Problems with adding and subtracting time from/to Timers - actionscript-3

Question

Now I am also using a timer in frame 8, which is my Gamescreen frame to try and create an energy bar, so decreasing by 1 every second, and everytime the character collides with an object then increment the value of count by 1 (which in my min is 1sec, right?), however the timer runs out prematurely, when the label is showing 3secs left after collecting 3 items the timer automatically ends, HELP ME! :)
var count:Number = 5; (temporary value for testing)
var theTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000, count);
theTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER_COMPLETE, onTimerComplete);
theTimer.start();
function whenTimerComplete(e:TimerEvent):void
{
theTimer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER_COMPLETE, whenTimerComplete); //Remove listener
gotoAndStop("frameFive"); // Advance to score screen.
}
theTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, theCountdown);
function theCountdown(e:TimerEvent):void
{
count--;
timerLabel.text = count.toString()
}
//Start the timer and show in the label.
timerLabel.text=count.toString();
theTimer.start();
All help and a solution is VERY much appreciated.

Answer 1

Here's an example countdown timer:
Launch Flash example
FLA source code
Countdown Timer AS3 source code
CS6 ZIP of source code
CS5 ZIP of source code
Create a countdown timer class at the root of your FLA:
CountdownTimer.as
package {
import flash.events.TimerEvent;
import flash.utils.Timer;
public class CountdownTimer extends Timer {
public var time:Number = 0;
public function CountdownTimer(time:Number = Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY, delay:Number = 1000) {
super(delay, repeatCount);
if (!isNaN(time))
this.time = time;
repeatCount = Math.ceil(time / delay);
addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
}
protected function timerHandler(event:TimerEvent):void {
time -= delay;
if (time == 0)
dispatchEvent(new TimerEvent(TimerEvent.TIMER_COMPLETE));
}
public function dispose():void {
removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
}
}
}
On the timeline of your FLA, create a timer with the total number of milliseconds to countdown:
var timer:CountdownTimer = new CountdownTimer(60000);
timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER_COMPLETE, timerCompleteHandler);
timer.start();
In the example above, the timer will countdown for 1-minute (60-seconds). Each second the timerHandler will be called. When it reaches 0, the timerCompleteHandler will be called.
function timerHandler(event:TimerEvent):void {
timerText.text = (timer.time / 1000).toString();
}
function timerCompleteHandler(event:TimerEvent):void {
timerText.text = "COMPLETE";
}
To add time to the timer, add milliseconds to time. If you want the timer to dispatch timer complete event when it reaches 0, update the repeatCount:
timer.time += 1000;
timer.repeatCount += 1;
Likewise to remove time from the timer, subtract milliseconds from time; and again, if you want the timer to dispatch timer complete event when it reaches 0, update the repeatCount:
timer.time -= 1000;
timer.repeatCount -= 1;