The Calgary Flash user group is managed by a fellow developer at Rare Method. It meets on the first Wednesday of every month. The turnout is off and on but it is still a good opportunity to talk to other Flash developers and designers in Calgary. If you would like to find out more information and sign up I would suggest going here.
I've finally found a bit of time to start playing around a bit with the Papervision 3D class set for Flash. It is an awesome set of classes and I applaud the whole team over there. It will take a while for me to learn, and I am still trying to think of something practical I can build to help teach it to myself.
So far the hardest part of it all, is creating COLLADA models to import into it. I did a tiny bit of 3D work using 3D Studio Max while I was at SAIT, but I no longer have access to that program so I am using Blender which is free and very cool but also has a steep learning curve. Most of my experiments so far have just involved using basic primitives like spheres, cubes and cones. Hopefully I'll have some examples to post up here soon!
Over the past year or so I have built a few real estate lot management tools using flash. Here is a list of them.
Hawks Landing : This is perhaps the most in depth lot manager I have made. It is managed through doItLive, an ASP based content management system that allows the client to update all textual details on the map, and most importantly the status for when lots are available, sold, on hold or available through a builder.
Copperfield : This one is a far simpler approach than Hawks Landing but still is effective in displaying necessary details to potential home buyers and developers. It has an overall view of the map with options to move in closer to each phase. This map is also managed through doItLive.
Heritage Hills : Heritage Hills also has an overall view with the ability to move into one of the phases for lot details. It was also built so that it is easy to add detail maps for additional phases as they come available. This particular map is managed via I macro I wrote that exports an XML file from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing all of the lot details. This particular manager also has the ability to highlight lots based on builder.
Forest Crowne (Phase 3 & Phase 5) : The Forest Crowne lot maps are very simple, showing just enough detail to keep potential buyers in the loop about which lots are sold or on hold, as well as showing the general dimensions and shape of the lot. This map is also updated through the ASP CMS doItLive.
