The "spaceShip" in the following code isn't moving smoothly at the beginning of holding any arrow key down. It moves one step, freezes for a split second, and then moves "smoothly". How can I make it move smoothly right from the beginning, with not "freezing"?
My code:
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<meta http-content="Content-type" charset="utf-8">
<title>Make body move smoothly</title>
<style type="text/css">
body {
}
canvas {
margin: auto;
position: absolute;
left: 0;
top: 0;
right: 0;
bottom: 0;
border: 1px solid black;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="canvas" width="400" height="600"></canvas>
<script type="text/javascript">
// Set up requestAnimationFrame and cancelAnimationFrame
(function() {
var lastTime =0;
var vendors=['ms', 'moz', 'webkit', 'o'];
for(var x=0; x<vendors.length && !window.requestAnimationFrame; ++x) {
window.requestAnimationFrame=window[vendors[x]+'RequestAnimationFrame'];
window.cancelAnimationFrame =
window[vendors[x]+ 'CancelAnimationFrame'] ||
window[vendors[x] +'CancelRequestAnimationFrame'];
}
if (!window.requestAnimationFrame)
window.requestAnimationFrame=function(callback, element) {
var currTime =new Date().getTime();
var timeToCall =Math.max(0, 16 - (currTime - lastTime));
var id =window.setTimeout(function() { callback(currTime+timeToCall); },
timeToCall);
lastTime =currTime + timeToCall;
return id;
};
if (!window.cancelAnimationFrame)
window.cancelAnimationFrame=function(id) {
clearTimeout(id);
};
}());
var canvas;
var ctx;
// ship data
var shipPositionX = document.getElementById('canvas').width/2;
var shipPositionY = document.getElementById('canvas').height - 30;
var deltaShipPositionX = 10;
var deltaShipPositionY = 10;
function init() {
canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
draw();
}
function draw(){
clear();
createRectangleToCoverCanvas();
createSpaceShip(shipPositionX, shipPositionY, 10);
requestAnimationFrame(draw);
}
function clear(){
ctx.clearRect(0, 0, document.getElementById('canvas').width, document.getElementById('canvas').height);
}
function createRectangleToCoverCanvas(){
ctx.fillStyle = 'black';
ctx.strokeStyle = 'black';
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.rect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.closePath();
ctx.fill();
ctx.stroke();
}
function createSpaceShip(x, y, radius) {
ctx.fillStyle = 'white'
ctx.strokeStyle = 'white'
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.rect(x, y, 20, 20);
ctx.closePath();
ctx.fill();
ctx.stroke();
}
function moveSpaceShip(event){
switch(event.keyCode){
// left
case 37:
if(shipPositionX - deltaShipPositionX + 15 > 0){
shipPositionX -= deltaShipPositionX;
}
break;
// up
case 38:
if(shipPositionY - deltaShipPositionY + 15 > 0){
shipPositionY -= deltaShipPositionY;
}
break;
// right
case 39:
if(shipPositionX + deltaShipPositionX < document.getElementById('canvas').width){
shipPositionX += deltaShipPositionX;
}
break;
//down
case 40:
if(shipPositionY + deltaShipPositionY < document.getElementById('canvas').height){
shipPositionY += deltaShipPositionY;
}
break;
}
}
window.addEventListener('load', init);
window.addEventListener('keydown', moveSpaceShip, true);
</script>
</body>
</html>
Notice the difference between my code and this example: http://atomicrobotdesign.com/blog_media/sprite_sheet/spritesheet.html
See how the example's is smooth, but my "spaceShip" isn't? Why is it happening and how can I fix it? Is it because the example uses a sprite (but this doesn't seem to make much sense)?
The problem is that you wait for each
keydown
event to update the ship position.The keydown event has a delay before it triggers again : the delay you are experiencing at beginning and the jump you face at each redraw.
The solution here is to trigger the movement on
keydown
and release it onkeyup
. This way, your ship will move smoothly as soon as you push the button.uncommented fiddle