I have a question for a niche group of people.

[eclectech@things.uk]

@Lizette603_23 No plans to go anywhere

[david_chisnall@infosec.exchange]

@eclectech

Please note I am aware of a lot of animation packages out there

Are you aware of any open-source animation packages that do even a half-arsed job of doing what Flash could do in the late '90s (simple vector drawing, keyframe-based animations)? Ideally ones that can export to something viewable in a browser.

I miss Flash.

[czarbucks@vmst.io]

@eclectech

I hope someone has a good answer for you, as this sounds like my experience with every single thing I've done with software over most of my life.

I know how to use this, it does what I want, it becomes crap, I have to find something else, and I don't want to re-learn it, ad infinitum.

We want you to continue liking making your animations, too!

[jill@mastodon.de]

@eclectech @slowtiger Probably obvious, sorry gotta ask. Are you talking about a software named Flash?

[eclectech@things.uk]

@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.

[elearningtechie@mas.to]

@david_chisnall @eclectech I don't know how https://friction.graphics compares to Flash or Animate as I've not used Flash in the last two decades and have never used Animate. I rarely do animation work, but have dabbled with Friction on occasion. It's pretty feature rich, but documentation could be better.

[eclectech@things.uk]

@jill @slowtiger Yes, back in the day it was Macromedia Flash, then Adobe bought it, then Apple killed it, and it persists as software called Animate which is great, but owned by Adobe & expensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash

[naturemc@mastodon.online]

@eclectech tagging #askFedi #Flash #Animate to perhaps attract a few more nerds here who can recommend alternatives to you.

[troublewithwords@wandering.shop]

@eclectech Watching this closely. Been looking for exactly this for years.

[eclectech@things.uk]

@eLearningTechie I'll add that to the ones to take a peek at, ta.

btw Krita looked possible in the first instance @david_chisnall but the vector element seemed lacking for animation tweening.

[eclectech@things.uk]

@troublewithwords Yeah, I've stuck with Animate because I needed other Adobe stuff for my work, but I think I could replace everything else now and would love to find a replacement.

[dreddie@social.vivaldi.net]

@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.

[grmon@chaos.social]

@eclectech I remember @toonboom and @hypeapp and did you check: https://alternativeto.net/software/adobe-flash

[elearningtechie@mas.to]

@eclectech @david_chisnall Yes, I'd agree. I love Krita for drawing/painting but the animation side seems more confusing than it needs to be IMO. I don't know if there are plugins or add-ons that make it more useful. I kinda gave up and focused on Friction for animations.

[eclectech@things.uk]

@NatureMC Thanks!

[eclectech@things.uk]

@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.

[david_chisnall@infosec.exchange]

@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.

[giantginkgo@mstdn.party]

@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.

[slowtiger@berlin.social]

@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@things.uk]

@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!