Animation Software Review: Adobe Flash CS5

Adobe delivers tons of new features, but is bloating the software really the answer to competing with rival mechanisms for web content delivery? That depends on your definition of "bloated," when one man's "bloated" is another's "feature-rich." Adobe CS5 still has a fighter in the ring, and Flash CS5 surges ahead to give Adobe a fresh boost in the race to deliver the best rich interactive content.

I've complained in the past about Adobe pushing "upgrades" that really weren't worth the cost - but they packed in a whopper this time, practically reinventing Flash CS5 with so many new features that I don't even know where to start. I spent hours playing with the software, exploring everything from "Spring" to Catalyst to the new bells and whistles in ActionScripting.

And I, quite frankly, am thoroughly impressed. To quote Kaylee, Flash CS5 is shiny.

It's also extremely complicated. The familiar interface has transformed, to the point where I was actually a little lost. Definitely take advantage of the video tutorials; even advanced animators, programmers, and designers will have a bit of a learning curve to get used to an old friend again.

Despite expanding the available tools, in this incarnation Flash seems to focus primarily on RIA (Rich Internet Applications) - making them accessible by tying all of Flash's diverse functionality together as part of the content creation platform, and making it easy to deliver interactivity to the web. Catalyst and Builder especially focus on this.

Old functions have become more accessible, including everyone's bane: ActionScripting. You can now save code snippets to be reused, and code hints help avoid those basic errors or memory lapses (because seriously, can you remember every last script command?).

Despite a wealth of new tools, though, Spring was definitely the one that sold me the most. I'm an animator; what can I say? Spring improves on inverse kinematics for more realistic motion; the second you say "inverse kinematics" I cringe remembering my college courses in 3D Studio Max and how difficult it was for everyone to master IK - but that was in the old days, and now IK really isn't so difficult. Spring really does punch up the motion dynamics, and brings Flash's IK leaping forward.

Overall, the upgrade is worth the money. And considering what a cheapskate I am, that means a lot.