Why do Flash games/applications not work correctly on some computers?

May 29, 2004 12:19 PM

Why do Flash games/applications not work correctly on some computers? (more inside)

This has always confused me: the home PC, running WinXP-SP1, newest version of Flash installed. The office PC, same thing.

Except whenever I see one of the flash game links on MeFi or somewhere else, on one computer I can't play correctly because the clicking function doesn't work correctly. I have to wait until I move the mouse after clicking until it responds, unlike on other computers where it just immediately responds to the click of the mouse button.

I had thought it was bad programming (ie the ActionScript code was written to respond to mouse release instead of click or something) but it just varies computer to computer. And it's not just mine... some PCs do it, some don't, even with apparently the same versions of Flash and Windows.

Does anyone else get this problem? If so, can it be fixed?

posted by XQUZYPHYR to computers & internet (4 comments total)

sorry if i'm pointing out the obvious, but has window focus been lost when the flash doesn't respond to a mouse click? Maybe the site has popped up (or popped under) a window, and the window, and flash movie embedded in it, needs to be focused again with a mouse click?
posted by derbs at 2:39 PM on May 29, 2004

No. I'm talking about when actively using flash apps. If there's a button, and I click it, there is no response until I either click again or move the mouse. There is no instant reaction to the pressing of the mouse button like there is supposed to be. And it's definitely a flash issue, not a browser issue- this happens on all flash mouse-sensitive functions on one computer and none on the other. In fact it happens when running .SWFs straight from the Flash player too without a broswer at all.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 5:01 PM on May 29, 2004

The only explanation I can possibly think of is something is stealing focus. What you're describing is exactly what happens when the flash application doesn't have focus in the browser window.

This is *not* about the entire window not having focus, this is based on the fact that flash is a separate app running inside the browser window.

You can replicate this pretty easily, go to a site with an embedded flash movie and an HTML form field elsewhere on the page. Click the form field, then click a button in the flash movie. The same thing will happen.

This doesn't answer what the heck is actually stealing focus (are there browser enhancements that automatically put your cursor in the first form field or something?).
posted by malphigian at 11:59 PM on May 29, 2004

Hmmm... playing it straight from Flash player by opening a saved SWF file doesn't have the problem. But if I drag and play that same file in an IE window (just the file, not the file embedded in any code), it sticks when i click the button. So it might be an IE issue. Though god knows why and how i fix that.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 12:29 PM on May 30, 2004