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[itisnotlogical]

So, I've been fascinated with Python for a while. About a week or so ago I got a sudden burst of inspiration and started making a text-based RPG engine, using newfound knowledge from a few excellent tutorials. However, I'm having a bit of a problem with the room handler module that I wrote.

Spoiler: Example (click to show/hide)

Starting room

This is the starting room.

There is an exit to the north.
There is no exit to the south.
There is no exit to the east.
There is an exit to the west.

go n

Second room

This is the other room.

There is no exit to the north.
There is an exit to the south.
There is no exit to the east.
There is no exit to the west.

go s

Second room

This is the other room.

There is no exit to the north.
There is an exit to the south.
There is no exit to the east.
There is no exit to the west.

As you can see, even though I should return to the first room after typing "go s", I'm staying in the second room. As far as I can tell, my command interpreter works fine and there is no fault in the test setup itself. Thus, the problem is probably in my roomhandler.py module. The module itself is clunky and probably larger than it needs to be, but AFAIK it should work as written. I've tried the debugger, but it provides no usable information. Help?

Spoiler: fulltest.py (click to show/hide)

import roomhandler
import interpreter as interpret

# The starting room, used to initialize the others

startroom = roomhandler.rooms("", "",
                             0, 0, 0, 0,
                             "", "", "", "")

# Rooms defined using the class found inside the
# roomhandler module. See that module for
# more information.

room2 = roomhandler.rooms("Second room", "This is the other room.",
                  0, 1, 0, 0,
                  "", startroom, "", "")

room3 = roomhandler.rooms("Third room", "This is another room.",
                  0, 0, 1, 0,
                  "", "", startroom, "")

spawnroom = roomhandler.rooms("Starting room", "This is the starting room.",
                  1, 0, 0, 1,
                  room2, "", "", room3)

# Updating attributes since all the rooms are defined now.

room2.connectedS = spawnroom

room3.connectedE = spawnroom

# Describes the room for the first time. Outside the function so that
# it doesn't describe it twice.

spawnroom.describe()
def start():
    inp = interpret.interpret(input())
    roomhandler.move(spawnroom,inp)
    spawnroom.describe()
    start()

start()

Spoiler: interpreter.py (click to show/hide)

grabverb = ["grab", "take", "acquire", "pick up"]

moveverb = ["go", "move", "step", "walk", "run", "sprint", "dash"]
north = ["north", "n"]
south = ["south", "s"]
east = ["east", "e"]
west = ["west", "w"]

directions = {"N":1, "S":2, "E":3, "W":4}

def interpret(inputstring):
    tointerpret = inputstring.lower()
    tointerpret = tointerpret.split()
    command1 = tointerpret[0]
    command2 = tointerpret[1]
    if command1 in moveverb:
        if command2 in north:
            return directions["N"]
        elif command2 in south:
            return directions["S"]
        elif command2 in east:
            return directions["E"]
        elif command2 in west:
            return directions["W"]
    else:
        print("You cannot do that!")
        interpret(inputstring)

Spoiler: roomhandler.py (click to show/hide)

class rooms:
    def __init__(self,name,describestring,connectsN,connectsS,connectsE,connectsW,
                 connectedN,connectedS,connectedE,connectedW):
        self.name = name # Name. Self explanatory.
        self.describestring = describestring # A description of the room as it will appear to the player.
        self.connectsN = connectsN # A variable that determines wether there is an exit to the north or not.
        self.connectedN = connectedN # The actual room that is connected to the northern end.
        self.connectsS = connectsS # As self.connectsN, but for south.
        self.connectedS = connectedS # And so on.
        self.connectsE = connectsE
        self.connectedE = connectedE
        self.connectsW = connectsW
        self.connectedW = connectedW
    def describe(self): # A function for describing the room and listing all exits.
        print("\n" + self.name + "\n")
        print(self.describestring + "\n")
        if self.connectsN == 1:
            print("There is an exit to the north. ") # I forgot how escape characters work, can't be arsed for
        elif self.connectsN == 0:                    # a version that currently doesn't work.
            print("There is no exit to the north. ")
        if self.connectsS == 1:
            print("There is an exit to the south. ")
        elif self.connectsS == 0:
            print("There is no exit to the south. ")
        if self.connectsE == 1:
            print("There is an exit to the east. ")
        elif self.connectsE == 0:
            print("There is no exit to the east. ")
        if self.connectsW == 1:
            print("There is an exit to the west. ")
        elif self.connectsW == 0:
            print("There is no exit to the west. \n")

def move(room,direction): # A function that "moves" the player by replacing all attributes with those of the new room.
    if direction == 1:    # As far as I can tell, the source of the problem.
        if room.connectsN == 1:
            newroom = room.connectedN
            # For example, replacing the name of the current room (room.name) with
            # that of the new one:
            room.name = newroom.name
            room.describestring = newroom.describestring
            room.connectsN = newroom.connectsN
            room.connectsS = newroom.connectsS
            room.connectsE = newroom.connectsE
            room.connectsW = newroom.connectsW
            room.connectedN = newroom.connectedN
            room.connectedS = newroom.connectedS
            room.connectedE = newroom.connectedE
            room.connectedW = newroom.connectedW
        elif room.connectsN == 0:
            print("You cannot go there!\n") # Or, if room.connectsN == 0, you get an error message and do not move.
    if direction == 2:
        if room.connectsS == 1:
            newroom = room.connectedS
            room.name = newroom.name
            room.describestring = newroom.describestring
            room.connectsN = newroom.connectsN
            room.connectsS = newroom.connectsS
            room.connectsE = newroom.connectsE
            room.connectsW = newroom.connectsW
            room.connectedN = newroom.connectedN
            room.connectedS = newroom.connectedS
            room.connectedE = newroom.connectedE
            room.connectedW = newroom.connectedW
        elif room.connectsS == 0:
            print("You cannot go there!")
    if direction == 3:
        if room.connectsE == 1:
            newroom = room.connectedE
            room.name = newroom.name
            room.describestring = newroom.describestring
            room.connectsN = newroom.connectsN
            room.connectsS = newroom.connectsS
            room.connectsE = newroom.connectsE
            room.connectsW = newroom.connectsW
            room.connectedN = newroom.connectedN
            room.connectedS = newroom.connectedS
            room.connectedE = newroom.connectedE
            room.connectedW = newroom.connectedW
        elif room.connectsE == 0:
            print("You cannot go there!")
    if direction == 4:
        if room.connectsW == 1:
            newroom = room.connectedW
            room.name = newroom.name
            room.describestring = newroom.describestring
            room.connectsN = newroom.connectsN
            room.connectsS = newroom.connectsS
            room.connectsE = newroom.connectsE
            room.connectsW = newroom.connectsW
            room.connectedN = newroom.connectedN
            room.connectedS = newroom.connectedS
            room.connectedE = newroom.connectedE
            room.connectedW = newroom.connectedW
        elif room.connectsW == 0:
            print("You cannot go there!")

[Berserker]

The core of the problem is that when you move to the second room, it replaces the attributes of the first room with the attributes from the second room, which means that the first room doesn't exist anymore, and you have two identical rooms.

One way to fix it would be making a variable that points to the current room, and making the roomhandler return the next room, and replacing the current room with the returned room.

Something like this (I also replaced the recursive start call with a loop):

Spoiler: fulltest.py (click to show/hide)

...

current_room = spawnroom

current_room.describe()
def start():
    global current_room
    while True:
        inp = interpret.interpret(input())
        current_room = roomhandler.move(current_room,inp)
        current_room.describe()

Spoiler: roomhandler.py (click to show/hide)

class rooms:
    ...

def move(room, direction):
    if direction == 1:
        if room.connectsN == 1:
            return room.connectedN
        elif room.connectsN == 0:
            print("You cannot go there!\n")
   
   
    if direction == 2:
        ...

    if direction == 2:
        ...

    if direction == 4:
        ...

    # If none of the directions were selected, return the current room
    return room

[itisnotlogical]

Ah, I see! Thanks very much, sometimes it's the obvious things I need help with

[SethCreiyd]

You can use a single attribute to link a value corresponding to a specific room.  The value could be an index in a list of rooms, or a key in a dictionary of all rooms where the key is the name of the room.  That way you could skip a lot of condition checking and just move to the room connected to the desired exit, if it exists.

I'd also recommend a Player class or something like that, for keeping track of things like position, score, rooms-already-traveled-to and what have you.  Here's a rough example, using a list to store rooms:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

class Room:
    def __init__(    self, name, desc,
            # room connections
            connectsN=None, connectsS=None,
            connectsE=None, connectsW=None,
            # a list of room's items, creatures etc.
            items = None ):
        self.name = name  # Name of the room.
        self.desc = desc  # Description of the room.
        connects = dict()
        connects['north'] = connectsN  # Room connected to north exit.
        connects['south'] = connectsS  # Room connected to the south.
        connects['east'] = connectsE  # And so on.
        connects['west'] = connectsW  # ...
        self.connects = connects
        if items is None: items  = list()
        self.items = items
           
    def describe(self):
        """A method for describing the room and listing all exits."""
        print("\n" + self.name + "\n")
        print(self.desc + "\n")
        exits = self.connects
        for direction in exits:
            if exits[direction]:
                # replace %s chars with strings from the argument following % after the literal
                print("There is an exit to the %s." % direction)
           
        # describe the contents of the room
        for item in self.items:
            # skip description if this item is the Player
            if item.__class__ != Player:
                a_or_an = "a"
                # use "an" instead of "a" if the item name starts with a vowel
                if item.name[0].upper() in "AEIOU":
                    a_or_an = "an"
                print("There is %s %s here." % (a_or_an, item.name))
               
               
class Player():
    def __init__(self, worldmap, inventory=None, room=1, score=0):
        self.desc = "You"
        if not inventory: inventory = list()
        self.inventory = inventory
        self.room = worldmap[room]
        self.score = score
        self.worldmap = worldmap

    def move(self, direction):
        worldmap=self.worldmap
        room_index = self.room.connects[direction]
        if room_index:
            newroom = worldmap[room_index]
            self.room = newroom
            newroom.describe()
        else:
            print("You can't go %s!" % direction)


Some IDLE stuff with this:

>>> worldmap = [Room("The Void","This is a placeholder.")]
>>> worldmap.append(Room("Closet","This is a closet.",connectsW=2))
>>> worldmap.append(Room("Hallway","This is a hallway.",connectsE=1))
>>> player = Player(worldmap)
>>> player.room.describe()

Closet

This is a closet.

There is an exit to the west.

>>> player.move('west')

Hallway

This is a hallway.

There is an exit to the east.

>>> player.move('north')
You can't go north!

[itisnotlogical]

Ah, that's a neat idea, sethcreiyd. I have a "player" class that I largely use for combat:

Spoiler: player class (click to show/hide)

class char:
    def __init__(self,lvl,STR,DEX,INT,weapon,armor):
        self.lvl = lvl
        self.str = STR
        self.dex = DEX
        self.int = INT
        self.strbon = (self.str - 10)/2
        self.meleebon = self.strbon + lvl
        self.dexbon = (self.dex - 10)/2
        self.missilebon = self.dexbon + lvl
        self.intbon = (self.int - 10)/2
        self.magicbon = self.intbon + lvl
        self.phys = lvl
        self.subt = lvl
        self.know = lvl
        self.comm = lvl
        self.wep = weapon
        self.armor = armor
        self.ac = 10 + self.dexbon + self.armor.acbonus
        self.hpmax = self.str + random.randint(1, 6)
        self.hp = self.hpmax

... which is based on the Microlite20 rules. None of the non-combat attributes like self.comm (Communication, in-game) and self.subt (Subterfuge) are implemented yet.

Your classes look a lot more compact than mine, definitely. That comes with experience I imagine, since this is my first real-deal game.

The way the game is currently set up, combat is almost completely independent of the room itself, calling a seperate combat module based on a random check every time you move in to a new room.

Spoiler: new fulltest.py (click to show/hide)

...

def start():
    global current_room
    while True:
        inp = interpret.interpret(input())
        enemyroll = random.randint(1, 20)
        if enemyroll >= 10:
            current_room = roomhandler.move(current_room,inp)
            enemy = dlevel1[random.randint(0, len(dlevel1)-1)]
            print("\nThere is a " + enemy.name + " in this room!\n")
            combat.combatmenu(player, enemy)
            if player.hp <= 0:
                sys.exit()
            else:
                current_room.describe()
                enemyroll = random.randint(1, 20)
        elif enemyroll <= 10:
            current_room = roomhandler.move(current_room,inp)
            current_room.describe()
            enemyroll = random.randint(1, 20)

I have to reset enemyroll at the end of every if-block because it wouldn't reset when it normally should, for some reason.

I have a complete test including both combat and movement, if anybody would like to see. The full source code is in the "library" folder.

[Berserker]

That's pretty good for a first game. I did a similar game when I was learning Python.

Here are some notes about the game, and the source code:

The game crashes when you type a command that doesn't have spaces.

Spoiler: Traceback (click to show/hide)

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "interpreter.py", line 15, in interpret
IndexError: list index out of range

The game crashed when I won a battle in the second room. The library.zip didn't contain fulltest.py, but I guess current_room somehow became None.

Spoiler: Traceback (click to show/hide)

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "fulltest.py", line 61, in start
AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'describe'

Some kind of help command would be handy.

I recommend writing class names in CamelCase to distinguish them from variable and function names.

You can clear the screen with os.system("cls").

[itisnotlogical]

That's pretty good for a first game. I did a similar game when I was learning Python.

Here are some notes about the game, and the source code:

The game crashes when you type a command that doesn't have spaces.

Spoiler: Traceback (click to show/hide)

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "interpreter.py", line 15, in interpret
IndexError: list index out of range

The game crashed when I won a battle in the second room. The library.zip didn't contain fulltest.py, but I guess current_room somehow became None.

Spoiler: Traceback (click to show/hide)

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "fulltest.py", line 61, in start
AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'describe'

Some kind of help command would be handy.

I recommend writing class names in CamelCase to distinguish them from variable and function names.

You can clear the screen with os.system("cls").

The interpreter isn't terribly good at handling incorrect input altogether, I've noticed. I noticed that if I put in random two-word phrases, it still behaves as if I attempted to move to another room. It started a battle when I typed in "blah blah". The interpreter automatically expects two-word commands and isn't prepared to deal with unexpected input.

Sorry fulltest.py wasn't in the library. I'm still getting the hang of cx_freeze, this is only the second or third time I've used it.

Spoiler: fulltest (click to show/hide)

import roomhandler, enemy, combat, classes, random, sys
import interpreter as interpret

armor = classes.armor("Leather armor", 2)

sword = classes.weapon("Sword", 3, 4, 0)

player = classes.char(1, 15, 12, 13, sword, armor)

dlevel1 = [enemy.grue, enemy.grue2]

# The starting room, used to initialize the others

startroom = roomhandler.rooms("", "",
                             0, 0, 0, 0,
                             "", "", "", "")

# Rooms defined using the class found inside the
# roomhandler module. See that module for
# more information.

room2 = roomhandler.rooms("Second room", "This is the other room.",
                  0, 1, 0, 0,
                  "", startroom, "", "")

room3 = roomhandler.rooms("Third room", "This is another room.",
                  0, 0, 1, 0,
                  "", "", startroom, "")

spawnroom = roomhandler.rooms("Starting room", "This is the starting room.",
                  1, 0, 0, 1,
                  room2, "", "", room3)

# Updating attributes since all the rooms are defined now.

room2.connectedS = spawnroom

room3.connectedE = spawnroom

# Defines the global variable current_room.

current_room = spawnroom

# Describes the room for the first time. Outside the function so that
# it doesn't describe it twice.

current_room.describe()
def start():
    global current_room
    while True:
        inp = interpret.interpret(input())
        enemyroll = random.randint(1, 20)
        if enemyroll >= 10:
            current_room = roomhandler.move(current_room,inp)
            enemy = dlevel1[random.randint(0, len(dlevel1)-1)]
            print("\nThere is a " + enemy.name + " in this room!\n")
            combat.combatmenu(player, enemy)
            if player.hp <= 0:
                sys.exit()
            else:
                current_room.describe()
                enemyroll = random.randint(1, 20)
        elif enemyroll <= 10:
            current_room = roomhandler.move(current_room,inp)
            current_room.describe()
            enemyroll = random.randint(1, 20)

I imagine the crash after the battle had something to do with unexpected input, as it works fine for me until I intentionally enter something wrong. It attempted to change current_room to the connected room, but interpret.interpret(input()) never returned a valid direction, thus the crash immediately after the battle.

Spoiler: runtime (click to show/hide)

Starting room

This is the starting room.

There is an exit to the north. There is no exit to the south.
There is no exit to the east. There is an exit to the west.

la lah
You cannot do that!

There is a Spawn in this room!

...

The magical force hits the Spawn, doing 11 damage!

You won!

Press return to exit.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Python32\Projects\ML20 Engine\fulltest.py", line 68, in <module>
    start()
  File "C:\Python32\Projects\ML20 Engine\fulltest.py", line 61, in start
    current_room.describe()
AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'describe'

[MrWillsauce]

Can you please post links to the "excellent" tutorials you used? I'm trying to learn Python, but I'm having a hard time grasping it with just the manual and the tutorials I've found.

[itisnotlogical]

Can you please post links to the "excellent" tutorials you used? I'm trying to learn Python, but I'm having a hard time grasping it with just the manual and the tutorials I've found.

Invent with Python is probably the best one I've seen. It covers quite a lot, even Pygame if you want to take it that far. It teaches you exactly how much you need to know without getting too in-depth. And this. There's also plenty of tutorials available here, although I can't remember exactly which ones I used.

Practice is really helpful in conjunction with the above tutorials. You don't have to pump out high-quality finished programs every week, but try something new every time you write a program. For every function you learn, you're unlocking a new world of possibility. I couldn't have written that program in the above posts until I knew what class objects were, and I figured those out largely by messing around with them to see what works.