Dynamic mouse trail

programming flash
1

I’ve had a look at the Graphics class in AS3 and come up with a dynamic mouse trail. It works, but it’s pretty rough and ready. I wonder if anyone could give it a once-over and see if there is a more elegant and efficient way to accomplish this?


import com.greensock.*;
import com.greensock.easing.*;

var shapeArray:Array = [];

stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, drawLine); 

function drawLine(e:Event):void {
	
	var newShape:Shape = new Shape();

	newShape.graphics.lineStyle(2, 0x00ff00, 1, false, LineScaleMode.NORMAL, CapsStyle.NONE);
	newShape.x = mouseX;
	newShape.y = mouseY;
	newShape.alpha = .5;
	addChild(newShape);
	
	shapeArray.push(newShape);
	
	if(shapeArray.length > 0) {

		var xDiff:Number = mouseX - shapeArray[shapeArray.length-2].x;
		var yDiff:Number = mouseY - shapeArray[shapeArray.length-2].y;
		newShape.graphics.lineTo(-1*xDiff, -1*yDiff);
		
	}
	
	TweenMax.to(newShape, .8, {alpha:0, onComplete:removeLine});
	
}

function removeLine():void {
	
	removeChild(shapeArray[0]);
	shapeArray.shift();
	
}

Oh, the other thing I meant to ask - is it possible to draw the trail with curves rather than straight lines, so that the curves mimic the path the trail would take to smooth out the jagged lines drawn when the cursor is moving quickly?

Thanks