Customer Reviews

AdvancED ActionScript 3.0 Animation

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I begin by saying that this is not a book aimed at users with basic level and that I noticed since I started reading the first page. In fact, if you want to exploit all the content, you should first read the book "Foundation ActionScript 3.0 Animation: Making Things Move" by the same author.

Do not expect to find an introduction to ActionScript 3 or it syntax. More than a manual, this book is a compilation of techniques you can use in your projects, especially in game development with artificial intelligence. The different chapters of the book does not have a sequential organization whereby you can read it in the order you want or agree to a particular need.

During his ten chapters and 439 pages of content, the author displays trigonometric formulas to achieve amazing results that achieve a realistic simulation of physical aspects such as motion, acceleration and friction, among others. Several of its themes focus on new capabilities in Flash Player 10 as working with 3D, new drawing APIs and working with Pixel Bender.

At the beginning I was surprised that this book was printed in black and white, but in the long run this is not a problem because the color does not add any extra. In return we have a content beyond the common that hardly find in other books about ActionScript.

In short, Advanced ActionScript 3.0 Animation is an excellent book if you enjoy looking for advanced topics for ambitious projects and do not be scared of math and trigonometry.

"This is a great book!" That is how the intros of the AS2 and AS3 versions of "ActionScript Animation: Making Things Move" began. This current book has no introduction or forward to herald its greatness, but it is great nonetheless. Kind of a continuation of the previous book, but not really. While the last book covered Flash 9.0 centric items, this one covers Flash 10 and what is now possible. It is an advanced book, as the title denotes. The book is not going to teach you the basics of programming in AS3. You pretty much had better know what you are doing when you get into it. I liken this book to the "AS3 Cookbook", also contributed to by the author, as you don't have to read it from cover to cover, and can go through picking and choosing what interest you. There are few books that I have two copies of, one for work and one for home. This is definitely one of those books, as are his others. No greater compliment can I give. Comments also on The Freeman View.

The techniques found in this book are quite priceless. In fact, this book is actually a follow-up to the "Actionscript Animation...Making Things Move" book, which I also thoroughly enjoyed and used it as a reference throughout a very important project. I like this one even better though, because it helps you take your AS3 development to the next level. The requirements of my recent Flex projects are often extremely graphically intensive, and often involve 3D. However, I generally have to use Flex for all of my development since my projects are all RIA applications. This book makes for an incredible reference regardless, so whenever I am asked "can you make it do...?" My answer is always a resounding "YES".

Absolutely fantastic book. I'm not a Flash/ActionScript developer, I'm Flex/PHP developer but after reading this book, I would like switch to Flash game development. This book contains so many excellent examples and shows how ActionScript development can be complexed and exciting.

If you are an ActionScript/Flash beginner or a newbie, then this is not a book for you. This book is for Flash developers with intermediate/advanced knowledge of ActionScript and in it you will find so many good examples.

The book is a sequel of another great book - ActionScript Animation: Making Things Move. This book continues the action after this book and through ten chapters you will explore many interesting and complex problems with very useful solutions. You will get a lot of information how to handle object collisions, how to control your objects, manipulate moving objects, how to create isometric view. Just think about Farmville application on Facebook. This book will give you lot of tips and tricks how to create basic isometric view. After that there is an excellent chapter about pathfinding, handling path between two dots, how to define the right passage between two dots and which paths is possible,how to handle terrain ponders etc. After that you can read more about creating advanced paths and object physics by using more advanced math calculations. Really cool stuff.

There's more. You can learn how to handle mic and webcam input, learn about Flash 10 3D basics and Flash 10 Drawing API. At the end you'll finish the book with chapters about PixelBender and programming tween effects.

Summary: If you want to be an excellent Flash developer or game developer, you need this book. Also, before reading this book, buy and read Makings Things Move".

I don't think this book has received the attention it deserves. It is a wonderful and immensely useful collection of snippets/examples covering the more challenging "edges" of many critical concepts in creative (screen-based) coding. Anyone who has spent any time programming graphics understands the challenge of coding accurate collision detection/response, advanced motion and physics simulations and 3D. These, among other, concepts are all clearly explained, without the de facto inscrutable equations found in standard Computer Science texts. Most of the examples also translate easily to other programming environments/languages, including Processing. As a case in point, I'm currently at work on a large Java/JOGL graphics framework and the Peter's book has a permanent and central spot on my desk of reference materials.

- Ira Greenberg
Author: Processing: Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art (Foundation) and The Essential Guide to Processing for Flash Developers

(Disclosure: Keith Peters wrote the forward to my first book. That said, this unsolicited review is strictly based on my own personal excitement about this text.)

This book is worth every penny. Keith Peters did an exceptional job of creating useful examples that can be applied to a wide range of projects.