As part of the launch of Flash Player 11.2 and AIR 3.2 there were some interesting announcements for high-end Flash gaming, specifically premium gaming features starting with Domain Memory and Stage3D.
Even though it’s a new model, it’s only relevant if you use both features at the same time, and only on the desktop.
What are the benefits of the premium features?
The initial version of the premium features will benefit resource intensive games and applications by providing developers access to domain memory, which are required for cross-compilers such as Adobe Alchemy, in combination with hardware accelerated Stage3D.
It very likely won’t impact any existing projects.
We believe nearly all existing content will not be impacted by these changes. However, to ensure the success of existing content and projects currently under development, Adobe will provide a grace period and extend exemptions for content released publicly prior to August 1, 2012.
There won’t be any future surprises.
Will there be any other existing features that will be under premium licensing in the future?
No, other than the domain memory APIs used in combination with hardware accelerated Stage3D APIs, existing Flash Player capabilities are not impacted by the new terms and we have no intent to change that in the future. As they are introduced to Flash Player, we plan to designate new features as premium or part of the standard set of capabilities prior to the final release of the capability, and may pre-announce through the roadmap, or during pre-release periods.
Unity endorses it.
We’re officially collaborating with Adobe to make Unity and Flash work great together
We are committed to building the best tool there is to create content for the Flash platform, and are doing it with Adobe’s support and blessing to make the best product possible. You can check out the latest Adobe blogpost about our collaboration and their push to bring high-quality 3D games to Flash.
Unity’s view on licensing.
We see this as Flash positioning itself alongside other well known distribution channels: make money through the App Store, Apple takes a share. Make money through the Android Market place, Google takes a share. Make money through Flash, Adobe takes a share.
Get ready for some serious gaming.
