A message to Adobe: I'm sorry

[RetroGuy768]

My version of Adobe Flash (CS 5.5) has been the one from the web archive. The serial number that was on the installation has expired, so I can't use it anymore.

The reason why I chose an outdated version of Flash? I just wanted to see how it worked. I was actually planning on making an animation with it because it's the only animation tool I have, but now I can't. I could've bought it like I was supposed to, but it's been discontinued, so unfortunately, piracy was the only option.

I guess Adobe might ban me from the website for pirating one of their apps, breaking a law. I didn't know this would happen. I did not mean any harm to Adobe.

[kglad]

valid serial numbers never expire.  you just were caught.

[RetroGuy768]

Ok, now I understand. But isn't there a way to keep using CS5.5? I would pay to get a serial number, but I can't anymore.

[kglad]

there is no legal way. except to buy a license from an individual that contains a license transfer affidavit.  ie, it's close to impossible to insure you're not buying an invalid.

license that will fail a few months after purchase.

or, purchase a current subscription from adobe.  ie, a current subscription will allow legal licensing of cs 5.5 (and, even better, cs 6).

[RetroGuy768]

I know this is a little late, but what do you mean by legal licensing? When you said that I can buy a license from someone else do you mean that I'll just get their serial number, and if I purchase a current subscription myself I'll get my own serial number and I'll still have to pay 20 dollars every month to keep the serial number from going invalid? I don't know if licensing means that I'll just get a working serial number or something else.

[kglad]

if you purchase a serial number from someone else, you must also receive from that vendor, a license transfer affidavit.

if you purchase a subscription, no serial number is needed to license older (eg, cs6) adobe software.  older software is licensed/subsumed under the subscription.

[RetroGuy768]

I know this is another very late reply, but I'll give a detailed explanation to why I want CS5.5 specifically.

I want this version because of the Flash Player. While the online version of the Flash Player was discontinued due to security bugs, I would like to use the offline version and load the files from my computer.

Why do I want to do this? I've seen tutorials on animating with Flash and it seems pretty satisfying. I've also heard about the features the Flash Player gives you when you right-click, and those are also pretty satisfying. I want to let you know that I have some sensory issues, and I don't now if that's the cause for finding this kind of stuff very satisfying, but I decided to try it out.

I actually got the hang of Flash very quickly. I played around with the features in the Flash Player and I was pretty entertained. I kept doing this when I wanted to, but then it all ended in October when the serial number stopped working.

I'm still at a young age, so I don't think I can afford money to get an animation program from Adobe. I would've bought CS5.5, but it wasn't on the market anymore. So I pirated it from a website that lets people download old version of Flash and provides the serial numbers too. I don't want to get Adobe Animate because I'm pretty sure there's no Flash Player, and I don't think it'll run well on my computer.

I don't know how to get a legal CS5.5 license from someone elso, so I'll probably have to tell my parents about it. While I know how they'll transfer the serial number, I don't know how they'll get Adobe to know that I can legally use CS5.5.

You told me that I can sign up for a subscription for CS5.5, but again, it's not on the market. Plus, I already have CS5.5 on my computer, so I don't need to install it. I just need a legal serial number.

So if I'm going to get CS5.5, I would like to see the steps on how to get a license from someone who has a license transfer affidavit or how to get the license through a subscription. If you're wondering why I'm going with CS5.5, it's because it's the same version this guy named Alan Becker used for his older animations. I know this Alan Becker and guy wanting to animate like him thing may seem familiar if you've read some of the comments on his videos, but now's not the time to talk about that.

In fact, I've typed up a document that explains every feature in Flash and why I want them. I've attached it to this post.

[RetroGuy768]

Whoops, forgot to upload the file!

[n. tilcheff]

Mate, 

I had a look at your letter.

You seem to be under the impression that Flash was discontinued. It was not. It has only been renamed to "Animate".

Animate is Flash. It has SWF export and it has built-in Flash Player where you can play your SWFs offline.

All the things that you could do in Flash, you can do in Animate - symbols, tweens, everything.

While CS5.5 and CS6 might be a little lighter on the CPU and more bug-free, this drama that you are creating for yourself is completely unnecessary, if you can afford to pay for the Animate subscription.

Just think rationally for a moment:

A multi-billion dollar corporation will never change its policy, because of a sob story that some kid has written at 1 o'clock after midnight. 

Get Animate or move on.

No matter how many posts you write online you will not get old Flash back for sale, so it's more meaningful to spend your energy on something, which has better chances of success.

Good luck!

[rayek.elfin]

I read your document as well. A couple of comments in regard to the assertions you make in it:

- Alan Becker uses Flash CS6 according to his tutorial here:

https://youtu.be/kHOQkooK0qY?si=faS6Y2Zv5gvMqOud&t=30

@n. tilcheffwill agree with me that CS6 is arguably the 'best' version of either Flash or Animate CC. Most stable, most performant.

So you might want to use CS6 instead of CS5.5 😉

Adobe Flash CS5.5 has some features that other programs don’t have. I’ll list them below:

* Keyframes

All animation software works with keyframes. Not only Flash. That said, two basic approaches are used by animators:

1] frame-by-frame animation. Each frame of an animation is individually drawn or held.

Most animation software offers frame-by-frame animation. Not just Flash.

* Tweening

2] tweening

Tweening is also an integral part of most animation software. But not all animation software supports both. Krita, for example, mostly supports frame-by-frame.

Toonboom, OpenToonz, Moho, CelAction2d, Blender, and others... all support both. Just like Flash/Animate CC.

It is not a uniquely Flash-only thing! Quite the opposite. And some animation software decouples keyframes from keyframe content, which is super useful (but too advanced to get into right now).

* [Flash CS5.5] works on older computers

True, since it was released a long time ago. Old software generally works better on older or less powerful computers. 😄

OpenToonz works really well on less capable hardware too: Windows 7, 4GB RAM, an Intel Core i series or AMD equivalent.

Granted though: Flash CS5.5 works with 2GB and XP 😛

But Flash is not even in the same league as OpenToonz in term of features. So not a fair comparison. Same holds true for other modern animation software.

I do agree that Animate CC runs S.L.O.W. compared to its commercial and non-commercial brethren. Performance degraded substantially since Flash CS6.

Vector animation

Toonboom, CelAction2D, Moho, and OpenToonz also all animate with vectors. Flash is not the only one in town here! Toonboom, Moho, and OpenToonz also feature good vector drawing tools for animation. Those actually offer better drawing tools than Flash (which is expected of modern software, naturally: Flash is old OLD software...).

Ideally good animation software allows the animator to work with both vector AND bitmap based drawing and painting tools in the same animation. Toonboom and OpenToonz support this. Flash/Animate CC does not, and it can be a bit of a pain at times. Certain animated effects are easily achieved with modern bitmap digital painting tools (such as a puff of dust following a footstep or warm breath blowing out into cold air). Puffy clouds. Quick painted backgrounds. And so on. Not having bitmap drawing tools to animate with can be frustrating and requires another application to deal with certain situations.

At the very least often backgrounds are painted with bitmap tools. That is impossible in Flash.

PS OpenToonz also converts scanned drawings or bitmap based drawings to be converted to vector ones. Flash cannot do this, and this step requires external software. (Heck, you can use your webcam to import frames directly into the timeline in OpenToonz.)

Studio Ghibli makes extensive use of this option in their traditional paper-based animation workflow: scan in the paper drawings, convert to vector, colour the drawings, etc.

Export .SWF [and] Flash player benefits

Here I agree with you. SWF was a pretty useful format since it rendered to vector. No need to convert to a movie file format.

SVG is not quite a replacement.

But SWF is no longer supported anywhere (but outlier cases such as GameMaker). It is a dead format, and the player is no longer easy to install for the average user. Nor should they: SWF is a legacy format.

And yes: it is a shame nothing similar exists anymore. It was a unique file format.

Anway; aside from the SWF preference, modern animation software offers everything you assert that only Flash is capable of, and more features on top of those.

The good news is: OpenToonz is a free and open source modern powerful alternative:

https://opentoonz.github.io/e/

Works on older machines, way more features than Flash CS6, vector AND bitmap animation, a special effect compositor to finalize your animation, and used on major feature length traditional animation films as well as animation series.

All completely free and legal! No reason to install illegal and outdated software.

And animation principles are the same no matter what software you use. The things Alan Becker teaches can be just as easily accomplished in other animation software that I have mentioned above.

In any case, Flash CS5.5/6 are no longer officially supported or available. Animate CC is expensive for a teenager who is starting out in animation. You either have to run an illegally acquired copy of Flash, or use a free legal (and more powerful) option such as OpenToonz.

Either way: have fun animating!

[kglad]

correction, cs5, cs5.5 and cs6 are still available (for users with a current subscription, as well as, users with valid serial number from a past purchase.)

[n. tilcheff]

What and excellent post, @rayek.elfin !

Yes, I agree. In my opinion Flash Pro CS6 is the best version so far for animation, providing the best combination of performance, stability, features and functional UI. Using the AS2 document type guarantees a virtually bug-fee experience.

[kglad]

you have to find someone with a legal license. trust them that the license is legal (and they won't know that unless they purchased directly from adobe.com) and then work through the license transfer.

that's almost impossible.

it's much more reliable to subscribe to animate.  with a current subscription you can legally use your cs5.5

[rayek.elfin]

If you just want to get started in animation there is no need to use illegal software. Download either (or both) OpenToonz or Krita, which are open source and free.

OpenToonz is a professional animation app used in feature length film animation. It was used as the primary animation software for the latest "The Boy and the Heron" animation by Studio Ghibli, for example.

https://opentoonz.github.io/e/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cal6WoGyfe4

Krita is also nice for simpler frame-by-frame animation work.

https://krita.org/