3D Flower - Page 12

The TouchUps

Now that the methods are all done, there is very little coding to be done.

1. First, we need some variables that will change every time the frame is loaded. You will know what each of them does in the upcoming steps. Copy the following line and add it to the first frame's actionscript:

   var ax, ay, az, oldx, oldy, bx, by, bz, nu;

2. Now, if you can't see the timeline, press the Tabkey once to hide all panels.
3. Select the 2nd frame of the Scripts layer by clicking on it.
4. Press Tab key again to see the actions panel.
5. Copy the following code and paste it into the 2nd frame's actionscripts:

   rotx = (oldy-_ymouse)/2;
   roty = (oldx-_xmouse)/2;
   oldx = _xmouse;
   oldy = _ymouse;
   
   
   ax += rotx;
   ay += roty;
   
   
   ay += by;
   ax += bx;
   az += bz;
   
   
   bx = 0;
   by = 0;
   bz = 0;
   
   
   rotate(ax, ay, az);
   
   
   ax++;
   ay++;
   az++;
   
   
   if (ax>360) {
   ax -= 360;
   }
   if (ay>360) {
   ay -= 360;
   }
   if (az>360) {
   az -= 360;
   }
   toScreen();
   render();
   

   The first four lines tell that the mouse has moved this much and so, add some values accordingly to the ax and ay variables. The next six lines will be explained later. Next, we call the rotate function to rotate the objects as per the ax, ay and az variables. Next, we increment the three variables by one. This is done to insure that the object keeps rotating even if the mouse is not moving.
   
   Because the mouse moves only in 2 dimensions, we cannot get the z rotation values from the mouse movement itself. So, we just increment the z rotation value automatically.
   
   Now the next 3 if functions make sure that the ax, ay and az variables don't cross 360 degrees.
   
   Then, the toScreen() and render() methods to do the rest.
6. Then press Tab key to hide the panels. Click on the third frame in the Scripts layer. Press Tabkey again to see the panels. Now just add one line of code to the script:

   goToAndPlay(2);

   This makes sure that the movie loops again and again within the two frames and does not enter the first frame once again.

The majority of the work is done. If you want, press Ctrl+Enter to check if all this has paid off. But wait! There is still some to go!