Develop Reference

I cannot figure out a way to move the balls

I am currently working on a 3 cushion billiards game project. I have added two balls on the table so far. I am trying to move one of the balls but I am having a hard time doing that. Should I use a timer? If so then could you tell me an effective way to use the timer on my code so I can move my balls?
Your help would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Farhan Hasan
I have tried to create a move function for the class balls. But I am not sure what I should put inside the function, I have added the xSpeed and ySpeed. The xLocation and the yLocation changes depending on the xSpeed and ySpeed.
public class Balls
{
private Color ballFillColor;
private Color ballBorderColor;
private int ballX = 0;
private int ballY = 0;
private int xSpeed = 5;
private int ySpeed = 0;
private int ballWidth = 0;
private int ballHeight = 0;
Timer t;
public boolean fillBall = false;
private static Balls ballArray[]; //Required for drawMultipleBalls
Balls(){ //Constructor
ballBorderColor = Color.black;
}
Balls(int ballX, int ballY, int ballWidth, int ballHeight, Color ballBorderColor, JFrame window){ //Constructor
// X , Y , Width, Height, Border Colour, container
this.setBallBorderColor(ballBorderColor);
this.setBallWidth(ballWidth);
this.setBallHeight(ballHeight);
this.setBallX(ballX);
this.setBallY(ballY);
this.drawBall(window);
}
//Here is the move function. I am not really sure what to do here.
public void move()
{
if(this.ballX < 1000 - this.ballWidth)
{
this.ballX += this.xSpeed;
}
try
{
Thread.sleep(1);
}
catch(Exception e)
{
}
}
//GET AND SET FUNCTIONS HERE
//HERE ARE THE FUNCTIONS WHICH ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DRAWING MY BALLS IN JFRAME
public void drawBall(JFrame frame)
{
frame.getContentPane().add(new MyComponent());
}
public void drawMultipleBalls(JFrame frame, Balls[] balls)
{
ballArray = balls;
frame.getContentPane().add(new MyComponent2());
}
private class MyComponent extends JComponent{
public void paintComponent(Graphics g){
if (fillBall) //Fill first, and then draw outline.
{
g.setColor(ballFillColor);
g.fillOval(getBallX(),getBallY(), getBallHeight(),getBallWidth());
}
g.setColor(getBallBorderColor());
g.drawOval(getBallX(),getBallY(), getBallHeight(),getBallWidth());
}
}
private class MyComponent2 extends JComponent{
public void paintComponent(Graphics g){
for (int i = 0; i < ballArray.length; i++)
{
if (ballArray[i].fillBall) //Fill first, and then draw outline.
{
g.setColor(ballArray[i].ballFillColor);
g.fillOval(ballArray[i].getBallX(),ballArray[i].getBallY(), ballArray[i].getBallHeight(),ballArray[i].getBallWidth());
}
g.setColor(ballArray[i].getBallBorderColor());
g.drawOval(ballArray[i].getBallX(),ballArray[i].getBallY(), ballArray[i].getBallHeight(),ballArray[i].getBallWidth());
}
}
}
Hopefully, I can have two movable balls for the game, the should bounce back as the hit the edge of the screen and they should be able to slow down over time. For that, I am thinking to use a damper (I will multiply the xSpeed and ySpeed with a number less than 1, eventually it will slow down the ball)

Here is a simple example I came up with to show a ball moving and bouncing off the edges.
The direction changes based on the boundary. Left and top edges just check for 0. Bottom and right edges need to include the diameter of the ball.
The x and y increments are independent. And these amounts in conjunction with the timer can change the movement. Notice however, that to have objects bounce off of each other (as in a pool game) is more complicated due to angle of trajectories, etc. And the distances bounced will vary and slow with time based on frictional values. Everything else is documented in the Java API.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class MovementDemo extends JPanel implements ActionListener {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Movement Demo");
int size = 500;
int x = 50;
int y = 200;
int diameter = 50;
int yinc = 2;
int xinc = 2;
int xdirection = 1;
int ydirection = 1;
public MovementDemo() {
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(size, size));
frame.add(this);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new MovementDemo().start());
}
public void start() {
Timer timer = new Timer(100, this);
timer.setDelay(5);
timer.start();
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
if (x < 0) {
xdirection = 1;
}
else if (x > size - diameter) {
xdirection = -1;
}
if (y < 0) {
ydirection = 1;
}
else if (y > size - diameter) {
ydirection = -1;
}
x = x + xdirection * xinc;
y = y + ydirection * yinc;
repaint();
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g.create();
g2d.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g2d.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING,
RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
g2d.fillOval(x, y, diameter, diameter);
}
}

It seems in general there are a few things you need to figure out:
has the ball collided with another ball
has the ball collided with a wall
otherwise just figure out what is the ball's new position based on its velocity
Below is some sample code that stubs some of this out. You can first compare the current ball's position to all others (not including the current ball of course). If there are any equal positions, process a collision with a ball. If the ball is at the window border i.e it hit a wall, process a collision with a wall. Otherwise just calculate its new position based on its current velocity.
The process collision part is just to apply physics mechanics to whatever degree of complexity you require. One general suggested change would be to update the velocity of the balls then apply it to the position after. The specific calculations for velocity changes you could apply as needed and as you can imagine it can get pretty involved which is why I suggest using a separate method and possibly a sub class for velocity instead of managing each part of the velocity vector in the ball itself. I used the wall as an object because of this. The composition, weights, velocities etc of the object's colliding can affect the resulting collision, but how complex you want that processing to be is up to you.
Sorry I'm no physics expert but I hope this sends you in the right direction in terms of code! Also this might help with the specific calculations you might want to use:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/one-dimensional-motion/displacement-velocity-time/v/calculating-average-velocity-or-speed
public void move()
{
// check if balls are on same position not including this ball
for(Ball b: ballArray){
if (this.position == b.position && this != b){
processCollision(this, b, null);
} else{
// if the ball hasn't collided with anything process its movement based on speed
// this assumes a 1000 x 1000 window for keeping objects inside it
if(this.ballX < 1000 - this.ballWidth && this.ballY < 1000 - this.ballHeight){
this.ballX += this.xSpeed;
this.ballY += this.ySpeed;
}else {
processCollision(this, null, new Wall());
}
}
}
try
{
Thread.sleep(1);
}
catch(Exception e)
{
}
}
public void processCollision(Ball b1, Ball b2, Wall w){
// if ball hasn't collided with a wall, process a ball - ball collision
if(w == null){
// apply physics mechanics according the complexity desired for ball collisions
b1.xSpeed -= b2.xSpeed;
b1.ySpeed -= b2.ySpeed;
// ball 2 would end up slowing down
b2.xSpeed -= b1.xSpeed;
b2.ySpeed -= b1.ySpeed;
}
// if ball hasn't collided with a ball, process a ball - wall collision
if(b2 == null){
// apply physics mechanics for hitting a wall
// e.g as below: just send ball in opposite direction
b1.xSpeed = b1.xSpeed * -1;
b1.ySpeed = b1.ySpeed * -1;
}
// either way, process ball's new position based on its new speed
b1.ballX += b1.xSpeed;
b1.ballY += b1.ySpeed;
b2.ballX += b2.xSpeed;
b2.ballY += b2.ySpeed;
}

Shape increases in size instead of moving - Java (GUI applet)

I am trying to change the y position of the rectangle, however, whenever I try to, it expands/gets bigger vertically.
public class PlayerPaddle implements Paddle {
double yVelocity;
final double GRAVITY = 0.94;
//move up/down faster (if not accelerating = slow down)
boolean upAccel, downAccel;
//determines if player 1 or player 2 (on left or on right)
int player;
//position of actual paddle
int x;
double y;
Rectangle panel;
public PlayerPaddle(int player) {
upAccel = false;
downAccel = false;
y = 210; //not moving initially
yVelocity = 0;
if (player == 1) {
//left side
x = 20;
} else {
//right side
x = 660;
}
}
#Override
public void draw(Graphics g) {
//draw paddle
g.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g.fillRect(x, (int) y, 20, 80);
}
#Override
public void move() {
if (upAccel) {
yVelocity -= 2;
} else if (downAccel) {
yVelocity += 2;
} else if ((!upAccel) && (!downAccel)) {
yVelocity *= GRAVITY;
}
y += yVelocity; //changes y position of paddle
}
public void setUpAccel(boolean input) {
upAccel = input;
}
public void setDownAccel(boolean input) {
downAccel = input;
}
#Override
public int getY() {
return (int) y;
}
}
I want to know how to make the rectangle move up and down vertically. A similar question had only one answer which said that the previously painted rectangle was not being cleared and as a result is expanding. But even when I say g.clearRect(...) it still expands and does not move.
I am new to Swing and Awt but I am really committed to learning. Thanks for the help.

A similar question had only one answer which said that the previously painted rectangle was not being cleared and as a result is expanding
And that is still probably the problem here.
Somewhere, not in the code presented here, you need to invoke the draw(...) method of this class.
So in that code you need to make sure the background of the component is cleared before you draw the paddle. Since you should be overriding the paintComponent(...) method of a panel to do custom painting your code should look something like:
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
super.paintComponent(g);
// draw the paddle
}
Read the section from the Swing tutorial on Custom Painting for more information and working examples.
I am new to Swing and Awt but I am really committed to learning.
Then keep a link to the tutorial handy for all Swing basics.

Java Animation with thread

Im doing an assignment for school. I have to create 30 randomly colured GameObjects in random locations. I have to use 2 classes, a GameObject class which contains the GameObject data, x and y co-ordinates and colour, plus the move and paint method... and a main MovingSquaresApplication which puts the GameObjects into an array and calls the paint() and move() methods... the current program compiles, runs, paints 60 squares (paint() and repaint()) but no animation. I've looked at a lot of different posts but still cant get it right. Any help would be great. Here is the code.....
*edited new code
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class MovingSquaresApplication extends JFrame implements Runnable {
//member data
private static final Dimension WindowSize = new Dimension(600,600);
private static final int NUMGAMEOBJECTS = 30;
private GameObject[] gameObjectsArray = new GameObject[NUMGAMEOBJECTS];
private int i,j;
//constructor
public MovingSquaresApplication(){
this.setTitle("MovingSquaresApplication");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//Display the window, centered on the screen
Dimension screensize = java.awt.Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
int x = screensize.width/2 - WindowSize.width/2;
int y = screensize.height/2 - WindowSize.height/2;
setBounds(x, y, WindowSize.width, WindowSize.height);
setVisible(true);
for (i=0; i<gameObjectsArray.length; i++){ //fills array with GameObjects
GameObject NewSquare = new GameObject();
gameObjectsArray[i] = NewSquare;
}
Thread t = new Thread(this); //creates and stars a thread
t.start();
}
//threads entry point
public void run(){
while (true){
try {
Thread.sleep(20);
for (j=0; j<gameObjectsArray.length; j++){
gameObjectsArray[j].move();
repaint();
}
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
//applications paint method
public void paint (Graphics g){
super.paintComponents(g);
for (i=0; i<gameObjectsArray.length; i++){
gameObjectsArray[i].paint(g);
}
}
//applications entry point
public static void main(String[] args){
MovingSquaresApplication w = new MovingSquaresApplication();
}
}
and the GameObject class
import java.awt.*;
public class GameObject {
//member data
private int x,y,xvel=2,yvel=2;
private Color c;
public GameObject(){
x = (int) (Math.random( )*600);
y = (int) (Math.random( )*600);
int R = (int) (Math.random( )*256);
int G = (int)(Math.random( )*256);
int B= (int)(Math.random( )*256);
c = new Color (R, G, B);
}
//public interface
public void move(){
x += xvel;
y += yvel;
if(x<10)
{
xvel = 2;
}
else if(y<30)
{
yvel = 2;
}
else if(x>=560)
{
xvel = -2;
}
else if(y>=560)
{
yvel = -2;
}
}
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.setColor(c);
g.fillRect(x, y, 30, 30);
}
}
Thanks for all the help, much appreciated
Thanks for the help, I didnt create a class that extends JPanel, i simply put
super.paintComponent(g);
in the paint method, not sure if thats good practice but it worked....also on a sidenote i haven't seen this before
for (GameObject gameObject : gameObjectArray)
what exactly does this do compared to the loop i've used?

You need to paint within the paintComponent method of a JPanel (as I'm sure that you've read,.... and so I recommend that you do just that. That you
Fill your GameObjectsArray with GameObjects, and do so not within any painting method, but on GUI construction
Create a JPanel and override its paintComponent method just as the Swing painting tutorials tell you to do
Call the super's paintComponent method within your override (again as the tutorials will tell you to do)
iterate through your GameObjectsArray (but rename it gameObjectsArray since its a variable not a class) within the paintComponent method
call each GameObject's paint method within that same for loop.
edit: check out this code of yours:
GameObject MoveSquare = new GameObject();
for (y = 0; y < GameObjectsArray.length; y++) {
MoveSquare.move();
}
What you're doing is creating a completely new GameObject object, MoveSquare, and are trying to move it within the for loop, meanwhile you're not touching any of the GameObjects held within the gameObjectsArray. Do you see your mistake here?
Edit 2
Also you're using the y variable as the array index, the same variable that you're using to figure out the y-axis bounds of your GUI -- don't do this. Use a completely independent variable.
Edit 4
And here:
public void paint(Graphics g) {
for (y = 0; y < GameObjectsArray.length; y++) {
GameObject NewSquare = new GameObject();
if (GameObjectsArray[y] == null) {
GameObjectsArray[y] = NewSquare;
NewSquare.paint(g);
}
}
}
You're creating new GameObject variables with each call to paint, ignoring any that already may be present in the array(??). Painting methods should be for painting and painting only. Again, fill your GameObject array with new GameObject items once and in your class constructor, not in a painting method.
You're doing a lot of guessing here, and throwing code at the wall and seeing what sticks is not a good heuristic for creating a program. Instead plan each step on paper before committing code to IDE.
Edit 5
Your if conditions within the GameObject move method need to be fixed. But once you get the code running, you'll see exactly what I mean, as you'll see all your GameObjects running off of the page.
Edit 6
I'm not going to show you all your code, but again, you'll want to create a class that extends JPanel, override its paintComponent method, and that method will be quite simple and look like this:
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g); // do housekeeping painting
// note that I've renamed the array to gameObjectArray
for (GameObject gameObject : gameObjectArray) {
gameObject.paint(g); // this is all you need to call
}
}
Likewise, the run method would be something like:
#Override
public void run() {
while (true) {
try {
Thread.sleep(SLEEP_TIME); // constant for the sleep time
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
// again note that the array has been renamed
for (GameObject gameObject : gameObjectArray) {
gameObject.move(); // this is all that needs to be called here
}
repaint();
}
}
Edit next :)
You're creating two Thread objects and starting them both -- don't do that. Only one will do.

Why are my images not drawing on the JPanel?

I'm trying to make a hex board with hex images (720x835 GIF) on a scroll-able JPanel. I've overridden the paintComponent method to draw the tiles at different specific locations and used a timer to call repaint at each tick.
When repaint() is called, doDrawing is called. When doDrawing is called, choseTile is called to draw the tiles with drawImage.
For some reason, the tiles are not being drawn and I'm left with an empty black panel. Why are my images not being drawn? Is it because the images are too large? The panel is too large?
public class MapPanel extends JPanel {
// Images for the tiles
Image tile1;
Image tile2;
//etc
// measurements for the tiles
int tileX = 720;
int tileY = 835;
int dimensionX = 14760;
int dimensionY = 14613;
//Use this to keep track of which tiles goes where on a 20x20 board
public int[][] hexer;
/**
* Create the panel.
*/
public MapPanel(int[][] hexMap) {
hexer = hexMap;
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(dimensionX, dimensionY));
setBackground(Color.black);
setFocusable(true);
loadImages();
Timer timer = new Timer(140, animatorTask);
timer.start();
}
//getting the images for the tiles
private void loadImages() {
// Setting the images for the tiles
ImageIcon iid1 = new ImageIcon("/Images/tiles/tile1.gif");
tile1 = iid1.getImage();
ImageIcon iid2 = new ImageIcon("/Images/tiles/tile2.gif");
tile2 = iid2.getImage();
//etc
}
// Drawing tiles
private void choseTile(Graphics g, int x, int y, int id) {
switch (id) {
case 1:
g.drawImage(tile1, x, y, this);
break;
case 2:
g.drawImage(tile2, x, y, this);
break;
//etc
}
}
// repainting stuff
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
doDrawing(g);
}
private void doDrawing(Graphics g) {
int actualX;
int actualY;
//set the painting coordinates and image ID then call the method to draw
for (int x = 0; x < 20; x++) {
for (int y = 0; y < 20; y++) {
if ((y + 1) % 2 == 0) {
actualX = x * tileX + 720;
} else {
actualX = x * tileX + 360;
}
if((x + 1) % 2 == 0){
actualY = (y/2) * 1253 + 418;
}else{
actualY = (y+1)/2 * 1253 + 1044;
}
if(hexer[x][y] != 0)
choseTile(g, actualX, actualY, hexer[x][y]);
}
}
}
private ActionListener animatorTask = new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
repaint();
}
};
}
Edit: I've already checked to make sure the images aren't null.

Following Andrew Thompson's suggestion; I used ImageIO. I was able to figure out that the way I was accessing the image files was faulty thanks to thrown errors by ImageIO.

Java/Android bullet object flow

Wonder if anyone could point me in the right direction.
I want to be able to animate an object like a bullet from a static position to any area on the screen.
I have no problem with simple horizontal and vertical movements. I.e. x +/- 1 or y +/- 1.
But when it comes to an object like a bullet could move/animate at any degree I'm not quite sure how to do this by making the animation look smooth. For example at 18, 45, or 33 degree angle an algorithm like y+1, x+1, y+1..... Is not going to make the animation very smooth.
Thanks in advance
P.s maybe there is some documentation out there already?
Update
Thanks to everyone who has replied.
This is the code I have so far based on your comments.
package com.bullet;
//imports go here
public class canvas extends SurfaceView implements OnTouchListener, SurfaceHolder.Callback{
private Bitmap bullet;
private int bulletStartX, bulletStartY;
private int bulletX, bulletY;
private int bulletEndX = -1;
private int bulletEndY = -1;
private int incX = 0;
private int incY = 0;
private SurfaceHolder holder;
private Thread t;
public canvas(Context context) {
super(context);
this.setBackgroundColor(Color.WHITE);
setFocusable(true);
setFocusableInTouchMode(true);
setOnTouchListener(this);
bulletStartX = 0;
bulletStartY = 0;
bulletX = bulletStartX;
bulletY = bulletStartY;
bullet = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(), R.drawable.bullet);
holder = getHolder();
holder.addCallback(this);
}
public void onDraw(Canvas canvas){
if(bulletEndX != -1 && bulletEndY != -1){
Log.e("here", "drawing bullet");
Log.e("here", "x: " + bulletX + ", y: " + bulletY);
canvas.drawBitmap(bullet, bulletX, bulletY, null);
}
}
public void updateBullet(){
Log.e("here", "inc bullet");
bulletX += incX;
bulletY += incY;
if(bulletX > bulletEndX){
bulletEndX = -1;
}
if(bulletY > bulletEndY){
bulletEndY = -1;
}
}
#Override
public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {
int[] coordinates = {(int) event.getX(), (int) event.getY()};
int motion = event.getAction();
switch(motion){
case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:
break;
case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE:
break;
case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP:
bulletX = bulletStartX;
bulletY = bulletStartY;
bulletEndX = (int) event.getX();
bulletEndY = (int) event.getY();
incX = (int) bulletEndX / 50;
incY = (int) bulletEndY / 50;
Log.e("here", "touch up");
break;
}
return true;
}
#Override
public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int width,
int height) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
t = new GameThread(this, holder);
t.start();
}
#Override
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
//Thread class
class GameThread extends Thread{
private canvas canvas;
private SurfaceHolder holder;
private boolean run = false;
long delay = 70;
public GameThread(canvas canvas, SurfaceHolder holder){
this.holder = holder;
this.canvas = canvas;
startThread(true);
}
public boolean isRunning(){
return this.run;
}
private void startThread(boolean run){
this.run = run;
}
public void stopThread(){
this.run = false;
}
#Override
public void run(){
while(run){
Canvas c = null;
try {
//lock canvas so nothing else can use it
c = holder.lockCanvas(null);
synchronized (holder) {
//clear the screen with the black painter.
//This is where we draw the game engine.
//Log.e("drawthread", "running");
if(bulletEndX != -1 && bulletEndY != -1){
updateBullet();
canvas.postInvalidate();
}
canvas.onDraw(c);
//Log.e("drawthread", "ran");
try {
sleep(32);
//Log.e("slept", "sleeping");
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
} finally {
// do this in a finally so that if an exception is thrown
// during the above, we don't leave the Surface in an
// inconsistent state
if (c != null) {
holder.unlockCanvasAndPost(c);
}
}
}
}
}
}
The drawing works pretty well, however there are two problems.
1. the drawing is fairly slow and jumpy... compared to something like this java example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g5CyPQlIo4
2. If the click is on a position to close to Y = 0 then due to the value of ENDY / FRAME being less that 1, means that the round up is to 0 and the bullet travels across the top of the screen, rather than the ocassionaly increment in Y.
#SyntaxT3rr0r your right, that is prob the best way to go about it. But do you know of any documentation for implementing something like this?
Thanks again to everyone who replied

My understanding is that you're asking how to determine how many x&y pixels to move the bullet per frame, as opposed to asking about implementation details specific to animating on Android.
The short answer: Attack it with Math :P
With the example of the bullet:
-You can either chop up the animation as "divide up the animation into 100 frames, play them as fast as we can" or "Play the animation in about 2 seconds, smash as many frames in those 2 seconds as you can." I'm going to explain the former, because that sounds like what you're trying to do.
Start out with a starting X & Y, and an ending X & Y: Let's pretend you want to move from 0,0 to 200,400, and you want to do it in about 100 frames of animation.
Divide up the total distance travelled along the X axis by the number of frames. Do the same with total distance along Y axis. Now you have the distance to travel x & y for each frame. For this example, you want the bullet to move 2 pixels per frame (200 pixels / 100 frames) sideways, and 4 pixels per frame (400 pixels / 100 frames) vertically. So every frame, add x +=2, y+=4.

I suggest you to read the following articles:
View Animation and Property Animation

I don't think this can be answered in it's current form. First how are you animating? are you using the graphics API? GL? AndEngine?
If is graphics API I would rotate the canvas the appropriate degree and move the bullet up the y axis.
For GL you can do the same thing.
For and engine, refer to the tutorials.