* That's 'bitmap', sorry.

I know enough about why vectors beats bitmap in general but i have a different concern: resources and frame rate. So the question is: between two identical, relatively simple images, one a vector, one a bitmap, which one will slow down Flash more?

Won't a vector graphic slow it down more, because it isn't an image composed of dots like a bitmap image? (No dots = it can be stretched without being distorted)

Vectors have the advantage of remaining sharp no matter how much you stretch them (or shrink them) without becoming pixelated. However, if I understand correctly, they can be hard on Flash because they take longer to generate since Flash has to convert the vector data into a image while a bitmap is more like a collection pixel numbers and their color information. But I'm not entirely sure if that's true. That's what I'm curious about - is it better to use vector or bitmap in regards to framerate?

>Which is better about framerate? Vectors or Bitmaps?
It depends on your vectors. Under your likely ability, Vector will probably be faster.

**(I've answered your question. You don't need to read anything below here)**

With bitmaps, (assuming you have an enforced quality, resolution, color depth, etc) any given image will be exactly the same as any other image.

With Vectors, having complex images means that your computer will have a tougher time generating it. Vectors are basically math equations that your computer puts together and generates up lines and fills for (like a graphing calculator). The more lines you have, the more complicated the curves, the more anchor points, the more colors in a gradient, the more layers you have, blending options, graphical effects, all of these things you have, the more difficult it is for flash to display a picture.

Adobe Flash Player displays images using an EXTREMELY inefficient anti-aliasing algorithm that basically results to drawing any given line 3 times over, on high quality.

Displaying bitmaps poses its own problems. Flash invariably has to apply vector transformations on any image displayed by flash player, even if you do nothing to the image, and have it displayed in the exact same resolution, with the same orientation and coloring, on the top layer.

Because a given picture will always be more complex than a single curved line (Consider a straight line as 30 bytes of information, and a picture to be the same number of bytes as the number of pixels in the image, for a simple way to look at it) vectors are faster, at first... but as your videos become more complex (like the quality of some of the best submissions to NewGrounds) it becomes easier for flash to display bitmaps.

On a side note, it's much easier to display VIDEO than a sequence of bitmaps, for reasons that should be obvious (already pre-optimized and using better internal workings than Flash Player's godawful interpreter).

Finally, optimizing your curves (USING THE LINE TOOL INSTEAD OF THE BRUSH TOOL. CUTTING DOWN ON YOUR NUMBER OF ANCHOR POINTS) will make your animations easier to handle...

AND DON'T USE GRADIENTS UNLESS YOU HAVE TO FOR SOME 3D EFFECT. Gradients are worse than bitmaps ALWAYS.