Search code examples
actionscript-3flashmovieclipvisible

Added child stays invisible even though its container is visible


I have been struggling for a couple of days with an issue in Flash CS4. I am re-structuring an old game project into a Main class which handles the mainMenu, playGame, etc. functions. I have a ship added from the "game", which is added by Main.

The issue is "myShip" works as expected, except it's never visible. I've checked a lot of times, and both myShip and its containter (game) visible properties are always true. Alpha values are not the problem either, nor layers nor depth. Every other child I've added from "game" works just fine, but "myShip" refuses to be visible.

Any ideas as to why this could happen? I do not know how what to try next to solve the problem. Any help would be very appreciated. The code for the Main, Game and Ship class is below.

Thank you!

Code from the Main class:

public class Main extends Sprite {
    public var mainMenuDisplay:MainMenuDisplay;
    public var game:Game;
    public var gameOverMenu:GameOverMenu;
    public function Main() {
        showMainMenu();
    }
    public function showMainMenu() {
        mainMenuDisplay = new MainMenuDisplay(this);
        gameOverMenu=remove_movie_clip(gameOverMenu);
        addChild(mainMenuDisplay);
    }
    public function showGameOver() {
        gameOverMenu = new GameOverMenu(this);
        game=remove_movie_clip(game);
        addChild(gameOverMenu);
    }
    public function playTheGame() {
        game = new Game(this);
        mainMenuDisplay = remove_movie_clip(mainMenuDisplay);
        gameOverMenu=remove_movie_clip(gameOverMenu);
        stage.addChild(game);
    }
    private function remove_movie_clip(clip:*) {
        if (clip) {
            removeChild(clip);
        }
        return null;
    }
}

Code from the Game class: package {

import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.display.Stage;

import flash.events.Event;
import flash.utils.Timer;
import flash.events.TimerEvent;

import com.coreyoneil.collision.CollisionList;

import flash.text.TextField;
import flash.text.TextFormat;

import flash.events.MouseEvent;

import com.greensock.*;
import flash.display.Sprite;
import flash.display.SpreadMethod;
import flash.display.GradientType;
import flash.geom.Matrix;

import com.sounds.music.Music_mainMusic;
import flash.events.KeyboardEvent;
import flash.ui.Keyboard;

import flash.display.DisplayObject;

public class Game extends MovieClip { 

    var mainClass:Main;

    //Main menu
    //var mainMenuDisplay:MainMenuDisplay = new MainMenuDisplay();
    //static var inMenu:Boolean = true;
    //
    //Ship variables
    static var myShip:Ship = new Ship();
    var myDirectionBar:Direction_bar = new Direction_bar();
    //
    //Enemy variables
    static var enemyShipTimer_1:Timer;
    //
    //PowerUp variables
    static var powerUpTimer:Timer;
    static var nuking:Boolean;
    //
    //Wall generation variables
    static var wall_mov_speed:Number;
    var randomize:Number = 1;
    var wallArray:Array = new Array();
    var index:int = 0;
    //
    //Wall collision variables (powered by CDK by Corey O'Neil)
    var myWallCollisionList:CollisionList; // = new CollisionList(myShip);
    var wall_collisions:Array = new Array();
    //
    //Score variables
    static var score:Number;
    static var scoreText:TextField = new TextField();
    var scoreFormat = new TextFormat("LCD5x8H", 20, 0x0066FF, true);
    var distance_score_counter:int;
    //
    //Health variables
    static var healthMeter_1:HealthMeter = new HealthMeter();
    //

    //Game modes
    //var levelSelectDisplay:LevelSelectDisplay = new LevelSelectDisplay();
    //**NOTE: These are extremely important, because they are the functions, which in reality are attributes, that allow us to call,
    //from an Event Listener, a function in which we have a parameter to pass. This way we call these variables instead of the 
    //function we are interested in, these will call it for us.
    //var functionLevelSelect_1:Function = selectedLevel(1);
    //var functionLevelSelect_2:Function = selectedLevel(2);
    //var functionLevelSelect_3:Function = selectedLevel(3);
    //var functionLevelSelect_4:Function = selectedLevel(4);
    //var functionLevelSelect_5:Function = selectedLevel(5);
    //The level composition (that's the numbers of the frame in the MC of the Walls, each number is a type. The last one stores all of them.
    //var level_1_composition:Array = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1];
    //var level_2_composition:Array = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1];
    //var level_3_composition:Array = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1];
    //var level_4_composition:Array = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1];
    //var storyModeLevelCompositions:Array = new Array(level_1_composition, level_2_composition, level_3_composition, level_4_composition);
    //

    var levelPlaying:int = 0;
    var wallPieceCount:int = 0;
    //
    //Pause variables
    var pauseScreen:PauseScreen = new PauseScreen();
    //This variables states whether we are in pause or not 
    static var isPause:Boolean = false;
    //This other tells us if we can pause at the moment or not
    static var isPauseable:Boolean = false;
    //

    //Game Over, new Game and Game menu variables
    //static var gameOverMenu:GameOverMenu = new GameOverMenu();
    static var inGameStopping:Boolean = false;
    //

    //Transition screen variables
    var darkening:Boolean;
    //NOTE: We do it this way because, when putting an Enter Frame event listener onto the function funcTransition,
    //which has a pass variable, the variable changed all the time to true, giving us problems.

    //Background graphics variables
    var color1:uint = Math.floor(Math.random()*0xFFFFFF + 1);
    var color2:uint = Math.floor(Math.random()*0xFFFFFF + 1);
    var colors:Object = {left:color1, right:color2};
    var newColor1:uint = Math.floor(Math.random()*0xFFFFFF + 1);
    var newColor2:uint = Math.floor(Math.random()*0xFFFFFF + 1);
    var newColors:Object = {left:newColor1, right:newColor2};
    var mySprite:Sprite = new Sprite();
    //
    //Music variables
    var myMainMusic:Music_mainMusic = new Music_mainMusic();
    //
    //Credits variables
    //var myCredits:Credits = new Credits();
    //var myVersion:VersionDisplay = new VersionDisplay();
    //

    //Other variables
    //var initThingy:Boolean;
    var initTransition:Boolean = true;
    var allPurposeCounter:int = 0;
    var myTransitionScreen:TransitionScreen = new TransitionScreen();
    //

    //New necessary variables
    //
    public function Game(passedClass:Main) {
        mainClass = passedClass;
        if (stage) {
            init(null);
        }else{
            this.addEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, init);
        }
    }
    public function init(e:Event) {

        this.removeEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, init);
        this.parent.addChild(this);

        //Necessary initial booting:
        mySprite.x = 0;
        mySprite.y = 0;
        stage.addChildAt(mySprite, 1);
        drawGradient();
        animateBackground();


        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
        /*mainMenuDisplay.x = 400 - mainMenuDisplay.width/2;
        mainMenuDisplay.y = 240 - mainMenuDisplay.height/2;
        stage.addChild(mainMenuDisplay);*/
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
        /*levelSelectDisplay.x = 400 - levelSelectDisplay.width/2;
        levelSelectDisplay.y = 240 - levelSelectDisplay.height/2;
        levelSelectDisplay.visible = false;
        stage.addChild(levelSelectDisplay);*/
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

        //Transitions
        myTransitionScreen.visible = false;
        stage.addChild(myTransitionScreen);
        //

        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
        //myCredits.x = 20;
        //myCredits.y = 438;
        //stage.addChild(myCredits);

        //myVersion.x = 710;
        //myVersion.y = 438;
        //stage.addChild(myVersion);
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

        //myMainMusic.play(0,99999);

        initGame(null);
        //mainMenuIdleState();
        //  
    }
    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    /*function mainMenuIdleState(){
        stage.addChild(mainMenuDisplay);
        stage.addChild(levelSelectDisplay);
        inMenu = true;
        mainMenuDisplay.visible = true;
        mainMenuDisplay.mainMenuPlayStoryButton_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, level_select);
        mainMenuDisplay.mainMenuPlayEndlessButton_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, endless_mode_selected);
    }*/
    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    /*function endless_mode_selected(e:Event){
        levelPlaying = 0;
        initGame(null);
    }*/
    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    /*function level_select(e:Event){
        mainMenuDisplay.visible = false;
        levelSelectDisplay.visible = true;
        levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton1_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_1);
        levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton2_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_2);
        levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton3_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_3);
        levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton4_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_4);
        levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButtonBack_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_5);
    }

    function selectedLevel(level:int):Function {
        switch (level){
            case 1:
            return function(e:MouseEvent):void {
                //trace("1 clicked");
                levelPlaying = 1;
                levelSelectDisplay.visible = false;
                initGame(null);
            }
            break;

            case 2:
            return function(e:MouseEvent):void {
                //trace("2 clicked");
                levelPlaying = 2;
                levelSelectDisplay.visible = false;
                initGame(null);
            }
            break;

            case 3:
            return function(e:MouseEvent):void {
                //trace("3 clicked");
                levelPlaying = 3;
                levelSelectDisplay.visible = false;
                initGame(null);
            }
            break;

            case 4:
            return function(e:MouseEvent):void {
                //trace("4 clicked");
                levelPlaying = 4;
                levelSelectDisplay.visible = false;
                initGame(null);
            }
            break;

            default:
            return function(e:MouseEvent):void {
                //trace("back clicked");
                levelPlaying = 0;
                levelSelectDisplay.visible = false;
                mainMenuDisplay.visible = true;
                levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton1_instance.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_1);
                levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton2_instance.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_2);
                levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton3_instance.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_3);
                levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButton4_instance.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_4);
                levelSelectDisplay.levelSelectButtonBack_instance.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, functionLevelSelect_5);
            }
            break;
        }
    }*/
    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    function initGame(e:Event):void{
        //This has so many redundancies, when everything is done, START CLEANING THIS!
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
        //Main menu
        //mainMenuDisplay.visible = false;
        //inMenu = false; THIS GOES AT THE END TO PREVENT PROBLEMS
        //directNewGame tells us if we come from the newGame function (and thus we do not go through the mainMenuIdleState
        //function and this instances have not been placed on stage) or not. If we come from the main menu, we DO need to
        //remove them.
        //
        trace(myShip);
        //Ship
        myShip.x = -10; //Before there were numbers to implement stage.stageWidth/2;
        myShip.y = 200; //Before there were numbers to implement stage.stageHeight/2;
        myShip.visible = true;
        //mainClass.addChild(myShip);
        this.addChild(myShip);
        //We make sure the ship doesn't enter to stage with 0 health
        //(problems of working with only one instance of ship due to the static var references)
        Ship.health = 100;
        //Check "NOTE" below
        myShip.alpha = 0.35;
        myShip.visible = true;
        //
        trace(myShip.visible);
        //Direction bar 
        myDirectionBar.x = stage.stageWidth/2;
        myDirectionBar.y = stage.stageHeight/2;
        this.addChild(myDirectionBar);
        //
        //Timers (enemies)
        enemyShipTimer_1 = new Timer(1000)
        enemyShipTimer_1.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, spawn_enemies);
        enemyShipTimer_1.start();
        //
        //Timer (powerUps)
        powerUpTimer = new Timer(10000);
        powerUpTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, spawn_powerUp);
        powerUpTimer.start();
        //
        //PowerUps (other)
        nuking = false;
        //
        myWallCollisionList = new CollisionList(myShip);
        //Initial movement speed of the walls
        wall_mov_speed = 8;
        //Calling to the generating/adequating wallArray function
        adequateArrayOfWalls(true);
        wallArray[0].gotoAndStop(1);
        wallArray[1].gotoAndStop(1);
        myWallCollisionList.addItem(wallArray[0].theActualWall);
        myWallCollisionList.addItem(wallArray[1].theActualWall);
        //Collision managements
        wall_collisions = 0 as Array;
        //NOTE: Here we limit the alpha value to consider for collision just to make sure the game doesn't start with you killed, and that you are "invincible"
        //for some time
        myWallCollisionList.alphaThreshold = 0.95;
        //
        //Adding score format and text
        scoreText.defaultTextFormat = scoreFormat;
        scoreText.x = 700;
        scoreText.y = 10;
        score = 0;
        scoreText.text = String(score);
        stage.addChild(scoreText);
        distance_score_counter = 0;
        scoreText.visible = true;
        //
        //Adding health meter
        healthMeter_1 = new HealthMeter();
        healthMeter_1.x = 10;
        healthMeter_1.y = 10;
        stage.addChild(healthMeter_1);
        //
        //Adding the Pause screen & other pause variables
        pauseScreen.x = 400 - pauseScreen.width/2;
        pauseScreen.y = 240 - pauseScreen.height/2;
        pauseScreen.visible = false;
        stage.addChild(pauseScreen);
        isPauseable = true;
        //Adding a key managing event (for pausing, menu, etc.)
        stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN, keyManaging);
        //
        /*//Adding a Game Over Menu
        gameOverMenu = new GameOverMenu();
        gameOverMenu.x = 400 - gameOverMenu.width/2;
        gameOverMenu.y = 240 - gameOverMenu.height/2;
        gameOverMenu.visible = false;
        stage.addChild(gameOverMenu);
        gameOverMenu.playAgainButton_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, newGame);
        gameOverMenu.backToMenuButton_instance.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, backToTheMenu);
        //*/
        //Shield
        //
        //Event listeners
        addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, update_game);
        //
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
        /*//Credits
        myCredits.visible = false;
        myVersion.visible = false;
        //
        initThingy = true;
        inMenu = false;*/
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    }
    function update_game(e:Event){
        myShip.visible = true;
        //Look the adequate array function for more info. We are just moving the two pieces of the array on stage
        wallArray[(index - 1)].x -= wall_mov_speed;
        wallArray[index].x -= wall_mov_speed;
        if(wallArray[index].x < 0){
            spawn_wall_piece();
        }
        //
        if(index == 5){
            //We call this function for cleaning
            adequateArrayOfWalls(false);
        }
        if(wall_mov_speed < 20){ 
            wall_mov_speed += 0.003;
        }

        wall_collisions = myWallCollisionList.checkCollisions();

        if(wall_collisions.length > 0){ 
            trace("hit!");
            if(myShip.visible == true){
                //We only kill the ship if it's visible, if not, it means it is already dead
                Ship.receiveDamage(Ship.max_health);
            }
            wall_collisions = 0 as Array;
        }
        if(distance_score_counter >= 10){
            distance_score_counter = 0;
            updateScore(1);
        }
        distance_score_counter++;
        //NOTE2: We use this nuke variable in order not to make the "nuke()" function static, type in which we couldn't handle the stage property
        //And we also make this variable false here so as to eliminate not only a single enemy but all on stage
        Enemy1.enemies_1Nuked = false;
        if(nuking == true){
            Enemy1.enemies_1Nuked = true;
            nuking = false;
        }

        //We put these all the time at the front so we can see them and the walls don't overpass them
        scoreText.parent.setChildIndex(scoreText, scoreText.parent.numChildren - 1);
        healthMeter_1.parent.setChildIndex(healthMeter_1, healthMeter_1.parent.numChildren - 1);
        pauseScreen.parent.setChildIndex(pauseScreen, pauseScreen.parent.numChildren -1);
        //gameOverMenu.parent.setChildIndex(gameOverMenu, gameOverMenu.parent.numChildren - 1);
        var n:uint = stage.numChildren;
        for(var i=0; i < n; i++){
            if(stage.getChildAt(i) is Enemy1){
                var anEnemy1:Enemy1 = Enemy1(stage.getChildAt(i));
                anEnemy1.parent.setChildIndex(anEnemy1, anEnemy1.parent.numChildren -1);
            }
            else if(stage.getChildAt(i) is PowerUp){
                var aPowerUp:PowerUp = PowerUp(stage.getChildAt(i));
                aPowerUp.parent.setChildIndex(aPowerUp, aPowerUp.parent.numChildren -1);
            }
        }

        //Done like this due to the impossibility of calling a function inside an static one (in this case, gameOver)
        if(inGameStopping == true){
            funcEasing();
        }

        //Probably not necessary later
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////
        /*if(initThingy == true){
            stage.focus = stage;
            initThingy = false;
        }*/
        //////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    }
    function spawn_enemies(e:Event){
        var myEnemy1:Enemy1 = new Enemy1();
        stage.addChild(myEnemy1);
    }
    function spawn_wall_piece(){
        index++;
        wallArray[index].x = (wallArray[index - 1].x + wallArray[index - 1].width);
        wallArray[index].y = 0;
        stage.addChild(wallArray[index]);
        myWallCollisionList.addItem(wallArray[index].theActualWall);
        myWallCollisionList.removeItem(wallArray[index - 2].theActualWall);
        stage.removeChild(wallArray[index - 2]);
    }
    function adequateArrayOfWalls(init:Boolean):void{
        //This only executes if we are initialitizing the array
        if(init == true){
            for(index = 0; index < 10; index++){
                var aWall:Walls = new Walls();
                //We check if we got special blocks next (e.g. "ramp caves"). Then we only allow a certain type of blocks to come.
                //If no special block is detected, then we just randomize the next one, except for those that are not allowed to 
                //show up unless a previous special one appeared.
                if(randomize == 9 || randomize == 15){
                    randomize = 15 + Math.floor(Math.random()*1 + 1);
                }else{
                    randomize = Math.floor(Math.random()*14 + 1);
                }
                aWall.gotoAndStop(randomize);
                //TheActualWall is the raw shape of the wall, where the ship collides, and it is what we push into collisionList,
                //but not into the wallArray which includes the Walls (comprised by graphics and actual walls)
                aWall.theActualWall.gotoAndStop(randomize);
                wallArray.push(aWall);
            }
            wallArray[0].gotoAndStop(1);
            wallArray[0].theActualWall.gotoAndStop(1);
            stage.addChild(wallArray[0]);
            wallArray[1].x = 800;
            wallArray[1].y = 0;
            stage.addChild(wallArray[1]);
        //if not, then we are just cleaning it and rearranging it so it doesn't grow bigger and bigger
        }else{
            for(var a:Number = 0; a < index - 1; a++){
                wallArray.splice(0,1);
            }
            for(a = index - 1; a < (10-2); a++){
                var aWall2:Walls = new Walls();
                if(randomize == 9 || randomize == 15){
                    randomize = 15 + Math.floor(Math.random()*1 + 1);
                }else{
                    randomize = Math.floor(Math.random()*14 + 1);
                }
                aWall2.gotoAndStop(randomize);
                aWall2.theActualWall.gotoAndStop(randomize);
                wallArray.push(aWall2);
            }
        }
        //Then, either way, we tell index to be 1 since the reference in the function is [index - 1] and [index], so it starts with [0] and [1]
        index = 1;
    }
    static function updateScore(points:Number){
        score += points;
        scoreText.text = score.toString();
    }
    static function resetScore(){
        score = 0;
        scoreText.text = score.toString();
    }
    function spawn_powerUp(e:Event){
        var pU:PowerUp = new PowerUp();
        stage.addChild(pU);
    }
    static function gameOver(){
        wall_mov_speed = 8;
        //gameOverMenu.end_game_score_display.text = score.toString();
        //gameOverMenu.visible = true;
        scoreText.visible = false;
        enemyShipTimer_1.stop();
        powerUpTimer.stop();
        inGameStopping = true; //In game stopping only influentiates in the easing speed effect
        isPauseable = false;
    }
    function funcEasing(){
        if(wall_mov_speed >= 0.1){
            wall_mov_speed /= 1.07;
        }else{
            wall_mov_speed = 0;
            removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, update_game);
            initTransition = true;
            darkening = true; //See notes on variable declaration.
            funcTransition(null);
        }

    }
    function funcTransition(e:Event){
        if(initTransition == true){
            myTransitionScreen.init(darkening);
            myTransitionScreen.parent.setChildIndex(myTransitionScreen, stage.numChildren - 1);
            myTransitionScreen.parent.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, funcTransition);
            initTransition = false;
            allPurposeCounter = 0;
        }
        if((darkening == true && myTransitionScreen.alpha == 1) || (darkening == false && myTransitionScreen.alpha == 0)){
            trace("fsdfa");
            allPurposeCounter++;
            trace(allPurposeCounter);
            if(allPurposeCounter >= 20){
                myTransitionScreen.parent.removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, funcTransition);
                initTransition = true;
                allPurposeCounter = 0;
                if(darkening == true){ //This means if we are now with a black screen coming from the game, which is when we will end our game process
                    endGameProcess();
                }
            }
        }


    }

    function endGameProcess(){

        mainClass.showGameOver();
    }

    function newGame(e:Event){
        darkening = true; //See notes on variable declaration.
        initTransition = true;
        funcTransition(null);           
    }
    //Check To-Do List below
    function funcPause(pMode:String){
        if(pMode == "pausing"){
            pauseScreen.visible = true;
            removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, update_game);
            myShip.thePause("pausing");
            //Check and stop the childs on stage (emitted by stage, so particles don't count)
            var n:uint = stage.numChildren;
            for(var i=0; i < n; i++){
                if(stage.getChildAt(i) is Enemy1){
                    var anEnemy1:Enemy1 = Enemy1(stage.getChildAt(i));
                    anEnemy1.thePause("pausing");
                }
                else if(stage.getChildAt(i) is Trail){
                    var aTrailUnit:Trail = Trail(stage.getChildAt(i));
                    aTrailUnit.thePause("pausing");
                }
                else if(stage.getChildAt(i) is PowerUp){
                    var aPowerUp:PowerUp = PowerUp(stage.getChildAt(i));
                    aPowerUp.thePause("pausing");
                }
            }
            enemyShipTimer_1.stop();
            powerUpTimer.stop();
            isPause = true;
            isPauseable = false;
        }else if(pMode == "unpausing"){
            pauseScreen.visible = false;
            addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, update_game);
            myShip.thePause("unpausing");
            //Check and re-run the childs on stage (emitted by stage, so particles don't count)
            var m:uint = stage.numChildren;
            for(var j=0; j < m; j++){
                if(stage.getChildAt(j) is Enemy1){
                    var anotherEnemy1:Enemy1 = Enemy1(stage.getChildAt(j));
                    anotherEnemy1.thePause("unpausing");
                }
                else if(stage.getChildAt(j) is Trail){
                    var anotherTrailUnit:Trail = Trail(stage.getChildAt(j));
                    anotherTrailUnit.thePause("unpausing");
                }
                else if(stage.getChildAt(j) is PowerUp){
                    var anotherPowerUp:PowerUp = PowerUp(stage.getChildAt(j));
                    anotherPowerUp.thePause("unpausing");
                }
            }
            enemyShipTimer_1.start();
            powerUpTimer.start();
            isPause = false;
            isPauseable = true;
        }

    }

    //Key pressing management
    function keyManaging(e:KeyboardEvent){
        var key:uint = e.keyCode;
        trace("algo");
        switch (key){
            case Keyboard.P:
            if(isPause == false && isPauseable == true){
                funcPause("pausing");
            }else if (isPause == true){
                funcPause("unpausing");
            }
            break;

            case Keyboard.M:
            //go back to menu: still to complete
            //Has to be only possible to do while in the pause menu
            trace("going back to menu");
            //
            break;
        }
    }
    //

    //Background color management
    function drawGradient():void {
        var m:Matrix = new Matrix();
        m.createGradientBox(805, 485, 0, 0, 0);
        mySprite.graphics.clear(); // here we clean it
        mySprite.graphics.beginGradientFill(GradientType.LINEAR, [colors.left, colors.right], [1, 1], [0x00, 0xFF], m, SpreadMethod.REFLECT);
        mySprite.graphics.drawRoundRect(0,0,805,485, 0);
        stage.setChildIndex(mySprite, 1);
    }
    function animateBackground(){
        TweenMax.to(colors, 3, {hexColors:{left:newColor1, right:newColor2}, onUpdate:drawGradient, onComplete:reRandomize});
    }
    function reRandomize(){
        color1 = newColor1;
        color2 = newColor2;
        newColor1 = Math.floor(Math.random()*0xFFFFFF + 1);
        newColor2 = Math.floor(Math.random()*0xFFFFFF + 1);
        animateBackground();
    }
}

}

Code from Ship:

public class Ship extends MovieClip {

    public function Ship() {
        if (stage) {
            init(null);
        }else{
            this.addEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, init);
        }
    }
    public function init(e:Event) {

        this.removeEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, init);
        this.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, update_ship);
    }

    public function update_ship(e:Event){

        x_vel = Direction_bar.dX*power;
        y_vel = Direction_bar.dY*power;

        this.x += x_vel;
        this.y += y_vel;
        if((10 < Math.abs(Direction_bar.dX) || 10 < Math.abs(Direction_bar.dY)) || ((0.9 < Math.abs(x_vel)||(0.9 < Math.abs(y_vel))))){
            this.rotation = Direction_bar.point_direction;
        }

        rotation_now = this.rotation;

        if(myShield != null){
            if(myShield.visible == true){
                myShield.alpha -= 0.0005;
                if(myShield.alpha == 0){
                    myShield.visible = false;
                    myShield.alpha = 1;
                }
            }
        }

    }

Solution

  • Some basics that you have to know in order to understand what's going on.

    1. It's a very common mistake to add things to stage.

      Here's what the documentation of addChild says http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/display/DisplayObjectContainer.html#addChild%28%29

      objects should not be added to the Stage, directly, at all

      I guess people add DispalyObjects to stage because they think it is "the stage" that they see and interact with in the Flash authoring environment. But it's not. stage.addChild() is not the same thing as dragging a symbol from the library onto the screen. What by default represents the main time line is the root property. However, if you add anything to stage directly, its root property and its stage property both reference the same object, which is regularly only referenced by stage. stage is some container that your .swf is added to when running in the flash player.

    2. The documentation of addChildAt says this about the index: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/display/DisplayObjectContainer.html#addChildAt%28%29

      The child is added at the index position specified. An index of 0 represents the back (bottom) of the display list for this DisplayObjectContainer object.

    Applying these basics, the following happens:

    • FlashPlayer creates the stage object, instantiates your main class and adds that instance to stage, it is the child with the index 0.
    • Among other things, stage.addChildAt(mySprite, 1); is executed, adding mySprite as a second child to stage. With index of 1 it is rendered in front of the object that is at index 0, which happens to be the instance of your main class AKA your .swf file. I hope that anything being rendered "outside the .swf file" illustrates well enough why adding things to stage is not recommended.
    • Later, this.addChild(myShip); happens. (Which is actually the proper way to do it; no need to use this here:addChild(myShip); is all you need.) and adds the ship to the display list. Assuming all of its parents are added to the display list as well, it will be displayed.
    • But you still cannot see it, because you added mySprite in front of the instance of your main class and filled it with a content in drawGradient() which covers up everything else.

    In all honesty, the best solution would be to start over from scratch. Working with this code will not help you in any way. Even working yourself through it and making it work somehow will not make you understand anything better (except for how not to do things). It seems like the only motivation to modify this code to use classes was for the sake of doing it. Forcing such old code into the object oriented paradigm will not work very well. The benefits of oop will not be apparent, making this experience even more frustrating.

    Last but not least, do not roll your own transition code. There are many libraries that do this (including flash's own Tween class http://www.republicofcode.com/tutorials/flash/as3tweenclass/ or the popular tweenlite http://greensock.com/tweenlite)