Thanks so much @develephant. So what editor and toolset and workflow do you find works best and what kind of apps are you building ? I’m like Wise Old Frog - mainly graphics centred kids apps - trying to get the most efficient workflow. Still getting used to Lua (after many years of OO heavy Java and AS3)
Hi @jonsij and @develephant.
I’ve been using Flash 8 on an old Windows XP machine and it’s a great tool. Love the way you can pull lines around and add shadows and fills plus it’s ability to animate is all you’ll ever need for most purposes. I am trying out the new cloud CC version and it’s a bit alien to me - don’t like the dark panels! I highly recommend Chris Georgenes book ‘How To Cheat in Adobe Flash CS6.’
I might invest in the Adobe Cloud for one year - when my cashflow is sorted. It’s around £47pm but you have access to the latest Photoshop, Illustrator…the lot! I mentioned Inkscape which is a powerful FREE vector graphics tool, and, though not as good as Illustrator, it can do some good stuff in expert hands.
I would like to know what 3rd party development tools you could recommend for me - not graphic creation tools. I understand Corona SDK is not an IDE and so i am unsure how to design scenes without a scene editor. Having to constantly test in the simulator will not work. Is there any tool that allows me to drag sprites and backgrounds onto say scene 1 and get everything pixel perfect before testing?
@develephant, i have been learning AS3.0 with the intention of building AIR apps, before finally stumbling across Corona. What were your main reasons for moving away from AIR? I’ve seen some really nice looking children’s books apps created with it like Babel, The Cat Who Would Be King and Apolline and Leon to name a few.
Hi jonsij and Wise Old Toad,
As far as toolset, I currently use:
Sublime Text with Corona Editor plugin
Photoshop (offline version)
Sublime Text is a little difficult to get into, I started with Lua Glider, which is better at project management in my opinion, so it’s a good option if you’re just starting out. But you can use Sublime Text free, with a nag screen every so often. I ended up purchasing the full version though, as it’s nice for other coding as well.
If you are looking to make storybooks, I have used Kwik, which is an amazing Photoshop plugin that exports out to Corona. They also have a product called Kutt, which may aid in more pixel perfect output, I have not used it though. I don’t think they will work with the Adobe online versions.
Generally, I choose a base screen size, develop UI and elements in PS, and the just start throwing graphics into Corona and edit the numbers on the fly. Refreshing Corona takes literally a second. You can also set it to automatically refresh when an element changes. The main thing you will need to understand is how Corona works with dynamic scaling. It’s also imperative that you use the Composer library to build out your application/scene framework. The Corona University section is a fantastic resource to just browse through. I also recommend going through the example files that come with the Corona install, you can find them in the installation folder.
You’ll need to throw out any ideas about OOP and redefine them within the Lua language. The nice thing about Lua is that there is a lot of freedom to “roll your own” type of framework, of course that can also be a growing pain as well. I won’t kid you, it took a very concentrated effort to move from AS3 to Lua. But I don’t regret it one bit. I do miss some functionality of AS3, but it has been only a couple of items overall. If you want to look an one example of OOP in Lua, I wrote a blog piece you can find here.
As far as why I moved away from AIR was mostly due to device compatibly and ease of use. Though it may not be obvious at first, Corona takes the headache out of dealing with the multitude of devices in the marketplace. The libraries Corona provides are always relevant to what developers need most and incredibly easy to implement. The community is top-notch as well. If you are using a paid version you also get access to daily builds which add and address functionality at a speed which AIR is not capable of. And honestly, coding in Lua and Corona is just plain fun for the most part. You get into the action real quick, so you’re focusing on your game/app, not all the coding needed for a simple interaction.
Is Lua/Corona for everyone? Most certainly not. And I think it’s even harder when coming from AS3, which is an outstanding language. The choice will come down to how much you want to “unlearn” your current coding practices in exchange for a more agile and bleeding-edge framework.
I hope that helps answer some of your questions. Happy coding.
Cheers.
Wow @develephant - that’s a comprehensive reply. Thanks for your time. Just checked out your website too … looks like a lot of really good info on there - great work !
Many thanks @develephant for your time and effort in answering.
I have bookmarked your website for later on. I look forward to learning Corona SDK and realise the the uphill journey has only just begun. I shall continue to use Photoshop and Flash for all my graphics. But i think it’s best i abort AS 3.0 as i begin to learn Lua and the Corona APi libraries. I have been struggling with actionscript and hope i find this language easier - i am after all, a typical right-brained creative.
Thanks again and look forward to future forum chats