PLECK lesson 38 · suggested week 8, day 3
End a timed round deliberately
Objective. Use one clock and define the order of simultaneous outcomes.
Godot Engine Standard desktop editor 4.7.2-stable, GDScript (Godot 4), Compatibility renderer. Headless Godot 4.7.2.stable.official.ed1daf0bf passed 106 assertions on the supplied scaffolds, including malformed JSON saves. Audio used the Dummy driver and a synthetic WAV, not a speaker. The visual editor, browser export, and signed-in submission were not tested. The desk still does not run a student's own upload.
About 55 minutes. The due date is chosen by a parent.
Lives, time, state transitions and replay
Suggested pace: Recall and predict 5 min; Read instruction and scaffold 12 min; Build or design the assigned artifact 25 min; Run acceptance tests 8 min; Explain and checkpoint 5 min.
Materials: Godot Standard 4.7.2 desktop editor (GDScript, Compatibility renderer), Local course folder and prior checkpoint, No paid assets or public account required.
Comes after VGC-L037.
A round clock should advance only during Play. You can use a one-shot RoundTimer with wait_time thirty or decrement a remaining-seconds variable in a frame function. Do not use both as competing authorities. Choose and document a tie rule: in this course, reaching zero lives takes precedence if a damage event is processed before the timeout transition; after a transition, further events are ignored. Start with a three-second test duration, then restore thirty seconds so tests are quick without changing the final rule.
Worked example
If phase is TITLE, a scoring event returns immediately. After start_round sets phase PLAY, the same event may add points. One exclusive phase prevents simultaneous WIN and LOSE flags. Scaffold C-STATES — Explicit game states and gated scoring Setup: Attach to Node root StateLab with child Label Status. This is a standalone demonstrator; call start_round, add_points, finish_round from buttons or Remote Inspector. In a real game the manager owns this state. Additional Player and spawner scripts must also honor the manager’s state, or be disabled when finishing. ```gdscript extends Node enum Phase { TITLE, PLAY, WIN, LOSE } var phase: Phase = Phase.TITLE var score: int = 0 func _ready() -> void: _show() func start_round() -> void: score = 0 phase = Phase.PLAY _show() func add_points(amount: int) -> void: if phase != Phase.PLAY: return score += maxi(amount, 0) _show() func finish_round(won: bool) -> void: if phase != Phase.PLAY: return phase = Phase.WIN if won else Phase.LOSE _show() func _show() -> void: $Status.text = "State: %s | Score: %d" % [Phase.keys()[phase], score] ```
Explicit game states and gated scoring
GDScript (Godot 4, not Scratch, Python, JavaScript or C#). Scaffold C-STATES. Copy starts from this text. The desk does not run it.
Scene and node setup
Attach to Node root StateLab with child Label Status. This is a standalone demonstrator; call start_round, add_points, finish_round from buttons or Remote Inspector. In a real game the manager owns this state. Additional Player and spawner scripts must also honor the manager’s state, or be disabled when finishing.
extends Node
enum Phase { TITLE, PLAY, WIN, LOSE }
var phase: Phase = Phase.TITLE
var score: int = 0
func _ready() -> void:
_show()
func start_round() -> void:
score = 0
phase = Phase.PLAY
_show()
func add_points(amount: int) -> void:
if phase != Phase.PLAY:
return
score += maxi(amount, 0)
_show()
func finish_round(won: bool) -> void:
if phase != Phase.PLAY:
return
phase = Phase.WIN if won else Phase.LOSE
_show()
func _show() -> void:
$Status.text = "State: %s | Score: %d" % [Phase.keys()[phase], score]
Checks to run in the editor
- Calling add_points before start does not change score.
- After finish_round, extra score events do nothing.
Native Godot 4.7.2.stable.official.ed1daf0bf headless compile and representative node-tree/runtime tests passed; see native-qa-results.json. Visual UI, audible output, exports and website submission still need separate checks.
End a timed round deliberately — evidence task
- 1. Add one authoritative round clock and timeout transition.
- 2. Test survival, zero lives first, and damage after an end state.
Deliverable. Timed game project and three end-condition tests.
Acceptance checks
- VGC-L038-T1. Survival reaches Win at timeout.
- VGC-L038-T2. A completed transition cannot be overwritten by a later event.
Understanding question. Why must timeout and damage handlers check the current phase?
Include a downloadable project ZIP with project.godot, .tscn, .gd and original asset files when code changes. A private, teacher-accessible download link to that ZIP is equivalent. Screenshots or a playthrough do not replace editable source.
If this is still shaky. Print lives and phase in one Label before adding effects. Restrict every gameplay handler to the Play state. Start with the first assigned task and re-run its acceptance test before adding the remaining feature.
Optional extra. Test simultaneous end conditions and write a deliberate tie policy. Document one changed parameter, your prediction, and the observed effect; optional, not required for completion.
Turn in typed notes and a JPEG, PNG, or WebP screenshot. One https address is stored as text and is not opened, extracted, or run. An MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, or WebM file up to 4 MB can show a demo. The demo does not replace editable source. Zip and code files are refused. If there is no private link, keep the project on the family computer and review the code in person.
- Your first 2D game
Free public tutorial; no account; external asset download is optional, not used by this course.
· Opening this link does not submit the lesson.
This is a preview. A parent assigns the lesson and chooses the due date after the student is enrolled. The answer key is not on this page.