Well here it is! the long overdue update to my tadpoles project. I thought it was about time that my tadpoles had a natural predator, so I introduced these hungry bugs which I adapted from the woderfull open-source "walking things" which I found here: levitated.net/daily/levWalkingThings.html

When each bug's body or legs touch a tadpole the tadpole attempts to escape, but when the bug's head touches the tadpole it can eat him.

Click here for full screen mode.

In the next update I will try to give the bugs more 'intelligence' so that they can actively hunt the tadpoles. I will also write scripts that allow the tadpoles and bugs to grow as they eat more and get older, and to reproduce so that the supply of tadpoles doesn't run out.

I also want to introduce some inanimate objects, like rocks etc. that the creatures have to navigate around...

I built the game Artanoid for the 76 Creative website. It is a remake of the arcade classic Arkanoid with a 76 creative twist. The game has 5 levels, various 'power-ups' andalso saves and updates a score table using server side php. I recommend turning the music on to get the full effect, with a different soundtrack for each level.

Back again, my pet tadpoles (they still haven't grown into frogs yet!). This time I am going to explain the actionscript that makes them move, turn and run from the mouse. Firstly, heres an example of what they do (move your mouse over them and watch 'em swim away): Read on…

Q. How can I make an image or swf file load after a specified number of seconds?

A. Use the simple but effective flash_timer.swf file by Sam Burdge. Whoopeee!

Ever wanted a particular Flash movie or image to load up / start playing after the rest of your page has loaded, or after a set amount of time? This tutorial, and the support files provided with it will make it very easy indeed. The flash_timer.swf file will load a swf or image into your page after a number of seconds that you specify.

Example:

Check out this basic example to see a swf (called test.swf) load after a 10 second delay: Example 1
You can view the source code of the example to see how it works.

Usage:

1. Download the source files using the link below, and unzip the archive.
2. Embed the swf file 'flash_timer.swf' into your webpage. In my example I have used the swfObject method to embed the file, but you can use whichever method you prefer. For more information about this you can check this useful tutorial by Jeroen Wijering.
3. Set the height, width & background colour of the swf according to those of the file you want to load in.
4. Pass the two variables that the file requires to work: myswf – the file that will be loaded & mysecs – the number of seconds delay before the file is loaded. You can pass the variables in the url string, for example:

flash_timer.swf?myswf=my_movie.swf&mysecs=5

(This will load the movie 'my_movie.swf' after a 5 second delay.)

You can also pass the variables as flashvars, for example:

flashvars="myswf=example.jpg&mysecs=10"

(This will load the image 'example.jpg' after a 10 second delay.)

I hope you find this useful, if you do or if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment on this page (no emails please, I won't reply unless you are offering me hard cash!!). The flash_timer.swf file is only 1kb, so it will not effect the overall loading time of your page, it can be embedded at any height/width dimensions and works from flash player 7 upwards.

Download Source:

The download contains the all important flash_timer.swf plus a working example (index.html). The size of the zip is 6kb. Enjoy!!

I have given my tadpoles their first lesson in survival, they now know how to run away from danger! Previously they had two basic behaviours:

1. To face toward the direction in which they are moving.
2. To stay within the confines of the tank.

They now have a third behaviour which is to move away from the mouse when you move it over them. If they get stuck under the mouse they wriggle around until they can get free!