Creating the Mouse follower
2a. Use the Auto-Shape tool to draw 3
small Star shapes (different sizes and colors). Place them in close proximity
to one another.
3a. In the Timeline Panel, Right-Click
at Frame 1 on the row for one of the Star shapes. Select MOVE from the
menu.
4a. Double-Click on the MOVE effect that
was added to the Timeline to open the Move Settings window. Using the
Motion tab, use the 'X scale' drop-down menu and select "Resize to
scale" then type "10" into the field next to it (without
quotes). Next, use the 'Color' drop-down menu and select "Fade to
Color" then use the color selection drop-down menu off to the right
to choose the color you to fade to. Press the Close button on the Move
Settings window to save these changes.
5a. Right-Click at Frame 11 on the row
for the Star shape (immediately following the MOVE effect). Select MOVE
again from the menu.
6a. Double-Click on the second MOVE effect
to open the settings window. Change the 'X scale' option to "Resize
to 100%". Use the 'Color' drop-down menu and select "Fade to
Color" and select the original color of the shape.
Note: The first MOVE effect will shrink
the Star shape and change its color properties. The second MOVE effect
is used to change the shapes properties back to their original settings.
7a. Next, you have two options ... You
can either repeat Step #3a through Step #6a for each of the Star shapes
(slightly changing the Scale in the first MOVE effect - and the Fade to
Color for each Star), or you can hold down the CTRL key, click once on
both MOVE effects - use the Edit menu and select 'Copy Effect', then Right-Click
at Frame 1 on the row for each Star Shape, and select "Paste Effect".
After pasting each set of MOVE effects, double-click on each one to change
the settings (to scale each Star shape to a different size and fade to
a different color).
8a. Hold down the CTRL key and click
on each Star Shape in the Outline panel (this will highlight all of the
Star shapes).
9a. Group all the Star shapes as a Sprite
(Modify | Grouping | Group as Sprite).
10a. Name the Sprite "mouseFollower"
on the Sprite panel, and make sure the option "Stop playing at end
of Sprite" is NOT ticked.
Adding the Drag actions to the 'mousePosition'
Sprite
1b. Select the sprite "mousePosition"
in the Outline Panel.
2b. Open the Script panel and add an
onLoad event to the Sprite (Add Script | Events | Frame | onLoad).
3b. Add a startDragLocked action to the
onLoad event (Add Script | Mouse Dragging | startDragLocked).
The script for the "mousePosition" Sprite should
appear similar to this:
Adding the Actions for the Mouse Follower
1c. Select the Sprite "mouseFollower"
in the Outline Panel.
2c. Open the Script Panel and add an
onEnterFrame event to the sprite (Add Script | Events | Frame | onEnterFrame).
3c. Add a Name=Expr statement
to the onEnterFrame event (Add Script | Statements | Name=Expr). Enter
"easing" in to the 'Name' field, and set the value to ".1"
in the field below the Operator (leave the Operator set to "=(set
value)").
Note: To create a different speed for
the Mouse Follower - you can alter the easing value to anything between
".1" and ".99". Also note that the Framerate of your
movie will effect the speed of the mouse follower.
4c. Add another Name=Expr statement,
use the drop-down menu off to the right of the 'Name' field and select
"_X" from the list. Change the Operator to "+=(add or plus)",
and type the following in to the value field below the Operator (without
quotes):
"(_parent.mousePosition._X - _X) * easing"
5c. Add another Name=Expr statement,
select "_Y" from the drop-down menu next to the 'Name' field,
change the Operator to "+=(add or plus)", and type the following
in to the value field below the Operator (without quotes):
"(_parent.mousePosition._Y - _Y) * easing"
6c. For an added effect, add a final
Name=Expr statement, select "_rotation" from the drop-down
menu next to the 'Name field, change the Operator to "+=(add or plus)",
and type in a value of '10' (ten). This will cause the follower to spin
as it chases the cursor around the screen.
The script for the "mouseFollower" Sprite should
appear similar to this:
Now, Go back to the Layout Panel ... Press the 'Play Movie'
button, and watch what happens !
Summary:
The script added to the "mousePosition" sprite
will tell that sprite to automatically begin dragging (locked to the mouse
cursor) when the movie loads. The script for the "mouseFollower"
sprite is executed on every frame (onEnterFrame). That script takes the
current position of the "mousePosition" sprite, subtracts the
position (X and Y) of the "mouseFollower" sprite, and multiplies
that by the easing value. The easing value acts as friction - without
the easing applied to the script, the Mouse Follower would simply be stuck
to the position of the mouse cursor.
