I have a question for a niche group of people.
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@eclectech tagging #askFedi #Flash #Animate to perhaps attract a few more nerds here who can recommend alternatives to you.
@NatureMC Thanks!
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@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.
@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.
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@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.
@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.
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I have a question for a niche group of people.
The question is for people who have used Flash or Animate to make 2D animations.
Have you found alternative software that has the same overall user experience as old school Flash?
If yes, what is it?
Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there & I know a lot of them are great, but I have a LOT of experience in Flash & if I can ditch Animate but keep the overall experience that would be perfect.
Thanks.
@eclectech I've used Tumult's Hype https://tumult.com/hype/ as a replacement for Flash for web animations, and they have a free trial if you have a Mac. There is some overlap, though nothing quite matches Flash's old vector tools. The nice thing is you can easily mix and match bitmap and SVG components, and the output can be tweaked in a text editor if need be and it is all in basic web file formats.
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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.
@eclectech
Then you understand the horrific touch of dread I had when I learned abput Apple's plans to make Logic and Final Cut subscription-based. -
@eclectech I remember @toonboom and @hypeapp and did you check: https://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-flash
@grmon I hadn't seen that, will take a look, thanks.
The main thing for me is the UI though, which doesn't tend to be the focus of comparison places, which are mainly focused on output. The output isn't such a big deal for me as I already use FFMPG for most of that side of things; so as long as I can grab the frames I'm good!
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@slowtiger Yeah, Moho is in my list after we chatted the other day but I forgot to ask then if the UI is similar? And can you do combos of vector and bitmap tweening as easily as Flash?
Most things seem to do loads more than I need, but miss some of the things I use all the time.
@eclectech
Yes, Moho handles bitmaps as easily as verctors. I even have characters which are part vector, part bitmap, or even video (mov).
The timeline will look instantly familiar.Feel free to ask me any question per mail, or directly in the Moho forum: https://lostmarble.net/forum/
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@grmon I hadn't seen that, will take a look, thanks.
The main thing for me is the UI though, which doesn't tend to be the focus of comparison places, which are mainly focused on output. The output isn't such a big deal for me as I already use FFMPG for most of that side of things; so as long as I can grab the frames I'm good!
@eclectech just took a look. Toonbooms licence model is subscription crap. But I remember my switch from flash to hype having a rather flat learning curve. Happy to help.
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I just tried Krita for five minutes. I could not work out how to draw two shapes with a line connecting them. That's the thing I do most often in a vector-drawing tool. OmniGraffle 3 had a really nice magnet model, 6 made it worse but still okay.
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@eclectech just took a look. Toonbooms licence model is subscription crap. But I remember my switch from flash to hype having a rather flat learning curve. Happy to help.
@grmon Ah, that sounded promising, but I don't have a Mac (realise that should have been in my initial list now). Will have a look at the others on the alternativeto site though, just in case...
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I have a question for a niche group of people.
The question is for people who have used Flash or Animate to make 2D animations.
Have you found alternative software that has the same overall user experience as old school Flash?
If yes, what is it?
Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there & I know a lot of them are great, but I have a LOT of experience in Flash & if I can ditch Animate but keep the overall experience that would be perfect.
Thanks.
@eclectech I wish I had answers for you. Any chance you were part of the Flashkit community back in the day?
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I just tried Krita for five minutes. I could not work out how to draw two shapes with a line connecting them. That's the thing I do most often in a vector-drawing tool. OmniGraffle 3 had a really nice magnet model, 6 made it worse but still okay.
@david_chisnall For vector drawing Inkscape is my go to tool.
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@eclectech
Then you understand the horrific touch of dread I had when I learned abput Apple's plans to make Logic and Final Cut subscription-based.@slowtiger It sucks doesn't it? You have my sympathies.
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@david_chisnall For vector drawing Inkscape is my go to tool.
@eLearningTechie The best I can say about Inkscape is that it works, but the UI is incredibly clunky and I spend so much time fighting it that I can't focus on what I'm trying to draw.
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@eclectech I've used Tumult's Hype https://tumult.com/hype/ as a replacement for Flash for web animations, and they have a free trial if you have a Mac. There is some overlap, though nothing quite matches Flash's old vector tools. The nice thing is you can easily mix and match bitmap and SVG components, and the output can be tweaked in a text editor if need be and it is all in basic web file formats.
@GiantGinkgo Damn, second recommendation for that, but I don't have a Mac (which I realise I should have stated up front - still it might be useful for others as it appears I'm not alone!)
Thanks though!
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@eLearningTechie The best I can say about Inkscape is that it works, but the UI is incredibly clunky and I spend so much time fighting it that I can't focus on what I'm trying to draw.
@david_chisnall @eLearningTechie The (sort of) funny thing there is that Inkscape has been recommended to me as an alternative to Illustrator, and my one overriding experience of Illustrator is that the UI without fail makes me want to bang my head on the wall.
Fortunately I have very rare need to use it, only ever if someone sent me a file in it.
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@eLearningTechie The best I can say about Inkscape is that it works, but the UI is incredibly clunky and I spend so much time fighting it that I can't focus on what I'm trying to draw.
@david_chisnall I agree and transitioning to it wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but I'm quite stubborn, so for me it's working out great. But we're all different. Luckily there are loads of tools out there to choose from.
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@eclectech I wish I had answers for you. Any chance you were part of the Flashkit community back in the day?
@ryan Aw, thanks. There have been a few leads to follow up at least.
I wasn't part of the Flashkit community - I think they might have been more technically adept than me (if memory serves)
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@eclectech
Yes, Moho handles bitmaps as easily as verctors. I even have characters which are part vector, part bitmap, or even video (mov).
The timeline will look instantly familiar.Feel free to ask me any question per mail, or directly in the Moho forum: https://lostmarble.net/forum/
@slowtiger This is definitely promising. Thanks.
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@david_chisnall I agree and transitioning to it wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but I'm quite stubborn, so for me it's working out great. But we're all different. Luckily there are loads of tools out there to choose from.
Sadly, there seem to be very few tools with a good UI.
OmniGraffle 3 was more or less feature complete for me (the one missing feature I want is still not in 6 Pro: export to SVG keeping each layer as an SVG layer). I want that because Sozi can make layers appear and disappear in animations. A clone of OmniGraffle 3 would make me very happy. Newer versions of the same app make me a bit less happy and the alternatives I've tried just make me sad.
