KeyAscii..it's killing me!

[Shin]

I already posted a message that has to do with this one, but not entirely. If i set a case statement on VB and i assign the cases to different vbKeys and i press both at the same time, it will only recognize one, ignoring all others. Like.. in games you can do several keys at the same time..how..(i know C++ and other programs than VB6.0 are better for games..).
My ex:

Private Sub Form_KeyPress(KEYASCII As Integer)
Select Case KEYASCII
Case vbKeyW
pyinc1 = -200
Case vbKeyS
pyinc1 = 200
End Select
End Sub

basically im increasing/decreasing Y-Increments when press either W or S, say i want to press S and W at the same time, only one will be taken. What if i want to move it diagonally with W and D for example.. it wouldn't... should I use another statement?

[dnrodrigo]

You were pretty close... but the KeyAscii value will do you no good because it is limited to a single value; An integer that corresponds to a standard numeric ANSI keycode.

To handle simultaneous keystrokes you'll have to get out of the "VB Comfort Zone" and call on the Windows API GetKeyboardStatus function, although we'll still use the Form_KeyPress event to trap standard key presses.

'GetKeyboardState API: Returns the current status of the entire keyboard...
'this can include upper ASCII characters for which there is no key,
'and even the three mouse buttons.
Private Declare Function GetKeyboardState Lib "user32" (pbKeyState As Byte) As Long
 
'keycode constants... you'll have to lookup the other 250+ on the internet :-)
Const VK_A = &H41       'virtual keycode for A (or a)
Const VK_D = &H44       'virtual keycode for D (or d)
Const VK_S = &H53       'virtual keycode for S (or s)
Const VK_W = &H57       'virtual keycode for W (or w)
Const KeyIsDown = &H80  'bit which indicates key is currently down
 
'This event occurs when the user presses or releases an ANSI key.
'Keep in mind that function keys, editing keys, navigation keys,
'and any combination of these are not recognized by the KeyPress
'event. Also remember to set the form's KeyPreview property to True.
Private Sub Form_KeyPress(KeyAscii As Integer)
 
    'dimension needed variables
    Dim KeyboardState(0 To 255) As Byte         'byte array to hold keyboard status
    Dim retval As Long                          'return value for GetKeyboardState
    
    'call API
    retval = GetKeyboardState(KeyboardState(0))
    If retval = 0 Then                          '0 indicates API call error
        MsgBox ("Keyboard Error")               'notify user of error
        Exit Sub                                'stop processing this keystroke
    End If
    
    'process keystroke
    If KeyboardState(VK_A) And KeyIsDown Then           'if A is down
        If KeyboardState(VK_D) And KeyIsDown Then           'if D is down
            Label1.Caption = "AD"                           '   - or -
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_S) And KeyIsDown Then       'if S is down
            Label1.Caption = "AS"                           '   - or -
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_W) And KeyIsDown Then       'if W is down
            Label1.Caption = "AW"
        Else
            Label1.Caption = "A"
        End If
    ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_D) And KeyIsDown Then           'if D is down
        If KeyboardState(VK_A) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "DA"
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_S) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "DS"
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_W) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "DW"
        Else
            Label1.Caption = "D"
        End If
    ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_S) And KeyIsDown Then           'if S is down
        If KeyboardState(VK_A) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "SA"
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_D) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "SD"
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_W) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "SW"
        Else
            Label1.Caption = "S"
        End If
    ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_W) And KeyIsDown Then           'if W is down
        If KeyboardState(VK_A) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "WA"
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_D) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "WD"
        ElseIf KeyboardState(VK_S) And KeyIsDown Then
            Label1.Caption = "WS"
        Else
            Label1.Caption = "W"
        End If
    End If
    
End Sub

BTW: Who says C++ is better for games?!

[BodwadUK]

C++ is faster but its much easier to write games in VB

in my opinion anyway

[Shin]

!!!!! Thx Man!!!!!!

Well, actually i forgot to mention I was assuming C++ is better. Because in a lot of games I've seen they apply or require C++. So I would think now that it depends on the programmer right?

[NoteMe]

You don't have to use APIs to make your keyboard manage more then one press at the same time....look at this simple method I was suing in this thread...

http://vbforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=246477

[Shin]

Anyone know any good webpages where they list the codes for the keycode constants?

[NoteMe]

Do you have MSDN?

Constant Value Description
vbKeyLButton 0x1 Left mouse button
vbKeyRButton 0x2 Right mouse button
vbKeyCancel 0x3 CANCEL key
vbKeyMButton 0x4 Middle mouse button
vbKeyBack 0x8 BACKSPACE key
vbKeyTab 0x9 TAB key
vbKeyClear 0xC CLEAR key
vbKeyReturn 0xD ENTER key
vbKeyShift 0x10 SHIFT key
vbKeyControl 0x11 CTRL key
vbKeyMenu 0x12 MENU key
vbKeyPause 0x13 PAUSE key
vbKeyCapital 0x14 CAPS LOCK key
vbKeyEscape 0x1B ESC key
vbKeySpace 0x20 SPACEBAR key
vbKeyPageUp 0x21 PAGE UP key
vbKeyPageDown 0x22 PAGE DOWN key
vbKeyEnd 0x23 END key
vbKeyHome 0x24 HOME key
vbKeyLeft 0x25 LEFT ARROW key
vbKeyUp 0x26 UP ARROW key
vbKeyRight 0x27 RIGHT ARROW key
vbKeyDown 0x28 DOWN ARROW key
vbKeySelect 0x29 SELECT key
vbKeyPrint 0x2A PRINT SCREEN key
vbKeyExecute 0x2B EXECUTE key
vbKeySnapshot 0x2C SNAPSHOT key
vbKeyInsert 0x2D INSERT key
vbKeyDelete 0x2E DELETE key
vbKeyHelp 0x2F HELP key
vbKeyNumlock 0x90 NUM LOCK key


The A key through the Z key are the same as the ASCII equivalents A – Z:

Constant Value Description
vbKeyA 65 A key
vbKeyB 66 B key
vbKeyC 67 C key
vbKeyD 68 D key
vbKeyE 69 E key
vbKeyF 70 F key
vbKeyG 71 G key
vbKeyH 72 H key
vbKeyI 73 I key
vbKeyJ 74 J key
vbKeyK 75 K key
vbKeyL 76 L key
vbKeyM 77 M key
vbKeyN 78 N key
vbKeyO 79 O key
vbKeyP 80 P key
vbKeyQ 81 Q key
vbKeyR 82 R key
vbKeyS 83 S key
vbKeyT 84 T key
vbKeyU 85 U key
vbKeyV 86 V key
vbKeyW 87 W key
vbKeyX 88 X key
vbKeyY 89 Y key
vbKeyZ 90 Z key


The 0 key through 9 key are the same as their ASCII equivalents 0 – 9:

Constant Value Description
vbKey0 48 0 key
vbKey1 49 1 key
vbKey2 50 2 key
vbKey3 51 3 key
vbKey4 52 4 key
vbKey5 53 5 key
vbKey6 54 6 key
vbKey7 55 7 key
vbKey8 56 8 key
vbKey9 57 9 key


The following constants represent keys on the numeric keypad:

Constant Value Description
vbKeyNumpad0 0x60 0 key
vbKeyNumpad1 0x61 1 key
vbKeyNumpad2 0x62 2 key
vbKeyNumpad3 0x63 3 key
vbKeyNumpad4 0x64 4 key
vbKeyNumpad5 0x65 5 key
vbKeyNumpad6 0x66 6 key
vbKeyNumpad7 0x67 7 key
vbKeyNumpad8 0x68 8 key
vbKeyNumpad9 0x69 9 key
vbKeyMultiply 0x6A MULTIPLICATION SIGN (*) key
vbKeyAdd 0x6B PLUS SIGN (+) key
vbKeySeparator 0x6C ENTER key
vbKeySubtract 0x6D MINUS SIGN (–) key
vbKeyDecimal 0x6E DECIMAL POINT (.) key
vbKeyDivide 0x6F DIVISION SIGN (/) key


The following constants represent function keys:

Constant Value Description
vbKeyF1 0x70 F1 key
vbKeyF2 0x71 F2 key
vbKeyF3 0x72 F3 key
vbKeyF4 0x73 F4 key
vbKeyF5 0x74 F5 key
vbKeyF6 0x75 F6 key
vbKeyF7 0x76 F7 key
vbKeyF8 0x77 F8 key
vbKeyF9 0x78 F9 key
vbKeyF10 0x79 F10 key
vbKeyF11 0x7A F11 key
vbKeyF12 0x7B F12 key
vbKeyF13 0x7C F13 key
vbKeyF14 0x7D F14 key
vbKeyF15 0x7E F15 key
vbKeyF16 0x7F F16 key

[Shin]

thats a lot of keycodes thx!

[NoteMe]

Yes I think that was all of them...

[Shin]

Sigh... I tried applying the elseif's.. and the GetKeyboardState dnrodrigo gave me... but it seems i'm appying it wrong to my Pong program...

Ok... so I guess i'll attach it and you can see for yourself. If anyone has a bit of their time to dedicate to this n00b programmer..please do.
HERE IT GOES

[NoteMe]

Why don't you just forget about that API for a while, and look at the example I gave you. It is easier to understand for a noob.......

[Shin]

...

[Shin]

guess u r right..

so i just set booleans to see which keycombos are hit? ill give it a try.

[NoteMe]

Yes that is the way to do it...

[Shin]

GOD! I made IT!..... THX for your help man... and your keys program... all i needed was the KeyArray(KeyCode) line.

Now that I see it... it makes sense...

[NoteMe]

Yeah....good to hear....took me a while to figgure it out. But Now I am using it in all my small games. Keep up the good work Shin...