Creating User Interfaces From ActionScript

[Axonn]

Hi everybody. I'm working at a Flash Game but I want to add some listboxes and stuff via ActionScript. I tried using Components from Flash CS4 but that went terrible (bloats my SWC with resources and they are full of errors).

How can I achieve this otherwise?

NOTE: If there is any way to include that XML stuff Flex uses for building UI into an ActionScript project, I am looking forward to such solutions as well. However, I would prefer to stay 100% AS3.

Thank you in advance! ::- ).

[wvxvw]

ASWing... well, I really don't know which is worse :) Flex is bloated and ASWing is undercooked... Anyways... who needs standard-looking controls in the game? Do them yourself! :) Well, at least that's what I'm doing and I enjoy that part the most :)

* There're SPAS and Liquid Components that I know, but, I didn't try any of those and cannot tell how bad / good they are designed.

[Axonn]

Hey ::- D. Uh... so... external libraries, huh? Some Flex code anybody?

Hm... doing them myself is exactly what I don't have time for right now ::- (. I WOULD love it, but I'm in the final development stages with my game and I can't wait to release it.

[wvxvw]

OK, so... you see Flex components besides being abundant with features and all sorts of extra features and yet more effects and styles and what not skins are huge comparing to their purpose. Besides, they all create dependencies on one another and on almost 90% of other framework stuff. You may tweak the code to throw away redundant dependencies and cut off some fat by removing default styles and some other valuable methods like drawRoundedRectangleWithTopLeftStraightCorner() etc... but this, again, will cost you a lot of time and efforts and may not work in the end... and you will really have to know what you're doing...
Alternatively, you may embed the entire framework, it will make 200-500K (depends on SDK version) and use them quite safely... There shouldn't be a problem to use them in AS-only way because whatever is happening behind the MXML is the same AS. More yet, it's preferable to use AS and not MXML, because in the current state MXML compiler generates lots of redundant code...

[senocular]

If you're not using a lot of them, I'd say do them yourself. You'll get the best ROI in terms of file size savings then. If you have list boxes with scrolling content, it gets a little tricky, and may be at that point time to look into existing component libraries, but if you know what you're doing, and have the spare time to do it, its usually worth it.

[Axonn]

Heh. Senocular. I remember you from 6 years ago, when I this was the first Forum I registered on *laugh* ::- ). Hi.

wvxvw & senocular: thanks, I got it. So no Flex. I think I'll look closely into ASWing. I don't have the time to do the controls myself right now. Thanks for the tip! ::- )