Another Height Map experiment – subtly different from the wireframe. The wireframe is visually more interesting, perhaps, but this one is more beautiful.

Click the image to run the simulation.

Click the image to launch the experiment.

This is an earlier experiment which I have re-posted in order to test some new TextPattern functionality. Well, new to me, anyway. I want to have my Flash experiments plugged into my blogging software, and at the same time have them appear in a minimal interface which allows for movies of any arbitrary size. I also wanted to have comments enabled for the experiments. So over the next little while there will be several experiments – some old, some new – posted here, in order to, at long last, enter them officially into the site.

Click the image to launch the experiment.

This is a thing which I suppose I have been working on for almost a year and a half: An isometric view, rotating height map created only using the built-in capabilities of Flash 9. Well, I have been kicking the idea around for a year and a half. I began to build something out in Flash 8 late last summer, but as soon as the new plug-in was released, it stopped working. This new version I built from scratch in about a week.

Click on the above screenshot to see it in action. Warning: It is quite processor intensive. It won’t crash your computer, but you will probably hear all of the fans kick on. And the file is less than 2k in size.

Click here to launch the experiment.

I figured out how to implement double buffering in Flash this morning, and this is the result: 500 particles, with transparency and a blur filter.

If this seems to run slow, click on the headline to this article to open the Flash movie in a page where it isn’t competing for resources with the other experiments.

Click here to launch the experiment.

This is 100 particles following a simple curve formula. Anything repeated 100 times is going to be kind of interesting.

Clicky

Here it is. My first real experiment in Flash 9.

Click to play.

Because, first and foremost, Flash is a trip toy.

Code for this experiment here:

package {
 import flash.display.*;
 import flash.events.Event;
 import flash.geom.*;
 import flash.filters.BlurFilter;
 public class BitmapRotate2 extends Sprite {
 private var _graphic:PolyStar;
 private var _graphic2:PolyStar;
 private var _bitmap:BitmapData;
 private var _image:Bitmap;
 private var _m:Matrix;
 private var _blurFilter:BlurFilter;
 private var xSpeed:Number = .9;
 private var ySpeed:Number = 1.1;
 public function BitmapRotate2() {
 _graphic = new PolyStar(0,0,7,false,50,30,0,0xff0000,100,0x0000ff,100);
 _m = _graphic.transform.matrix;
 _blurFilter = new BlurFilter();
 addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,registerStage);
 }
 public function registerStage(event:Event) {
 if(stage) {
 removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,registerStage);
 _graphic.x = 0
 _graphic.y = 0;
 _bitmap = new BitmapData(stage.stageWidth,stage.stageHeight,true,0xff000000);
 _image = new Bitmap(_bitmap);
 _m = _graphic.transform.matrix;
 _graphic2 = new PolyStar(stage.stageWidth/2,stage.stageHeight/2,9,true,stage.stageWidth/2-20,stage.stageWidth/6,0,0xff0000,100,0xff0000,0);
 addChild(_image);
 addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,onEnterFrame);
 }
 }
 private function onEnterFrame(event:Event) {
 _graphic.rotation+=5;
 _graphic.x = mouseX;
 _graphic.y = mouseY;
 _m = _graphic.transform.matrix;
 _bitmap.draw(_graphic,_graphic.transform.matrix);
 _bitmap.draw(_graphic2,_graphic2.transform.matrix);
 _bitmap.applyFilter(_bitmap,_bitmap.rect,new Point(),_blurFilter);
 }
 }
 }

The “PolyStar” class is here:

package {
 import flash.display.Shape
 public class PolyStar extends Shape{
 public function PolyStar($x:Number,$y:Number,$points:Number,$vertical:Boolean,$outerRad:Number,$innerRad:Number,$lineW:Number,$lineC:Number,$lineA:Number,$bgC,$bgA:Number) {
 var points:Number = $points*2;
 var angleDelta:Number = (Math.PI*2 / points);
 var angle:Number = 0;
 var anglex:Number = 0;
 var angley:Number = 0;
 graphics.lineStyle($lineW,$lineC,$lineA);
 if(typeof($bgC)=="number") {
 graphics.beginFill($bgC,$bgA);
 } else {
 graphics.beginGradientFill($bgC.type,$bgC.colors,$bgC.alphas,$bgC.ratios,$bgC.matrix);
 }
 if($vertical != true) {
 graphics.moveTo($outerRad,0);
 } else {
 graphics.moveTo(//change orientation of polygon
 Math.cos(angle + (angleDelta/2)) * $outerRad,
 Math.sin(angle + (angleDelta/2)) * $outerRad
 );
 }
 for(var i=0;i<points;i++) br=""> angle += angleDelta;
 var temp:Number = (i%2) ? $outerRad: $innerRad;
 if($vertical != true) {
 anglex = Math.cos(angle) * temp;
 angley = Math.sin(angle) * temp;
 } else {//change orientation of polygon
 anglex = Math.cos(angle + (angleDelta/2)) * temp;
 angley = Math.sin(angle + (angleDelta/2)) * temp;
 }
 graphics.lineTo(anglex,angley);
 }
 x = $x;
 y = $y;
 }
 }
 }

Enjoy!