Multiple Enemies but 1 picturebox

[MrMk2gtx]

This is the code I have for the game, I am making but there's a problem. There are 9 enemies moving from left to right.
I was wondering it there was a way of making just one picturebox but it appearing multiple times with different behaviors and speed.

 

[Lotok]

Make a custom control inheriting from the picturebox, add extra properties such as speed. Then use the speed property in your code to handle the movement.

 

[MrMk2gtx]

How I do that please: Could you paste any example of the code

 

[Lotok]

Sure, Add a custom control to your project

To add a speed property

Public Class EnhancedPictureBox
    Inherits PictureBox

    Public Property Speed() As Decimal

End Class

When you instantiate an EnhancedPictureBox on your form, you can now set a speed property and use that in your movement code. The same idea for your other behaviours. You can also add new methods or overwrite existing ones to give you additional functionality for your enemies.

Edit:

Hmm, forgot you wanted 1 picturebox, why not instantiate more to give each different properties?

 

[MrMk2gtx]

This might help, this here is the code I have for my pictureboxes = Enemies

Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
        Enemy1.Left = Enemy1.Left + 1
        Enemy2.Left = Enemy2.Left - 2


        If Enemy1.Left > 1400 Then
            Enemy1.Left = -100
        End If


        If Enemy2.Left < -1400 Then
            Enemy2.Left = 800
        End If
    End Sub
    Private Sub Timer2_Tick(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer2.Tick
        Enemy3.Left = Enemy3.Left + 2
        Enemy4.Left = Enemy4.Left - 3


        If Enemy3.Left > 1400 Then
            Enemy3.Left = -100
        End If


        If Enemy4.Left < -1400 Then
            Enemy4.Left = 800
        End If
    End Sub
    Private Sub Timer3_Tick(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer3.Tick
        Enemy5.Left = Enemy5.Left + 4
        Enemy6.Left = Enemy6.Left - 4


        If Enemy5.Left > 1400 Then
            Enemy5.Left = -100
        End If


        If Enemy6.Left < -1400 Then
            Enemy6.Left = 800
        End If
    End Sub

Do I put the code under the timers?

 

[Lotok]

If you replaced the existing pictureboxes with the enhancedpicturebox you could then do something like this to provide different speeds

Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
        Enemy1.Left = Enemy1.Left + (1 * Enemy1.Speed)

        Enemy2.Left = Enemy2.Left - (2 * Enemy2.Speed)

 

 
        If Enemy1.Left > 1400 Then
            Enemy1.Left = -100

        End If
 
 
        If Enemy2.Left < -1400 Then
            Enemy2.Left = 800
        End If

You could also move to make your code more re-usable

    Protected lstPB As List(Of PictureBox)

    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
        Timer1.Start()

        lstPB = New List(Of PictureBox)
        lstPB.Add(enemy1)
        lstPB.Add(enemy2)
    End Sub

    Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick
        MovePB(lstPB)
    End Sub

    Private Sub MovePB(ByVal PBs As List(Of PictureBox))
        For Each p As PictureBox In PBs
            p.Left(+(1 * p.speed))

            If p.Left > 1400 Then enemy1.Left = -100

        Next

    End Sub

This way you can add and remove enemies from the collection and have the movement handled for them all.

 

[MrMk2gtx]

Like this:

 

[Lotok]

You need to create the custom picture box though, so it has the speed property.

If you go down the list way of doing it, it will be a list of your custom control, i just wrote PictureBox in my example, I suppose that may have been confusing. i should have said List(of EnhancedPictureBox)

The timer should then make a call to the method for moving, passing in your list. The method could be made more genetic rather than than naming the control instances so it can handle any number of enemies.

 

[MrMk2gtx]

What is the enhanced picturebox?
the whole purpose of renaming my pictureboxes as enemy1, 2, 3, 4 is so i don't have to use the name picturebox.
I just want the 1 enemy picturebox to show multiple times :|

 

[Lotok]

Either you are having trouble understanding the idea of instances or I am getting confused over what you are asking.

The Custom Control I mentioned before, can be added to a project by right clicking the project, selecting add, then selecting Custom Control.

The Custom Control looks like this and I called It EnhancedPictureBox for examples sake.

Public Class EnhancedPictureBox
    Inherits PictureBox
 
    Public Property Speed() As Integer

 
End Class

When you drag 2 of these on to a form or type this in code

Dim enemyOne = new EnhancedPictureBox()
Dim enemyTwo = new EnhancedPictureBox()

You are creating two instances of EnhancedPictureBox. So you now have 2, not 1. They are of the same Type, but you have two of them.

If you then had a list

Dim myList = new List(of EnhancedPictureBox)()
myList.Add(enemyOne)
myList.Add(enemyTwo)

You could pass that list into a Method to do something with your EnhancedPictureBoxes.

Private Sub MoveLeft(byval PBList as List(of EnhancedPictureBox))
   For Each p As EnhancedPictureBox In PBList

       'Move EnhancedPictureBox left at the rate of 1 * Speed Property
        p.Left = p.Left + (1 * p.Speed))

           'If Going too far, move back 100

        If p.Left > 1400 Then p.Left = p.Left -100

 

   Next


End Sub

Now, no matter how many EnhancedPictureBox's you add to your list, they will all be moved left by different rates depending on the Speed property set. You just need to pass the list of EnhancedPictureBox's to the method.

Private Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick

MoveLeft(MyList)

End Sub