I'm trying to optimize my Flash project's internal preloader. The preloader is on frame 1, and when it's done, it gotoAndStop's to frame 2, which instantiates my Game class. My total SWF file size is 1847 KB, but according to the size report, my frame 1 by itself is still 388 KB. I was hoping I could somehow bring that down further.
If I comment out the code that refers to my Game class on frame 2, my frame 1 drops down to 68 KB. I'm not sure why commenting out the frame 2 stuff affects frame 1, but it would be nice if I could keep that small frame 1 and still instantiate on frame 2. Is there anything I can do, or is that as good as it gets? My Game.as is 265 KB.
The size of the *.as file should do nothing with the resultant SWF size. You can optimize frame 1 by excluding static data out of there, especially bitmaps, and also avoid direct reference to Main class or any game object derivatives. See, whenever you include a direct link to a class (say, in form var a:SomeClass;) the class description together with embedded resources, linked classes and all the stuff required to statically link the class is also compiled into the first frame, increasing its size. In case you so badly need to link an object out of subsequent frames, make sure the SWF has been loaded fully, or at least (if you decide to split frame 2 into several) the frame with that class is loaded, then you can call getDefinitionByName() with full qualified path to the instance and receive the class info out of loaded data. Then you instantiate an object of that class using the var returned as class template, and use it as normal since then.
An example:
// provided you have a link to `PlayButton` in your first frame
// var playButton:PlayButton=new PlayButton();
// ^ the code to replace
var playButton:Sprite; // MovieClip can also do, if PlayButton is one
var playButtonClass:Class=flash.utils.getDefinitionByName("PlayButton") as Class;
// stuff full package path in this call ^^^ e.g. "mygame.PlayButton"
if (playButtonClass) playButton=new PlayButtonClass(); // otherwise catch errors
The manual on getDefinitionByName()
Related
I made a Flash project in FlashDevelop to create an Ad.
The Preloader is setup by making use of the Additional Compiler argument:
-frame=NameOfLabel,NameOfMainClass
My main class is simply called "Main", at the top / default package level.
So frame #1, being the Preloader portion of the SWF, has:
Very few bitmaps, vector-graphics and text (to stay under 50kb);
A YouTube video player in the center (does not count in the filesize limit);
The frame #2 has everything else (the Main class basically embeds all it's dependencies). This includes:
Assets from precompiled SWF (Bitmaps, Symbols, Fonts, XML data);
All classes imported (this is recursive for every classes importing other classes);
Now my big problem is, my client requested the "replay" functionality long after I've completed 99.9% of the project.
I have the project more-or-less broken into different states (Intro, Ready, SlideMenu, etc.), but I'm not sure how I can easily reset the Flash movie back to the very beginning (where it was preloading and showing the YouTube video).
The easy solution would be to simply call an ExternalInterface JavaScript method that would refresh the Flash container, BUT I don't think I have control over what's going on the HTML / JavaScript side.
Is there an easy way to invoke a replay function from AS3?
Would not simply going back to frame 1 do the trick ?
The following seems to do the trick!
private function onReplayClick(e:MouseEvent):void {
var theStage:Stage = this.stage; //Temporarly store the stage.
//Kill any animations happening:
TweenMax.killAll(); //3rd party, may not be applicable for you :P
//Remove ALL containers / child DisplayObjects
SpriteUtils.recursiveRemove(theStage); //custom-made
// (this object is no longer attached to the stage at this point)
//Nullify any Singleton / Static variables:
Main.INST = null;
// Load the 'bytes' of the current SWF in a new Loader, then...
// add it to the stage
var swf:Loader = new Loader();
swf.loadBytes( theStage.loaderInfo.bytes );
theStage.addChild( swf );
}
By doing a deep recursive cleanup of the DisplayObjects, and any static variables (like Singleton instances), it leaves you with a blank stage.
After that, you can instantiate a new Loader that will load the SWF itself via the current LoaderInfo's bytes property.
Add the Loader to the Stage, and you're up and running again!
I need to create a single SWF with no external files, so I'm trying to add an internal preloader to my Flash project which has [embed] assets. I know [embed] causes problems with preloaders because it puts the assets on frame 1. I have tried the solutions recommended in these posts, where you set the document class to your preloader class:
Preloader for SWF with embed bytearray
How to create Preloader in AS3
I can get it to work, but ONLY if I comment out any lines of code that involve the stage, otherwise I get an "Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference." Those lines are essential though, so does anyone know how to fix those errors with the stage?
You haven't posted your code or your fla, so all I can do is share what works for me.
First, I wouldn't use Embed. Instead, use a swc. I have found that Embed can be unreliable as far as actually getting the entire asset in there (at least when publishing with Flash Builder + Flash Pro, which is my workflow).
Once you have your assets in a swc, try the following steps:
Set your export frame to Frame 10 (or any frame other than 1--I like frame 10 because then you can read the label that says "Preloader")
Put your actual content on frame 11. You can structure this a lot of ways. Since I program to Interfaces, I give whatever is on frame 11 an instance name and then use a setter to determine that my "first thing" has been placed on stage. I can get away with this because my main Document Class just knows the definition of the Interface, not the full implementation of the Class, so the Class does not need to load for the main Document Class to work. You probably aren't truly using the timeline and probably didn't program to interfaces, so you'll probably just set the base class of the symbol that's on frame 11 to the main logic of whatever you're trying to do.
Put your preloader graphics in Frame 1. I'm not sure why your stage references are so important. I, personally, don't use any logic in the preloader. Instead, I use a spinner that spans frames 1-10 (plus the word "Loading...". The spinner just spins while the classes load. The embed frame acts as a temporary "stop" that just holds the timeline back until those classes have been loaded. Once the classes have been loaded, the timeline will act like you called play() on it. So it really can be that simple. If you need it to be more complicated, give one of your preloader graphics an instance name and set up a getter/setter pair for it, then use the setter to trigger your logic that accesses the stage. You are pretty much guaranteed to have a valid stage at that point.
Word of warning: if you did make use of the timelime, you will get strange results if you try to jump to a frame that isn't loaded yet, so make sure to check to see if a given frame is loaded if it's near the end of your main timeline and your main timeline is heavy with assets before calling goToAndPlay() or goToAndStop().
Some references that might help you further:
Preloaders vs as 3 (I'd recommend you read the entire series this is part of. This is an amazing series I wish I'd found 3 years ago)
Solving the Frame 2 Problem Presentation and code
Combining the Timeline with OOP The example code for that is here (long story)
I decided to add a preloader, so I wrapped the content of frame 1 in an object and moved it all to frame 2. I assigned the document class to that new object in the library, and cleared the document class from the publish settings, effectively detaching the document class from the main timeline.
I went into Actionscript Settings and set the "Export classes in frame:" option to "2". If you look in the library, each symbol's option for "export in frame 1" now says "export in frame 2", so I have to assume it means what it says.
Despite frame 1 being empty, and despite the ActionScript setting to export classes in frame 2.... the generated size report still reports that most of the classes are exported in frame 1.
I have one SWC file referenced which is set to be "merged into code", but shouldn't that data be defined in frame 2 as well? Again, the size report is showing most imported definitions defined on frame 1.
I figured this out rather quickly.
The problem seems to be having an instance of the main document class on frame 2. By simply having an instance there, its creating a variable of that type on the main timeline, hence it needs to have that definition loaded to instantiate the main timeline for frame 1.
The solution is to make sure that the entire main timeline does not in any way reference any classes you don't want loaded in frame one, especially your document class. Instead, instantiate your main document class via code on frame 2 with the "getDefinitionByName" utility function.
As the title says, the file loads correctly but the loading screen only flashes up at the end.
The only thing being exported in frame 1 is the loader image, and that is extremely small.
Is it possible that there's a queue of things being loaded and the loader image is at the bottom of that queue? Since that was one of the last things added to the project
If your preloader only shows up after the file has loaded, this means that you still have other objects being linked onto Frame 1. Flash is very picky about this, and it's easy for things to be yanked onto Frame 1 regardless of your settings. When you compile, Flash builds a dependency graph to determine what items are needed on each frame. If it thinks an asset is needed earlier than the export frame setting, it will ignore the setting and push the asset onto that frame. In particular, any class that your document class directly references will be automatically yanked onto frame 1.
Checking "Generate size report" in File, Publish Settings, Flash can help you see how much data is being exported onto Frame 1. Here are some tips to ensure that everything is linked onto the proper frame:
In Publish Settings, Flash, ActionScript Settings, make sure that "Export frame for classes" is set to 2 or higher.
Ensure that library symbols say "Export on frame 2" in their linkage properties. Older versions of Flash may export them on frame 1, regardless of the class export frame. In this case, you'll have to do the oldschool method of unchecking the "Export on frame 1" option, and manually dragging these symbols onto the timeline on frame 2.
Do not directly reference classes from your document class or on the main timeline. The Document class and all the assets it references are always placed on frame 1. Anytime you do var f : MyClass; in your document class or on the root timeline, then you are referencing MyClass, and Flash will automatically yank it onto frame 1.
To avoid directly referencing your main app class in your preloader, you want to instantiate it indirectly, using something like this:
var gameClass : Class = flash.utils.getDefinitionByName("Game") as Class;
var game : Sprite = new gameClass();
In this case, your Preloader becomes the document class, and indirectly creates the Game class when the SWF has loaded. This avoids any direct references to Game and its content.
I created an AS3 preloader, and placed the code for that on frame one.
I then made a symbol, and placed it in the library. It was set to NOT export on frame 1, and the fla's settings had all classes exported on frame two. There were no references to the object until frame two.
Then, flash crashed whenever I compiled without the "Export in frame one" box checked.
To fix this, a friend suggested I start my game logic on frame 3, so it will have properly loaded frame 2. That seemed to work fine, the class was instantiating properly.
Then, it turned out that it was not loading the movieclip, only instantiating the class. Again, this could be fixed by exporting in frame 1, but I really cannot afford to do that.
The same friend suggested I place an instance of the symbol on the stage on frame 3, and perform game logic on frame 4. They said this would initialize the movieclip properly.
However, this was not the case. How can I load the entire symbol, graphics and all, without exporting to frame 1? This single symbol will contain probably 10-20 MB of graphics, so it needs to be preloaded.
Thanks for the help!
EDIT: To make a long story short, all I need is some way to load a movieclip so it can be used and visible and everything.
EDIT: Is there any way to force-load a movieclip via AS3?
Hard to figure out from descriptions.
If you make a new .fla file, paste your large(10-20MB) clip on frame 2,
set your export frame as 2, then try to preload from frame 1 and access the large clip's content in frame 2, do you get the same error ?
say you have this in frame 1:
stop();
this.loaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onComplete);
function onComplete(event:Event):void{
gotoAndStop(2);
}
and in frame 2:
trace(myLargeClip);//where myLargeClip would be your 10-20MB clip
It should be ok, otherwise, in case tracing your large clip returns null, you might want to try to invalidate the stage:
on frame 2:
stage.addEventListener(Event.RENDER,onRender);
stage.invalidate();
function onRender(event:Event):void{
trace(myLargeClip);
}
Basically what I'm suggesting is:
Isolate the problem. See if your large clip is causing problems in a similar, but simplified scenario and why, then once you got a fix use it in your main fla.
Try the stage invalidation, although, since I don't fully understand your setup, it's just a wild guess.
HTH,
George