developers during his or her first project.

Quick Overview

Core features:

  • Small core. Just 4 central classes to learn.
  • Dependency injection. Wire game logic together.
  • Component-based object model. Build complex game objects from simple components.
  • Groups, sets, and object lifecycle. Track your game objects safely and avoid resource leaks.

Extended features:

  • Battle tested main loop. Keep your game flowing even on the lamest of netbooks and mobile devices
  • Debug Console. Log and command your code from a familiar command line interface.

Next Steps

  • Join the Smash Game Framework group on LinkedIn.
  • Download the complete source-code for the FlyerGame with the Smash Framework (See ‘Member Resources’ below)
  • See the simple, complete “FlyerGame – One Game, Many Many FrameworksL” article (Has HTML5, Unity3D, and AS3 Stage3D versions!).

Member Resources

[private_Free member]Enjoy this members-only content!

      • Download the complete source-code for FlyerGame with the Smash Framework

[/private_Free member]

Wishlist Member WordPress Plugin Review

Category: Industry News     |     Tags: WordPress, WordPress Plugin

Our RMC website has been reporting on Software Development for years. Recently, I completely updated the website – new design and new content. I have a few features left to ad, but most recently I added a free membership system which allows access to restricted content including tutorials with full source code and HD Video screencasts.

Editors Note: RMC is independent and is not an affiliate member or reseller to these plugins. The links are provided for your convenience.

Updated: I have installed Wishlist Member on a new site and created a robust tutorial complete with HD Screencast Videos. Check it out!

Why Add Membership To Your Site?

Typically sites add membership to restrict content. They may set up a membership wall between non-members and the content that only logged-in members can see. Membership (at least one level of membership) is often offered for free. Capturing the sign-up information of new members allows sites to send newsletters and target content more effectively based on the type of member. To monetize the site they may setup a pay wall allowing certain content only to those paying members. In a complex, but fairly standard implementation a site may treat non-members, free-members, and paying-members uniquely. This allows the site to attract newbies, build a relationship, and make money.

In my specific case, I want to target newsletters to my audience. I hope the newsletter will encourage one-time visitors who arrive to read an interesting link to become regularly visitors who check back to read new content regularly. I could just add a newsletter widget where users input their email and click ‘Sign Up For Newsletter’. However I thought tying a newsletter into membership would a) ‘bother’ my audience the same amount yet b) offer much more compelling reasons to sign-up (via membership wall).

Membership Plugins

As a WordPress-based website, I researched for compatible plugins to offer easy membership.

Leading Contenders (Single-Site / Multi-Site License)

  • Digital Access Pass ($167/$297)
  • Magic Members ($97/$197)
  • Member Wing ($199.95/$299.95)
  • s2Member ($69/$129)
  • Wishlist Member ($97/$297)
  • WP eMembers ($49.95)

There are free plugin options too including Member Access, Members, User Access Manager, & WP Member.

Editors Note: None of the free options above appeared to offer a compelling list of features. Especially considering that you can monetize your site more easily the relatively small cost of the pay plugins is well worth it.

Membership Plugins Features

Here are some common features you want in a Membership plugin. Wishlist member, which I ultimate chose has all of these, however RMC currently needs very few features. I still wanted a plugin that could grow with my site. I’ll add new features with time.

Features You Want (Did I need them?)

  • Flexible Membership Options (Yes) – Create Free, Trial, or Paid membership levels — or any combination of the three.
  • Shopping Cart Integration (No) – If you want to offer pay membership, tie-in with online pay systems (e.g. Paypal)
  • Protect Text (Yes) – Wrap text within a public posts in a [private][/private] tag. Non-members cannot see it.
  • Protect Posts (No) – Control access to entire post
  • Protect Pages (No) – Control access to entire page
  • Custom Error Pages (Yes) – Control what members see when they have the wrong access (or no access) for the protected content
  • Custom Sign-Up/Registration Pages (Yes) – Control and customize the experience for non-members to become members.

Wishlist Member

After evaluating the options available and my current (and future) needs for membership. I chose the Wishlist Member (WLM) plugin. It appeared to have a solid, updated website, good feature-set (only a partial list is above) and good customer support.

Installation

The installation is crazy-simple. You purchase through the website. Within 5 minutes you can download a zip and use the WP Plugins dashboard to ‘add new plugin’ and start the setup.

Editors Note: The first installation appeared to work but then WL then showed permanent, non-fatal PHP errors related to WLM at the top of the any admin page. After deleting the WLM the plugin, deactivating *all* plugins and reinstalling WLM again, it worked. No more errors. I then reactivated all my plugins and all was fine. Then I started setup

Dashboard

The WLM dashboard sites within the WP dashboard. It features 3-tiered navigation and has all the options you could want. The design is pretty, (fairly) well-thought out and easy to read.

Setup

There is a ‘Setup Wizard’ that walks you through protecting your site. One of the challenges with this, is that if you are new to membership concepts, you may not KNOW what you really want to protect. However there are helpful “?” buttons within the entire WLM dashboard experience that can answer questions regarding terminology and concepts.

Documentation & Support

There is a wealth of documentation. Its a bit challenging to see exactly where to start – the plugin does many things you may not need or care to read about. To help figure out exactly WHAT you can do with WLM I recommend starting with the showcase of WLM sites. The provided WLM video tutorials are helpful (if a bit outdated). Just about everything you want to do is covered there. Great job WLM! The WLM forums accept community questions and community answers. Often companies have official respondents to answer popular posts. In my short research for a few key questions, I found poignant posts which seemed to reflect relevant and common doubts from users without any answers.

Maintenance

Now that the site is setup and running, there is not maintenance needed. As I add new posts, I will decided if all or part of the post should be protected. Adding this protection is fast, easy, and dependable.

Negatives & Suggestions

During the setup process I created a list of suggestions for WLM.

  • In setup change “Turn hide/show protection on?” to “Hide Protected Content From Non-Members?”
  • After log-in I’d like to direct the user to the page they were reading BEFORE they had to log in. Should be possible. It’d be really great to use this in more places (after registration confirmation too).
  • In dashboard rename “Advanced” to “CSS” or “Styling”
  • Throughout the dashboard, there are already “?” buttons with tooltip text floating in a box. That is great. I recommend to add “more” buttons which link to relevant help pages on the WLM site, and video buttons with tutorial videos showing in lightbox (floating over admin). There are tons of great video content and having them integrated into the admin would save valuable time and encourage users to learn more.
  • And this link from the WL admin simply refreshed the page without any functionality “Take a Video Tour of Wishlist Member”
  • Unusually, anytime after the initial ‘Setup Wizard’ is complete. Maybe it would be useful? Well to my surprise it shows red “[INCOMPLETE]” for steps I know I completed. I think my original work was saved and is in proper use on the site, but this section is a bit broken upon quick opinion.

Editors Note: All of these suggestions have been sent to Wishlist Member via the customer support (Ticket #71865). At the time of this article, no response from customer support has been recieved, although none is really needed or expected.

Summary

While I took time to compare features from the various plugins (and WLM is favorable), I did not install and try other competitive plugins.

Overall WLM is a solid plugin. It promises great features and ease-of-use and it performs as advertised.

The forums and email support did not wow me. However I’m spoiled by really active, vocal communities in my non-Wordpress software development experience (Flash/Flex/HTML5), so perhaps my expectations are too high. I did find a few WLM forum-posters who are *really* helpful with patient, concise help. Kudos to good people.

Next Steps

  • Checkout the Wishlist Member website for more information.
  • To review Wishlist Member, I added it to RivelloMultimediaConsulting.com See this post (and many, many more) for an example of the non-member experience. Then sign-up real quick to see the member experience. Its nice!
  • Updated: I have installed Wishlist Member on a new site and created a robust tutorial complete with HD Screencast Videos. Check it out!

Using Singletons in AS3

Category: Quick Tips     |     Tags: AS3, AS3.5

The Singleton design pattern requires a class to have exactly one instance – preventing multiple instantiation.

The pattern is very useful – including utility classes that manage ‘one thing’ throughout the entirety of your application. Singletons are not natively supporting in AS3. Why? I have no idea. It would have been nice. Perhaps it will be included in the upcoming ActionScript 4.0 when it is released.

I show two styles. Only one style is needed. Learn each one and then choose your favorite!

Example

[actionscript3 light=”true”]

// TWO STYLES ARE SHOWN

// *******************************************
// DEMO 1 – View the Console Output (getInstance() Required)
// *******************************************
var MyCustomSingleton1 : CustomSingleton1 = CustomSingleton1.getInstance();
MyCustomSingleton1.traceTheSecretPhrase();
MyCustomSingleton1.secretePhrase = "Now the value has changed in 1.";
MyCustomSingleton1.traceTheSecretPhrase();

// *******************************************
// DEMO 2 – View the Console Output (getInstance() *NOT* Required)
// *******************************************
CustomSingleton2.traceTheSecretPhrase();
CustomSingleton2.secretePhrase = "Now the value has changed in 2.";
CustomSingleton2.traceTheSecretPhrase();

// *******************************************
// DEMO – Impossible – This will show an error
// *******************************************
//var myFailedCustomSingleton1 = new MyCustomSingleton1 ();
//var myFailedCustomSingleton2 = new MyCustomSingleton2 ();
[/actionscript3]

The Case Against Singletons

Not everything in your application should be a Singleton. Its a tool to be used sparingly. In face there is active debate (here, and here) if Singletons are actually the devil.
I say Singletons are NOT the devil. But don’t take my word for it see those debates.

Next Steps

  • Don’t understand me? I don’t blame you. It’s crazy.
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Interesting links

Besides are some interesting links for you! Enjoy your stay :)

Latest Portfolio

  • Coins And PlatformsMarch 19, 2014, 6:04 am
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  • RMC Primer: Everything Virtual Reality (VR)September 3, 2016, 10:29 am
  • Unity3D Architectures: EntitasJuly 29, 2016, 11:15 pm
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