1. STARLING DEEP DIVE

3. LEE BRIMELOW
Developer Evangelist
www.leebrimelow.com
@leebrimelow

4. LEE BRIMELOW THIBAULT IMBERT
Developer Evangelist Sr. Product Manager
www.leebrimelow.com www.bytearray.org
@leebrimelow @thibault_imbert

6. Sparrow is a pure Objective-C library created by
Gamua that allows developers to build native iOS
games using an API similar to Flash.

7. Sparrow is a pure Objective-C library created by
Gamua that allows developers to build native iOS
games using an API similar to Flash.
Starling is based on Sparrow and is a pure AS3
library that mimics the conventional Flash display
list and all content is rendered by the GPU.

9. DANIEL SPERL
Creator of Sparrow and Starling
www.gamua.com

11. OFFICIAL ADOBE SUPPORT

13. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE

14. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE

15. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE
import starling.display.Sprite;

16. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE
import starling.display.Sprite;
var hero:Sprite = new Sprite();

17. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE
import starling.display.Sprite;
var hero:Sprite = new Sprite();
hero.x = 200;

18. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE
import starling.display.Sprite;
var hero:Sprite = new Sprite();
hero.x = 200;
hero.y = 200;

19. EXAMPLE STARLING CODE
import starling.display.Sprite;
var hero:Sprite = new Sprite();
hero.x = 200;
hero.y = 200;
addChild(hero);

21. STARLING API

22. STARLING API

23. STARLING API

24. STARLING API

25. STARLING API

26. STARLING API

27. STARLING API

29. WORKING WITH ASSETS

31. FULL SUPPORT FOR SPRITE SHEETS

41. TEXTURE ATLAS
Easily access different textures and animations
myTextureAtlas.getTextures(“fly”);

43. ADOBE TEXTURE FORMAT
A new compressed texture format created specifically for Stage3D
We will be releasing tooling soon for creating ATF textures

45. DYNAMIC TEXTURE ATLAS
Converts vector MovieClip to texture atlas at runtime
https://github.com/emibap

47. PRO TIP
Pack as many of your graphics into texture atlases as possible to
limit the number textures that need to be uploaded to the GPU.

49. STARLING DISPLAY OBJECTS

50. STARLING DISPLAY OBJECTS
Quad

51. STARLING DISPLAY OBJECTS
Quad Image

52. STARLING DISPLAY OBJECTS
Quad Image Sprite
(container)

53. STARLING DISPLAY OBJECTS
Quad Image Sprite MovieClip
(container) (container)

55. PRO TIP
Set the blend mode property to BlendMode.NONE on background
display objects that don’t require alpha to speed up performance.

57. WORKING WITH TEXT
Displaying text in Starling is done using the TextField class

58. WORKING WITH TEXT
Displaying text in Starling is done using the TextField class
True-type fonts

59. WORKING WITH TEXT
Displaying text in Starling is done using the TextField class
True-type fonts Bitmap fonts

61. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer

62. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer

63. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer
this.addEventListener(EnterFrameEvent.ENTER_FRAME, loop);

64. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer
this.addEventListener(EnterFrameEvent.ENTER_FRAME, loop);
private function loop(event:EnterFrameEvent):void

65. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer
this.addEventListener(EnterFrameEvent.ENTER_FRAME, loop);
private function loop(event:EnterFrameEvent):void
{

66. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer
this.addEventListener(EnterFrameEvent.ENTER_FRAME, loop);
private function loop(event:EnterFrameEvent):void
{
trace("Time since last frame: " + event.passedTime);

67. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer
this.addEventListener(EnterFrameEvent.ENTER_FRAME, loop);
private function loop(event:EnterFrameEvent):void
{
trace("Time since last frame: " + event.passedTime);
enemy.moveBy(event.passedTime * enemy.velocity);

68. ANIMATION IN STARLING
The enter frame event behaves more like a real game timer
this.addEventListener(EnterFrameEvent.ENTER_FRAME, loop);
private function loop(event:EnterFrameEvent):void
{
trace("Time since last frame: " + event.passedTime);
enemy.moveBy(event.passedTime * enemy.velocity);
}

70. STARLING OPTIMIZATION TIPS

72. EXPORT A RELEASE BUILD
The speed difference between the debug and release builds in
Starling are huge. Don’t make any assumptions on performance
until you export a release build.

74. FLATTEN NON-CHANGING SPRITES
Calling flatten on a sprite is similar to cacheAsBitmap in the regular
display list. It reduces the number of draw calls dramatically.
mySprite.flatten();

76. MAKE CONTAINERS UNTOUCHABLE
If a container and its children do not need to be
interactive with touch set its touchable property to false.
container.touchable = false;

78. USE OBJECT POOLS
pool.getSprite(); pool.returnSprite(s);

80. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES

81. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES
Starling batches draw calls whenever possible. Changing the state
of a display object will force a new draw call to the GPU. Properties
that change the state include:

82. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES
Starling batches draw calls whenever possible. Changing the state
of a display object will force a new draw call to the GPU. Properties
that change the state include:
• The texture (textures from the same atlas are fine)

83. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES
Starling batches draw calls whenever possible. Changing the state
of a display object will force a new draw call to the GPU. Properties
that change the state include:
• The texture (textures from the same atlas are fine)
• The blendMode of display objects

84. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES
Starling batches draw calls whenever possible. Changing the state
of a display object will force a new draw call to the GPU. Properties
that change the state include:
• The texture (textures from the same atlas are fine)
• The blendMode of display objects
• The smoothing value of images

85. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES
Starling batches draw calls whenever possible. Changing the state
of a display object will force a new draw call to the GPU. Properties
that change the state include:
• The texture (textures from the same atlas are fine)
• The blendMode of display objects
• The smoothing value of images
• The repeat mode of textures

86. MINIMIZE STATE CHANGES
Starling batches draw calls whenever possible. Changing the state
of a display object will force a new draw call to the GPU. Properties
that change the state include:
• The texture (textures from the same atlas are fine)
• The blendMode of display objects
• The smoothing value of images
• The repeat mode of textures
• The tinted property of quads

88. THE QUADBATCH CLASS

89. THE QUADBATCH CLASS
QuadBatch is a low-level class that Starling uses to batch draw
calls. It is lighter weight than a flattened Sprite.

90. THE QUADBATCH CLASS
QuadBatch is a low-level class that Starling uses to batch draw
calls. It is lighter weight than a flattened Sprite.
• All the objects you add must have the same state (i.e. use
textures from the same atlas).

91. THE QUADBATCH CLASS
QuadBatch is a low-level class that Starling uses to batch draw
calls. It is lighter weight than a flattened Sprite.
• All the objects you add must have the same state (i.e. use
textures from the same atlas).
• You can only add instances of the Image, Quad, or
QuadBatch class.

92. THE QUADBATCH CLASS
QuadBatch is a low-level class that Starling uses to batch draw
calls. It is lighter weight than a flattened Sprite.
• All the objects you add must have the same state (i.e. use
textures from the same atlas).
• You can only add instances of the Image, Quad, or
QuadBatch class.
• It's a one-way road: you can only add objects.

94. MULTI-SCREEN DEVELOPMENT

96. USE SEPARATE SET OF HD TEXTURES

97. USE SEPARATE SET OF HD TEXTURES
SD texture
iPhone 3G

98. USE SEPARATE SET OF HD TEXTURES
SD texture
iPhone 3G
HD texture
iPhone 4S

100. CONTENT SCALE FACTOR
Use this value to scale textures appropriately
var scale:Number = starling.contentScaleFactor;
var texture:Texture = Texture.fromBitmap(bmp,
true, false, scale);

102. STARLING EXTENSIONS
wiki.starling-framework.org/extensions/start

104. PARTICLE SYSTEM
Easily add particle effects to your games

106. FOXHOLE
UI component set particularly suited for mobile

108. FRAMEWORKS USING STARLING

110. CITRUS ENGINE
Platformer game engine built on top of Starling

112. STARLING PUNK
Framework based on the popular Flash Punk engine

114. ADOBE NOW SUPPORTS AWAY3D

116. COMBINING AWAY3D AND STARLING

118. STARLING MOBILE DEMOS

120. QUESTIONS?