I have a question for a niche group of people.

eclectech

Basically what I'm screaming into the void here is DON'T MAKE ME LEARN A NEW WAY OF DOING EVERYTHING I DO.

I am aware this makes me sound a bit rubbish, but I really ENJOY making the things I make in Animate. They are very uncomplicated, and I've been doing it so long I don't have to think about the software at all. It just does what I want.

I am sad at the thought of losing that.

Lizzie

@eclectech now I'm sad too because at a great distance through you images I've had a lot of sweet moments directly from your brain to mine, you know?

eclectech

Secondary factor is I really don't like Adobe, and would like to ditch them. I have identified alternatives for everything else I use so this is my stumbling block.

Also don't mind paying for software, but would prefer 1. it wasn't Adobe & 2. it was a one off purchase rather than SAAS.

eclectech

@Lizette603_23 Aww, I don't want to make anyone else sad! The sweet moments will continue (and thank you!)

Lizzie

@eclectech just pouty. Not actually sad. Unless you go away. Then it would be sad. Xo

eclectech

@Lizette603_23 No plans to go anywhere

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)

@eclectech

Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there

Are you aware of any open-source animation packages that do even a half-arsed job of doing what Flash could do in the late '90s (simple vector drawing, keyframe-based animations)? Ideally ones that can export to something viewable in a browser.

I miss Flash.

Edge 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈

@eclectech

I hope someone has a good answer for you, as this sounds like my experience with every single thing I've done with software over most of my life.

I know how to use this, it does what I want, it becomes crap, I have to find something else, and I don't want to re-learn it, ad infinitum.

We want you to continue liking making your animations, too!

Jill ✨

@eclectech @slowtiger Probably obvious, sorry gotta ask. Are you talking about a software named Flash?

eclectech

@david_chisnall The nice easy manipulation of vectors is one of the things I'm struggling to find, but I am on a mission, so will let you know if I find anything.

eLearningTechie

@david_chisnall @eclectech I don't know how https://friction.graphics compares to Flash or Animate as I've not used Flash in the last two decades and have never used Animate. I rarely do animation work, but have dabbled with Friction on occasion. It's pretty feature rich, but documentation could be better.

Petra van Cronenburg

@eclectech tagging #askFedi #Flash #Animate to perhaps attract a few more nerds here who can recommend alternatives to you.

Steven Hoefer

@eclectech Watching this closely. Been looking for exactly this for years.

eclectech

@troublewithwords Yeah, I've stuck with Animate because I needed other Adobe stuff for my work, but I think I could replace everything else now and would love to find a replacement.

eddie

@eclectech Back in the day, Flash was also used for 'rich web sites' that behave more like desktop applications with fancy animations. Microsoft tried to create an alternative with Silverlight ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Silverlight ). It ended within 5 years when HTML5 became popular.

grmon

@eclectech I remember @toonboom and @hypeapp and did you check: https://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-flash

eLearningTechie

@eclectech @david_chisnall Yes, I'd agree. I love Krita for drawing/painting but the animation side seems more confusing than it needs to be IMO. I don't know if there are plugins or add-ons that make it more useful. I kinda gave up and focused on Friction for animations.

eclectech

@NatureMC Thanks!

eclectech

@dreddie Yep, I used to make them!

I loved Flash. I made web sites, games, animations, all manner of interactive widgets. Was great to work with.

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)

@eclectech I have a similar issue with non-animated drawing programs. I have been using OnmiGraffle since it came bundled with the first Mac I bought and it's great, but they're increasingly moving to the 'pro' market.

I paid $25 to upgrade to OmniGraffle 3. I'm not. Now the new versions are $75 (upgrade pricing, $150 full price). Except they've moved a bunch of features I use to the Pro version, which is $125 ($250 full price). Oh, there's also a $125/year subscription option, but since I bought OmniGraffle 6 in 2014 and 7 is the latest version, that's a lot more expensive (it does come with the iOS version, but I have zero desire to use an app that is nice on a 43" monitor and a bit of a struggle on a 16" one on my iPad).

And that's just silly money for a thing I use as infrequently as I use it. I tried InkScape, but I cannot overstate how much rage the UI induced.