Updated Shockwave Player Installer Released Today

[Thomas Higgins]

Hi, Today, Macromedia released an updated installer for Shockwave Player 10.1.
This change only affects U.S. Windows Internet Explorer users, who have the
Yahoo! Toolbar already installed. No changes have been made to the Shockwave
Player itself, only the installer has changed to include the following: ? The
Shockwave Player installer will offer the WeatherBug desktop weather
application to U.S. Windows Internet Explorer users who have the Yahoo! toolbar
already installed. Those who do not wish to take advantage of WeatherBug can
opt-out of the offer. Users will not receive more than one third-party offer
during the Shockwave Player installation process. ? The Shockwave Player
installer has been optimized to only download the bits needed for the user?s
installation. For example, users who already have Yahoo! Toolbar will not
download the toolbar installer component as part of the Shockwave Player
installer. Partnerships, such as Yahoo! and WeatherBug, have been part of a
larger effort to increase the visibility and resources dedicated to Shockwave
Player. To recap some of the 2004 activities: ? We welcomed a new product
manager to the product team to reinvigorate marketing attention and activities
around Shockwave Player. ? Since June, we have seen an average of two Shockwave
content sites per month selected as a Macromedia Site of the Day. We also
published three new case studies, and created a special U.S. Presidential
election-related content section on the player product page. ? An RFP was put
out to the lists, inviting developers to submit proposals for U.S. Presidential
election-themed content. Macromedia funded the development of ?Battle of the
Bull,? by Chuck Neal (MediaMacros, Inc.) and Dean Utian (Multimedia Creative).
The content was spotlighted on macromedia.com, as well as AtomShockwave?s ?Mock
the Vote? election spotlight
([url]http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/af/content/battlebull[/url]). The game currently
enjoys a 4 of 5 star rating. ? The team released version 10.1 of the player,
which included several changes that benefit the developer community. The player
download size was cut in half, which dramatically increased successful
installations of the Shockwave Player. We also streamlined the player
registration process by removing several dialogs, and we worked with
shockwave.com to redesign and update the final installation confirmation
window. ? Although it is less visible, the player download backend and
reporting systems were updated resulting in an improved user experience. For
example, all installer files and Xtras are now hosted by Speedera, increasing
the quality of service of the player download and install experience for users
around the world. Additionally, the updated reporting systems and more
consistent monitoring allow us to catch and address issues quickly. Shockwave
Player is an important part of the Macromedia product line, and we recognize
that it is an important part of your business. In addition to the free player,
Macromedia continues to offer various licensing options to fit the needs of its
developers. Developers who wish to distribute the Shockwave Player over
corporate or educational intranets, or with fixed media such as CD-ROMs,
DVD-ROMs, or software applications, can visit the player licensing page at:
[url]http://www.macromedia.com/software/shockwaveplayer/licensing/[/url]. The licensed
player does not include any third-party offers, and is available free of
charge. Macromedia also offers limited paid license options for custom
installation experiences. If you are interested in discussing alternate
installation experiences for your company or projects, please contact Emmy
Huang directly (ehuang@macromedia.com).The link to the FAQ below provides more
information about this release. [url]http://www.macromedia.com/go/69bdec07[/url]
Regards, Emmy Huang - Sr. Product Manager Tom Higgins - Technical Product
Manager

[Ziggi]

Hi Tom !

Very nice e-mail but can you explain how do you want to increase Shockwave
content in case MM is unwilling to provide a clear and holistic
documentation of Director MX2004 ???

The following is still dissipated on several Internet resources, a few of
them already gone:

- "undocumented lingo" - a collection of several important features never
documented officially but taking into account usability of many
'undocumented' features - important for developers. Why not to document
'undomunented lingo' with restritiction MM does not guarantee further
support?

- Flash components - just look how many people try to implement Flash
components in Director but the documentation is so poor it's hard to do
anything. Components definitely require much better support from MM. It
seems MM put a lot effort to implement and improve Flash castmember handling
in Director but then concluded with poorly documented features, with no
tutorials and explanations. Many Director developers are not ActionScript 2
aware, so in case you want Director developers use Flash components you need
to provide appropriate primer explaining how to use existing components in
Director (mutual communication), how to modify them and how to write one's
own Flash components. This is a broad topic, balancing between Flash and
Director but definitely worth documentation. Why the hell every day there is
a post on this newsgroup like "Does anybody know how to use Flash tree
component in Director?".

- In case you want to promote Director's 3D capabilities you should publish
tutorials explaining streamlined process e.g.: from 3D Studio Max to
Shockwave. Tutorials should include texturing techniques (multitexturing,
light maps, baked textures, etc.), low-poly modeling with LOD and SSD
attention (how to design models for LOD and SSD modifiers usage). I don't
mean step-by step Max tutorial but rather "strategic overview" - how to plan
the whole thing, so everything is light enough for network download and
looks good enough to attract the audience. Anyway - the essential part is
process streamlining - scene design in 3D application -> transfer of scene
to Director -> programming. For the time being only the last step has some
documentation. Steps (1) and (2) are completly abandoned. Anyway - to render
a photorealistic Max scene with FinalRender is somehow different to low-poly
game design with limited texturizing and lighting capabilities...

Thank you,
Ziggi

[shockland.com]

Hi Thomas,

Will there be any updates in shockwave3D engine?

Thanks
Ege

[necromanthus]

for Ege and Ziggi : feel free to use the WeatherBug instead of the 3D engine.
for Tom H and Emmy H : keep up this amazing work.
cheers

[Sean Wilson]

> for Ege and Ziggi : feel free to use the WeatherBug instead of the 3D engine.

> for Tom H and Emmy H : keep up this amazing work.

Keep up the constructive criticism there - you're doing a great job!!

[necromanthus]

Originally posted by: Sean Wilson Keep up the constructive criticism there -
you're doing a great job!! Sean, I promote their work since ... I can't
remember. But from time to time it seems that they need some kicks (from
director to director ... LOL) cheers

[Sean Wilson]

> But from time to time it seems that they need some kicks

I *heartily* agree. It's a question of style, I guess. I just feel like
I'm more likely to gain traction if I can point out stupidity or
nearsightedness and offer solutions rather than simply raging against
the machine.

[necromanthus]

'stupidity or nearsightedness' can't be their qualities (LOL). Talking about
'raging against the machine' : they're reading many of this topics (be sure of
that). Also, 'raging against their possible customers' sounds better ... LOL
cheers Originally posted by: Sean Wilson I just feel like I'm more likely to
gain traction if I can point out stupidity or nearsightedness and offer
solutions rather than simply raging against the machine.