I am creating an interactive flash application where I need to use many sound files and images. I am currently loading resources (both images and sound files) as I need them. When I run it on my computer everything works fine and I see no delay. Running it on an offsite computer shows pauses and delays. I know this is due to the time it takes to load the resources.
I want to know what the best practice for loading resources is. Should I preload everything in the beginning (which will create a considerable pause)? Is it better to have a short pause multiple times throughout when a new resource is needed? Or is there a better solution (I hope this is the case)?
I have been programming in AS3 for about 3 months so I am relatively new. I'm sorry if this question is really noob, but I do need to figure out what to do about the delays.
I agree with @kapep that you should pre-load commonly used resources at the beginning. If there are large resources that the user may not need you could load those on demand.
If this test is sequential you could load "test question 2" material right after "test question 1" starts. You can load asynchronously so the application is still interactive (user can interact with test question 1) while more material is being loaded (test question 2 resources).