Producing SWF files

[Roareye]

As I've been working on SEGA websites for the Dreamcast, there has been a file format that seemed to be used on websites in later titles - SWF.

For those who don't know what swf is, it is an Adobe Flash program that allows for interactive visual media to be displayed on a website.
Flash was made famous by Macromedia before being bought by Adobe in 2005, but either way many quick fan animations and professional sites used it as a way to bring video-like animation to websites at a very low bitrate (particularly useful in a time where streaming video was literally IMPOSSIBLE, and a solution such as YouTube wouldn't materialise until about 2010).

This doesn't appear to have been a standard feature of the Dreamcast at the beginning, however I can confirm that it was a website feature on both Crazy Taxi 2 and Dream Passport 3.0 (The Japanese web browser).

CRAZY TAXI 2: http://seganet.co.uk/crazytaxi2
The flash animation on the homepage is an swf file, and if you go into the ABOUT section (missing an image just below NEWS), go to BASIC RULES and then click AROUND APPLE or SMALL APPLE at the top of the page, you'll see an interactive map system using an swf.

DREAM PASSPORT/DRICAS: http://seganet.co.uk/dricas-com/main.html
The main links on this page are all part of a flash swf file. The links are all dead, which is why it's a work in progress.


So what's stopping us from producing websites for the DC using SWF/Flash files as a base? Does anyone have any knowledge of Flash?
I'd love to learn it, however I never used it back in the day, does anyone have any hints?

[NeoSnk]

I have a lot of experience with Adobe Flash. I have done some tests on Dreamcast before.

https://github.com/TItanGuy99/Titan-Web

If Im not wrong any SWF made with Flash 4.0 or below could run on Dreamcast. You could also developed some games using an old version of JavaScript for the DC browsers.

[Roareye]

That's awesome! Any idea if there are any SWF development tools that use Flash 4.0 or below?

[NeoSnk]

Probably the first versions of the Macromedia Flash are compatible! Not sure how easy is to find it on the internet LoL

[Ian Micheal]

I was able back in the day to make a tetris clone using flash for the webrowser and JS games a slot machine as well.. some chose your own adventure games.. sadly all lost to time

[cypressRU]

I have a lot of experience with Adobe Flash. I have done some tests on Dreamcast before.

https://github.com/TItanGuy99/Titan-Web

If Im not wrong any SWF made with Flash 4.0 or below could run on Dreamcast. You could also developed some games using an old version of JavaScript for the DC browsers.

Would this mean Dreamweaver 4 SWF files would work???

[NeoSnk]

I have a lot of experience with Adobe Flash. I have done some tests on Dreamcast before.

https://github.com/TItanGuy99/Titan-Web

If Im not wrong any SWF made with Flash 4.0 or below could run on Dreamcast. You could also developed some games using an old version of JavaScript for the DC browsers.

Would this mean Dreamweaver 4 SWF files would work???

Yes, I believe so!

[cypressRU]

I have a lot of experience with Adobe Flash. I have done some tests on Dreamcast before.

https://github.com/TItanGuy99/Titan-Web

If Im not wrong any SWF made with Flash 4.0 or below could run on Dreamcast. You could also developed some games using an old version of JavaScript for the DC browsers.

Would this mean Dreamweaver 4 SWF files would work???

Yes, I believe so!

Praying you're correct, messing around with it and FutureSplash animator + Macromedia Flash 3. I'm not exactly sure which version I need to create viable SWF files, because FutureSplash animator doesn't seem to make swf files. I'm just learning the program though. (It's Flash 1 afaik)