Animation Problem

[Master Cabalist]

Ho

This is probably a kind of rookie question but I Have this character, Dr. Frankenstein, that sits on top of a castle. He sends out enemy floating brains you have to fight. I want to make it so Dr. Frankenstein plays a short animation every time he sends out a brain. My problem is that he either plays the animation over and over and over again, or not at all.

The brains are controlled by a "Brain Master" object and this is its step method:

        if ((global.number_of_brains_on_screen <= global.max_number_of_brains))
        {
            
                //show_debug_message("Checking instance place");
                random_y = random_range(200,700);
                if (!instance_place(x, random_y, BigBrainObject))
                {
                    timer--;
                    //if (timer < 0)
                    //{
                        //show_debug_message("Creating Brain");
                        global.creating_brain = true;
                        instance_create_depth(2077, random_y, -1800,BigBrainObject);   
                        global.number_of_brains_on_screen++;
                        
                    //}
                    if (timer > 0)
                    {
                        global.creating_brain = false;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        timer = room_speed;
                    }
                    
                }
    
        }   
    
}

This is Dr. Frankenstein's Step Event:::

if (global.creating_brain)
{
    sprite_index = FrankensteinSendOutBrains;   
    
}

else {
    sprite_index = FrankensteinStatic;
}

 

[Relic]

Edit: scratch that, missed a part of your code.

When the timer is less than 0, you create a brain, change the global variable and then a few lines later set the timer to room_speed. Whenever timer is greater than 0, the global variable is false.

Very hard for global.creating_brain to stay true for more than a single step.

 

[Rob]

Try something like:

if (global.creating_brain) && (sprite_index != FrankensteinSendOutBrains)
{
    sprite_index = FrankensteinSendOutBrains;  
    image_index = 0;
    //Maybe set image_speed too?
}

else {
    if (sprite_index == FrankensteinSendOutBrains) && (image_index >= (image_number - 1))
    sprite_index = FrankensteinStatic;
}

 

[Master Cabalist]

Ok I updated my code and he Frankenstein still spazzes out. That is, he does his "send out the brains" motion non-stop, even when he should be idle,

    if ((global.number_of_brains_on_screen <= global.max_number_of_brains))
        {
            
                //show_debug_message("Checking instance place");
                random_y = random_range(200,700);
                if (!instance_place(x, random_y, BigBrainObject))
                {
                    timer--;
                    if (timer < room_speed*10 && timer > 0)
                    {
                        //show_debug_message("Creating Brain");
                        global.creating_brain = true;
                        instance_create_depth(2077, random_y, -1800,BigBrainObject);   
                        global.number_of_brains_on_screen++;
                        timer = 100;
                        with (FrankensteinObject)
                        {
                            sprite_index = FrankensteinSendOutBrains;
                        }
                    }   
                    
                    else if (timer > room_speed*10)
                    {
                        global.creating_brain = false;
                        with (FrankensteinObject)
                        {
                            sprite_index = FrankensteinStatic;
                        }
                    }
                    
                    
                }
    
        }   
}

 

[Rob]

Set global.creating_brains to false if he doesn't need to make any more brains.

I'm on my phone ATM so it's a pain to type but if you use an else after your first if statement, set the global to false there and I think that should work.

 

[Relic]

Two issues:

1) unless your room speed is 10 FPS, timer will never be be greater than 10*room_speed. What do you think will (or will not!) occur because of this?

2) a prediction of another issue even if you fix issue 1. Let’s say you create the last brain the screen can have. Your code won’t run next step because it’s reached the max number, so how will the sprite be changed back to static?

 

[Master Cabalist]

Ok. So now he plays his sending out the brains animation but occasionally he just flickers.

This is the changes I made to the code:

        if ((global.number_of_brains_on_screen <= global.max_number_of_brains))
        {
            
                //show_debug_message("Checking instance place");
                random_y = random_range(200,700);
                if (!instance_place(x, random_y, BigBrainObject))
                {
                    timer--;
                    if (timer < room_speed && timer > 0)
                    {
                        //show_debug_message("Creating Brain");
                        global.creating_brain = true;
                        instance_create_depth(2077, random_y, -1800,BigBrainObject);   
                        global.number_of_brains_on_screen++;
                        timer = 100;
                        with (FrankensteinObject)
                        {
                            sprite_index = FrankensteinSendOutBrains;
                        }
                    }   
                    /*
                    else if (timer > room_speed)
                    {
                        global.creating_brain = false;
                        with (FrankensteinObject)
                        {
                            sprite_index = FrankensteinStatic;
                        }
                    }
                    */                   
                    
                }
    
        }   
        else
        {
            sprite_index = FrankensteinStatic;
            global.creating_brain = false;
        }

 

[TheouAegis]

Try setting image_index to 0 whenever you change sprite_index.

 

[Master Cabalist]

He still twitches here and there.And now a duplicate Dr. Frankenstein Is in the upper left hand corner. I did a search for FrankensteinsObject and couldn't come up with any instance_creates

 

[Master Cabalist]

Apparently he is instantiated in the room. I don't know why he is twitching and why he is appearing in the upper left corner though