Flash...running...slow

[stripedretrospe]

Hey everyone. I need to know how to make my Flash movies run smoothly and quickly. Help please.

Thanks

[devil]

:) btw strange question...

I think you want to increase the frame rate...right? that's quite easy, u can change that from "doc properties", alternate way is to finda a small window below the timeline were fps is indicated!
default fps is 12
change that to 40 or smth like that...

[stripedretrospe]

Not my problem actually. The thing is that the movie plays skippily ?skippy? whatever. The FPS is up in the 30s , but I was more looking for a way to conserve memory? make this movie RUN SMOOTH!

[devil]

duno what u mean...
:) hope u'll find more competent answer :)

good luck

[stripedretrospe]

I need to know how to lower the amount of bandwidth that my site will suck up on user's computers. Please help me.

[emergency_pants]

There are several reasons why your movie might not run smoothly.

Your users may not have enough system memory, which is what you are saying, as I see it. I've never found this to be a problem, even on larger projects. It's an unlikely reason for bad playback, imo. What sort of movie is it? Video and sound? or just graphics?

Another problem might be that you are drawing and animating too many vector shapes simultaneously. This is a processor/screen draw problem and you can smooth things out by replacing complex, moving vector shapes with bitmap images. I usually use png files in these instances. They have transparency and compress well. Vector shapes can be very efficient when used in moderation, but put 50 complex animated shapes, with text and transparency and even a high-end PC will have trouble. It's as much a Flash Player problem as it is a PC problem too, as far as I am aware.

Another reason for jerky playback is too many transarency. _alpha fades are notoriously slow when fading large or many movieclips. If possible, tween fade using the tint option, rather than the alpha option. This requires a uniform background.

Apart from that I can't think of anything else. Avoid alpha fades and transparency. Reduce the complexity of vector shapes and replace complex vector shapes with png symbols. Reduce the amount of grdients. Reduce the size of the stage. Don't go too over the top with the frame rate... 32 is my ceiling and I usually don't go over 24fps.

hope that helps.

[stripedretrospe]

Thanks for the suggestions, Simon. I have yet to try them (just read your post) I will though. I'll keep you posted on the success of this operation. If you care, doubt you do. Thanks again.

Keegan