Notice that it's still very much possible to produce SWF files with languages like Haxe http://haxe.org/, and there are frameworks that mimic the Flash drawing API like OpenFL https://www.openfl.org/, there is (or was) a lot of interesting stuff like that happening around.

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g0ld3nrati0 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Flash editor was the magic

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ciroduran 3 days ago | parent [-]

Indeed, Flash UI is really its strenght, the way to draw and manipulate curves, I don't think I've seen anything like it after that, although illustrating is not my trade. However, it is possible to do cool procedurally generated stuff with the drawing API, or use plain normal bitmap graphics to do things.

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spacebacon 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Adobe’s pen tool across all titles is second to none. There is so much value in just that one tool done right.

	▲	WillAdams 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I far prefer the pen tool in Macromedia Freehand/MX, to say nothing of the other drawing modes which it offered (and which Adobe later copied). I might still have an InDesign Subscription if Adobe had just rolled all of Freehand's capabilities into it --- instead, I keep a Windows computer for it and a stylus (despite Windows having crippled stylus functionality in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update) --- which reminds me, stylus usage in Waterfox broke again and I have to look up how to fix it (again).
	▲	adzm 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		This is very true.

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WillAdams 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

There is Wick Editor (which I mentioned elsethread)

https://www.wickeditor.com/#/

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xvilka 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And, of course, Ruffle[1][2] to play them.

[1] https://ruffle.rs/

[2] https://github.com/ruffle-rs/ruffle/

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koolala 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Can't modern Flash compile to HTML5? Can the open alternatives also do that?

I wish SWF became a common HTML5 transpile format.

	▲	lukan 5 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		No, it cannot. It can sort of compile some animations (with the libary EaselJS), but you have to use javascript instead of actionscript - but it is really not the same like it was in flash. Basically it does not work for me and I abandoned Adobe Animate and still looking for replacement of the lost Garden of Flash Utopia.
	▲	troupo 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		HTML 5 offers nothing to match Flash capabilities. Perhaps you could render to Canvas/WebGL/WebGPU, but you still need to reproduce the entire engine there.