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✓ ANSWER ACCEPTED

What is the best approach to set an on-clicked event as an anonymous function?

Asked 208 views1 answers

Hello,

I've been developing a script that destroys instances when they are clicked. The problem is, I would have to specify the part and perform the on-clicked event, rather than call if from ReplicatedStorage, which is one approach that I am interested in doing so.

The following is my code for the generator:

Generate = function(Self)
--hint GUI to count regenerating bricks
local hintRegen= Instance.new("Hint",game.Workspace.MessagesGroup)
--create a group called "DirtBlockCloneGroup", with if statement

local dirtBlockCloneModel= Instance.new("Model",game.Workspace)
dirtBlockCloneModel.Name= "DirtBlockCloneGroup"

	for timer= 1,0,-1 do --timer that counts from 3/ any # to 0 by seconds
		wait(1)
		print(timer)
	
			if timer== 0 then
				print("Done.")--ends timer, then does action below
			end--end if
	end--end for
		
local x0= game.Workspace.DirtBlock.Position.X
local y0= game.Workspace.DirtBlock.Position.Y
local z0= game.Workspace.DirtBlock.Position.Z
--sets whatever position the original dirt block is in, stores in variables
local original= Vector3.new(x0,y0,z0)

local zIncr= 3 --increments new clone blocks by changing z coordinate
--line below checks and gets testing plate size
local zSizeBase= game.Workspace.BasePlate.Size.Z
local zSizeCheck= 3--baseplate comparison, so clone won't pass plate boundaries

local xSizeBase= game.Workspace.BasePlate.Size.Z
local xSizeCheck= 3
local xIncr= 3
--brick counter begins here
local numClonedBricks= 0
	for i= 1,1 do--sets how many layers of bricks
		
		for i= 1,(xSizeBase/3) do-- because it increments by 3 studs
			
			while zSizeCheck<zSizeBase do
				local clone= game.Workspace.DirtBlock:Clone()-- creates clone
				clone.Name= "DirtBlockClone" -- changes name of dirt block
				clone.Parent= game.Workspace.DirtBlockCloneGroup --adds the instance into the Workspace
				clone.Position= Vector3.new(x0,y0,z0-zIncr)	
				
				zIncr= zIncr+3-- ex. 3 away from original, 6 away, 9 away etc.
				zSizeCheck= zSizeCheck+3
				numClonedBricks= numClonedBricks+1
				hintRegen.Text="Bricks generated: "..tostring(numClonedBricks)
				
				
		--print and store value globally/ accessible from anywhere
		--print(numClonedBricks)--substitute for hint GUI
		local found= game.Workspace:FindFirstChild("ClonedBricksValue")
			if found then
				game.Workspace.ClonedBricksValue:Destroy()
			end--ends if statement
		local intValue= Instance.new("IntValue",game.Workspace)
		intValue.Name= "ClonedBricksValue"
		game.Workspace.ClonedBricksValue.Value= numClonedBricks				
				
				--click detector: 'clicked' variable should be global so child script of Script can call it
				clicked= Instance.new("ClickDetector")--leave global
				clicked.Parent= clone
				clicked.MouseClick:connect(
					function()
						--print("Destroyed: "..tostring(numClonedBricks))--it works so far..
						game.Workspace.DirtBlockCloneGroup.DirtBlockClone:Destroy()						
						game.Workspace.ClonedBricksValue.Value= game.Workspace.ClonedBricksValue.Value-1						
						
						msg= Instance.new("Message",game.Workspace)--keep global				
						msg.Text= "Brick is destroyed somewhere."
						wait(1)
						game.Workspace.Message:Destroy()
						--should label each block an ID
					end
				)

As you can see, it is not the best idea to put the function as a whole directly in the loop, and I may associate it with the bugs/ glitches I have been receiving. In single player testing mode, the script works; the messages pop up and a brick is deleted (somewhere; that's another problem that I will not elaborate for this question). However online, none of the commands within the function work; I've made sure that the variables are global. Moreover, this is one of a couple ways that I had tried:

return
{
Speed= 5,
OnClickedModule= function(Self)
	click= Instance.new("ClickDetector",game.Workspace)
	click= Parent.MouseClicked:Connect()
	function()
		--action goes here	
	end
	
end
}

Therefore, with something like this I can call the script from my main script, then specify my variables there.

Edit:

I was thinking about posting this update as a separate post, but instead posted below my original. The following is my WIP code so far:

Generate = function(Self)
workspace.numClonedBricks.Value= 0-- makes sure numClonedBricks is set to zero

--sets position of original dirt block broken into dir, stores in variables
local xOriginal= workspace.DirtBlock.Position.X
local yOriginal= workspace.DirtBlock.Position.Y
local zOriginal= workspace.DirtBlock.Position.Z
-- gets baseplate size
local zSizeBase= workspace.BasePlate.Size.Z
local xSizeBase= workspace.BasePlate.Size.X

local incr= 3 --amount to increment by between blocks, x and z dir
local incrY= 0 --amount to increment in the y-dir

--after variable inclusion, the original dirt block can be edited to be replaced by the clones
for yCount= 1,1 do--how many times incrY increments/ how many layers wanted
	for x= 0, (xSizeBase-incr), incr do--minus 3 prevents clones from going over base by 1 block
		for z= 0, (zSizeBase-incr), incr do--minus 3 prevents clones from going over base by 1 block
			local clone= workspace.DirtBlock:Clone()
			clone.Name= "DirtBlockClone"
			clone.Parent= workspace.DirtBlockCloneGroup
			clone.Position= Vector3.new(xOriginal+x,yOriginal+incrY,zOriginal-z)
			
			workspace.numClonedBricks.Value= workspace.numClonedBricks.Value+1
			print(workspace.numClonedBricks.Value)
		end
		wait(0)
	end
incrY= incrY+3
end

end,--end function generate

There is still a whole lot of work needed to be done on the code, but so far it works.

AnonymousEdited

3 comments

0

Basically, my idea was to convert it into a modular form, that way I can call the function whenever I need to [and might fix the bugs/ glitches]. Of course, there are probably other ways that work also.

Anonymous#
0

The updated code required me to start basically from scratch; I try to avoid copying and pasting and prefer to retype character by character. Your script was a good model to help me clean some of it up.

Anonymous#
0

I had to reference the position of the object in variables as I did not set the starting point at the game origin, nor had I wanted to put an exact value as I could always shift the position of the base plate.

Anonymous#

1 answer

✓ Accepted answer

Global variables are bad. You essentially never want global variables.

There's not really a better way to go about connecting to the MouseClick event, because the event can't help you identify the appropriate brick -- it can only tell you the player. Generally, it's better to avoid defining functions in loops, but when you truly need a closure -- a function that uses local variables defined outside of it -- then that's appropriate (and unavoidable).

Because you need a closure, but because functions can be big, frequently you define an anonymous function which does nothing but call another named function:

function Clicked(part)
	-- do whatever
end

--- elsewhere
for _, part in pairs(parts) do
	parts.ClickDetect.MouseClick:connect(function() Clicked(part) end)
end

Variables

Again, as mentioned, you want to use local variables everywhere. You don't often want global variables, and even if you want them, it's probably not a good idea (global variables are evil -- hopefully eventually everyone figures this out)

In a few different places, you make a variable:

local intValue = Instance.new("IntValue",game.Workspace)

and then immediately refer to it by finding it in the workspace:

game.Workspace.ClonedBricksValue.Value= numClonedBricks

(You also do this with msg)

This is silly -- it's dangerous, because you might not be referring to the right one, since names don't have to unique (it looks like this will only affect msg)

game.Workspace

game.Workspace is lengthy. You can say workspace instead. Much neater!

original

Instead of remaking the position, you should just use the position:

local original = workspace.DirtBlock.Position

for i = ...

It appears you're moving zIncr manually.

Why not simplify and use for loops proper?

local y = workspace.DirtBlock.Position.y

for x = 0, xSizeBase, xIncr do
	for z = 0, zSizeBase, zIncr do
		.....
		clone.Position = Vector3.new(x, y, z)
	end
end

Formatting

Your code isn't tabbed or spaced well. It makes a huge difference.

ClonedBricksValue

There's no reason to make this a number value. It's messy and more confusing than necessary -- just the one variable is fine. (If you have a value, you should update it in a consistent way, e.g., writing a update() function that sets it, rather than manually incrementing/decrementing it yourself)

Comments

There's no point in including obvious comments. "end of if" is obvious from decent tabbing, especially when it's short. "adds the instance to the workspace" is similarly obvious. Etc.

Total

I imagine the cleaned up version looking something like this:


local numClonedBricks = 0

function Click(part)
	part:Destroy()
	numClonedBricks = numClonedBricks - 1
	local msg = Instance.new("Message", workspace)
	msg.Text = "Brick is destroyed somewhere."
	wait(1)
	msg:Destroy()
	--should label each block an ID
end

Generate = function(Self)
	--hint GUI to count regenerating bricks
	local hintRegen = Instance.new("Hint", workspace.MessagesGroup)
	--create a group called "DirtBlockCloneGroup", with if statement

	local dirtBlockCloneModel = Instance.new("Model", workspace)
	dirtBlockCloneModel.Name= "DirtBlockCloneGroup"

	--sets whatever position the original dirt block is in, stores in variables
	local original = workspace.DirtBlock.Position
	local y0 = original.y

	local zSizeBase = game.Workspace.BasePlate.Size.Z

	local xSizeBase = game.Workspace.BasePlate.Size.Z
	--brick counter begins here

	local incr = 0 -- amount to increment by between blocks

	for x = 0, xSizeBase, incr do
		for z = 0, zSizeBase, incr do
			local clone = game.Workspace.DirtBlock:Clone()
			clone.Name = "DirtBlockClone"
			clone.Parent = dirtBlockCloneModel
			clone.Position = Vector3.new(x, y0, z) 

			numClonedBricks = numClonedBricks + 1
			hintRegen.Text ="Bricks generated: " .. tostring(numClonedBricks)

			local clicked = Instance.new("ClickDetector")
			clicked.Parent = clone
			clicked.MouseClick:connect(function() Click(clone) end)
		end
	end
AnonymousEdited Permalink

6 comments

0

Hmm, thank you for your response (I'm surprised how prompt it was too). I will be sure to work on my code and see how far I get on fixing it up. I'll post updates as needed. Though, I wish Studio has an auto-indent function to make my script easier to read.

Anonymous#
0

You can select blocks of code and use TAB to increase indent and SHIFT+TAB to decrease indent. Combined with Studio's autotabbing as you type, it's really easy to maintain.

Anonymous#
0

The reason I had the int-value object for numClonedBricks added in the Workspace was so that it could be accessed from any location. It is a universal counter for the instance so that during degeneration, the exact number of blocks would be destroyed. I would later plan to implement certain events that would occasionally change the value, and thought it would keep me from writing unnecessary code.

Anonymous#
0

Regarding the MouseClicked event, I was told by a fellow member that I should check out the Mouse class; the person said that it can help to identify clones individually, although some of the functions themselves are read-only.

Anonymous#
0

When you mentioned update(), are you referring to OnUpdate() of GlobalDataStore?

Anonymous#
0

No, I'm talking about writing your own function, to avoid .Value = all over the place.

Anonymous#

This discussion is preserved as it was. New answers, comments, and votes are closed.