As I mentioned previously, Box2DFlash 2.1 is quite different from previous versions of Box2DFlash.
The major differences that I have found so far, are related to how to setup your world and your bodies (bearing in mind that I have only just started with Box2DFlash, and do not know the previous versions).
It took me a while to get my head around the Box2DFlash 2.1 relationship between fixtures, shapes, and bodies.
I recently decided to have a play with Box2DFlash. This is a port of a popular 2D physics engine that has been ported to Actionscript 3, Java, C#, etc.
A lot of games use Box2DFlash and so I thought it was about time to play around with it.
Also, i thought it would be a nice idea to blog about my progress. I will be using Flash Builder 4 (beta) to do all my work in, but the files can be used in Flash, or a.n.other development environment.
Firstly you will need to download the files from here…
One of the applications that I keep an eye on is an open source app called Blender. I think it is a fantastic 3D application.
But it does a lot more – particles, games, physics, compositing, and so on.
Previously it suffered from a non-standard interface, and so was quite difficult for newbies to download and just run with it.
However there is a new version coming out, version 2.5, which is in alpha at the moment, and I would recommend anyone who is into 3D to download Blender 2.5 alpha and play with it.
Happy new year everybody – and in january this year I am in the process of creating a new, advanced, actionscript 3 course – during which I decided to do some particle work.
Here are some particle systems that I came across in the process…
…the latter is a new system, and I must say that I am impressed.
It is a nice system, easy to use, good documentation, and some lovely demos.
In particular, have a look at this one…
Check Stardust out, you will not be disappointed.
I have just found a new framework called HYPE. It looks to be a lovely actionscript 3 framework for coders and con-coders alike to easily create effects, and i plan to have lots of fun with it 
You will need some basic as3 knowledge, but you can quickly get results with a minimal amount of coding, and there are some lovely examples on the HYPE website.
Have a look at it and let me know what you think
Whilst I love Flash Builder, it is somewhat daunting navigating the large amount of preferences. So, if you wish to change the font, size, and colour of your editing window here is where you go…
Window > Preferences > General > Appearance > Colours & Fonts > Basic > Text Font
For the background colour and stuff like that you go to …
Window > Preferences > General > (and click on the text) Text Editors
At the bottom of the panel you will now Foreground colour, Background colour etc.
I came across this one just recently – if you right-mouse click in your code, and navigate to Compare With > Local History, a History panel pops up.
Listed will be the various versions of your file, and all you have to do is double-click on one of the dates within the list to see that and the current version side-by-side.
What is even nicer is Flash Builder will highlight the areas that are different and also show you project lines between the files indicating where the new/old bits were/are.
Very nice.
Again, here are some useful commands that I use to jump around the plethora of commands and menus etc that Flash Builder has.
Cmd/ctl – shift – T – goes through your codebase history and allows you to select a command/variable etc by typing, and it also allows wildcards and uses camel case, e.g. typing in BA will bring up BitmapAsset, ButtonAsset, ByteArray, etc. Typing in *bu will bring up ButtonAsset, BuildInfo, SimpleButton, etc.
Here are some very useful shortcuts that I personally use. In the past year or so I have decided to use Flash Builder to do most of my Actionscript coding, as a result I keep on finding the need to jump around my class files a lot. Here are a few of my favourite shortcuts when using Flash Builder…
Cmd/Ctl – click on a variable name or function and you will jump you to the definition of that variable or function. This is very useful when you have a lot of code and want to quickly edit a particular variable or function. It will also highlight all instances/calls at the same time.
Working recently on a new Actionscript 3 advanced course I decided to put together a mindmap of the various classes and libraries that I have come across. I have not tested them all, yet! but it is interesting to see what is out there.
If I have missed anything let me now, and I hope everyone finds this useful.
Mindmap as3
