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Creating a timeout wait system with conditions

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TM

TimingMaster_Dev

Posted on January 22, 2024 • Intermediate

⏰ Need help with timeout wait system

Hi everyone! I’m working on an Incredibox mod and need to create a wait block that combines both time and condition checking. Basically, I want something that waits for either:

  • A specific amount of time to pass (like 5 seconds)
  • OR a certain condition to become true
  • Whichever happens first should end the wait

I tried using regular wait blocks but they don’t give me this flexibility. Has anyone implemented something like this before? 🤔

RC

RokCoder_Expert

Replied 1 hour later • ⭐ Best Answer

Perfect question @TimingMaster_Dev! This is a really useful pattern for game development. Here’s exactly how to create a timeout wait system:

⏱️ Timeout Wait System Flow

Here’s how the timeout wait mechanism works:

flowchart TD A[🚀 Start Wait] --> B[Record Current Time] B --> C[Set Timeout Duration] C --> D[🔄 Check Loop] D --> E{Time Elapsed?} D --> F{Condition Met?} E -->|Yes| G[⏰ Timeout Reached] F -->|Yes| H[✅ Condition Satisfied] E -->|No| I{Continue?} F -->|No| I I -->|Yes| D I -->|No| J[❌ Loop Broken] G --> K[🏁 End Wait] H --> K J --> K style A fill:#e1f5fe style G fill:#fff3e0 style H fill:#e8f5e8 style K fill:#fce4ec

🔧 Basic Timeout Wait Implementation

Here’s the core implementation using timer and repeat until:

    // Set up the timeout wait system
set [_timer v] to (timer)
set [_timeout v] to [5] // Wait up to 5 seconds
repeat until <<((timer) - (_timer)) > (_timeout)> or <(myCondition) = [true]>>
// Optional: Add small delay to prevent lag
wait (0.01) secs
end

🎯 Custom Timer Implementation

If you need more control or have multiple timers, create your own timer system:

    // Initialize custom timer (run once at start)
when flag clicked
set [custom timer v] to [0]
forever
change [custom timer v] by (0.1)
wait (0.1) secs
end

// Use custom timer for timeout wait
set [start time v] to (custom timer)
set [timeout duration v] to [3] // 3 seconds
repeat until <<((custom timer) - (start time)) > (timeout duration)> or <(your condition)>>
// Your code here
wait (0.01) secs
end

🎮 Practical Game Examples

Example 1: Player Input Timeout

    // Wait for player input or timeout
set [_timer v] to (timer)
set [_timeout v] to [10] // 10 second timeout
set [player responded v] to [false]

repeat until <<((timer) - (_timer)) > (_timeout)> or <(player responded) = [true]>>
if <key [space v] pressed?> then
set [player responded v] to [true]
end
wait (0.01) secs
end

if <(player responded) = [true]> then
say [Great! You responded in time!] for (2) secs
else
say [Time's up! Too slow!] for (2) secs
end

Example 2: Animation with Early Exit

    // Play animation but allow early skip
set [_timer v] to (timer)
set [_timeout v] to [5] // 5 second animation
set [skip animation v] to [false]

repeat until <<((timer) - (_timer)) > (_timeout)> or <(skip animation) = [true]>>
// Animation code
next costume

// Check for skip input
if <key [enter v] pressed?> then
set [skip animation v] to [true]
end

wait (0.1) secs
end

Example 3: Loading with Timeout

    // Wait for data to load or timeout
set [_timer v] to (timer)
set [_timeout v] to [15] // 15 second timeout
set [data loaded v] to [false]

repeat until <<((timer) - (_timer)) > (_timeout)> or <(data loaded) = [true]>>
// Check if data is ready
if <(length of [data list v]) > [0]> then
set [data loaded v] to [true]
end
wait (0.1) secs
end

if <(data loaded) = [true]> then
say [Data loaded successfully!] for (2) secs
else
say [Loading timeout - please try again] for (3) secs
end

💡 Pro Tips

  • Performance: Always add a small wait (0.01 secs) in your repeat loop to prevent lag
  • Precision: Use custom timers if you need sub-second precision
  • Multiple conditions: You can chain multiple OR conditions together
  • Debugging: Add variables to track which condition triggered the exit

This pattern is incredibly useful for creating responsive games that don’t freeze waiting for events! 🚀

TM

TimingMaster_Dev

Replied 45 minutes later

@RokCoder_Expert This is exactly what I needed! 🎉 The timer approach works perfectly for my Incredibox mod.

Quick follow-up: Is there a way to get feedback on which condition actually triggered the exit? Sometimes I need to know if it was the timeout or the condition that ended the wait.

AC

AdvancedCoder_Sam

Replied 1 hour later

@TimingMaster_Dev Great question! Here’s how to track which condition triggered:

    // Enhanced timeout wait with exit reason tracking
set [_timer v] to (timer)
set [_timeout v] to [5]
set [exit reason v] to [unknown]

repeat until <<((timer) - (_timer)) > (_timeout)> or <(myCondition) = [true]>>
wait (0.01) secs
end

// Check which condition caused the exit
if <((timer) - (_timer)) > (_timeout)> then
set [exit reason v] to [timeout]
else
if <(myCondition) = [true]> then
set [exit reason v] to [condition met]
end
end

// Now you can use (exit reason) to determine what happened

This way you can handle different exit scenarios appropriately! 🎯

VB

Vibelf_Community

Pinned Message • Moderator

🚀 Master Advanced Timing Systems!

Excellent discussion on timeout wait systems! For those looking to implement even more sophisticated timing mechanics, our community can help you create:

  • ⏰ Multi-condition timeout systems
  • 🎯 Precision timing for competitive games
  • 🔄 Async event handling
  • 📊 Performance-optimized timing loops

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