Handling time in a text-based game (Java)
java, system-clock, text-based
Solution
Take a look at Concurrency tutorial. With threads you can wait user input without stopping other processes (and make these other processes execute at the same time - not in parallel, but time-sharing).
Problem
I'm trying to work up a basic text-based game as I'm learning Java. I'd like to be able to count rounds in the game as a means of managing the pacing of certain events. For instance, changing rooms could be limited to once per round (a second, in the test code.) A small creature might attack or change rooms at a higher rate, whereas a larger one might be more cumbersome. Good so far? Great. So, I cooked this up and immediately realized that I'd be hitting a block each time the while loop waited for the player to input a command. Code: ``` private void startPlaying() { //declare clock/round variables. int lastRound = 0; int currentRound = 0; long lastTime = System.currentTimeMillis(); long currentTime; while (player.getIsPlaying()){ //Clocking currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis(); if ((lastTime + 1000) < currentTime) { lastTime = currentTime; lastRound = currentRound; currentRound++; System.out.println("Current round:\t" + currentRound + "\tCurrent time:\t" + currentTime); //EDIT:NOTE: This is just a test line to observe the loop. }//end if (Clocking) Command command = new Command(); String[] commandString = command.setAll(); //Array gets parsed elsewhere. player.doCommand(commandString); //Class Player extends Pawn extends Actor; Pawn has most command methods. } finishPlaying(); }//END STARTPLAYING() ``` So, here is my question: Is there a way I could use a separate method to log time/rounds concurrent to the while loop presenting the player with a command prompt? If not, is there a different way to make this a non-issue that I'm just not seeing/practiced in yet?