Posts Tagged context3d

When getSize() Lies

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flash.sampler.getSize() is a handy tool for figuring out how much memory a class instance uses. However, it is often flat-out wrong. Today’s article tries it out on a variety of classes to find out which ones it works on and which ones it doesn’t.

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Easily Get the Best Context3D

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When you request a Context3D you’ll either get the requested profile or software rendering. But what if you’d rather fall back to a lesser hardware context? What if your app can make use of the regular/baseline profile but can run with reduced graphical effects using the constrained mode profile? Today’s article presents a utility class that makes it a snap to always get the best Context3D that Flash Player can give you.

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Vertex Shader Inputs Demystified

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Stage3D is hugely powerful, but with that power comes a very new and very complicated requirement for many programmers: shaders. Shaders are tiny programs that run on the GPU and are hugely limited compared to fancy CPU-side languages like AS3. For many programmers new to shaders these things are truly mind-bending. They’re even split into two parts: vertex and fragment shaders. Today’s article focuses on the two kinds of inputs to vertex shaders and seeks to explain them and clear up some of the confusion.

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Handling Stage3D Context Loss

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Context loss with Stage3D is real and will instantly take down your 3D scene. It’s an unavoidable problem, but one that many programmers still don’t handle gracefully. How does it occur? Why does it matter? How can you handle it so your app continues to function well? Today’s article explores the topic of Stage3D context loss so you can keep your 3D scene alive and well.

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