Coin 9: Setting Up a Timer to Limit Time

• This is a continuation of the Coin Project 1-8

1. Open your coin movie. The main timeline has a background layer, a coins layer, a text layer and an actions layer. Click and hold in frame1 of the text layer and drag to frame 2, so that the text only occurs in frames 2-3. Do the same for the coins layer.

2. Click in frame 1 of the coins layer. Draw a  rectangle on the stage. Type the words Start over it. Highlight the contents of the frame and click Insert=> convert to symbol. Name the symbol start, and give it the properties of a button. You can also add artwork for the name of your game, coins.

3. Highlight the start button on the stage and open your actions panel. Click Actions=> movie control=> Play. you will get an event handler and the play action in the action panel.

4. Click in frame 1 of the actions panel. Click on the last line of script in the white script area. Select actions=> Movie Control=> Stop.  Now the movie stops on the tital page and will not progress until the button is clicked.

5. We want our game to be 60 seconds long. Click on the line above the stop in frame one of the actions panel and add actions=> variables=> set variable. Set the variable to time and the value to 60. Check the expression box for the value.

6. We want the timer to start when we hit the start button and enter the gaming frames. We will get the starting time as a button action. Click on the start button. Open the action panel. Click on the Play line above the end of the event handler ending bracket. Choose the actions action=> variables=> set variables. Set the variable by typing in start in the variable field. Click in the value field and then go to Funtions=> getTimer(). check expression so that it gets in the starting time.

7. Click in frame 2 of the text layer. Add static text under your score text that says TIME. Add a dynamic text box with the width of the score dynamic box that has the variable time.

8. Click in frame 2 of the actions layer. We need to reset the time variable in this frame. Open your actions panel. Click on the last line of script. Click actions=> variables=> set variables. Set the variable for time. Click in the value field.

We can take the current getTimer() value and subtract the initial getTimer() which is stored as the variable start,  to get the actual time of play. The getTimer() value is in thousanths of seconds so you will have to divide the value by 1000 to get seconds.

(getTimer() - start)/1000

This will produce a decimal number. To get even seconds we must round it. Use ceil so that it will hit 0 exactly at 0 seconds.

Math.ceil((getTimer()-start)/1000)

This value must be subtracted from the total time in polay to give us the time remaining, so the value statement progresses to

60-Math.ceil((getTimer()-start)/1000)

Here is how we will write it. click in the value field. type in the number 60 for total time of play in the game. add the minus sign, -, and then select objects=> core=> math=> methods=> ceil. Click in the brackets for ceil. Add an additional bracket, and click function=> getTImer. add a minus, -, and then start. Close the brocket for around the getTimer statement and add the / to devide by, followed by the 1000. Check the expression box.

9. We must then test to make sure there is time left, or we will need to stop the game. Click on the last line of script in the action panel. Click actions=> Conditions and loops=> if. Type in  time is less then or equal to 0:

time <= 0

Click back on the if line in the script panel below. Add the action=>  movie control=> goto. Set the go to as gotoAndStop, frame 4.

10. We must add the ending game frame. Click in frame 4 of the action layer. Hit F7 to add a blank keyframe. Open the actions panel and add the action actions=> movie Control=> Stop.

11. Click in frame 4 of the text layer. Hit F5 to extext the score and timer box out to frame 4.

12. Click in frame 4 of the coins layer and hit F7. Add the Game Over Text using the type tool.