StartCoroutine is being called so many times (C# Unity) - c#

I'm creating a Pop up menu Option in Unity. Now my Problem here is that the coroutine i made in void update is being called so many times. What i mean by that is on my Unity Console the Debug.Logs are incrementing . It should not right because its already coroutine. Could some help me understand more coroutine and help me solve my little problem .
Here is my code:
[SerializeField]
GameObject Option;
[SerializeField]
Button btn,btn2;
[SerializeField]
GameObject open, close;
[SerializeField]
GameObject[] opt;
bool startFinding = false;
void Start()
{
Option.SetActive(false);
Button popUp = btn.GetComponent<Button>();
Button popUp2 = btn2.GetComponent<Button>();
popUp.onClick.AddListener(PopUpOption);
popUp2.onClick.AddListener(ClosePopUp);
}
void Update()
{
if (startFinding)
{
StartCoroutine(GameOptions());
}
}
IEnumerator GameOptions()
{
//Get All the tags
opt = GameObject.FindGameObjectsWithTag("MobileOptions");
if (opt[0].GetComponent<Toggle>().isOn == true && opt[1].GetComponent<Toggle>().isOn == true)
{
Debug.Log("Disable first the check box then choose only 1 option between" + "'rendering'"+ "and" + "'livestreaming'");
}
//Livestreaming
if (opt[0].GetComponent<Toggle>().isOn == true)
{
Debug.Log("Livestreaming Activate");
} else
{
Debug.Log("Livestreaming Deactivate");
}
//Rendering
if (opt[1].GetComponent<Toggle>().isOn == true)
{
Debug.Log("Rendering Activate");
} else
{
Debug.Log("Rendering Deactivate");
}
//Fog
if (opt[2].GetComponent<Toggle>().isOn == true)
{
Debug.Log("Fog Activated");
} else
{
Debug.Log("Fog Deactivated");
}
//Camera Effect
if (opt[3].GetComponent<Toggle>().isOn == true)
{
Debug.Log("Camera Effect Activated");
} else {
Debug.Log("Camera Effect Deactivated");
}
yield return null;
}
void PopUpOption()
{
startFinding = true;
//Disable The Mobile Option Button
open.SetActive(false);
//Enable the Close Option Button
close.SetActive(true);
//activate the Mobile Options
Option.SetActive(true);
}
void ClosePopUp()
{
startFinding = false;
//eanble the mobile option button
open.SetActive(true);
//disable the close option button
close.SetActive(false);
//deactivate the Mobile Option
Option.SetActive(false);
}

Here is how coroutines work:
Let's say I have a couroutine function called MyRoutine (in your case, you called it GameOptions)
private IEnumerator MyRoutine()
Then, anywhere in my code, calling
StartCoroutine(MyRoutine));
Is going to simply call MyRoutine like any usual method. So if you call it in update, it will be called all the time, as any method would. This is not what you want. What make coroutines special is that you can use the yield keyword in them. There are many ways to use it but the most used (and simple) one is to do yield return null
yield return null means "Stop this coroutine, but resume the execution on next frame". You don't need to call any other function (certainly not StartCoroutine). The execution will resume next frame.
To go back to what you posted in your question, you wrote yield return null at the end. So your method is executing, and just at the end, stops and resumes next frame, but since there is nothing left to do, it exits on the next frame.
A typical way to use coroutines is to have the yield return null in a while loop, so when it resumes, it continues the loop. Here is an example that do it
private IEnumerator MyRoutine()
{
while(running) //running is a member bool that you could set to false to exit
{
// Do all the stuff you want to do in ONE frame
// ...
yield return null;
}
}
Typically, the StartCoroutine would be called in the Start() function, or later when an event is triggered.
If you want to know more about coroutine, or check that you understood them properly, check out this page: https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/Coroutines.html
or this video https://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/scripting/coroutines
// Edit: quickly present one useful option
In the snippet above, the while loop is very similar to the Update function (the inside of the loop is executed each frame). One nice option is to replace
yield return null
by
yield return new WaitForSeconds(waitTime)
where waitTime is a the time you want to wait before resuming, in seconds
// End of edit

Do not use StartCoroutine() in the Update method. Call it in another method and use a while loop inside your coroutine function if needed. Just control your StartCoroutine() outside of Update method

Update is called every frame, if your condition is ever true, you launch your coroutine every frame.
Just set down your flag to only join 1 time.
void Update()
{
if (startFinding)
{
startFinding = false;
StartCoroutine(GameOptions());
}
}

Related

while loop inside a coroutine in Unity

I have two scripts. The first script gets called in the beginning as follows:
Script1.cs
private Script2 script2;
void Start () {
script2= (Script2) GameObject.FindObjectOfType (typeof (Script2));
StartCoroutine("CallTrigger");
}
IEnumerator CallTrigger() {
while(script2.hasTriggered == true){
Debug.Log("Success");
script2.hasTriggered = false;
}
yield return 0;
}
And my script 2 is as follows:
public bool hasTriggered = false;
Since my 1st script gets called first, I want the CallTrigger() function to wait till the bool in script2 is set to true. Unfortunately while() is not the right way I suppose since it is not working for me. I know the best way is to use Update() but I am using multiple instances of this script from which only some get called in the beginning.
So how do I make my CallTrigger await till the hasTriggered in script2 is set to true?
I want the CallTrigger() function to wait till the bool in script2 is set to true
You can simply use WaitUntil
IEnumerator CallTrigger()
{
yield return new WaitUntil(() => script2.hasTriggered);
Debug.Log("Success");
}
which basically equals doing something like
IEnumerator CallTrigger()
{
// As long as the flag is NOT set
while(!script2.hasTriggered)
{
// wait a frame
yield return null;
}
Debug.Log("Success");
}
You could also btw directly make it
// Yes, if Start returns IEnumerator Unity automatcally runs it as a coroutine
IEnumerator Start()
{
// Rather use the generic versions
script2 = GameObject.FindObjectOfType<Script2>();
yield return new WaitUntil(()=> script2.hasTriggered);
Debug.Log("Success");
}

I need the python time.sleep() equivalent in c#

I need to pause some code in an if statement in c#. Thread.Sleep() is NOT what I want as it pauses everything. I just want to temporarily hold the code in an if statement where it is for a few seconds.
I have tried Thread.Sleep() but it is not what I want.
This is in my Update() method.
if (jumps == jumpsToFatigue)
{
// wait for jumpFatigueWait (variable that is in seconds)
jumps = 0f;
}
I want something that can replace the comment that will pause THIS if statement ONLY for the time specified in my variable.
Sorry cant test now but you can try,Edited
IEnumerator WaitForYourSecond()
{
yield return new WaitForSeconds(2f);
jump = 0;
}
void Update()
{
if (jumps == jumpsToFatigue)
{
StartCoroutine("WaitForYourSecond");
}
}

Find time since a variable was changed

How would you find the time since a certain variable was changed? Take for example a boolean variable, how would you find the time since it was last changed? I want to use the boolean variable as a trigger (activating the trigger when it's true), but only after an exact, constant time (such as 0.5s) has passed since it was changed to true (it can only be changed from false to true).
Here is the code I have:
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
public class hitRegistration : MonoBehaviour
{
AudioSource hitSound;
private bool hitState = false;
// Use this for initialization
void Start()
{
hitSound = gameObject.GetComponent<AudioSource>();
}
void OnMouseOver()
{
Debug.Log("Mouse is over game object.");
if (Input.GetKey(KeyCode.X) && hitState == false)
{
hitSound.Play();
hitState = true;
}
}
private void OnMouseExit()
{
Debug.Log("Mouse is no longer over game object.");
if (hitState == true)
{
// sound clip gets cut if the cursor leaves before its finished.
Destroy(gameObject);
}
}
// Update is called once per frame
void Update()
{
}
}
"OnMouseOver()" Is simply a function that is called when the mouse is placed over the game object in question. I want to delay destroying the game object until a certain time has passed.
First off, as noted in a comment, you are probably trying to solve this problem the wrong way and you are probably asking an "XY" question -- a question where you are asking a question about a proposed bad solution instead of asking a question about the actual problem you face.
To answer the question you actually asked, for better or worse: there is no way to associate behaviours with reading or writing a variable in C#, but you can associate behaviours with a property:
private bool hitState; // The "backing store".
private bool HitState
{
get
{
return hitState;
}
set
{
hitState = value;
}
}
You would then use HitState rather than hitState throughout the rest of your class.
Now you can add whatever logic you want that happens when the property is read or written:
private DateTime hitStateTime = default(DateTime);
private bool hitState; // The "backing store".
private bool HitState
{
get
{
return hitState;
}
set
{
hitState = value;
hitStateSet = DateTime.Now;
}
}
Now you know when it was set. And so on.
Unless you really need to keep track of how much time has passed on each single frame, one way to do what you are asking for is to use Unity Coroutines.
A coroutine is a method that runs in parallel with the main thread. To solve your question, you can first create a coroutine in the same script, that waits and then does the thing you want to have delayed. A couroutine in Unity is a method that takes up to one parameter and has an IEnumerator return type. You use yield return WaitForSeconds(t); inside the coroutine to have it delay for t seconds.
Then, once it's time to die, check if the mouse is currently hovering over the object with isHovered (set in your OnMouseOver/OnMouseExit methods). If it is, keep a note that it's time to die. If it isn't, then it can die immediately.
IEnumerator WaitToDie(float delaySeconds)
{
yield return new WaitForSeconds(delaySeconds);
// If the mouse is on the object, let OnMouseExit know we're ready to die
if (isHovered)
{
readyToDie = true;
}
// Otherwise, just die
else
{
Destroy(gameObject)
}
}
And then inside your OnMouseOver code, run the coroutine after starting the sound
void OnMouseOver()
{
isHovered = true;
Debug.Log("Mouse is over game object.");
if (Input.GetKey(KeyCode.X) && !hitState)
{
hitState = true;
hitSound.Play();
// we want to delay for half a second before processing the hit.
float delaySeconds = 0.5;
IEnumerator coroutine = WaitToDie(delaySeconds);
StartCoroutine(coroutine);
}
}
And in your OnMouseExit, let everything know that you're done hovering and check if it's past time to die or not.
private void OnMouseExit()
{
isHovered = false;
Debug.Log("Mouse is no longer over game object.");
if (readyToDie) {
Destroy(gameObject);
}
}
Altogether this code will have the object die when both the mouse is off the object AND the time has elapsed.
As a sidenote, I think you might want to revisit how you are checking for a hit, unless your really want to trigger from the player holding X and then moving the mouse over the object. If you intend to trigger any time X is pressed down while the mouse is on top, you might want to put the check in Update and check Input.GetKey(KeyCode.X) && !hitState && isHovered
keep a seperate variable(DateTime) and call it lastUpdate. then be sure to set it to DateTime.Now, each time the bool you're tracking is updated. then when you need to see how long its been you can just subtract:
DateTime lengthOfTime = DateTime.Now-lastUpdate;
from lengthOfTime you can now access how many days, hours, minutes, and/or seconds have passed.
im on my phone so take it easy on my pseudo-code.
good luck

How can I call IEnumerator when a boolean is true?

I'm using the IEnumerator function and have had some issues with my if statement working:
IEnumerator Spawning()
{
Debug.Log("Spawning being called...");
if (GameObject.Find("FPSController").GetComponent<BoxCollide>().hitTrigger == true)
{
Debug.Log("CUSTOMER SHOULD SPAWN!");
while (countStop == false) {
yield return new WaitForSeconds(2);
Debug.Log("Fisher Spawned!");
counter++;
spawnNewCharacter.SpawnCharacter();
if (counter >= 3){
countStop = true;
}
}
}
}
After some debugging, it turns out that my if statement actually works. This issue is actually the IEnumerator function being called as soon as I run my game. I need a way to call this IEnumerator function only when my hitTrigger == true, but I can't seem to get anything to work.
I've tried this on top of the IEnumerator function:
void Update()
{
if (GameObject.Find("FPSController").GetComponent<BoxCollide>().hitTrigger == true)
{
Debug.Log("Spawning now...");
StartCoroutine(Spawning());
}
}
But still can't even get any of the Debug.Log's to come through. Would appreciate some help on this!
Side Information
Find() and GetComponent()
You don't want to use GameObject.Find(...) in the Update method, as it's an expensive call. The Update method is called each frame, so you'd call GameObject.Find(...) 60 times in 1 second at 60fps.
So when you use GetComponent() or Find() you want to save a reference to these objects like shown in the snippets below.
Better locations to use methods like GetComponent() or GameObject.Find() are the Awake() and Start() methods.
Awake
Awake is used to initialize any variables or game state before the
game starts. Awake is called only once during the lifetime of the
script instance. Awake is called after all objects are initialized so
you can safely speak to other objects or query them using eg.
GameObject.FindWithTag. [...]
Explanation is taken from the linked documentation.
Start
Start is called on the frame when a script is enabled just before any
of the Update methods is called the first time. Like the Awake
function, Start is called exactly once in the lifetime of the script.
However, Awake is called when the script object is initialised,
regardless of whether or not the script is enabled. Start may not be
called on the same frame as Awake if the script is not enabled at
initialisation time.
Explanation is also taken from the linked documentation
Possible Solution
Add the first Component (FPSControllerCollission) onto the object that holds your FPSController.
It makes use of unities OnTriggerEnter & OnTriggerExit methods.
This script is gonna set the IsTriggered bool to true, when a trigger entered the space of the box collider.
Note: A collider acts as a trigger, when the "Is Trigger" checkbox on
the component is checked.
You can do similar with OnCollisionEnter/Exit to recognize, when a Collider enters the space of the box collider.
Note that the following is only an example and you'll have to tweak /
integrate it into your code
[RequireComponent(typeof(BoxCollider))]
public class FPSControllerCollission : MonoBehaviour {
public bool IsTriggered;
private void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other) {
this.IsTriggered = true;
}
private void OnTriggerExit(Collider other) {
//Maybe check the tag/type of the other object here
this.IsTriggered = false;
}
}
The following SpawnController class could be integrated in the class you allready have.
public class SpawnController : MonoBehaviour {
private FPSControllerCollission _fpsControllerCollission;
private void Awake() {
this._fpsControllerCollission = FindObjectOfType<FPSControllerCollission>();
}
private void Update() {
if (this._fpsControllerCollission.IsTriggered) {
StartCoroutine(nameof(Spawning));
}
}
IEnumerator Spawning() {
Debug.Log("Spawning being called...");
if (this._fpsControllerCollission == true) {
Debug.Log("CUSTOMER SHOULD SPAWN!");
bool countStop = false;
int counter;
while (countStop == false) {
yield return new WaitForSeconds(2);
Debug.Log("Fisher Spawned!");
counter++;
spawnNewCharacter.SpawnCharacter();
if (counter >= 3) {
countStop = true;
}
}
}
}
}

Waiting for event inside Unity Coroutine?

So I have a Unity coroutine method, in which I have some objects. These objects represent values that are being gathered from a server somewhere, and they send out an Updated event when they are ready.
I was wondering what the best way is to wait for all the values to be updated, inside a coroutine in Unity.
public IEnumerator DoStuff()
{
foreach(var val in _updateableValues)
{
if (val.Value != null) continue;
else **wait for val.Updated to be fired then continue**
}
//... here I do stuff with all the values
// I use the WWW class here, so that's why it's a coroutine
}
What would be the best way of doing something like this?
Thanks!
There is no builtin direct method to wait for the event itself, but you can use a synchronous nested coroutine to wait for a flag set by the event:
//Flag
bool eventHappened;
//Event subscriber that sets the flag
void OnEvent(){
eventHappened=true;
}
//Coroutine that waits until the flag is set
IEnumerator WaitForEvent() {
yield return new WaitUntil(eventHappened);
eventHappened=false;
}
//Main coroutine, that stops and waits somewhere within it's execution
IEnumerator MainCoroutine(){
//Other stuff...
yield return StartCoroutine(WaitForEvent());
//Oher stuff...
}
With that in mind, creating a generic coroutine that waits for an UnityEvent is easy:
private IEnumerator WaitUntilEvent(UnityEvent unityEvent) {
var trigger = false;
Action action = () => trigger = true;
unityEvent.AddListener(action.Invoke);
yield return new WaitUntil(()=>trigger);
unityEvent.RemoveListener(action.Invoke);
}
I thing that a better way is to check the sever every frame and not to wait for the an amount of time without any thinking.
public IEnumerator DoStuff()
{
/* wait until we have the value we want */
while( value != desiredValue)
yield return null
//after this loop, start the real processing
}
This is my little fix.
I use the WaitUntil directly where I need it. I found though, that WaitUntil doesn't want a boolean but expects a boolean predicate function - so I provide this in my example below.
The example is real running code from a game. It runs in the very first scene, where I start the music before I do - the slightly lengthly - loading of the other stuff.
//
public class AudioSceneInitializer : MonoBehaviour
{
[SerializeField] private GlobalEventsSO globalEvents;
//globalEvents is a scriptable object that - in my case - holds all events in the game
[SerializeField] private AudioManager audioManager;
//The audio manager which in my case will raise the audio ready event
[SerializeField] public GameObject audioGO;// contains AudioSources used by AudioManager
private bool audioReady = false;
// Start is called before the first frame update
IEnumerator Start()
{
if (audioManager != null)
//better check, if we don't produce the event, we wait forever
{
//subscribe to event
globalEvents.audioManagerReadyEvent += OnAudioReady;
//do something to raise the event - else we wait forever
audioManager.onInitialization(this);//"this" needed to hand over the audioGO to the AudioManager
// waits until the flag is set;
yield return new WaitUntil(IsAudioReady);
}
//now that we have music playing, we load the actual game
SceneManager.LoadSceneAsync(1, LoadSceneMode.Additive);
}
//Event subscriber that sets the flag
void OnAudioReady()
{
//unsubscribing, if - as in my case - it happens only once in the game
globalEvents.audioManagerReadyEvent -= OnAudioReady;
audioReady = true;
}
//predicate function that WaitUntil expects
private bool IsAudioReady()
{
return audioReady;
}
public void OnDisable()
{
audioManager.onCleanup();
}
}
A spin-lock is a solution, however not a very CPU-gentle one. In a spin-lock, you would just wait for the variable to have a certain value, otherwise sleep for a few milliseconds.
public IEnumerator DoStuff()
{
/* wait until we have the value we want */
while( value != desiredValue)
yield return new WaitForSeconds(0.001f);
//after this loop, start the real processing
}
Maybe you might want to think about restructuring your code, sothat no spin-lock is requiered, but a more interupt/event-based based approach can be implemented. That means, if you update a value and something has to take place after it happened, kick it off directly after changing that value. In C#, there's even an interface INotifyPropertyChanged for that design pattern (see MSDN), but you can easily design that yourself, too, e.g. by firing an event when that certain value has changed. We'd need more information on what exactly you want to react here, if you want a better solution than a spinlock, but this should give you some ideas.

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