What a strange request!?!

[ian27]

I created another Flash intro for a client this week. I've done the usual Flash optimisation stuff to keep the file size as small as possible and created a preloader to help dial-up users.

The client is running a fast broadband connection and they can hardly see the preloader as the file size is only about 150k. So they have asked me to INCREASE the file size so they can see the preloader for longer. Have you ever heard anything as absurd before? I can't believe it, and of course I'm not willing to do it.

Unbelievable!?!

Ian

 

[Giaguara]

Hah. Actually sites that sell DSL and T1 connections might want to ask something like that.

Like some magazines and newspapers. Add more pages, more stuff but not really more content.

Hopefully they want also to pay you more.

 

[TommyWillB]

So I'm assuming the preloader simply says something like "please wait..."

Maybe you can put a delay of a few seconds before showing this so that DSL folks won't see it at all.

Maybe you can do something to determine how fast the main movie is loading and only show the "please wait..." text if it is going to be more than 15 seconds.

The point here is that I can imagine how a quick flash of unreadable text would be disconcerting. So if you can make it not do that, then maybe you'll solve their "problem".

The trick is always to understand the problem that a client is proposing a solution to vs. understanding the solution itself.

 

[ian27]

Thanks guys. No, the preloader has a small loading bar. I had to make other adjustments to it this afternoon which has increased the file size by a further 80k, so this may sort the problem anyway.

It is always a difficult dilemma to play with because I could simply stream the whole thing but then dial-up users get blips and stutters in performance if it streams quicker than their connection speed. Finding the balance can be tricky.

Ian

 

[Pardus]

why not have the preloader visual a separate movie clip that just plays out at a speed they can see based on frame rate from a small counter variable and loaded bytes. you set the counter to increase by one and loop the action and then have if statements to see if say 20% has loaded and the counter has reached 20 then advance.... and so on for 40%, 60%, 80% and a hundred. there are lots of ways to do this but this is one.
example.



here is a sample of code on frame 2 of Scene 1:
the actual preloader clip is on frame 1 of layer 2 and spans to frame 3

counter=counter+1;
loadedbytes = getBytesLoaded();
totalbytes = getBytesTotal();
loadedkbytes = Math.ceil(loadedbytes/1000);
totalkbytes = Math.ceil(totalbytes/1000);
frame = int(loadedbytes/(totalbytes/100));
if (frame >20 && counter==20) {
preloader.gotoAndStop(2);
} else if (frame >40 && counter==40) {
preloader.gotoAndStop(3);
} else if (frame >60 && counter==60) {
preloader.gotoAndStop(3);
} else if (frame >80 && counter==80) {
preloader.gotoAndStop(4);
} else if (frame >100 && counter==100) {
nextScene();
}

//Frame 3
gotoAndPlay(2);