Here:

http://friendsofed.com/download.html?isbn=14302…

Where did you read it?

When I try and run the FLA file of No Tanks in Flash IDE CS3, I get these 5 errors, all in Main.as:
Line 16 , 1017: The definition of base class GameFrameWork was not found. Line 46, 1020: Method marked override must override another method. Line, 110 1020: Method marked override must override another method.Line 115, 1020: Method marked override must override another method. override public function systemNewGame():void { Line 1, 5000: The class ‘com.efg.games.notanks.Main’ must subclass ‘flash.display.MovieClip’ since it is linked to a library symbol of that type.

It’s got to be the class path. Do you have the classes/ path included?

Dear 8bitrocket,
After getting the code in chapter 2 working I went next to chapter 4, Flakcannon, and downloaded the files into a new project. I am using the free FlashDevelop/Flex3 system on Windows 7. I have a problem with the assets.
In the book p.144 the instructions are,

”To use those (assets) in the Flex version we have to simply publish the SWF (with a new name, flakassets.swf) and place it in an assets folder in the src directory of our FlashDevelop/Flex project (src/com/efg/games/flakcannon/assets).”

What does it mean to ‘publish’ the SWF in FlashDevelop?

I put the downloaded ‘assets’ folder in the above path, hit ctrl Enter, and the compiler gives me Adobe actionscript error 1065, variable not defined, for each asset. Looks like the compiler can’t find them.
Inside the assets folder, with the actual .gif and .wav files, is flakassets.swf. Is this the ‘published’ file? I right click this .swf, click add to library, and still no luck. Have I put the assets in the wrong place?

Any help is great appreciated

Dear 8bitjeff,
I thought of a workaround for my difficulty using the assets in chapters 4 & 5 Flakcannon. Reading chapter 10, I like the idea of being Flash IDE free like you talk about on page 427.
1) I convert the flakcannon .wav files to .mp3
2) I place the .mp3 files and the .gif files into the assets folder.
3) I place the assets folder inside the flexSDK folder as per directory structure on page 429.
4) I take out all of the Embeds and put them into a Library.as file.
5) I change the Embeds (for example)
from
[Embed(source = "assets/flakassets.swf", symbol = "PlaneGif")]
private var PlaneGif:Class;
to
[Embed(source = "../../../../../assetsplane.gif")]
public static const PlaneGif:Class;
6) I add Library.as to the flakcannon project tree.
7) I hit ctrl Enter and in my imagination the build succeeds and I get Flakcannon running.

Will this work? I will try it this weekend, but if it is wrong I would rather you let me know so I don’t go on a wild goose chase
thanks

Dear 8bitjeff,
With a little agonizing I was successful in getting Flak Cannon working!! Thank you for some great code. My problems with using .swf for assets were worth it, because using the chapter 10 method now I can roll my own assets, as you say IDE free.
You can have my altered code if you like, as it now makes chapter 4 & 5 Flak Cannon plug and play for pure FlashDevelop/Flex3 developers, as long as they follow the chapter 10 directory structure.
My only problem outside of your code for the assets, was to realize I had to go into FlashDevelop to
Project->Properties->Compiler Options and change static link RSL from false to true, click Apply, and click OK!! This was essential in getting the program to run.

Again, thanks for some great code. You guys have made a really cool book. I will be spending the next few weeks monkeying around with your code, changing things, teaming up with an old artist friend to make our own game.

You need to upgrade to the newest newest version of Flash Player 10.1. Adobe has a reoccurring bug with the BitMap collision detection routines.

OK, I’m going to need some time to check this one out. I don’t have Windows 7 on any machines yet. Sorry about this. It seems like 10.1 has some odd incompatibilities. I wonder if the introduced the old 10.1 bug from the Mac into the Windows 7 version.

Can you tell me if this one works:
http://www.8bitrocket.com/2010/03/16/flak-cannon-essential-flash-games-book-demo-2010/

That’s not a bug actually, it works just like Missile Command, except Missile Command end s the level immediately. It’s noted in the book.

OK, I have confirmed that this now does not work again in the stand-alone player. However, please test it outside of the Flash IDE in the published HTML page, or by right-clicking on the .swf and running it in a browser. It should, at least, load-up and not die right away.

Btw I checked the file link you posted on the adobe forum and it links to http://www.8bitrocket.com/book.flakcannon_help.zip with the following information:

Not Found

Apologies, but the page you requested could not be found. Perhaps searching will help.

This is the one you created with CS5, right?

I just created this new FlakCannon.as class that removed the bitmap data hit test and replaces it with a regular hitTestObject(). Can you try to use this one:
http://www.8bitrocket.com/book/flakcannon.as.zip

Great. that means it’s that hitTest with bitmaps and hopefully Adobe can help. One question. Where did you get that original FlakCannon.as file?

I commented the other day that I was having trouble in Chapter 2 of The Essential Guide to Flash Games. So, today I went through and retyped everything in and now I no longer get the 2032 stream error I was getting when I go to test movie in FlashDevelop and so that is good. The bad news is that I still can’t get the game to work. I get an swf file, but it is just a blank light blue screen. I tested it outside of the Flash Develop environment and it is still just a blank light blue screen, but with a small right box in it. When the box is clicked it disappears, but clicking more times does nothing.

I case my project folder pathways are the trouble Here is what I’ve got:

source/projects/stubgame/flexSDK/bin
lib
obj
src/com/efg/games/stubgame
Inside the stubgame folder there are 3 files:
Main.as
StubGame.as
Main.mxml

Is this the way these are supposed to be set up?

If you don’t think it is my pathway then is it something in my code? Because I was having so much trouble I downloaded the code for your book and copied and pasted that into my files. I didn’t see any code for the Main.as and the Stubgame.as and so I typed that out myself and saved it in the pathway shown above.

I’ve got 10 classes
BasicScreen.as
CustomEventButtonId.as
CustomEventLevelScreenUpdate.as
CustomEventScoreBoardUpdate.as
FrameWorkStates.as
Game.as
GameFrameWork.as
ScoreBoard.as
SideBySideScoreElement.as
SimpleBlitButton.as

set up in the folder structure you outlined in the book. Am I missing a class?

I am not an experienced programmer and am new to actionscript 3 and the flash develop environment, but I did take programming in C in college and got an A and so I’m not totally new to programming. However, I’m new enough that I might miss a typo in the book (or in my own typing of the code) that more experienced programmers might catch. I don’t want to give up, but I’ve already spent a long time on this and don’t know what to do next.

The game builds just fine. The problem is that there is nothing there in the swf other than a light blue background.

Thanks

Thanks Steve. I’m thinking that it is probably something in my code, but I’m not sure what it is. I think if I ever get the game framework up and running that I’ll be able to figure out problems in the games in the rest of the book myself. I would’ve started with a book for beginners to Actionscript 3 and flash, but your book is the ONLY book I know of that tells game programmers how to program games with Flashdevelop and the FlexSDK. All other game programming books assume you have several hundred dollars to buy the Flash program.

Of course we also assume you have $40.00 to buy a book! Oops!

Hello,
I have a weird question but I was trying to make a game based a lot on flak cannon and I can’t get my player icon to respond to to the keyboard without first pressing the mouse button. I was wondering if it was a problem in the game framework somewhere and if anyone else has heard of a problem like this. Thanks, Bill E.

Bill,
I have not heard this one yet. However, it sounds like an issue with focus and the web browser. Do you have any other mouse clicks before the user starts playing? Also, have you tried the wmode=window parameter in the Flash embed in the HTML?

So, is this happening in a projector, or when it is in a web page?

I just got it working by trying to create it after No Tanks! instead. I used the this.focusRect = false; and stage.focus = this; I don’t even know why this works but I’m glad it works now. Maybe if you have time you could tell me why it works or I could just research it on my own. Thanks for your replies. -Bill

Dereki1,

Send the files to info@8bitrocket.com. We’d be happy to showcase your game.

-Steve