Adventure Game Studio

I created a pretty clumsy and bulky battle script. One of the main reasons why is it like that is that I dont know how to refer to a certain character. Here is an example:

function MeleeAnimation () {
gFight.Visible = false;
character[T].StopMoving ();
character[M1].StopMoving ();
character[M2].StopMoving ();
character[M3].StopMoving ();
character[U].StopMoving ();
character[W].StopMoving ();
character[HB].StopMoving ();
character[L3].StopMoving ();
character[L4].StopMoving ();
if (GetGlobalInt(5)>0) {
if (player.x < enemyx) {
player.Animate (6,4,eOnce,eBlock);
player.FaceLocation (enemyx, player.y, eBlock);
}
if (player.x >= enemyx)  {
player.Animate (5,4,eOnce,eBlock);
player.FaceLocation (enemyx, player.y, eBlock);
}
}
else if (GetGlobalInt(15)>0) {
if (player.x < enemyx2) {
player.Animate (6,4,eOnce,eBlock);
player.FaceLocation (enemyx2, player.y, eBlock);
}
if (player.x >= enemyx2)  {
player.Animate (5,4,eOnce,eBlock);
player.FaceLocation (enemyx2, player.y, eBlock);
}
}
gFight.Visible = true;
}

or everyones favorite:

if (battlemove > 0) {
if (player.Moving == true) battlemove -=1;
if (character[T].Moving == true) battlemove -=1;
if (character[M1].Moving == true) battlemove -=1;
if (character[M2].Moving == true) battlemove -=1;
if (character[M3].Moving == true) battlemove -=1;
if (character[U].Moving ==true) battlemove -=1;
}

and of course:

if (GetGlobalInt(3)==2) {
//SetGlobalInt (3, 1);
if (enemyammo == 0) {
if (GetGlobalInt(5)==0) {
if (henemy >0) {
gFight.Visible = false;
if (henemy2<=0) SetGlobalInt(3, 4);
battlemove = enemymove;
if (enemyname.Text == "brown dog") character[D].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
if (enemyname.Text == "Tika Liji") character[T].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
if (enemyname.Text == "Untam") character[M1].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
if (enemyname.Text == "Weeten thugs") character[M2].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
if (enemyname.Text == "grey dog") character[W].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
if (enemyname.Text == "heavy bot") character[HB].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
if (enemyname.Text == "Lostials guards") character[L3].Walk (player.x, player.y, eNoBlock, eWalkableAreas);
}
}

These are just parts of the script. As you can see I need to write down every character in the game that could be involved in the combat because I dont know any other way. Sometimes the fight can include two enemy characters, sometimes just one, never three though. It can start by attacking the char (clickin on it) or by coming close to it. Is there a way to get rid of these long scripts?

Thanks!

Use pointers.

Above the topmost function that uses them, outside of it, write e.g.

Character*e1;  // enemy one
Character*e2;  // enemy two

When the player starts to fight Untam, use

  e1 = cUntam;

The pointer e1 now points to cUntam, i.e.

  if (cUntam.Moving) ...

is equivalent to

  if (e1.Moving) ...

Think of pointers as variables; but instead of holding a value, they hold a script object (a GUI, Character, InvItem, etc.)

Yeah, remember, parametrization (look up in the PM I wrote you some time ago  ;)).

By the way, I believe that if you'll follow Khris's suggestion, you can also use
e1.x instead of enemyx.

Don't limit yourself to only these changes, seek for more things you can simplify this way.

Oh, yes, and - if maximal enemies number is 2, then using two separate pointers is OK. However, if you consider using multiple enemies in battle, maybe it would be easier to create an enemies array:

Character * enemies[MAX_ENEMIES]; // static array

or

Character * enemies[]; // dynamic array


Wow! That is pretty handy. I replaced all I could with these pointers and I will replace the enemyx too. However, I need to use the pointers in room scripts too. How can I import them in script header?

Quote from: Gepard on Thu 08/04/2010 14:49:58
Wow! That is pretty handy. I replaced all I could with these pointers and I will replace the enemyx too. However, I need to use the pointers in room scripts too. How can I import them in script header?

Not sure what you mean... Did you make them global?
You can import/export pointers as well as other variables.

Example:

// header

import Character*e1;

// global script

Character*e1;
export e1;