Sequences and Spawns

With moving Sprite objects on the screen we have everything we need to create our game, right? Not quite. What about running multiple Actions? Yes, Cocos2d-x handles this too in a few different ways.

Just like it sounds, a Sequence is multiple Action objects run in a specified order. Need to run the Sequence in reverse? No problem, Cocos2d-x handles this with no additional work.

Take a look at the flow of an example Sequence for moving a Sprite gradually:

This Sequence is easy to make:

auto mySprite = Node::create();

// move to point 50,10 over 2 seconds
auto moveTo1 = MoveTo::create(2, Vec2(50,10));

// move from current position by 100,10 over 2 seconds
auto moveBy1 = MoveBy::create(2, Vec2(100,10));

// move to point 150,10 over 2 seconds
auto moveTo2 = MoveTo::create(2, Vec2(150,10));

// create a delay
auto delay = DelayTime::create(1);

mySprite->runAction(Sequence::create(moveTo1, delay, moveBy1, delay.clone(),
moveTo2, nullptr));

This example runs a Sequence, in order, but what about running all the specified Actions at the same time? Cocos2d-x supports this too and it is called Spawn. Spawn will take all the specified Action objects and executes them at the same time. Some might be longer than others, so they won't all finish at the same time if this is the case.

auto myNode = Node::create();

auto moveTo1 = MoveTo::create(2, Vec2(50,10));
auto moveBy1 = MoveBy::create(2, Vec2(100,10));
auto moveTo2 = MoveTo::create(2, Vec2(150,10));

myNode->runAction(Spawn::create(moveTo1, moveBy1, moveTo2, nullptr));

Why Spawn actions? Is there ever a reason? Sure! What if your main character has multiple Actions when obtaining a power up? Maybe beating the boss at the end of a level has multiple Actions that need to happen to end the level.