How to create a Roblox game where the player has to guess a randomly generated pin? - user-interface

So, I've been working on this for the past week. I have tried everything (based on the knowledge I know) and yet nothing... my code didn't work the first time, the second time, the third time... the forth... etc... at the end, I let frustration take control of me and I ended up deleting the whole script. Luckily not the parts and models, otherwise I'm really screwed...
I need to create a game in which I have to create a keypad of sorts, at first I thought GUI would work... no, it needs to be SurfaceGUI, which I don't know how to handle well... Anyway, I needed to create a keypad using SurfaceGUI, and display it on a separate screen, as a typical keypad would...
The Player would first have to enter an "initial" number, meaning in order to enter the randomly generated number he first needed to input the static pin in order to "log in," after that, then he would try to guess the number...
I've literally tried everything I could but nothing... It's mainly because of my lack of experience in LUA, I'm more advanced in Python and barely know a thing in Java... If someone could assist me on how to do this, I would appreciate it greatly

First, download this and put it in a ScreenGui in StarterGui. Then, use the following LocalScript placed inside the PIN frame:
-- Script settings
local len = 4 -- replace this as needed...
local regen = false -- determines whether PIN will regenerate after a failed attempt
local regmes = "Enter PIN..." -- start message of PIN pad
local badmes = "Wrong PIN!" -- message displayed when PIN is wrong
local success = "Correct PIN!" -- message displayed when PIN is right
-- Script workings
local pin = script.Parent
local top = pin.Top
local txt = top.Numbers
local nums = top.NumKeys
local pin
local stpin
local nms
txt.Text = regmes
local see = game:GetStorage("ReplicatedStorage").PINActivate
local function activate()
if pin.Visible then
pin.Visible = false
for _, btn in pairs(nums:GetChildren()) do
btn.Active = false
end
return
else
pin.Visible = true
for _, btn in pairs(nums:GetChildren()) do
btn.Active = true
end
return
end
end
local function rand()
math.randomseed(os.time) -- better random numbers this way
return tostring(math.floor(math.random(0,9.9)))
end
local function gen()
nms = {rand()}
for i=2, len, 1 do
nms[#nms+1]=rand()
end
stpin = nms[1]
for i=2, #nms, 1 do
stpin = stpin..nms[i]
end
pin = tonumber(stpin) -- converts the number string into an actual number
end
gen()
local function activate(str)
if tonumber(str) ~= pin then
txt.Text = badmes
wait(2)
txt.Text = regmes
if regen then
gen()
wait(0.1)
end
return
else
txt.Text = success
wait(2)
activate()
-- insert code here...
end
end
for _, btn in pairs(nums:GetChildren()) do
btn.Activated:Connect(function()
if txt.Text == "Wrong PIN!" then return end
txt.Text = txt.Text..btn.Text
if string.len(txt.Text) >= len then
activate(txt.Text)
end
wait(0.1)
end)
end
see.OnClientEvent:Connect(activate)
And in a Script put this:
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local see = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage").PINActivate
local plr
-- replace Event with something like Part.Touched
Event:Connect(function(part)
if part.Parent.Head then
plr = Players:GetPlayerFromCharacter(part.Parent)
see:FireClient(plr)
end
end)
What this will do is bring up a ScreenGui for only that player so they can enter the PIN, and they can close it as well. You can modify as needed; have a great day! :D

There is an easier way, try this
First, Create a GUI in StarterGui, then, Create a textbox and postion it, after that, create a local script inside and type this.
local Password = math.random(1000, 9999)
print(Password)
game.ReplicatedStorage.Password.Value = Password
script.Parent.FocusLost:Connect(function(enter)
if enter then
if script.Parent.Text == tostring(Password) then
print("Correct!")
script.Parent.BorderColor3 = Color3.new(0, 255, 0)
Password = math.random(1000, 9999)
game.ReplicatedStorage.Correct1:FireServer()
print(Password)
game.ReplicatedStorage.Password.Value = Password
else
print("wrong!")
print(script.Parent.Text)
script.Parent.BorderColor3 = Color3.new(255, 0, 0)
end
end
end)
That's all in the textbox.
Or if you want a random username script, create a textlabel, then, create a local script in the textlabel and type in this.
local UserText = script.Parent
local Username = math.random(1,10)
while true do
if Username == 1 then
UserText.Text = "John"
elseif Username == 2 then
UserText.Text = "Thomas"
elseif Username == 3 then
UserText.Text = "Raymond"
elseif Username == 4 then
UserText.Text = "Ray"
elseif Username == 5 then
UserText.Text = "Tom"
elseif Username == 6 then
UserText.Text = "Kai"
elseif Username == 7 then
UserText.Text = "Lloyd"
elseif Username == 8 then
UserText.Text = "Jay"
elseif Username == 9 then
UserText.Text = "User"
else
UserText.Text = "Guest"
end
wait()
end
All of those if statments are checking what username has been chosen. I have made a roblox game like this recently, so I just took all the script from the game.
If you want to check out my game, Click Here

Related

Unable to cast to dictionary - Luau/Roblox Lua

I'm building a game in Roblox and I'm trying to make an NPC go towards the player using PathfindingService, and when the path doesn't work it wanders. However, I keep getting the error message "Unable to cast to Dictionary - Server - Script" and I can't seem to find the source of the issue.
I've checked my code for any tables or dictionaries that may be causing the problem, but I can't seem to find anything. Can anyone help me identify the issue and suggest a possible solution?
local PathfindingService = game:GetService("PathfindingService")
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local NPC = script.Parent
local TargetPlayer = nil
local Path = nil
local CurrentWaypointIndex = 1
local WaypointReachedDistance = 2
function findTargetPlayer()
local players = Players:GetPlayers()
if #players > 0 then
return players[1]
end
return nil
end
function findPathToTarget()
if not TargetPlayer then
return
end
local humanoid = TargetPlayer.Character and TargetPlayer.Character:FindFirstChild("Humanoid")
if not humanoid then
return
end
local startPosition = NPC.HumanoidRootPart.Position
local endPosition = humanoid.RootPart.Position
Path = PathfindingService:CreatePath(startPosition, endPosition)
Path:ComputeAsync()
if Path.Status == Enum.PathStatus.Success then
CurrentWaypointIndex = 1
else
NPC.Humanoid.WalkToPoint = NPC.HumanoidRootPart.Position + Vector3.new(math.random(-5,5), 0, math.random(-5,5))
end
end
function updateWaypoint()
if not Path or CurrentWaypointIndex > #Path.Waypoints then
return
end
local currentWaypoint = Path.Waypoints[CurrentWaypointIndex]
local distanceToWaypoint = (currentWaypoint - NPC.HumanoidRootPart.Position).Magnitude
if distanceToWaypoint <= WaypointReachedDistance then
CurrentWaypointIndex += 1
end
NPC.Humanoid:MoveTo(NPC.HumanoidRootPart.Position + Vector3.new(math.random(-5,5), 0, math.random(-5,5)))
end
function updateTarget()
TargetPlayer = findTargetPlayer()
if TargetPlayer then
findPathToTarget()
end
end
while true do
updateTarget()
updateWaypoint()
wait(0.1)
end
I've tried various solutions, including changing the variable types and removing potential lists, but nothing has worked so far. I expected the script to run without errors and for the NPC to follow the player.

Currently trying to script a game and I don't understand how to debug this section of coding

I'm following a youtube tutorial on scripting to create a game on roblox and whilst following it, "Status", the variable I use to identify a value decides to stop working (line39). My output box says the following:
21:16:36.197 - sword game.rbxl auto-recovery file was created
21:16:36.715 - ServerScriptService.MainScript:39: Expected ']' (to close '[' at line 37), got 'Status'
21:16:38.617 - ScriptNavigationHandler : No script currently available.
I haven't learned much about debugging code but if someone can shine some light on what is wrong that would greatly help me on my conquest to learn scripting during the fight against the invisible enemy.
-- Define varibles
local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local ServerStorage = game:GetService("ServerStorage")
local MapsFolder = ServerStorage:WaitForChild("Maps")
local Status = ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("Status")
local GameLength = 60
--Game loop
while true do
Status.Value = "Waiting for enoughplayers"
repeat wait(1) until game.Players.NumPlayers >=2
Status.Value = "Intermission"
wait(8)
local plrs = {}
for i, player in pairs(game.Players:GetPlayers()) do
if player then
table.insert(plrs,player) --Add each player into plrs table
end
end
wait(2)
local AvaliableMaps =MapsFolder:GetChildren()
local ChosenMap = AvaliableMaps[math.random(1,#AvailableMaps)
Status.Value = ChosenMap.Name "Chosen"
local ClonedMap = ChosenMap:Clone()
ClonedMap.Parent = workspace
-- Teleport players to the map
local SpawnPoints = ClonedMap:FindFirstChild("SpawnPoints")
if not SpawnPoints then
print("SpawnPoints not found!")
end
local AvailableSpawnPoints = SpawnPoints:GetChildren()
for i, player in pairs(plrs) do
if player then
character = player.Character
if character then
-- Teleport them
character:FindFirstChild("HumanoidRootPart").CFrame = AvailableSpawnPoints[1].CFrame
table.remove(AvailableSpawnPoints,1)
-- Give Sword
local Sword = ServerStorage.Sword:Clone()
Sword.Parent = player.Backpack
local GameTag = Instance.new("BoolValue")
GameTag.Name = "GameTag"
GameTag.Parent = player.Character
else
-- There is no character
if not player then
table.remove(plrs,i)
end
end
end
end
end
In
local ChosenMap = AvaliableMaps[math.random(1,#AvailableMaps)
you are missing the closing square bracket.
Night94 has pointed out the correct fix for your broken code, but since your question is about learning to debug, I'll try to help you understand your error messages.
21:16:36.715 - ServerScriptService.MainScript:39: Expected ']' (to close '[' at line 37), got 'Status'
Let's break this down piece by piece :
ServerScriptStorage.MainScript:39 this tells us where the file is, and on what line the error appeared.
So let's look at line 39 (through 41) you see :
local ChosenMap = AvaliableMaps[math.random(1,#AvailableMaps)
Status.Value = ChosenMap.Name "Chosen"
Next we have : Expected ']' (to close '[' at line 37), got 'Status'
This means that at some point, the code was expecting a square bracket to close the one that was opened at 37 : AvaliableMaps[, but instead it found the next line of code Status
So with these pieces of information, you should have all the pieces to understand what went wrong: A square bracket was opened, but never closed. It should go somewhere before the next line of code.
local ChosenMap = AvaliableMaps[math.random(1,#AvailableMaps)]

How to check if two or more conditions are met vs only one of them is true?

I'm using the following script with a software which reads a CheckBox using OMR and outputs the data to an XML file.
Is there a way I can change it to say if more than one box has been checked, the data output should be the first checked box in the list?
Hope this makes sense.
Any help would be appreciated.
Dim installer
q_a1= Metadata.Values("OMR_FRED_P2")
q_a2= Metadata.Values("OMR_JON_P2")
q_a3= Metadata.Values("OMR_MATT_P2")
q_a4= Metadata.Values("OMR_STEVE_P2")
If q_a1 = "Filled" Then
installer = "Fred"
End If
If q_a2 = "Filled" then
installer = "Jon"
End If
If q_a3 = "Filled" then
installer = "Matt"
End If
If q_a4 = "Filled" then
installer = "Steve"
End If
call Metadata.SetValues("CompleteBy",installer)
You could do something like this:
Dim a1Checked, a2Checked, a3Checked, a4Checked
Dim numberOfChecked
a1Checked = (q_a1 = "Filled")
a2Checked = (q_a2 = "Filled")
a3Checked = (q_a3 = "Filled")
a4Checked = (q_a4 = "Filled")
numberOfChecked = Abs(a1Checked + a2Checked + a3Checked + a4Checked)
If a1Checked Or numberOfChecked > 1 Then
installer = "Fred"
ElseIf a2Checked Then
installer = "Jon"
ElseIf a3Checked Then
installer = "Matt"
ElseIf a4Checked Then
installer = "Steve"
Else
' Decide what you want to do if none is checked.
End If
Call Metadata.SetValues("CompleteBy", installer)
In VBScript, the numeric value of a "boolean true" value is -1 and of the false value is 0.
The above code simply adds the values together. If two conditions are met, the total would be -2, then we use the Abs function to get the abstract value (i.e., returning 2 instead of -2). After that, you can easily check if two or more conditions are met by using numberofChecked > 1.

Join tiles in Corona SDK into one word for a Breakout game grid?

I have a game project to re-implement Breakout. I want to display two words, each word on a line. They are joined by the bricks block. Inside, the top line is the first name, aligned left. The bottom line is the last name, aligned right. They are input from textboxes, and rendered as shown:
Each second that passes, the screen will add a configurable number of bricks to the grid (for example, five bricks per second) until the two words appear complete. I displayed a letter of the alphabet which is created from the matrix(0,1).
...But I don’t know how to join them into one word. How can I join these letters?
This is what I've gotten so far:
Bricks.lua
local Bricks = display.newGroup() -- static object
local Events = require("Events")
local Levels = require("Levels")
local sound = require("Sound")
local physics = require("physics")
local Sprites = require("Sprites")
local Func = require("Func")
local brickSpriteData =
{
{
name = "brick",
frames = {Sprites.brick}
},
{
name = "brick2",
frames = {Sprites.brick2}
},
{
name = "brick3",
frames = {Sprites.brick3}
},
}
-- animation table
local brickAnimations = {}
Sprites:CreateAnimationTable
{
spriteData = brickSpriteData,
animationTable = brickAnimations
}
-- get size from temp object for later use
local tempBrick = display.newImage('red_apple_20.png',300,500)
--local tempBrick = display.newImage('cheryGreen2.png',300,500)
local brickSize =
{
width = tempBrick.width,
height = tempBrick.height
}
--tempBrick:removeSelf( )
----------------
-- Rubble -- needs to be moved to its own file
----------------
local rubbleSpriteData =
{
{
name = "rubble1",
frames = {Sprites.rubble1}
},
{
name = "rubble2",
frames = {Sprites.rubble2}
},
{
name = "rubble3",
frames = {Sprites.rubble3}
},
{
name = "rubble4",
frames = {Sprites.rubble4}
},
{
name = "rubble5",
frames = {Sprites.rubble5}
},
}
local rubbleAnimations = {}
Sprites:CreateAnimationTable
{
spriteData = rubbleSpriteData,
animationTable = rubbleAnimations
}
local totalBricksBroken = 0 -- used to track when level is complete
local totalBricksAtStart = 0
-- contains all brick objects
local bricks = {}
local function CreateBrick(data)
-- random brick sprite
local obj = display.newImage('red_apple_20.png')
local objGreen = display.newImage('cheryGreen2.png')
obj.name = "brick"
obj.x = data.x --or display.contentCenterX
obj.y = data.y --or 1000
obj.brickType = data.brickType or 1
obj.index = data.index
function obj:Break()
totalBricksBroken = totalBricksBroken + 1
bricks[self.index] = nil
obj:removeSelf( )
sound.play(sound.breakBrick)
end
function obj:Update()
if(self == nil) then
return
end
if(self.y > display.contentHeight - 20) then
obj:Break()
end
end
if(obj.brickType ==1) then
physics.addBody( obj, "static", {friction=0.5, bounce=0.5 } )
elseif(obj.brickType == 2) then
physics.addBody( objGreen,"static",{friction=0.2, bounce=0.5, density = 1 } )
end
return obj
end
local currentLevel = testLevel
-- create level from bricks defined in an object
-- this allows for levels to be designed
local function CreateBricksFromTable(level)
totalBricksAtStart = 0
local activeBricksCount = 0
for yi=1, #level.bricks do
for xi=1, #level.bricks[yi] do
-- create brick?
if(level.bricks[yi][xi] > 0) then
local xPos
local yPos
if(level.align == "center") then
--1100-((99*16)*0.5)
xPos = display.contentCenterX- ((level.columns * brickSize.width) * 0.5/3) + ((xi-1) * level.xSpace)--display.contentCenterX
--xPos = 300 +(xi * level.xSpace)
yPos = 100 + (yi * level.ySpace)--100
else
xPos = level.xStart + (xi * level.xSpace)
yPos = level.yStart + (yi * level.ySpace)
end
local brickData =
{
x = xPos,
y = yPos,
brickType = level.bricks[yi][xi],
index = activeBricksCount+1
}
bricks[activeBricksCount+1] = CreateBrick(brickData)
activeBricksCount = activeBricksCount + 1
end
end
end
totalBricks = activeBricksCount
totalBricksAtStart = activeBricksCount
end
-- create bricks for level --> set from above functions, change function to change brick build type
local CreateAllBricks = CreateBricksFromTable
-- called by a timer so I can pass arguments to CreateAllBricks
local function CreateAllBricksTimerCall()
CreateAllBricks(Levels.currentLevel)
end
-- remove all brick objects from memory
local function ClearBricks()
for i=1, #bricks do
bricks[i] = nil
end
end
-- stuff run on enterFrame event
function Bricks:Update()
-- update individual bricks
if(totalBricksAtStart > 0) then
for i=1, totalBricksAtStart do
-- brick exists?
if(bricks[i]) then
bricks[i]:Update()
end
end
end
-- is level over?
if(totalBricksBroken == totalBricks) then
Events.allBricksBroken:Dispatch()
end
end
----------------
-- Events
----------------
function Bricks:allBricksBroken(event)
-- cleanup bricks
ClearBricks()
local t = timer.performWithDelay( 1000, CreateAllBricksTimerCall)
--CreateAllBricks()
totalBricksBroken = 0
-- play happy sound for player to enjoy
sound.play(sound.win)
print("You Win!")
end
Events.allBricksBroken:AddObject(Bricks)
CreateAllBricks(Levels.currentLevel)
return Bricks
Levels.lua
local Events = require("Events")
local Levels = {}
local function MakeLevel(data)
local level = {}
level.xStart = data.xStart or 100
level.yStart = data.yStart or 100
level.xSpace = data.xSpace or 23
level.ySpace = data.ySpace or 23
level.align = data.align or "center"
level.columns = data.columns or #data.bricks[1]
level.bricks = data.bricks --> required
return level
end
Levels.test4 = MakeLevel
{
bricks =
{
{0,2,0,0,2,0,0,2,0},
{0,0,2,0,2,0,2,0,0},
{0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0},
{1,1,2,1,1,1,2,1,1},
{0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0},
{0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0},
{0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0},
}
}
Levels.test5 = MakeLevel
{
bricks =
{
{0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0},
{0,0,1,0,1,0,0,0},
{0,0,1,0,1,0,0,0},
{0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0},
{0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0},
{1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0},
{1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0},
{1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0},
{1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0}
}
}
-- Levels.test6 = MakeLevel2
-- {
-- bricks =
-- {
----A "a" = {{0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0},
-- {0,0,1,0,1,0,0,0},
-- {0,0,1,0,1,0,0,0},
-- {0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0},
-- {0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0}},
----B
-- "b" = {{1,1,1,1,0,0,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,1,0,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,1,0,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,1,0,0},
-- {1,1,1,1,0,0,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,1,0,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,0,1,0},
-- {1,0,0,0,0,1,0},
-- {1,1,1,1,1,0,0}},
--...........
--.......
--...
-- --Z
-- "z"= {{1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0},
-- {0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0},
-- {0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0},
-- {0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0},
-- {0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0},
-- {0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0},
-- {0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0},
-- {0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0},
-- {1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0}}
-- }
-- }
-- stores all levels in ordered table so that one can be selected randomly by index
Levels.levels =
{
--Levels.test4,
Levels.test5
-- Levels.test6,
}
function Levels:GetRandomLevel()
return self.levels[math.random(#Levels.levels)]
end
Levels.notPlayedYet = {}
Levels.currentLevel = Levels:GetRandomLevel()
-- Events
function Levels:allBricksBroken(event)
self.currentLevel = Levels:GetRandomLevel()
end
Events.allBricksBroken:AddObject(Levels)
return Levels
The work I've done thus far (same as above) as an external download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/1t89ftkbznkn184/Breakout2.rar
In the interest of actually answering the question:
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "How can I join these letters", but from poking through the code I have a guess, so please clarify on whether it is accurate, or if I am wrong about what you wanted.
Scenario 1
You haven't successfully achieved the image illustrated in the screenshot - you've been able to draw one letter, but not multiple ones.
In this case, you'll need to have a better understanding of what your code is doing. The CreateBricksFromTable function takes in a Level object, which is created by the MakeLevel function from a table with a bricks property, which is a table of tables that represent rows with columns in them, showing what type of brick should be at each position. In your commented-out level, you have created an table where the bricks field contains a field for each letter, but the MakeLevel function still expects a bricks field that directly contains the grid of blocks. You will have to - as it seems you attempted - create a MakeWordLevel function (or the like) that takes this letter list, and a word for each line, and constructs a larger grid by copying the appropriate letters into it.
StackOverflow is not your programming tutor, and an SO question is not the right forum for having people write code for you or getting into step-by-step details of how to do this, but I'll leave you a basic outline. Your function would look something like this:
local function MakeWordLevel(data, line1, line2)
local level = {}
...
return level
end
And then would have to:
Populate all of the same properties that MakeLevel does
Calculate how wide (level.columns) the level should be with all the letters
Create a table in the same format as the bricks properties, but big enough to hold all of the letters
Go through the input strings (line1 and line2), find the correct letter data from what is now the test6 array, and copy that data into the large table
Assign that table as level.bricks
This question already is a bit outside of what StackOverflow is intended for in that it asks about how to implement a feature rather than achieve a small, specific programming task, so any further followup should take place in a chatroom - perhaps the Hello World room would be helpful.
Scenario 2:
This was my original guess, but after considering and reading past edits, I doubt this is answering the right question
You may want a solid "background" of, say, red blocks, surrounding your letters and making the field into a solid "wall", with the name in a different color. And you may want these bricks to slowly show up a few at a time.
In that case, the main thing you need to do is keep track of what spaces are "taken" by the name bricks. There are many ways to do this, but I would start with a matrix to keep track of that - as big as the final playing field - full of 0's. Then, as you add the bricks for the name, set a 1 at the x,y location in that matrix according to that block's coordinate.
When you want to fill in the background, each time you go to add a block at a coordinate, check that "taken" matrix before trying to add a block - if it's taken (1), then just skip it and move onto the next coordinate.
This works if you're filling in the background blocks sequentially (say, left to right, top to bottom), or if you want to add them randomly. With random, you'd also want to keep updating the "taken" matrix so you don't try to add a block twice.
The random fill-in, however, presents its own problem - it will keep taking longer to fill in as it goes, because it'll find more and more "taken" blocks and have to pick a new one. There are solutions to this, of course, but I won't go too far down that road when I don't know if that's even what you want.
I don't really understand (or read, for that matter) your code but from what I see joining them into complete words is easy. You have two possibilities.
You can "render" them directly into your level/display data, simply copy them to the appropriate places, like this:
-- The level data.
local level = {}
-- Create the level data.
for row = 1, 25, 1 do
local rowData = {}
for column = 1, 80, 1 do
rowData[column] = "."
end
level[row] = rowData
end
-- Now let us setup the letters.
local letters = {
A = {
{".",".",".","#",".",".",".","."},
{".",".","#",".","#",".",".","."},
{".",".","#",".","#",".",".","."},
{".","#",".",".",".","#",".","."},
{".","#","#","#","#","#",".","."},
{"#",".",".",".",".",".","#","."},
{"#",".",".",".",".",".","#","."},
{"#",".",".",".",".",".","#","."},
{"#",".",".",".",".",".","#","."}
},
B = {
{"#","#","#","#",".",".","."},
{"#",".",".",".","#",".","."},
{"#",".",".",".","#",".","."},
{"#",".",".",".","#",".","."},
{"#","#","#","#",".",".","."},
{"#",".",".",".","#",".","."},
{"#",".",".",".",".","#","."},
{"#",".",".",".",".","#","."},
{"#","#","#","#","#",".","."}
}
}
-- The string to print.
local text = "ABBA"
-- Let us insert the data into the level data.
for index = 1, #text, 1 do
local char = string.sub(text, index, index)
local charData = letters[char]
local offset = index * 7
for row = 1, 9, 1 do
local rowData = charData[row]
for column = 1, 7, 1 do
level[row][offset + column] = rowData[column]
end
end
end
-- Print everything
for row = 1, 25, 1 do
local rowData = level[row]
for column = 1, 80, 1 do
io.write(rowData[column])
end
print()
end
You save you letters in a lookup table and then copy them, piece by piece, to the level data. Here I replaced the numbers with dots and number signs to make it prettier on the command line.
Alternately to that you can also "render" the words into a prepared buffer and then insert that into the level data by using the same logic.

how to generate endless random objects in corona SDK?

so I am very new to coding in general and I am trying to make a vertically-scrolling endless runner which basically involves jumping onto platforms to stay alive.I want to generate the same platform in three different locations endlessly. I basically copied some code from an article on the internet and then changed it around to try to make it suit my needs. However, when I run my code in the simulator, one platform is generated in the same location and no others appear. Also, when I look at the console, random numbers do appear. here is the code I am using
local blocks = display.newGroup ()
local groundMin = 200
local groundMax = 100
local groundLevel = groundMin
local function blockgenerate( event )
for a = 1, 1, -1 do
isDone = false
numGen = math.random(3)
local newBlock
print (numGen)
if (numGen == 1 and isDone == false) then
newBlock = display.newImage ("platform.jpg")
end
if (numGen == 2 and isDone == false) then
newBlock = display.newImage ("platform.jpg")
end
if (numGen == 3 and isDone == false) then
newBlock = display.newImage ("platform.jpg")
end
newBlock.name = ("block" .. a)
newBlock.id = a
newBlock.x = (a * 100) - 100
newBlock.y = groundLevel
blocks : insert(newBlock)
end
end
timer.performWithDelay (1000, blockgenerate, -1)
thank you very much in advance and sorry my description was so long
Your "a" variable is always going to be 1. Perhaps you meant to use:
a = a + 1

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