Alchemy is going to shake things up a bit.  As witnessed before from Quake running in flash and now ODE compiled to run in flash using Alchemy (LLVM based). It is an early test but shows what could be possible.

Mihai Pricope has a post with sources on how he got the ODE (Open Dynamics Engine) a great open source physics engine for 3D, running on the AVM2 Flash Player virtual machine.

I’ve took Alchemy for a test and decided to compile ODE (Open Dynamic Engine). Just to add yet another physics engine to the Flash World. It was a hell of a ride but I finally got to produce some bouncing balls . For a still unknown reason some as 3d libraries have been very slow to render 6 translucent walls and 2 balls. Papervision3D seems to move quite decent.

You can download the ode sources from here. To recompile them do (you need to have the Alchemy environment turned on):

Flash 10 will become mainstream shortly and with that the possibilities of using Alchemy in your projects is becoming a reality for production.  But what specifically can you do with Alchemy, a project that helps to compile C/C++ code into AVM2 capable files?

Alchemy described from Adobe:

With Alchemy, Web application developers can now reuse hundreds of millions of lines of existing open source C and C++ client or server-side code on the Flash Platform.  Alchemy brings the power of high performance C and C++ libraries to Web applications with minimal degradation on AVM2.  The C/C++ code is compiled to ActionScript 3.0 as a SWF or SWC that runs on Adobe Flash Player 10 or Adobe AIR 1.5.

Alchemy is based on the LLVM Low Level Virtual Machine that allows new levels of code translation.  Maybe this can lead to more effective and performing code to run on the iPhone with flash player 10. Or some type of system that allows flash developers to code in AS3 or take projects and get them ready to run on the iPhone much like some of the Java to Cocoa compilation systems and Unity3D using mono to compile down to iPhone capable code.

The guys over at Flashbang Studios, a web game development studio in phoenix, az, and some of the most visible developers in the Unity3d space with Blurst, released something that may interest both FlashDevelop users and Unity3d developers.

UnityDevelop was released by Flashbang Studios recently and it is a modded version of FlashDevelop (originally from SharpDevelop a really nice open source .NET and mono IDE) and it supports intellisense for Javascript or Unity3d’s use of Javascript which is called UnityScript much like ActionScript.  UnityScript can be a little more strict and has access to all of Unity3d’s API calls just like C# and Boo in the mono based virtual machine that Unity3d uses.

FlashDevelop, is by far the best Flash / Flex /haXe IDE in my opinion so it is really great to release this for Unity.  I hope one day I or someone has the time to port to Mono so it can be used on Macs even with the 140 pinvokes, it would be a good spread mechanism for mono.

With Unity3d coming to windows soon, UnityDevelop could be a good go to IDE for unity if you aren’t using solely C# with VS.NET. Currently this is based on FlashDevelop2 source code.

Video Overview of UnityDevelop


UnityDevelop Walkthrough from Flashbang Studios on Vimeo.

Downloads

• Download UnityDevelop (2.9 MB)
• Source Code

Thanks flashbang!

Recently two compact tweening engines have been released. Grant Skinner’s GTweeny and laborat’s ByteTween. This adds to the two that focus on micro-tween kit sizes in TweenLite and TweensyZero

Basically these engines look to be micro and provide pretty nice features while being so small. Micro tweening engines like GTweeny (3k), ByteTween (1.7k), TweenLite (2.7k), TweensyZero (2.9k) and Tweener (9k) have varying levels of support of features (Tweener being the most loaded with color and filter support without other kits just init, also TweenLite with a nice configurator to include only what you need).  Micro kits have benefits when used for banners, animated assets (where you have many assets and the per asset savings is worthwhile) and other places you just want really small output.

Light Transition ByteTween

(1.7k)

This kit has a c# version as well as a small as3 bytetween version.

The ByteTween static class eats only 1.7K of compiled clip! With this size it supports:

• Creation of tweens of any numeric property (not color/uint properties).
• Pause,Unpause,Cancel operations based on the tween target and property.
• Overlap system that cancel tweens of same property in order to avoid erroneous behavior
• Alpha tween with negative alpha support (negative alpha sets the MovieClip visibility to false)
• ’scale’ tween of both ’scaleX’ and ’scaleY’ properties.
• OnComplete callback with any number of parameters
• Easy interface for creating new tweens!

Download light_transition_CS_0.5a.zip.zip (c# version)

Download thelab_ByteTween.zip

TweenLite

(2.7k) base

• SPEED – I’m not aware of any popular tweening engine with a similar feature set that’s as fast as TweenLite. See the speed comparisons yourself.
• Feature set – In addition to tweening ANY numeric property of ANY object, TweenLite can tween filters, hex colors, volume, tint, saturation, contrast, frames, and even do bezier tweening, plus LOTS more. TweenMax extends TweenLite and adds even more capabilities like pause/resume, rounding, event listeners, timeScale, and more. Overwrite management is an important consideration for a tweening engine as well which is another area where the GreenSock tweening platform shines. You have options for AUTO overwriting or you can manually define how each tween will handle overlapping tweens of the same object.
• Expandability – With its new plugin architecture, you can activate as many (or as few) features as your project requires. Or write your own plugin if you need a feature that’s unavailable. Minimize bloat, and maximize performance.
• Management features – TweenGroup makes it surprisingly simple to create complex sequences and groups of TweenLite/Max tweens that you can pause(), resume(), restart(), or reverse(). You can even tween a TweenGroup’s “progress” property to fastforward or rewind the entire group/sequence.
• Ease of use – Designers and Developers alike rave about how intuitive the GreenSock tweening platform is.
• Updates – Frequent updates and feature additions make the GreenSock tweening platform reliable and robust.
• AS2 and AS3 – Most other engines are only developed for AS2 or AS3 but not both.

Download TweenLite

TweensyZero

(2.9k) base

Here are some simple steps to help you get started with creating your first animations with TweensyZero. TweensyZero is a light weight version of Tweensy most core features found in Tweensy are available to TweensyZero. Documentation for TweensyZero can be found under the folder ‘documentation/zero’ or online

Download TweensyZero

gTweeny

(3k)

gTweeny is gTween‘s lightweight younger sibling. It strips a lot of the secondary features of GTween (proxy, timing modes, etc) in favour of smaller file size. It is currently under 3kb…

Download gTweeny

Here is a list of all open AS3 “Micro” Tweening engines < 5k

• ByteTween (1.7k)
• TweenLite (2.7k)
• TweensyZero (2.9k)
• gTweeny (3k)
  

Here is a list of all open AS3 Tweening engines and base kits

• Animation Package
• AS3 Animation System 2.1
• AS3Easing
• Go (base animation kit – create your own tween engine)
• gTween
  
• KitchenSync
• Twease
• Tweener (9k)
• Tweensy
• TweenLite (TweenMax)

The decision on which to use can be affected be features you want, how it feels (many use the same object syntax so it is dynamic), what performance do they have (all are orders of magnitude faster than the built in tween (flash) or transitions (mx/flex)), which size is ok, author/community support needed (some are more active than others adding features or simplifying and tweaking performance methodically), and many other factors.  There are definitely plenty to choose from.

Speed Tests for many Tween Engines

• Green Sock Tweening Comparison Tool
• Moses Benchmarking Tool (relative comparison against SimpleAS3Tween sample)

For more on each features see their sites or these previous lists on tweening engines:

• Updated: List of Best Animation Packages for AS3

Don’t know how I missed this but just this last month a new site has launched called wonderfl that allows quick as3 compilation side by side that is encouraged by community and similar to a demo scene.

This could be great for generating new ideas much like machima and demo scenes have done in the past.  This stype of stuff goes down with the flash community anyways but being able to do it on a site and fork and evolve scripts and game it is a great idea.

Effects with filters, bitmaps, pixel manipulation, pixel bender and papervision would benefit greatly from the type of innovation that could happen here quickly in small doses. See what you can throw down, maybe some fireworks.

The unity3d platform is about to realize about 900% or 9x more possible market for selling their wares and I believe will blow up with unity 2.5.  Unity3d 2.5 will bring a windows IDE and development environment to unity3d developers. Many game companies are heavily invested in Windows and having this option is breaking down a huge wall to get this development platform and engine into many new hands and companies.

The best part about unity 3d development is the hardware acceleration, the fantastic pipeline, the ability to publish desktop, web, mobile (iphone) and console (wii) is pretty amazing.  All using the powerful mono open source .net framework as a base.

Full update list:

Windows Editor Support

Unity 2.5 adds full support for Windows Vista and XP, with 100% feature parity and interoperability with Mac OS X. The Unity Editor has been rebuilt to look, feel, and function identically on both operating systems, each running the same underlying engine. The best part? Unity on either platform can build games for either platform — cross-platform in the truest sense.

A Whole New Look

Find the tools you need quickly and easily. The Play buttons are front and center, clearly visible and inviting you to play, test, and improve your work. And when you do, they light up, dimming the rest of the application, drawing your attention to the most important things in the play experience you’re creating.
Precise Navigation and Placement Tools

Improved Usability

Snap any object to customizable increments of position, scale, and rotation values. Drag objects around, clamped to any surface collision. Manipulate objects in local or world space. Use the new flythrough controls to get around easily. And did we mention the completely redesigned rotation tool?

3ds Max Importing

Drag and drop your .max files right into the Editor, including support for all skeletal based animation, multiple UVs, and vertex colors. Autodesk 3ds Max now joins the existing support for Maya, Blender, and all other 3D applications that integrate with the latest FBX plugin on the Windows platform.

Completely Customizable Editor

UnityGUI, Unity’s own GUI creation system, now powers the entire Editor and allows you to integrate your own unique level design tools, AI control tools, debugging tools, difficulty tuning tools, or anything else you need. Over 130 new API entry points enable you to create specialized, customized editor tools and build them into the existing Editor interface.

Tabbed Interface

We took cues from the best designed applications, and the rewritten editor has received dozens of improvements. The most visible change is the tabbed interface, where every part of the interface can be moved, undocked to a secondary monitor, and even stacked to achieve logical grouping.

Information at Your Fingertips

We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that you always have the info you need, when you need it. Model files have previews right inside the inspector. Audio Clips show their waveform with click-to-play behaviour. Meshes show the detailed rendering stats – and that’s just scratching the surface.

Adobe will essentially open up the RTMP protocol officially. RTMP has been used in other tools such as Red5 and haXe video for some time now.  But officially having it open will make it possible for more products built on it.  I am sure that most of this is to combat silverlight and to gain more video users that can play flash formats. RTMP spec will be posted here when ready.

RTMP provides an enhanced and efficient way to deliver rich content. Developers and companies will have free and open access to the documented RTMP specification to help enable unparalleled delivery of video, audio and data in the open AMF, SWF, FLV and F4V formats compatible with Adobe Flash Player.

Adobe has also been working on more real-time protocol tools based on UDP instead of TCP (which RTMP is based) that fall under RTMFP using ordered UDP that will be interesting to watch evolve.  Stratus is so far a sample of what is to come there.The UDP based real-time tools will be able to beat the capabilities of TCP based real-time  tools when using authoritative servers.

But with the RTMP announcement, multiuser and video applications should thrive even more with an open RTMP spec.

I use a SoundManager class for games and interactives that require it which I picked up at evolve by Matt Przybylski.  But I sometimes need to use Tweener rather than TweenLite depending on what the project uses already. So here is the class updated with Tweener.  Just grab the latest Tweener to work with this.  Sound is one of those things like tweening, it is easier to reuse code if everyone uses common libraries.

package game.util
{
	import caurina.transitions.properties.SoundShortcuts;
	import flash.media.Sound;
	import flash.media.SoundChannel;
	import flash.media.SoundLoaderContext;
	import flash.media.SoundTransform;
	import flash.net.URLRequest;
	import flash.utils.Dictionary;
	import flash.utils.getQualifiedClassName;
	import caurina.transitions.*;
	/**
	 * The SoundManager is a singleton that allows you to have various ways to control sounds in your project.
	 *
 
	 * The SoundManager can load external or library sounds, pause/mute/stop/control volume for one or more sounds at a time,
	 * fade sounds up or down, and allows additional control to sounds not readily available through the default classes.
	 *
 
	 * This class is dependent on TweenLite (http://www.tweenlite.com) to aid in easily fading the volume of the sound.
	 *
	 * @author Matt Przybylski [http://www.reintroducing.com]
	 * @version 1.0
	 *
	 * @author Ryan Christensen (http://drawlogic.com)
	 * @version 1.1 - added Tweener support and removed TweenLite support
	 */
	public class SoundManager
	{
//- PRIVATE & PROTECTED VARIABLES -------------------------------------------------------------------------
		// singleton instance
		private static var _instance:SoundManager;
		private static var _allowInstance:Boolean;
		private var _soundsDict:Dictionary;
		private var _sounds:Array;
//- PUBLIC & INTERNAL VARIABLES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
//- CONSTRUCTOR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
		// singleton instance of SoundManager
		public static function getInstance():SoundManager
		{
			if (SoundManager._instance == null)
			{
				SoundManager._allowInstance = true;
				SoundManager._instance = new SoundManager();
				SoundManager._allowInstance = false;
			}
			return SoundManager._instance;
		}
		public function SoundManager()
		{
			this._soundsDict = new Dictionary(true);
			this._sounds = new Array();
			if (!SoundManager._allowInstance)
			{
				throw new Error("Error: Use SoundManager.getInstance() instead of the new keyword.");
			}
		}
//- PRIVATE & PROTECTED METHODS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
//- PUBLIC & INTERNAL METHODS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
		/**
		 * Adds a sound from the library to the sounds dictionary for playing in the future.
		 *
		 * @param $linkageID The class name of the library symbol that was exported for AS
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound to be used when calling other methods on the sound
		 *
		 * @return Boolean A boolean value representing if the sound was added successfully
		 */
		public function addLibrarySound($linkageID:*, $name:String):Boolean
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				if (this._sounds[i].name == $name) return false;
			}
			var sndObj:Object = new Object();
			var snd:Sound = new $linkageID;
			sndObj.name = $name;
			sndObj.sound = snd;
			sndObj.channel = new SoundChannel();
			sndObj.position = 0;
			sndObj.paused = true;
			sndObj.volume = 1;
			sndObj.startTime = 0;
			sndObj.loops = 0;
			sndObj.pausedByAll = false;
			this._soundsDict[$name] = sndObj;
			this._sounds.push(sndObj);
			return true;
		}
		/**
		 * Adds an external sound to the sounds dictionary for playing in the future.
		 *
		 * @param $path A string representing the path where the sound is on the server
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound to be used when calling other methods on the sound
		 * @param $buffer The number, in milliseconds, to buffer the sound before you can play it (default: 1000)
		 * @param $checkPolicyFile A boolean that determines whether Flash Player should try to download a cross-domain policy file from the loaded sound's server before beginning to load the sound (default: false)
		 *
		 * @return Boolean A boolean value representing if the sound was added successfully
		 */
		public function addExternalSound($path:String, $name:String, $buffer:Number = 1000, $checkPolicyFile:Boolean = false):Boolean
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				if (this._sounds[i].name == $name) return false;
			}
			var sndObj:Object = new Object();
			var snd:Sound = new Sound(new URLRequest($path), new SoundLoaderContext($buffer, $checkPolicyFile));
			sndObj.name = $name;
			sndObj.sound = snd;
			sndObj.channel = new SoundChannel();
			sndObj.position = 0;
			sndObj.paused = true;
			sndObj.volume = 1;
			sndObj.startTime = 0;
			sndObj.loops = 0;
			sndObj.pausedByAll = false;
			this._soundsDict[$name] = sndObj;
			this._sounds.push(sndObj);
			return true;
		}
 
 
		/**
		 * Removes a sound from the sound dictionary.  After calling this, the sound will not be available until it is re-added.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound to remove
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function removeSound($name:String):void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				if (this._sounds[i].name == $name)
				{
					this._sounds[i] = null;
					this._sounds.splice(i, 1);
				}
			}
			delete this._soundsDict[$name];
		}
		/**
		 * Removes all sounds from the sound dictionary.
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function removeAllSounds():void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i &lt; this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				this._sounds[i] = null;
			}
			this._sounds = new Array();
			this._soundsDict = new Dictionary(true);
		}
		/**
		 * Plays or resumes a sound from the sound dictionary with the specified name.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound to play
		 * @param $volume A number from 0 to 1 representing the volume at which to play the sound (default: 1)
		 * @param $startTime A number (in milliseconds) representing the time to start playing the sound at (default: 0)
		 * @param $loops An integer representing the number of times to loop the sound (default: 0)
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function playSound($name:String, $volume:Number = 1, $startTime:Number = 0, $loops:int = 0):void
		{
			var snd:Object = this._soundsDict[$name];
			snd.volume = $volume;
			snd.startTime = $startTime;
			snd.loops = $loops;
			if (snd.paused)
			{
				snd.channel = snd.sound.play(snd.position, snd.loops, new SoundTransform(snd.volume));
			}
			else
			{
				snd.channel = snd.sound.play($startTime, snd.loops, new SoundTransform(snd.volume));
			}
			snd.paused = false;
		}
		/**
		 * Stops the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function stopSound($name:String):void
		{
			var snd:Object = this._soundsDict[$name];
			snd.paused = true;
			snd.channel.stop();
			snd.position = snd.channel.position;
		}
		/**
		 * Pauses the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function pauseSound($name:String):void
		{
			var snd:Object = this._soundsDict[$name];
			snd.paused = true;
			snd.position = snd.channel.position;
			snd.channel.stop();
		}
		/**
		 * Plays all the sounds that are in the sound dictionary.
		 *
		 * @param $useCurrentlyPlayingOnly A boolean that only plays the sounds which were currently playing before a pauseAllSounds() or stopAllSounds() call (default: false)
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function playAllSounds($useCurrentlyPlayingOnly:Boolean = false):void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				var id:String = this._sounds[i].name;
				if ($useCurrentlyPlayingOnly)
				{
					if (this._soundsDict[id].pausedByAll)
					{
						this._soundsDict[id].pausedByAll = false;
						this.playSound(id);
					}
				}
				else
				{
					this.playSound(id);
				}
			}
		}
		/**
		 * Stops all the sounds that are in the sound dictionary.
		 *
		 * @param $useCurrentlyPlayingOnly A boolean that only stops the sounds which are currently playing (default: true)
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function stopAllSounds($useCurrentlyPlayingOnly:Boolean = true):void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				var id:String = this._sounds[i].name;
				if ($useCurrentlyPlayingOnly)
				{
					if (!this._soundsDict[id].paused)
					{
						this._soundsDict[id].pausedByAll = true;
						this.stopSound(id);
					}
				}
				else
				{
					this.stopSound(id);
				}
			}
		}
		/**
		 * Pauses all the sounds that are in the sound dictionary.
		 *
		 * @param $useCurrentlyPlayingOnly A boolean that only pauses the sounds which are currently playing (default: true)
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function pauseAllSounds($useCurrentlyPlayingOnly:Boolean = true):void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				var id:String = this._sounds[i].name;
				if ($useCurrentlyPlayingOnly)
				{
					if (!this._soundsDict[id].paused)
					{
						this._soundsDict[id].pausedByAll = true;
						this.pauseSound(id);
					}
				}
				else
				{
					this.pauseSound(id);
				}
			}
		}
		/**
		 * Fades the sound to the specified volume over the specified amount of time.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 * @param $targVolume The target volume to fade to, between 0 and 1 (default: 0)
		 * @param $fadeLength The time to fade over, in seconds (default: 1)
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function fadeSound($name:String, $targVolume:Number = 0, $fadeLength:Number = 1):void
		{
			var fadeChannel:SoundChannel = this._soundsDict[$name].channel;
			SoundShortcuts.init();
			Tweener.addTween(fadeChannel, { _sound_volume: $targVolume, time: $fadeLength, transition:"linear" } );
			//TweenLite.to(fadeChannel, $fadeLength, {volume: $targVolume});
		}
		/**
		 * Mutes the volume for all sounds in the sound dictionary.
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function muteAllSounds():void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				var id:String = this._sounds[i].name;
				this.setSoundVolume(id, 0);
			}
		}
		/**
		 * Resets the volume to their original setting for all sounds in the sound dictionary.
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function unmuteAllSounds():void
		{
			for (var i:int = 0; i < this._sounds.length; i++)
			{
				var id:String = this._sounds[i].name;
				var snd:Object = this._soundsDict[id];
				var curTransform:SoundTransform = snd.channel.soundTransform;
				curTransform.volume = snd.volume;
				snd.channel.soundTransform = curTransform;
			}
		}
		/**
		 * Sets the volume of the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 * @param $volume The volume, between 0 and 1, to set the sound to
		 *
		 * @return void
		 */
		public function setSoundVolume($name:String, $volume:Number):void
		{
			var snd:Object = this._soundsDict[$name];
			var curTransform:SoundTransform = snd.channel.soundTransform;
			curTransform.volume = $volume;
			snd.channel.soundTransform = curTransform;
		}
		/**
		 * Gets the volume of the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return Number The current volume of the sound
		 */
		public function getSoundVolume($name:String):Number
		{
			return this._soundsDict[$name].channel.soundTransform.volume;
		}
		/**
		 * Gets the position of the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return Number The current position of the sound, in milliseconds
		 */
		public function getSoundPosition($name:String):Number
		{
			return this._soundsDict[$name].channel.position;
		}
		/**
		 * Gets the duration of the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return Number The length of the sound, in milliseconds
		 */
		public function getSoundDuration($name:String):Number
		{
			return this._soundsDict[$name].sound.length;
		}
		/**
		 * Gets the sound object of the specified sound.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return Sound The sound object
		 */
		public function getSoundObject($name:String):Sound
		{
			return this._soundsDict[$name].sound;
		}
		/**
		 * Identifies if the sound is paused or not.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return Boolean The boolean value of paused or not paused
		 */
		public function isSoundPaused($name:String):Boolean
		{
			return this._soundsDict[$name].paused;
		}
		/**
		 * Identifies if the sound was paused or stopped by calling the stopAllSounds() or pauseAllSounds() methods.
		 *
		 * @param $name The string identifier of the sound
		 *
		 * @return Number The boolean value of pausedByAll or not pausedByAll
		 */
		public function isSoundPausedByAll($name:String):Boolean
		{
			return this._soundsDict[$name].pausedByAll;
		}
//- EVENT HANDLERS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//- GETTERS &amp; SETTERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
		public function get sounds():Array
		{
			return this._sounds;
		}
//- HELPERS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
		public function toString():String
		{
			return getQualifiedClassName(this);
		}
//- END CLASS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	}
}

SWFAddress 2.2 has been released.  SWFAddress is pretty much THE solution for deep linking in flash and works greatly in combo with THE embedding solution into (X)HTML/Javascript for flash SWFObject.

The new SWFAddress has just arrived after seven months of active development, various contributions and lots of positive feedback from the community. The list of changes includes the following:

• Refactored JavaScript implementation
• New SWFAddress.swc AS3 component
• New CS4 based Splash screen sample
• New Digg API sample
• New up() method for easier deep linking path navigation
• New XSS protection that doesn’t affect special characters
• Support for Internet Explorer 8
• Support for custom HTTP status messages in the SEO sample
• Improved title handling
• Improved unload event handling for IE
• Updated Rails sample
• Fixed getBaseURL() for AS3
• Fixed Safari 2.0-2.0.3 support
• Build-in fix for the Firefox 3/Mac OSX blinking effect
• Additional onLoad fix for application/xml content type
• Fixed optional options parameter for the popup method
• Cross platform build script
• Various optimizations

I believe that this new version is pretty stable and won’t require an update soon. There are two known Safari bugs (19202 and 20355) that currently affect the project and we can only hope that they will make it’s way into the next major release of the browser.

SWFAddress has grown significantly in the last two years and it’s very likely that we’re going to provide a lite version for users who need just the basic functionality. Very soon the same API will become available for Silverlight and we’re also scheduling the development of a jQuery plugin.

• Post about the release
• Download SWFAddress 2.2

I have mentioned before that flash to unity3d communication is a key part of game development for the web now where you are using Unity3D as a higher end renderer and some of your other page elements might be flash. Now there is a new open source kit for this called u3dobject.

To get Flash and Unity3D to talk to one another in an HTML/XHTML page is pretty simple with javascript and with the internal Unity3D Application object and the ExternalInterface in Flash.  But there are lots of elements of that communication that can be consolidated and reused so you don’t have to recreate that over and over.  Various studios and programmers come up with their own kits but when it becomes a shared activity to get the best integration and make it more of a platform that is where things like swfobject, swfaddress and u3dobject come in.

So far swfobject is the standard for flash html embedding and unityObject is a similar take (but a bit dated) on that but now we have u3dObject that is open as well and a more official open source project for unity3D <–> flash integration and test harnesses for development when those two technologies are used together.

Unity3D <-> Flash Embedding Info:

• u3dobject hosted at google code
• Older unityobject from unity3d wiki (outdated)
• Recent post on the same topic and some examples from Paul Tondeur
• ExternalInterface for Flash
• Unity Web Player and browser communication

Unity3D is a great platform for developing 3d games where you need hardware acceleration beyond what Flash 3d can give you for the web.

There are lots of great independent gaming companies and web gaming companies realizing this and here in the #phx Arizona market a few good ones including Flashbang Studios on their Unity3D gaming site Blurst. I have been developing Unity3D for about 6 months and it is great where you want 3d environments over 2000 polys for the web.  The power of 3d hardware rendering on the web combined with a great development environment is making it possible to make really fun games with unity3d.

Unity3D Games Released Recently

Flashbang recently released Minotaur China Shop to add to their Blurst.com site of Unity3D games and community. They detailed the launch day at their blog.  It is a pretty fun game and once you get further into the game design with different paths, selling products or thrashing your china shop for insurance and strategic upgrades it has legs to keep interest.

Minotaur China Shop Trailer

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2474951[/vimeo]

There are lots of great Unity 3d games out there here is a list of the best of 2008:

• AXE – Billions
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• AXE – Dark Temptation
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• Banzai Ball
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• Beijing Conspiration
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• Chicken Target
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• Circuit Defenders
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• Colony Defender
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• Downhill Bowling
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• Feist
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• Flip Sorter
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• Hordes of Orcs
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• IndieRiffs
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• Jeecheereen1
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• Jetpack Brontosaurus
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• Laka Game Show
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• Lander Commander
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• Lies and Seductions
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• Manta
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• Mars Explorer
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• Nuddz
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• Oddball
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• Off-Road Velociraptor Safari
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• Outpost
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• Pirates n Dragons
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• Project Cloudwitch
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• RastaMonkey
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• Seamulator
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• Sperm Racer
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• Sphaira
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• Super Splashdown
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• Super Volei Brasil
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• Tag Ball
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• Traces of Illumination
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• Tumbledrop
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• Turret Master
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• Turtle Trap
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• Vimto Jetski
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• Widget TD
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[source]