Q: Can anyone suggest a good FLC/FLI editor? I don't really know of any. I pretty much just want to be able to incorporate sound into my animations. I also want to be able to edit the graphics. Thanks!

A:
  • The grandfather of the FLI editors is Autodesk Animator V1.x. It was the program the FLI format was created for. It uses only the 320x200x256 resolution, and has no memory manager, only disk swapping.

  • The father of the FLC/FLI editors is called Autodesk Animator Pro. It uses a PharLap extender like 3D Studio and uses all available memory when loading/editing flics. It can read and write all FLC resolutions 3DS can create. The FLI format (320x200) of AAPro however cannot be loaded into AA 1.0

    Both programs run under DOS, come from Autodesk, are written by the Yost Group, and do not use sound.

  • The last 2D animation program by Autodesk (but not from Yost Group) is called Autodesk Animator Studio for Windows. It is 16-bit, but Version 1.1 can be used under Win95/NT. It added true color formats, AVI and QuickTime CODECs, and is better suited for MAX users. It has a sound editor module, but it cannot be used with FLI/FLC because these formats do not have sound capabilities in the specification.

    All 3 programs have very powerfull 2D drawing and cell-animation functions. AA Pro has a built-in language (POCO) for custom effect creation. AASWin has no language, but can use Photoshop filters.

    For some basic editions, the Video Post of 3D Studio could help, too. And for the sound, the Autodesk Animator Player for Windows will let you play flics and music using scripts.