Fixing Vector Support in FlashDevelop

More and more of my projects are becoming entirely FlashDevelop based, as 98% of the time, I don't need to see the stage. If I do, I code everything in FlashDevelop, and debug it with Flash.

Sadly, I ran into a snag when FlashDevelop didn't want to recognize the Vector class, at least not with code completion. The solution was actually quite simple.

Make sure you have the intrinsic AS file
Browse to the directory where you have FlashDevelop stored (in my case "C:\Program Files\FlashDevelop\".

Continue browsing through to "\Library\AS3\intrinsic\FP10\".
If you have the same setup as me (the default install path) the folder should now read:
C:\Program Files\FlashDevelop\Library\AS3\intrinsic\FP10\

If that folder contains Vector.as, you are good to go on to the next step, otherwise, you either need to update to the newest FlashDevelop, and/or the newest stable release of the Adobe Flex SDK (big file)


Make sure your projects are being treated as Flash 10 and not Flash 9
Finally, (and this was the part that wasn't working for me) on the menu bar, choose Tools > Settings, or press F10.

When the dialog appears, go to "AS3Context", and make sure the "Default Flash Version" is set to 10, instead of the default 9.

Click for larger view

While you are in there, take the time to make sure other settings are set to your preference, such as class paths and the SDK location.


If it's still not working for someone, post a comment, and I'll try to debug it.

Wii Internet Channel with FlashLite 3.1 confirmed!

In my last post regarding Flash on the Wii, I was still looking for a reliable source to confirm that the new browser definitely had support for FlashLite, and it wasn't just a lousy rumor.

I was overjoyed to read the following message in my Wii Message board:

From Nintendo:
The Internet Channel, which allows everyone to easily access and enjoy the Internet, has been updated.

The main updates are as follows:
* Change from Adobe Flash version 7 to Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 (This corresponds to Adobe Flash version 8)
* The Internet Channel is now available to download for 0 Wii Points.

Press start at the bottom right of the screen and you will be able to download the updated Internet Channel from the Wii Shop Channel.

If you previously used 500 Wii Points to download the Internet Channel to your Wii console, at the end of October we will be offering you the opportunity to download, for 0 Wii Points, one NES game of your choice (valued at 500 Wii Points) from the Virtual Console catalog. Details of this download offer will be provided via the Wii Message Board or on Nintendo.com soon.

Nintendo

So, now all I have to do is decide which NES game I would like to download... Hmmm...

On a related note, I find it funny that Nintendo offers one NES game for up to 500 points instead of offering any software for 500 points or just putting 500 points onto your account. In an article I read recently, certain distributors (or something or the other) received rewards for putting offline Wii users online. After 10 rewards, they were granted full access to download and and all NES games they wished.

So why only NES games? My guess is that Virtual Console NES game sales aren't really doing that great compared to many of the WiiWare and newer Virtual Console games, so Nintendo is really pushing to make a greater profit and get those games distributed.

Of course, that's just my educated guess, and I could be wrong...


Time to start developing Wii Friendly games. :)

What's AS3 got that FlashLite doesn't?

I thought I was going to have to dig around for a while, perhaps comparing the language reference class for class until I found this, but it turns out Adobe already had the differences listed. (whew!)

Taken from:
http://livedocs.adobe.com/flashlite/3.0/docs/help.html?content=00005655.html


Unsupported Classes

• Accessibility
• Camera
• ContextMenu
• ContextMenuItem
• CustomActions
• LocalConnection
• Locale (mx.lang.Locale)
• Microphone
• NetConnection (Available in FlashLite 3.0, but not FlashLite 2)
  
• NetStream (Available in FlashLite 3.0, but not FlashLite 2)
• PrintJob
• TextField.StyleSheet
• TextSnapshot
• XMLUI

Unsupported Methods (Functions)

• Mouse.hide, Mouse.show
• MovieClip.attachAudio
• MovieClip.getTextSnapshot
• Selection.getBeginIndex, Selection.getCaretIndex, Selection.getEndIndex
• System.setClipboard
• System.showSettings
• TextField.getFontList
• Video.attachVideo (Available in FlashLite 3.0, but not FlashLite 2)
• Video.clear

Unsupported Properties

• Button.blendMode, Button.cacheAsBitmap, Button.filters, Button.menu, Button.useHandCursor
• System.capabilities.language, System.capabilities.manufacturer, System.capabilities.pixelAspectRatio, System.capabilities.playerType, System.capabilities.screenColor, System.capabilities.screenDPI, System.capabilities.serverString
• Key.isToggled
• MovieClip.menu
• MovieClip.useHandCursor
• Stage.showMenu
• System.exactSettings
• TextField.menu, TextField.mouseWheelEnabled, TextField.restrict
• Video._alpha, Video.deblocking, Video._height, Video.height, Video._name, Video._parent, Video._rotation, Video.smoothing, Video._visible, Video._width, Video.width, Video._x, Video._xmouse, Video._xscale, Video._y, Video._ymouse, Video._yscale

Unsupported Global Functions

• asfunction
• MMExecute
• print, printAsBitmap, printAsBitmapNum, printNum,
  
• updateAfterEvent

Unsupported Event Handlers

• onUpdate
• Mouse.onMouseWheel

Unsupported fscommands

• allowscale
• exec
• fullscreen (I wonder if that means that FlashLite apps are unable to go fullscreen, or if you are just not able to set it to fullscreen via fscommand)
  
• quit
• showmenu
• trapallkeys

Luckily, most of them are quite logical exclusions such as classes related to right clicking, using the cliboard, and accessing usb components such as the camera, microphone, or printer. The other methods and properties I rarely use anyway, so I could possible mark many as my custom classes as "FlashLite Safe". :)

An Intrepid Introduction

[Looks around]

"Seems empty in here."

This blog I will use until I have a server up and running. It will be used to post any progress regarding current projects, as well as some help and tips for others.

If anyone has any questions, contact me in the form below.

Enjoy.