For a game we are creating we need to have a movieclip 'pop up' after a certain amount of time, usually somewhere between 10 and 20 seconds. If this movieclip appears, the timer needs to be paused while the movieclip is active and the timer needs to be restarted after the movieclip disappears. Anyone knows how to do this?
import flash.utils.setTimeout;
// Your Sprite / MovieClip
var clip:MovieClip;
// The time until you want to add the first one
var timeToAdd:uint = Math.random() * 20;
// This will be the timer
var _timer:uint;
// This will add us to the stage after the random time. Second variable is seconds, so we need to multiply by 1000.
_timer = setTimeout(addToStage, timeToAdd * 1000);
// Called when the timer expires
function addToStage():void{
clip = new MovieClip();
// You would need logic to decide when to remove it, but once it is removed this will fire
clip.addEventListener(Event.REMOVED_FROM_STAGE, onRemove);
}
// Called once removed
function onRemove(e:Event):void{
// Remove the event listener
clip.removeEventListener(Event.REMOVED_FROM_STAGE, onRemove);
// Restart the timer
timeToAdd = Math.random() * 20;
_timer = setTimeout(addToStage, timeToAdd * 1000);
}
The above code will add yout sprite to the stage once within 0.001 - 20 seconds. You'd need to add a bit of code to remove your sprite (removeChild(clip)).
Related
can anyone help me with this. I know its something very basic, but I just cant work it out.
What I need is for the timeline gotoandstop at frame 1 after 15 seconds of inactivity.
Basically this is for a directory board so if no one is using it, it will return back to the home screen after a period of inactivity.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou
What you can do, is use a Timer object. Then, whenever the user moves the mouse or clicks or presses a key, reset that timer back to 15 seconds.
On your frame 1, make a timer object:
//create the timer object var
var resetTimer:Timer;
//if it doesn't exist yet, create a new timer object and assign it to that var
if(!resetTimer){
resetTimer = new Timer(15000,1); //tick 1 time with a delay of 15
//listen for the TIMER event (fires when the delay is up)
resetTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, reset);seconds
}else{
resetTimer.reset(); //if it did previously exist, stop/reset it (for when you revisit frame 1)
}
//go back to the first frame if the timer fires
function reset(e:Event = null):void {
resetTimer.reset(); //reset the timer
gotoAndStop(1); //go to frame 1
}
//LISTEN for various user input type events on stage (globally)
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, userInput);
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, userInput);
stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN, userInput);
stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP, userInput);
//if there was user input, reset the timer and start it again
function userInput(e:Event = null):void {
resetTimer.reset();
resetTimer.start();
}
The only thing left to do is, when you leave frame 1 and want the timeout to be applicable call resetTimer.start(). Presumably that would be on frame 2.
its possible to simulate it so:
class test extends MovieClip{
public var myTimer:Number;
public var input:TextField;
function test(){
myTimer=0;
input=new TextField();
this.addChild(input);
this.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,timer);
input.addEventListener(Event.CHANGE, input_from_user);
}
function timer(ev){
myTimer +=(1/25);//if the frame rate is 25 frame per sconde
if(myTimer ==15){
this.gotoAndStop(1);
this.removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,timer);
}
}
function input_from_user(ev){
myTimer =0;
}
}
Hey everyone cant really figure out the easiest approach to this problem.
Basically I have a timer that starts in the beginning of the game like so:
//Create new timer object
tEggTimer = new Timer (nTimerSpeed);
//Listen for timer intervals
tEggTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, addEggs, false, 0, true);
//start timer
tEggTimer.start();
The nTimerSpeed is equal to (800);
Then I add the eggs like so:
private function addEggs(e:TimerEvent):void
{
//var eggGlobalPosition:Point = _Egg.localToGlobal(new Point(_Bunny.x, _Bunny.y));
_Egg = new mcEgg();
stage.addChild(_Egg);
_Egg.x = _Bunny.x;
_Egg.y = _Bunny.y + 30;
aEggArray.push(_Egg);
trace(aEggArray.length);
}
So in another enter frame function I want to change the value of the timer to (500), but whenever I try like so:
tEggTimer = new Timer (500);
tEggTimer.start();
like So:
private function updateDifficulty():void
{
if (difficultyUpdate) return;
if (nScore >= 2)
{
tEggTimer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, addEggs);
tEggTimer.stop();
tEggTimer = new Timer(200);
tEggTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, addEggs);
tEggTimer.start();
But this doesnt do anything but stop the timer entirely.
What can I do in order to decrease the timer correctly?
Thanks guys.
If you just want to change the timer speed, while keeping everything else the same, you could just change the delay property in the timer object.
Sample here:
import flash.utils.getTimer;
import flash.utils.Timer;
import flash.events.TimerEvent;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
var speeds:Vector.<int> = new <int>[1000, 2000, 5000];
var currentSpeed:int = 0;
var timer:Timer = new Timer(speeds[currentSpeed]);
function timerTick(inputEvent:TimerEvent):void {
trace("Timer ticking: "+ getTimer());
}
timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerTick, false, 0, true);
timer.start();
function clickedStage(inputEvent:MouseEvent):void {
currentSpeed = ++currentSpeed % speeds.length;
timer.delay = speeds[currentSpeed];
trace("Timer delay set to "+ timer.delay);
}
this.stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clickedStage, false, 0, true);
Clicking on the stage will change the timer delay from 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds and cycle. I'm just using getTimer() to show the rate of which the timer is ticking.
Note that it seems from the output, every time the value is changed, the timer will automatically restart.
timer.reset();
timer.delay = 2000;
timer.start();
May no be the best way but, instead using nTimerSpeed, make it run through every millisecond:
tEggTimer = new Timer (1);
Then in your AddEggs function use nTimerSpeed and a counter variable. counter is initialize to 0. Incase all your logic in an if statement, increment counter every time through function. if counter equals nTimerSpeed, allow for them inside the if statement and reset counter.
function AddEggs()
{
if(counter == nTimerSpeed)
{
//adding eggs logic
counter = 0;
}
counter++;
}
Did you try saying: tEggTimer.stop() just before re-instantiating with the 500 ms version? I'm guessing that your first Timer instance will just keep firing as your new one starts, unless you deliberately stop it.
var moveTimer:Timer = new Timer(1);
moveTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerListener);
function timerListener (e:TimerEvent):void
{
//code
}
moveTimer.start();
moveTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER_COMPLETE, timerDone)
function timerDone(e:TimerEvent):void
{
upKey = false;
}
Hey Guys, so this is my code. I have some very simplistic AI in my game and I'm trying to utilize a timer in order for the enemy to move forward for about 2-3 seconds and then stop. To do this I'm using the variable upKey as a boolean which is set to true, but when the timer finishes it gets set to false and upon it being set to false, there is an if statement that will reduce the enemy's speed to 0.
This is my first time using a timer and the enemies dont really stop... they kind of just keep going until they wander off the screen. Am I doing this correctly or is it a problem elsewhere in my code? Also, is there a better more effiecient way to use a timer?
Thanks, James.
From the code you cite, the timer constructor does not specify repeatCount indicating it should repeat indefinitely. For the timerDone() handler to be called, you must specify a repeat count.
Also, note that a delay below 20-milliseconds is not recommended.
Timer constructor parameters: Timer(delay:Number, repeatCount:int = 0)
delay:Number — The delay between timer events, in milliseconds. A
delay lower than 20 milliseconds is not recommended. Timer frequency
is limited to 60 frames per second, meaning a delay lower than 16.6
milliseconds causes runtime problems.
repeatCount:int (default = 0) — Specifies the number of repetitions.
If zero, the timer repeats indefinitely, up to a maximum of 24.86 days
(int.MAX_VALUE + 1). If nonzero, the timer runs the specified number
of times and then stops.
Timers are not recommended for animated content. Instead, use Event.ENTER_FRAME to manipulate frame-based animation.
One approach would be to use timers to trigger state changes to your game model:
/** timer */
var timer:Timer;
/** whether enemies are advancing */
var advance:Boolean = false;
// start timer at 5-seconds intervals
timer = new Timer(5000);
timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timer.start();
// animation controlled by Event.ENTER_FRAME
addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, frameHandler);
In your timer handler, you can adjust the timer delay depending on the state of your game.
/** timer handler */
function timerHandler(event:TimerEvent):void
{
// stop the current timer
timer.stop();
// depending on the current enemy state
switch (advance)
{
// if true, stop advancing and wait 5-seconds
case true:
trace("Stop advancing, wait 5-seconds");
timer.delay = 5000;
break;
// if false, advance for 2-seconds
case false:
trace("Advance for next 2-seconds");
timer.delay = 2000;
break;
}
// invert advance state.
advance = !advance;
// restart timer
timer.start();
}
Likewise on enter frame, control animation of your enemy based on game state:
/** frame handler, advancing enemy if 'advance' is true */
function frameHandler(event:Event):void
{
if (advance) { /** move enemy forward */ }
}
This alternates state of your enemies, outputting:
Advance for next 2-seconds
Stop advancing, wait 5-seconds
Advance for next 2-seconds
Stop advancing, wait 5-seconds
Advance for next 2-seconds
To make things quick, I have an arrangement of tiles that a player and an enemy are on.
public static var floor1:Array = new Array(7);
floor1[0] = [0,1,1,1,1,1,0];
floor1[1] = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1];
floor1[2] = [1,1,1,0,1,1,1];
floor1[3] = [1,1,0,0,0,1,1];
floor1[4] = [1,1,1,0,1,1,1];
floor1[5] = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1];
floor1[6] = [0,1,1,1,1,1,0];
public function Main()
{
var tilew:int = 60;
var tileh:int = 60;
for (var i:int=0; i<floor1.length; i++)
{
for (var u:int=0; u<floor1[i].length; u++)
{
var cell:MovieClip = new Tile();
cell.gotoAndStop(floor1[i][u]);
cell.x = ((u-i)*tileh);
cell.y = ((u+i)*tilew/2);
addChild(cell);
cell.addEventListener(MouseEvent.ROLL_OVER, mouseover);
cell.addEventListener(MouseEvent.ROLL_OUT, mouseout);
cell.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, mouseclick);
cell.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, beginfloor1);
}
}
var player:Player = new Player();
addChild(player);
player.mouseEnabled = false;
player.x = 5 * (tileh);
player.y = 5 * (tilew/2);
var enemy:Enemy = new Enemy();
addChild(enemy);
enemy.mouseEnabled = false;
enemy.x = 9 * (tileh);
enemy.y = 9 * (tileh/2);
My goal is to have the enemy move randomly on tiles in his range. What I did was create a square graphic called enemyVisionArea that checks which tile is hitting the enemy, which is basically surrounding tiles.
I have a timer function that tells the enemy to move every 5 seconds if the player isn't near him and if he's next to an available tile.
function timerenemy (event:TimerEvent){
if (enemy.enemyVisionArea.hitTestObject(enemyMover) && !player.visionPoint.hitTestObject(enemyMover.tileMiddle))
{
enemy.x = (enemyMover.x)+55;
enemy.y = (enemyMover.y)+20;
trace("moved");
}
}
enemyMover is a variable that I made equal to the tile objects.
function beginfloor1(event:Event)
{
enemyMover = event.currentTarget as Tile;
}
It just stays where it is. I'm just want to have the enemy move on its own on any tile that its enemyVisionArea is hitTesting a nearby tile. The beginfloor1 function doesn't seem to be working. Is there any way I can declare enemyMover = event.currentTarget as Tile and have the enemy move on a random tile that its enemyVisionArea is hitTesting?
If this is confusing, I can post the full code.
You are assigning 49 enterframe listeners which are called in sequence, and they ALL change one single variable to the cell they are attached to. Of course, the last tile is what's always assigned.
I expect that you want an enemy to check if there's a tile available for it to move to. You are essentially checking for one tile which is enemyMover - how do you determine what's that tile? You have to check all available tiles that are around the enemy, make a list of them and select one out of that list that's not the current tile, then move the enemy there.
So, first you need a complete tileset to be addressable from somewhere. The best way will be to declare a class-wide var tileset:Array and fill it where you make new tiles. Drop the Event.ENTER_FRAME listener from the code there, as it's useless. Then, in your timerevent that's for the enemy you do check all of the tileset if they are within your enemy's vision area (you use hitTestObject, I'd use clear distance grid-wise or coordinate-wise - it's a whole lot faster), if so, you add them to the TEMPORARY array you create within that function. Of course, if your enemy is at the currently processed cell, you ignore it - you have to move your enemy, not make him stand in place. Then, select (somehow, it's up to you) what cell your enemy should move to, and execute a move. Yes, if you want your enemy to move randomly, select a cell at random by its index via Math.floor(Math.random()*selectedcells.length).
I'm trying to make a custom animated/shooter, from this tutorial: http://flashadvanced.com/creating-small-shooting-game-as3/
By custom, I mean customized, ie, my own version of it.
In it's actionscript, there's a timer event listener with function: timerHandler()
This function adds and removes child "star" objects on the stage (which the user has to shoot at):
if(starAdded){
removeChild(star);
}
and :
addChild(star);
Code works great, but error occurs on scene 2.
The code works great, and I even added some code while learning via google and stackflow to this flash file. I added Scene 2 to it too, and had it called after 9 seconds of movie time. But when it goes to Scene 2, it still displays the star objects and I've been unable to remove these "star" object(s) from Scene 2.
Here's the code I added:
SCENE 1:
var my_timer = new Timer(5000,0); //in milliseconds
my_timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, catchTimer);
my_timer.start();
var myInt:int = getTimer() * 0.001;
var startTime:int = getTimer();
var currentTime:int = getTimer();
var timeRunning:int = (currentTime - startTime) * 0.001; // this is how many seconds the game has been running.
demo_txt.text = timeRunning.toString();
function catchTimer(e:TimerEvent)
{
gotoAndPlay(1, "Scene 2");
}
SCENE 2:
addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,myFunction);
function myFunction(event:Event) {
timer.stop();
timer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
stage.removeChild(star);
stage.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, cursorMoveHandler);
my_timer.stop(); // you might need to cast this into Timer object
my_timer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, catchTimer);
Mouse.show();
}
stop();
=====================================================
I'm quite new as3, and have just created an account on StackOverflow... even though I've known and read many codes on it since quite some time.
Here's the Edited New Complete Code:
//importing tween classes
import fl.transitions.easing.*;
import fl.transitions.Tween;
//hiding the cursor
Mouse.hide();
//creating a new Star instance
var star:Star = new Star();
var game:Game = new Game();
//creating the timer
var timer:Timer = new Timer(1000);
//we create variables for random X and Y positions
var randomX:Number;
var randomY:Number;
var t:int = 0;
//variable for the alpha tween effect
var tween:Tween;
//we check if a star instance is already added to the stage
var starAdded:Boolean = false;
//we count the points
var points:int = 0;
//adding event handler on mouse move
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, cursorMoveHandler);
//adding event handler to the timer
timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
//starting the timer
timer.start();
addChild(game);
function cursorMoveHandler(e:Event):void{
//sight position matches the mouse position
game.Sight.x = mouseX;
game.Sight.y = mouseY;
}
function timerHandler(e:TimerEvent):void{
//first we need to remove the star from the stage if already added
if(starAdded){
removeChild(star);
}
//positioning the star on a random position
randomX = Math.random()*500;
randomY = Math.random()*300;
star.x = randomX;
star.y = randomY;
//adding the star to the stage
addChild(star);
//changing our boolean value to true
starAdded = true;
//adding a mouse click handler to the star
star.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clickHandler);
//animating the star's appearance
tween = new Tween(star, "alpha", Strong.easeOut, 0, 1, 3, true);
t++;
if(t>=5) {
gotoAndPlay(5);
}
}
function clickHandler(e:Event):void{
//when we click/shoot a star we increment the points
points ++;
//showing the result in the text field
points_txt.text = points.toString();
}
And on Frame 5 :
//timer.stop();
//timer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
// uncomment lines above if "timer" is something you've made
stage.removeChild(star);
stage.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, cursorMoveHandler);
timer.stop(); // you might need to cast this into Timer object
timer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
Mouse.show();
stop();
There's no Scene 2 now, in this new .fla file...
Here's a screenshot of the library property of my flash file...: http://i.imgur.com/d2cPyOx.jpg
You'd better drop scenes altogether, they are pretty much deprecated in AS3. Instead, use Game object that contains all the cursor, stars and other stuff that's inside the game, and instead of going with gotoAndPlay() do removeChild(game); addChild(scoreboard); where "scoreboard" is another container class that will display your score.
Regarding your code, you stop having a valid handle to stage that actually contains that star of yours, because your have changed the scene. So do all of this before calling gotoAndPlay() in your catchTimer function.
function catchTimer(e:TimerEvent)
{
//timer.stop();
//timer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
// uncomment lines above if "timer" is something you've made
stage.removeChild(star);
stage.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, cursorMoveHandler);
my_timer.stop(); // you might need to cast this into Timer object
my_timer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, catchTimer);
Mouse.show();
gotoAndPlay(1, "Scene 2");
}
And the code for Scene 2 will consist of a single stop() - until you'll add something there. Also, there should be no event listeners, especially enter-frame, without a code to remove that listener! You add an enter-frame listener on Scene 2 and never remove it, while you need that code to only run once.
Use getChildAt.
function catchTimer(e:TimerEvent)
{
var childCount:int = this.numChildren - 1;
var i:int;
var tempObj:DisplayObject;
for (i = 0; i < childCount; i++)
{
tempObj = this.getChildAt(i);
this.removeChild(tempObj);
}
gotoAndPlay(1, "Scene 2");
}
This will remove all the children you added on scene 1 before going to scene 2.