Help with parallel arrays and loop statments

[Jokersmoke106]

I'm working on a battleship game in vb. I have designed the game so there are 2 grids 9 by 9 or 81 buttons each. I need help makeing the arrays and the loop statments that check through the arrays to see which has been clicked. I was wondering if anyone knew how to do this and if someone could help by supplying some code.

Thanks and please help

[4x2y]

This is a sample code for how to loop 2D array

        Dim BattleShip(8, 8) As Integer ' it is 9x9 grid as the array is zero based index
        For x = 0 To 8
            For y = 0 To 8
                If BattleShip(x, y) = 1 Then
                    ' it is clicked
                End If
            Next
        Next

[asymetrix]

if you have an array of buttons 0-80, then

when a person clicks a button, its index is returned

butt0 butt1 butt2 butt3 butt4 butt5

eg index=5 - butt5 pressed

eg given x and y, take action on button - button(x*9 + y).caption ="X"

[Jacob Roman]

Personally I would never ever ever use VB based objects for a Battleship game. Or any game for that matter. It ends up adding more complexity the more objects you use, and you are limited to only 255 objects on the form at once. Maybe it's time you dive into the world of actual graphics for your game. At least then you'll have more control, and the game would at least look appealing to your eyes as well as others eyes.

[Jokersmoke106]

        Dim BattleShip(8, 8) As Integer ' it is 9x9 grid as the array is zero based index
        For x = 0 To 8
            For y = 0 To 8
                If BattleShip(x, y) = 1 Then
                    ' it is clicked
                End If
            Next
        Next

Thanks this helps, and the part of the code that says x = 0 to 8 and y = 0 to 8. Can u explan more about what this code does? I understand they are x and y axis but will vb understand it, then return true if the button was clicked.

[4x2y]

Can u explan more about what this code does?

That code is just demonstrate how to walk through 2D array to check every item, so if your array is 4x10, the code will be

        For x = 0 To 3
            For y = 0 To 9
                If BattleShip(x, y) = 1 Then
                    ' it is clicked
                End If
            Next

but will vb understand it, then return true if the button was clicked.

Of course not, you should check the array items according to how you store the data in it, in above sample code, i assume you are set the item at x,y to 1 if the corresponding button was clicked.

Read the post #3 by asymetrix, it may help you.

[Shaggy Hiker]

By the way, if this is really Vb6, arrays don't have to be 0 based, so the code may be to loop from 1 to 9, or something else, even. If you have Option Base 1 on, then the loop would be 1 to 9.

[Jacob Roman]

Just to let you know that code alone won't help you much. You gotta go one step further. So let me guide you in the right direction here. Lets create some structures:

Private Type Vertex2D
     X As Long
     Y As Long
End Type
 
Private Type Ship_Type 
     Position As Vertex2D
     Section(3) As Vertex2D
     Hit(3) As Boolean
     Number_Of_Targets As Long '3 or 4
     Direction As Long
End Type
 
Private P1_Ship(7) As Ship_Type
Private P2_Ship(7) As Ship_Type
 
Private Grid_Mark(81, 81) As Boolean

Now you need a sub to randomly setup your ships without them crossing the borders nor the other ships, and have them randomly be horizontally or vertically:

Private Sub Setup_Ships()
     
     Dim I As Long, J As Long 'For loop variables
     
     Randomize
 
     For I = 0 To 7
        With P1_Ship(I)
             If I >= 4 Then .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Else .Number_Of_Targets = 3
             .Direction = Rnd * 1 'Horizontal or Vertical
             .Position.X = Rnd * 81
             .Position.Y = Rnd * 81
P1_Reposition:
             If .Direction = 0 Then 'Horizontal
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X + 1: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X + 2: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(3).X = .Position.X + 3: .Section(3).Y = .Position.Y
                    .
                Else
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X + 1: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X + 2: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y
                End If
            Else 'Vertical
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y + 1
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y + 2
                    .Section(3).X = .Position.X: .Section(3).Y = .Position.Y + 3
                Else
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y + 1
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y + 2
                End If
            End If
            
            For J = 0 To 3
                If .Section(J) > 81 Then GoTo P1_Reposition
            Next J
            
            'If it all passed
            If .Direction = 0 Then 'Horizontal
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 3, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 3, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                Else
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                End If
            Else 'Vertical
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 3) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 3) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                Else
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = True Else GoTo P1_Reposition
                End If
            End If
        End With
 
        With P1_Ship(I)
             If I >= 4 Then .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Else .Number_Of_Targets = 3
             .Direction = Rnd * 1 'Horizontal or Vertical
             .Position.X = Rnd * 81
             .Position.Y = Rnd * 81
P2_Reposition:
             If .Direction = 0 Then 'Horizontal
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X + 1: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X + 2: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(3).X = .Position.X + 3: .Section(3).Y = .Position.Y
                    .
                Else
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X + 1: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X + 2: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y
                End If
            Else 'Vertical
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y + 1
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y + 2
                    .Section(3).X = .Position.X: .Section(3).Y = .Position.Y + 3
                Else
                    .Section(0).X = .Position.X: .Section(0).Y = .Position.Y
                    .Section(1).X = .Position.X: .Section(1).Y = .Position.Y + 1
                    .Section(2).X = .Position.X: .Section(2).Y = .Position.Y + 2
                End If
            End If
            
            For J = 0 To 3
                If .Section(J) > 81 Then GoTo P2_Reposition
            Next J
            
            'If it all passed
            If .Direction = 0 Then 'Horizontal
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 3, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 3, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                Else
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 1, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X + 2, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                End If
            Else 'Vertical
                If .Number_Of_Targets = 4 Then
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 3) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 3) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                Else
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 1) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                    If Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = False Then Grid_Mark(.Position.X, Position.Y + 2) = True Else GoTo P2_Reposition
                End If
            End If
        End With
    Next I
End Sub

That sub should randomly setup player 1 and player 2s ships around the grid without crossing each other and without passing the boundry both either randomly horizontally or vertically with 4 ships being 3 hit and 3 ships being 4 hit. Now the buttons you have (which I do not recommend using) can check the Grid_Mark(X,Y) to see if it is the opposing players ship and mark Hit() if it is, then it can check to see if all sections of the ship has been hit to confirm its been destroyed. Hopefully this should help you get in the right direction. And if you need help doing it graphically rather than using lame vb buttons, Id be more than willing to help you build this.

[Shaggy Hiker]

You should probably move the Randomize call out of that method. It does have to be called somewhere, and it may be safe in that method, but the method could easily be called more twice in short order, and if that were the case, having the Randomize in the method would cause your random numbers to be anything but random. It would be better to put the Randomize call somewhere else, such as a Load event, or even earlier.