animation not working???

i am doing a maze game for a project for class. I have character selection, so the code is very extensive. I am not sure why but when i press an arrow key, the character flickers between two characters. i am not sure why this is happening. this is my code:

Code:

---

    Public PicCharacter As Image



    Private Sub frmLevel1_KeyPress(sender As Object, e As KeyEventArgs) Handles Me.KeyDown

        If intCharacter = 1 Then
            If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.A Then
                charDirection = WEST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Image = ChangeImage(Character1WalkWEST, 0.1)
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X - 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Right OrElse Keys.D Then
                charDirection = EAST
                PicCharacter = Character1WalkEAST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X + 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Up OrElse Keys.W Then
                charDirection = NORTH
                PicCharacter = Character1FlyUp
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y - 1)
            ElseIf Keys.Down OrElse Keys.S Then
                charDirection = SOUTH
                PicCharacter = Character1FlyDown
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y + 1)
            End If
        ElseIf intCharacter = 2 Then
            If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.A Then
                charDirection = WEST
                PicCharacter = Character2WalkWEST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X - 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Right OrElse Keys.D Then
                charDirection = EAST
                PicCharacter = Character2WalkEAST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X + 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Up OrElse Keys.W Then
                charDirection = NORTH
                PicCharacter = Character2FlyUp
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y - 1)
            ElseIf Keys.Down OrElse Keys.S Then
                charDirection = SOUTH
                PicCharacter = Character4FlyDown
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y + 1)
            End If
        ElseIf intCharacter = 3 Then
            If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.A Then
                charDirection = WEST
                PicCharacter = Character3WalkWEST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X - 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Right OrElse Keys.D Then
                charDirection = EAST
                PicCharacter = Character3WalkEAST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X + 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Up OrElse Keys.W Then
                charDirection = NORTH
                PicCharacter = Character3FlyUp
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y - 1)
            ElseIf Keys.Down OrElse Keys.S Then
                charDirection = SOUTH
                PicCharacter = Character4FlyDown
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y + 1)
            End If
        ElseIf intCharacter = 4 Then
            If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.A Then
                charDirection = WEST
                PicCharacter = Character3WalkWEST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X - 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Right OrElse Keys.D Then
                charDirection = EAST
                PicCharacter = Character4WalkEAST
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X + 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)
            ElseIf Keys.Up OrElse Keys.W Then
                charDirection = NORTH
                PicCharacter = Character4FlyUp
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y - 1)
            ElseIf Keys.Down OrElse Keys.S Then
                charDirection = SOUTH
                PicCharacter = Character4FlyDown
                PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y + 1)
            End If
        End If

    Private Sub frmLevel1_KeyUp(sender As Object, e As KeyEventArgs) Handles Me.KeyUp

        If intCharacter = 1 Then
            If charDirection = WEST Then
                PicCharacter = Character1StandWEST
            ElseIf charDirection = EAST Then
                PicCharacter = Character1StandEAST
            End If
        ElseIf intCharacter = 2 Then
            If charDirection = WEST Then
                PicCharacter = Character2StandWEST
            ElseIf charDirection = EAST Then
                PicCharacter = Character2StandEAST
            End If
        ElseIf intCharacter = 3 Then
            If charDirection = WEST Then
                PicCharacter = Character3StandWEST
            ElseIf charDirection = EAST Then
                PicCharacter = Character3StandEAST
            End If
        ElseIf intCharacter = 4 Then
            If charDirection = WEST Then
                PicCharacter = Character4StandWEST
            ElseIf charDirection = EAST Then
                PicCharacter = Character4StandEAST
            End If, it will
        End If

    End Sub

  Private Sub tmrMove_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrMove.Tick

        PicCharacterLvl1.Image = ChangeImage(PicCharacter, 0.1)

    End Sub

---

The first is where my piccharacter is declared. the next is my keypress function. I am saying that if the character is the first, and you press left, the direction changes to west, the animation changes to walk west and the picture box moves to the left. I have this for every possible character and direction. the next is what i put in the key up function, saying that if i let go of the key, it will go back to stand. this standing works, but when i press a key to walk, it flickers between two characters. the last is just the line i have in the timer tick function, saying that every tick, the change image function runs. please note this is my first year in vb, so i am not that educated and if i could get a detailed explanation on my mistake, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Time to add a breakpoint and do a bit of code stepping. The flickering is pretty interesting, and will take a bit of study on your part. What's really intriguing is that for flickering to happen, the display must have a chance to refresh, which probably means that MORE code is running than you are expecting to be running. Breakpoints are the way to get at this, but they may not be something you have dealt with, yet. If you haven't dealt with them, now's the time to learn, as there is no more valuable tool at your disposal than breakpoints.

To add a breakpoint, put the cursor on the line you want to break on (the first If statement in that first method would be my first choice), and press F9. This will put a maroon ball in the left margin and color the line maroon. From then on, you can always set/remove breakpoints by clicking in the left margin. This is also fairly standard across lots of different languages/development environments.

Next, run the program. When execution reaches a line with a breakpoint on it, the code will pause, and you'll be taken to the line. At that point, you can look at the contents of any variable in scope by either mousing over them, or clicking on them and pressing Shift+F9. You can also step forwards through the code using either F10 or F11, but more importantly, in this case, you can return to normal functioning using F5.

The thing is, since you are seeing flickering, then the code is setting one image, then setting another, and not in the same function. If it was in the same function, the screen wouldn't get a chance to draw the first image before the second one was drawn. So, what you are looking for is multiple things happening in short order, but not in the same method. You can put breakpoints in all three of those methods and see whether they work the way you expect. A breakpoint in the timer tick will be hit every time the timer ticks, which is likely to be REALLY annoying, so you might not want a breakpoint there. However, a breakpoint in the KeyPress event handler may get hit more than once, or the KeyDown and KeyUp may be happening in ways you didn't expect. So, put breakpoints in both of those methods, and when one breakpoint is hit, just press F5 and see what happens next.

right, this does seem to be useful, but the new problem in my other thread stops the program from even reaching the first level anymore. I have a splash screen for the level, then the level comes up for half a second and closes and the error for the changeimage comes up.

I don't really understand what you're describing. Let's talk about simplifying the code so it's easier to understand.

Does the problem happen with only one character? If so, then please delete the other three characters. If it's not working with all of them, then it's 4x as hard to debug or read with all 4 of them present. When you get one character working, you can add the "more than one character" feature. In the future, you should think about just loading the appropriate character images into one set of variables, then you don't have to repeat the code 4x.

Let's talk about how your code works. I think you've overcomplicated things, but I have to make several guesses to get there.

The first problem is I don't know what ChangeImage() does. You didn't show me that code. It's important to know what it does to know the right answer, but I think it might be irrelevant. Let's keep going.

Every timer tick, if i guess what your code does right, you set the PictureBox's image to whatever is in PicCharacter. I think you want to ensure these things happen:

• Before walking, PicCharacter is the correct "standing" image.
• While walking, PicCharacter is the correct "walking" image.
• After walking, PicCharacter is the correct "standing" image.

I don't see any proof that "before walking" is true in this code. But the KeyUp handler ensures the "after walking" part is true.

This is not universally true in your KeyPress handler. Here's one that gets it right:

Code:

---

charDirection = EAST
PicCharacter = Character3WalkEAST
PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X + 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)

---

Here's one that doesn't:

Code:

---

charDirection = WEST
PicCharacterLvl1.Image = ChangeImage(Character1WalkWEST, 0.1)
PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(PicCharacterLvl1.Location.X - 1, PicCharacterLvl1.Location.Y)

---

In that case, instead of setting PicCharacter, you directly set the image in the PictureBox every KeyPress event. But then, when the Timer ticks, it sets the image to what's in PicCharacter, which is the standing sprite. If your timer is fast, you'll see it flicker between the two.

This was very hard to pick out because there are 4 cases for 4 characters for a total of 16 cases. Who knows how many of them are wrong? Here's a simple way to fix it. (More complex things are more elegant, but this is easy to understand.)

I'd have a set of variables for the "right" images:

Code:

---

Private _standingLeft As Image
Private _standingRight As Image
Private _standingUp As Image
Private _standingDown As Image
Private _walkingLeft As Image
Private _walkingRight As Image
Private _walkingUp As Image
Private _walkingDown As Image

---

After character select, I'd want to call some method like this:

Code:

---

Private Sub InitializeImages(ByVal characterIndex As Integer)
    If characterIndex = 1 Then
        _standingLeft = Character1StandWEST
        _standingRight = Character1StandEAST
        ...
    Else If characterIndex = 2 Then
        _standingLeft = Character2StandWEST
        _standingRight = Character2StandEAST
        ...
    Else If...
        ...
    End If
End Sub

---

It's tedious. But when it's done, you only have one set of variables to worry about. It'd be "cleaner" to use/abuse arrays to get here, but somewhere there's going to be some tedious code to set it up. Let's live with it.

After InitializeImages() is called, you don't need to worry about the character index anymore, just directions. So KeyPress could just be:

Code:

---

If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.A Then
    charDirection = WEST
    PicCharacter = _walkingLeft
Else If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.D Then
    charDirection = EAST
    PicCharacter = _walkingRight
...

---

It doesn't have to worry about "which character" because it knows the right images for the character are already loaded! KeyUp could be similarly easier:

Code:

---

If charDirection = WEST Then
    PicCharacter = _standingLeft
Else If...

---

That'll cut your tedium by 75%, and make it easier to deal with errors.

yes, i now i could have been much more efficient, but i really didn't learn that many different methods of doing this. thanks very much for the simplification. i made a mistake in the first character west and forgot to change it, since they were all the .image method originally. although there is just one build error i am not sure how to fix.

Private Sub tmrMove_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrMove.Tick

PicCharacterLvl1.Image = ChangeIMage(PicCharacter, 0.1)

End Sub

Piccharacter is underlined and says that "Value of type 'Image' cannot be converted to 'Image()'"

although there is just one build error i am not sure how to fix.

Private Sub tmrMove_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrMove.Tick

PicCharacterLvl1.Image = ChangeIMage(PicCharacter, 0.1)

End Sub

Piccharacter is underlined and says that "Value of type 'Image' cannot be converted to 'Image()'"

I have to make a psychic guess because you STILL haven't showed me what ChangeImage() looks like. But I can make a guess, and you can too. Let's talk about reading error messages.

You can't convert lead to gold. So let's use Lead and Gold as our types. Suppose I write this function:

Code:

---

Public Sub DoSomething(ByVal input As Gold)
End Sub

---

Now imagine I call it this way:

Code:

---

Dim item As New Lead()
DoSomething(item)

---

I will get an error message very similar to what you got:

Quote:

---

Value of type 'Lead' cannot be converted to 'Gold'.

---

Do you see how they line up? Let's look at the relevant line again:

Code:

---

DoSomething(item)

---

"Value of type 'Lead' is talking about the variable 'item'. It is defined as a variable with type Lead. I am trying to pass it to DoSomething(), and for some reason that caused VB to try to convert 'Lead' to 'Gold'. Why? Let's examine DoSomething() again:

Code:

---

Public Sub DoSomething(ByVal input As Gold)

---

The parameter input is of type Gold. But I passed it a variable of type Lead. VB tried to convert Lead to Gold so DoSomething() could be satisfied, but it can't convert Lead to Gold.

So in your case:

ChangeImage() is a function that takes a parameter of type Image(), that is "Array of Image". But your PicCharacter variable is of type Image. So you have a hole that is shaped like "Array of Image", but tried to give it "Image", and you can't do that.

Either your ChangeImage() method is asking for the wrong thing, or you're giving it the wrong thing. I can't tell you which is right. There's not a magic thing to type to make this work: you have to think about the problem, decide what you wanted to do, and rewrite the code so it does the right thing.

(Get used to reading Noun() as "array of noun". That can get confusing because Word() could also mean "a Sub or Function named Word". VB decided to use parenthesis for both array indices and parameter lists. Other languages, which VB developers claim are hard to learn, use [] square brackets so you can't get Word[] (array of word) mixed up with Word() (a Function/Sub named Word).)

System.NullReferenceException: 'Object reference not set to an instance of an object.'

imgArray was Nothing.

This error comes up for my changeimage function for a game i am making. This is the code:


Public Function ChangeIMage(ByVal imgArray() As Image, ByVal imgIncrement As Decimal) As Image
'
imgCounter += imgIncrement

If CInt(imgCounter) > imgArray.GetUpperBound(0) Then
imgCounter = 0
End If

Return imgArray(CInt(imgCounter))
End Function


It was working up until now when i was working on the project. not sure what the error means and how fix it. sorry, but i have this on another thread. it is also a problem that no one can seem to figure out.

But that's the other thread.

A NullReferenceException means that a reference type variable was Nothing, and you tried to access it. In the code you posted, the ONLY variable that is reference type is imgArray. The other variables are all value types. Value types are simple things, like numbers, dates....and kind of strings, though their weird. So, if imgArray is Nothing, then when you try to access the GetUpperBound(0) method, you are trying to access a method on Nothing, and Nothing has no members, so you get that exception.

(by the way, .Length() would be easier to type than GetUpperBound(0), and would do the same thing).

No one can figure it out because you aren't posting enough code, and you aren't using the forum's code tags to make it easy for people to read it.

Imagine if I asked you to name the item on my desk next to my left hand. Can you? Why not? You can't see my desk, can you?

The thing causing your error is in your code. It's on your monitor, and on your hard drive. I can't see either. The only window into your world I get is what you put into your post.

But you're asking, "Why does my left hand hurt?" and showing me a picture of your right hand or something else. Depending on what picture I get, I might be able to deduce what's happening, but it wholly depends on the quality of the picture.

ChangeImage() is one piece of the puzzle. The error is being caused by whatever parameter you are passing to ChangeImage(), so we need to see the code that calls it. But if that variable is indeed Nothing, we also need to see all of the code that could change that variable. And if any of that is not in an event handler, we need to see anything that calls it.

You could've saved yourself a few hours if you posted ALL of your code at the start, instead of trying to narrow it down. And at this point, you've probably made it worse because the code you have now has changed since you last posted it, so what we're looking at isn't even what you're working with.

okay okay sorry ill post it all:

FRMCHARACTER(form where character is selected):

Code:

---

Public Class frmCharacter

    Private Sub frmCharacter_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

        PicCharacter1.Image = Character1StandWEST(4)
        PicCharacter2.Image = Character2StandWEST(4)
        PicCharacter3.Image = Character3StandWEST(4)
        PicCharacter4.Image = Character4StandWEST(4)

        Character1StandWEST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_0
        Character1StandWEST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_1
        Character1StandWEST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_2
        Character1StandWEST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_3
        Character1StandWEST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_4

        Character1StandWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_0)
        Character1StandWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_1)
        Character1StandWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_2)
        Character1StandWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_3)
        Character1StandWEST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_4)

        Character2StandWEST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_01
        Character2StandWEST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_11
        Character2StandWEST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_21
        Character2StandWEST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_31
        Character2StandWEST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_41

        Character2StandWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_01)
        Character2StandWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_11)
        Character2StandWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_21)
        Character2StandWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_31)
        Character2StandWEST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_41)

        Character3StandWEST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_02
        Character3StandWEST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_12
        Character3StandWEST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_22
        Character3StandWEST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_32
        Character3StandWEST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_42

        Character3StandWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_02)
        Character3StandWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_12)
        Character3StandWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_22)
        Character3StandWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_32)
        Character3StandWEST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_42)

        Character4StandWEST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_03
        Character4StandWEST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_13
        Character4StandWEST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_23
        Character4StandWEST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_33
        Character4StandWEST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_43

        Character4StandWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_03)
        Character4StandWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_13)
        Character4StandWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_23)
        Character4StandWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_33)
        Character4StandWEST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_43)

        Character1WalkWEST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_0
        Character1WalkWEST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_1
        Character1WalkWEST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_2
        Character1WalkWEST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_3

        Character1WalkWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_0)
        Character1WalkWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_1)
        Character1WalkWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_2)
        Character1WalkWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_3)

        Character2WalkWEST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_01
        Character2WalkWEST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_11
        Character2WalkWEST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_21
        Character2WalkWEST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_31

        Character2WalkWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_01)
        Character2WalkWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_11)
        Character2WalkWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_21)
        Character2WalkWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_31)

        Character3WalkWEST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_02
        Character3WalkWEST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_12
        Character3WalkWEST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_22
        Character3WalkWEST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_32

        Character3WalkWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_02)
        Character3WalkWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_12)
        Character3WalkWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_22)
        Character3WalkWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_32)

        Character4WalkWEST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_03
        Character4WalkWEST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_13
        Character4WalkWEST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_23
        Character4WalkWEST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_33

        Character4WalkWEST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_03)
        Character4WalkWEST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_13)
        Character4WalkWEST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_23)
        Character4WalkWEST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_33)

        Character1StandEAST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_0
        Character1StandEAST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_1
        Character1StandEAST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_2
        Character1StandEAST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_3
        Character1StandEAST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_4

        Character1StandEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_0)
        Character1StandEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_1)
        Character1StandEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_2)
        Character1StandEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_3)
        Character1StandEAST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_4)

        Character2StandEAST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_01
        Character2StandEAST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_11
        Character2StandEAST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_21
        Character2StandEAST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_31
        Character2StandEAST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_41

        Character2StandEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_01)
        Character2StandEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_11)
        Character2StandEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_21)
        Character2StandEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_31)
        Character2StandEAST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_41)

        Character3StandEAST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_02
        Character3StandEAST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_12
        Character3StandEAST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_22
        Character3StandEAST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_32
        Character3StandEAST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_42

        Character3StandEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_02)
        Character3StandEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_12)
        Character3StandEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_22)
        Character3StandEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_32)
        Character3StandEAST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_42)

        Character4StandEAST(0) = My.Resources.stand1_03
        Character4StandEAST(1) = My.Resources.stand1_13
        Character4StandEAST(2) = My.Resources.stand1_23
        Character4StandEAST(3) = My.Resources.stand1_33
        Character4StandEAST(4) = My.Resources.stand1_43

        Character4StandEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_03)
        Character4StandEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_13)
        Character4StandEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_23)
        Character4StandEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_33)
        Character4StandEAST(4) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.stand1_43)

        Character1WalkEAST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_0
        Character1WalkEAST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_1
        Character1WalkEAST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_2
        Character1WalkEAST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_3

        Character1WalkEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_0)
        Character1WalkEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_1)
        Character1WalkEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_2)
        Character1WalkEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_3)

        Character2WalkEAST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_01
        Character2WalkEAST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_11
        Character2WalkEAST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_21
        Character2WalkEAST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_31

        Character2WalkEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_01)
        Character2WalkEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_11)
        Character2WalkEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_21)
        Character2WalkEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_31)

        Character3WalkEAST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_02
        Character3WalkEAST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_12
        Character3WalkEAST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_22
        Character3WalkEAST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_32

        Character3WalkEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_02)
        Character3WalkEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_12)
        Character3WalkEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_22)
        Character3WalkEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_32)

        Character4WalkEAST(0) = My.Resources.walk1_03
        Character4WalkEAST(1) = My.Resources.walk1_13
        Character4WalkEAST(2) = My.Resources.walk1_23
        Character4WalkEAST(3) = My.Resources.walk1_03

        Character4WalkEAST(0) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_03)
        Character4WalkEAST(1) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_13)
        Character4WalkEAST(2) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_23)
        Character4WalkEAST(3) = New Bitmap(My.Resources.walk1_33)

        Character1FlyUp(0) = My.Resources.fly_0
        Character1FlyUp(1) = My.Resources.fly_1

        Character1FlyUp(0) = New Bitmap(fly_0)
        Character1FlyUp(1) = New Bitmap(fly_1)

        Character2FlyUp(0) = My.Resources.fly_01
        Character2FlyUp(1) = My.Resources.fly_11

        Character2FlyUp(0) = New Bitmap(fly_01)
        Character2FlyUp(1) = New Bitmap(fly_11)

        Character3FlyUp(0) = My.Resources.fly_02
        Character3FlyUp(1) = My.Resources.fly_12

        Character3FlyUp(0) = New Bitmap(fly_02)
        Character3FlyUp(1) = New Bitmap(fly_12)

        Character4FlyUp(0) = My.Resources.fly_03
        Character4FlyUp(1) = My.Resources.fly_13

        Character4FlyUp(0) = New Bitmap(fly_03)
        Character4FlyUp(1) = New Bitmap(fly_13)

        Character1FlyDown(0) = My.Resources.fly_0
        Character1FlyDown(1) = My.Resources.fly_1

        Character1FlyDown(0) = New Bitmap(fly_0)
        Character1FlyDown(1) = New Bitmap(fly_1)

        Character2FlyDown(0) = My.Resources.fly_01
        Character2FlyDown(1) = My.Resources.fly_11

        Character2FlyDown(0) = New Bitmap(fly_01)
        Character2FlyDown(1) = New Bitmap(fly_11)

        Character3FlyDown(0) = My.Resources.fly_02
        Character3FlyDown(1) = My.Resources.fly_12

        Character3FlyDown(0) = New Bitmap(fly_02)
        Character3FlyDown(1) = New Bitmap(fly_12)

        Character4FlyDown(0) = My.Resources.fly_03
        Character4FlyDown(1) = My.Resources.fly_13

        Character4FlyDown(0) = New Bitmap(fly_03)
        Character4FlyDown(1) = New Bitmap(fly_13)

    End Sub

    Private Sub tmrStand_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrStand.Tick

        PicCharacter1.Image = ChangeIMage(Character1StandWEST, 0.1)
        PicCharacter2.Image = ChangeIMage(Character2StandWEST, 0.1)
        PicCharacter3.Image = ChangeIMage(Character3StandWEST, 0.1)
        PicCharacter4.Image = ChangeIMage(Character4StandWEST, 0.1)

    End Sub

    Private Sub PicCharacter1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles PicCharacter1.Click

        intcharacter = 1
        Me.Close()
        Level1SplashScreen.Show()

    End Sub

    Private Sub PicCharacter2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles PicCharacter2.Click

        intcharacter = 2
        Me.Close()
        Level1SplashScreen.Show()

    End Sub

    Private Sub PicCharacter3_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles PicCharacter3.Click

        intcharacter = 3
        Me.Close()
        Level1SplashScreen.Show()

    End Sub

    Private Sub PicCharacter4_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles PicCharacter4.Click

        intcharacter = 4
        Me.Close()
        Level1SplashScreen.Show()

    End Sub

    Private Sub InititalizeImages(ByVal intcharacter As Integer)

        If intcharacter = 1 Then
            WalkWest = Character1WalkWEST(0 - 3)
            WalkEast = Character1WalkEAST(0 - 3)
            StandWest = Character1StandWEST(0 - 4)
            StandEast = Character1StandEAST(0 - 4)
            Flyup = Character1FlyUp(0 - 1)
            FlyDown = Character1FlyDown(0 - 1)
        ElseIf intcharacter = 2 Then
            WalkWest = Character2WalkWEST(0 - 3)
            WalkEast = Character2WalkEAST(0 - 3)
            StandWest = Character2StandWEST(0 - 4)
            StandEast = Character2StandEAST(0 - 4)
            Flyup = Character2FlyUp(0 - 1)
            FlyDown = Character2FlyDown(0 - 1)
        ElseIf intcharacter = 3 Then
            WalkWest = Character3WalkWEST(0 - 3)
            WalkEast = Character3WalkEAST(0 - 3)
            StandWest = Character3StandWEST(0 - 4)
            StandEast = Character3StandEAST(0 - 4)
            Flyup = Character3FlyUp(0 - 1)
            FlyDown = Character3FlyDown(0 - 1)
        ElseIf Intcharacter = 4 Then
            WalkWest = Character4WalkWEST(0 - 3)
            WalkEast = Character4WalkEAST(0 - 3)
            StandWest = Character4StandWEST(0 - 4)
            StandEast = Character4StandEAST(0 - 4)
            Flyup = Character4FlyUp(0 - 1)
            FlyDown = Character4FlyDown(0 - 1)
        End If

    End Sub
End Class

---

level1:

Code:

---

Public Class frmLevel1

    Private Walls(7)

    Private Sub frmLevel1_KeyPress(sender As Object, e As KeyEventArgs) Handles Me.KeyDown

        If Keys.Left OrElse Keys.A Then
            charDirection = WEST
            PicCharacter = WalkWest
        ElseIf Keys.Right OrElse Keys.D Then
            charDirection = EAST
            PicCharacter = WalkEast
        ElseIf Keys.Up OrElse Keys.W Then
            charDirection = NORTH
            PicCharacter = Flyup
        ElseIf Keys.Down OrElse Keys.S Then
            charDirection = SOUTH
            PicCharacter = FlyDown
        End If

        If WallCollision() Then
            PicCharacterLvl1.Location = New Point(643, 387)
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub frmLevel1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

        Walls(0) = lblLvl1Wall1
        Walls(1) = lblLvl1Wall2
        Walls(2) = lblLvl1Wall3
        Walls(3) = lblLvl1Wall4
        Walls(4) = lblLvl1Wall5
        Walls(5) = lblLvl1Wall6
        Walls(6) = lblLvl1Wall7
        Walls(7) = lblLvl1Wall8

        intScore = 1000

    End Sub

    Private Function WallCollision() As Boolean
        For i As Integer = 0 To Walls.GetUpperBound(0)
            If PicCharacterLvl1.Bounds.IntersectsWith(Walls(i).Bounds) Then
                Return True
            End If
        Next
        Return False
    End Function

    Private Sub tmrMove_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrMove.Tick

        PicCharacterLvl1.Image = ChangeIMage(PicCharacter, 0.1)

    End Sub

    Private Sub tmrScore_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrScore.Tick

        intScore = intScore - 1
        lblScore.Text = "Score:" & intScore.ToString()

    End Sub
End Class

---

Code:

---

Option Strict On
Module Animation

    Public Character1StandWEST(4) As Image
    Public Character2StandWEST(4) As Image
    Public Character3StandWEST(4) As Image
    Public Character4StandWEST(4) As Image

    Public Character1StandEAST(4) As Image
    Public Character2StandEAST(4) As Image
    Public Character3StandEAST(4) As Image
    Public Character4StandEAST(4) As Image

    Public Character1WalkWEST(3) As Image
    Public Character2WalkWEST(3) As Image
    Public Character3WalkWEST(3) As Image
    Public Character4WalkWEST(3) As Image

    Public Character1WalkEAST(3) As Image
    Public Character2WalkEAST(3) As Image
    Public Character3WalkEAST(3) As Image
    Public Character4WalkEAST(3) As Image

    Public Character1FlyUp(1) As Image
    Public Character2FlyUp(1) As Image
    Public Character3FlyUp(1) As Image
    Public Character4FlyUp(1) As Image

    Public Character1FlyDown(1) As Image
    Public Character2FlyDown(1) As Image
    Public Character3FlyDown(1) As Image
    Public Character4FlyDown(1) As Image

    Public StandWest As Image
    Public StandEast As Image
    Public WalkWest As Image
    Public WalkEast As Image
    Public Flyup As Image
    Public FlyDown As Image

    Public PicCharacter() As Image

    Public intcharacter As integer

    Public intScore As Integer = 0

    Public Const EAST As Integer = 0
    Public Const NORTH As Integer = 90
    Public Const WEST As Integer = 180
    Public Const SOUTH As Integer = 270

    Public charDirection As Integer = WEST
    Public charSpeed As Integer = 5

    Public imgCounter As Integer = 0
    Public Function ChangeIMage(ByVal imgArray() As Image, ByVal imgIncrement As Integer) As Image

        imgCounter += imgIncrement

        If imgCounter > imgArray.Length() Then
            imgCounter = 0
        End If

        Return imgArray(imgCounter)
    End Function

End Module

---

AHA! Form Load. There are things to clean up there, but one thing you need to know: If that throws an exception, it will quit without you ever knowing about it...at least on 64-bit operating systems, which are pretty common these days. Any exception thrown in there will quietly go away, and execution will simply leave the method. This would be a total disaster for your code, and would result in the exception you are reporting (later...AFTER you got out of the load event).

So, there are two things you can do to see if this is happening. One thing you can do is put a breakpoint on the very first line in the load event. If execution gets there, then press F10 repeatedly. If you don't step through each line in that method, but suddenly jump somewhere else...then you have a problem.

A better solution would be to wrap the whole contents of that method in a Try...Catch block. Any exception being thrown is a bug that needs to be fixed, so you don't have to do much with the exception, since you want to squash the bug, at which point there won't be exceptions anymore. So, in the catch block, put either a messagebox showing the exception message, or even just a line to put a breakpoint on.

The very first line in that event may be throwing an exception, too, because you are setting a picturebox image to one index in an array...which has nothing in it, yet, since you don't load the array until later. So, you are setting the picturebox image to Nothing, which may not be allowed. I don't see a specific mention that it is not allowed, but I do see a mention that certain things can cause exceptions. Once again, if an exception is thrown on that line....the rest all makes sense.

So, look for a bug in there. The exception handler method will give you more information, while the breakpoint approach is faster to try out.

By the way, you got some basic stuff right that lots of people do not. The use of Option Strict is excellent. That will save you pain in the long run. You are also using OrElse rather than Or, which is often overlooked when starting out.

So, good job.

right, so when i enter the breakpoint, it does go line to line. I am just having trouble finding the problem with the animation. I have fixed the imgarray is nothing error. Since there are no errors or anything when it loads and when i press a key, i figure it must have been when i declared all the images for the animation. i have checked it over with the files a dozen times and they are correct. what has been happening is first off, the stand animation doesnt work since it is staying idle, and when i press a key, it switches to the first image of walk and stays like that. Also, for some characters, it ends up a different one in the first level. I have no clue why this is happening and im am certain all the files are matching up correctly. It could also be problem in changeimage, but there is no error coming from there. there is more information on my newest thread, please check there. also, thank you so much for your help so far.

Which is easier, to paint one fencepost or to paint a fence?

You are trying to paint a fence. By that I mean your character selection code causes repetition. Everything you write is repeated four or five times, which means finding out how anything works involves 80% of the code being repetition that slows the reader down. With more work, you shouldn't have to repeat anything to have multiple characters. But that's not your problem right now.

Delete everything related to having more than one character. Right now. All of it. Get your code working as if character select just doesn't exist. If your game doesn't work with one character, it won't work with five. So you should get your game working with one character first. Then two. After two, moving up to five should be easy.

But if you try to start with five characters, you can't tell if the problem is "the animation code is wrong" or "the character select code is wrong", and having 5x the code to read makes it dreadfully hard to proceed.

I try not to write more than ten lines of code before trying out my program to see if they work. When I do that, I know that any new problem must involve the ten lines I wrote. When I was younger, I didn't think about this, and would work for an hour before trying anything out. Hundreds of lines. It is much easier to debug 10 lines than 100.

I can't be certain the bugs you're describing have anything to do with the code in this post anymore. So make the cut I suggested ad trim the program down to just one character. Then debug that. If you're still stumped, post EXACTLY the code you have. It should be about 100 lines shorter, which means it will take me 20-30 less minutes to decipher. Given that I usually only have about an hour to putter around on the forum, that's a big deal.

alright i took out anything to do with characters 2, 3, and 4. ill make a new thread with the fixed code.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rparikh10

alright i took out anything to do with characters 2, 3, and 4. ill make a new thread with the fixed code.

---

You have the Line 'Option Strict On' at the top of one of your code files. It should be present in all your code files.

Better still, turn Option Strict on in the IDE's options:

Tools / Options / Projects and Solutions / VB Defaults.

Then restart VS.

If you had Option Strict turned On, you'd be led straight to the cause of your problem. You'd get an error shown for lines that make a call to 'ChangeIMage', such as:

Code:

---

PicCharacter1.Image = ChangeIMage(Character1StandWEST, 0.1)

---

and you'd see a squigly line under the 0.1.

Why is that line wrong? Well look to how you declared the ChangeIMage method:

Code:

---

Public Function ChangeIMage(ByVal imgArray() As Image, ByVal imgIncrement As Integer)

---

The second parameter expects an Integer to be passed, but you are passing a fraction (0.1) as an argument.

With Option Strict turned Off, you are forcing the compiler to implicitly convert that 0.1 to an Integer, and it converts it to 0, so the value of your 'imgCounter' variable never increases.

right, i didnt realize it was only in that form. the error now came up. thanks.