glue-reference-screens-pauseadjustedsecondssince

Introduction

The PauseAdjustedSecondsSince method returns the number of seconds that have passed since the argument time, not including time spent paused. This method is similar to the TimeManager.SecondSince method, however it does not include the amount of time that the current Screen has spent paused. This method is purely a convenience method - it does not provide any functionality beyond subtracting the current time from a given time and returning the result; however it may be more expressive to use in certain situations improving the readability of code. For information on pause-adjusted timing, see the PauseAdjustedCurrentTime page.

Code Example - Performing some action after a set amount of time

You can use PauseAdjustedSecondsSince to see how long the Screen has been around and compare it to a fixed number. To check if the Screen has been around for a certain amount of time:

const double TimeToWait = 4;
double timeScreenHasBeenAlive = PauseAdjustedSecondsSince(0);

if(timeScreenHasBeenAlive > TimeToWait)
{
    // Do some action here
}

Code Example - Performing a repeating action

PauseAdjustedSecondsSince can be used to perform an action after a certain amount of time has passed. The following code shows how to perform an action every 5 seconds:

// Assuming lastTimePerformed is a valid double:

const double Frequency = 5;

if(PauseAdjustedSecondsSince(lastTimePerformed) >= Frequency)
{
    lastTimePerformed += Frequency;
    // Do the action here
}

Code Example - Displaying time Screen has been alive

The following code shows how to create a countdown timer. It assumes that your Screen has a valid Text object called CountDownText

// 0 means when the Screen was first created.  The code below
// will display how many seconds the Screen has been in existence
CountDownText.DisplayText = this.PauseAdjustedSecondsSince(0);

Code Example - Performing Timed Logic in Entities

Entities can limit the frequency of an action (such as firing a bullet) using the PauseAdjustedSecondsSince method. The following code limits shooting bullets using the SecondsBetweenShots variable:

double lastTimeBulletShot;

void CustomActivity()
{
    if(ShootingInput.WasJustPressed && 
        ScreenManager.CurrentScreen.PauseAdjustedSecondsSince(lastTimeBulletShot) > SecondsBetweenShots)
    {
        // fire bullet
        lastTimeBulletShot = ScreenManager.CurrentScreen.PauseAdjustedCurrentTime;
    }

}