As3: Not move through objects? How is the logic behind this? - actionscript-3

Question

I have a function where I can control my character.
I also have a movieclip on the stage called assassin_table.
I want to make it so that the character can't move in the table, a.k.a make the table work like a wall.
I have this code:
if(!this.hitTestObject(_root.assassin_table))
{
if(upKeyDown)
{
gotoAndStop(4);
y-=Math.cos(rotation/-180*Math.PI)*(mainSpeed +7);
x-=Math.sin(rotation/-180*Math.PI)*(mainSpeed +7);
}
if(!upKeyDown)
{
gotoAndStop(3);
}
}
However, if I touch the table, then I can't move at all.
I know it's because if(!this.hitTestObject(_root.assassin_table)), but I don't understand the logic behind NOT moving through objects. I'd much rather have a near pixel-perfect collision detection system, but since it's so hard to find any good info online which isn't confusing, I'll stick with hitTestObject for now :)
EDIT: Tried something, didn't really work that well.
if(!_root.assassinDead && !teleporting && this.currentFrame != 5)
{
if(this.hitbox.hitTestObject(_root.assassin_table))
{
_root.assassin_table.gotoAndStop(2);
if(this.x > _root.assassin_table.x)
{
trace("Can't move right");
canMoveRight = false;
}
if(this.x <_root.assassin_table.x)
{
trace("Can't move left");
canMoveLeft = false;
}
if(this.y > _root.assassin_table.y)
{
trace("Can't move up");
canMoveUp = false;
}
if(this.y < _root.assassin_table.y)
{
trace("Can't move down");
canMoveDown = false;
}
}
else
{
canMoveRight = true;
canMoveLeft = true;
canMoveUp = true;
canMoveDown = true;
}
}
This causes me to sometimes be able to walk through the table. I figure it's because my character can move in essentially every possible angle (since he's always facing the mouse and there are no tiles/grids).
How would I make it so that it would work with the advanced movement I have?
Moving up runs this:
y-=Math.cos(rotation/-180*Math.PI)*(mainSpeed +7);
x-=Math.sin(rotation/-180*Math.PI)*(mainSpeed +7);
And the rotation is decided by this:
this.rotation = Math.atan2((stage.mouseY - this.y), (stage.mouseX - this.x)) * 180/ Math.PI + 90;

Answer 1

You should seperate your hittest functions for four different moving directions.
I mean, you shouldn't use this "hitTestObject" stuff, that only returns a boolean value "true" or "false", and that's not going to work for you.
You need a function like "testPoint(player.x, player.y);" and returns the object at the given position, so you can implement it for your game like that
if (upKeyDown && testPoint(player.x, player.y - mainSpeed +7) == null) y-=Math.cos(rotation/-180*Math.PI)*(mainSpeed +7);
player.y - mainSpeed +7 // that checks for plus mainSpeed+7 because of trying to stop your player before it get stack inside object

Answer 2

Basically your logic flow should be like this:
Sample input (key press)
Move character
Check for collisions
If collision then move character to it's "outside" the object that it's touching
In your particular case, if your character is on the left of the table, and you're moving right, then first things first, you move your character. At your new position, check for any collisions. If you have a collection, then because you were moving from the left, we want to be on the left of the object that we colliding with, in this case the table, so we position our character to the left of the table.
The first part of that (checking if the character has hit the table) is called collision detection. Moving the character so that it's outside the bounds of the table is called collision response. Collision detection is a pretty big field and really depends on the type of game you're making; you can do grid-based, hit-test based (if you don't have a ton of objects), physics-based, math-based etc. Collision response can be anything and everything, depending on how you want to react to a collision - you can destroy the object (balloon on a spike), change its speed (character running through mud), bounce off it (ball off wall), or stop any further movement (character against wall).
To make things a bit easier:
Separate your systems - your input shouldn't be dependant on your collision for example. If the up key is down, just register that fact - what you do with it later (make your character move) is up to you
Separate your objects position in memory from its position on screen - this will let you move it around, react to collisions etc, and only when everything is good, update the graphics (stops things like graphics entering a wall only to jump out the next frame)
Solve for one axis at a time - e.g. collide on the x axis first, then the y
Pixel perfect collision is rarely needed :) Non-rotated boxes and circles will work a lot more than you'd think
Somewhat related - the shape of your object doesn't have to be the shape that you're colliding with - e.g. your table collision shape could just be a box; your character collision shape could just be a circle
Update
This causes me to sometimes be able to walk through the table
Assuming that we're going to collide our character and table as boxes, you need to take into account their sizes - i.e. we don't just compare the x values, but the right side of our character box against the left side of the table box etc. Something like:
// assumes objects have their anchor point in the top left - if its
// not the case, adjust as you see fit
if( char.x + char.width > table.x ) // right side of the char is overlapping the left side of the table
canMoveRight = false;
else if( char.x < table.x + table.width ) // left side of char vs right side of table
canMoveLeft = false;
// etc
When working with collisions, it's always nice to see the actual boxes, for debugging. Something like this:
var debug:Shape = new Shape;
debug.addEventListener( Event.ENTER_FRAME, function():void
{
debug.graphics.clear();
debug.graphics.lineStyle( 2.0, 0xff0000 );
// char (again assuming anchor point is top left)
debug.graphics.drawRect( char.x, char.y, char.width, char.height );
// table
debug.graphics.drawRect( table.x, table.y, table.width, table.height );
});
// add our debug. NOTE: make sure it's above everything
stage.addChild( debug );