hwTimer - alter the passage of time for its children
| Lifetime | 2F | Range of time for which this hwTimer is effective |
| Equation | *F | Polynomial equation for the alteration of time |
| CycleTime | 1F | How long does it take to cycle from 0 to 1? If 0, it doesn't cycle |
| Children | *O | List of objects affected by the timer |
| Invisible | 1B | Is this timer invisible? |
| Visibility | 1I | Visibility mask for use with hwDisplay->setVisibility |
| Lifetime | {0,1e38} |
| Equation | {0,1} # That is, 0*X^0 + 1*X^1, or identity |
| CycleTime | 0.0 |
| Children | NULL |
| Invisible | False |
| Visibility | 0xFFFFFFFF |
The hwTimer class can be used to change time for its children from a strict 1:1 realtime ratio to whatever polynomial equation is desired. For example, to "freeze" time at a given value, say, 42, merely create an hwTimer object whose equation is {42}. The equation is interpreted using the following algorithm:
/* Compute sum of polynomial */
Tsum = 0.0;
for( i = 0; i < Length(Equation); i++ ) {
Tsum = Tsum + Equation[i] * pow( RealTime, (double)i );
}
RealTime = Tsum;
In other words, a polynomial equation. The Lifetime parameter specifies the range of real time over which this hwTimer object operates; if real time is outside this range, the hwTimer object and its children do not display. The CycleTime parameter specifies how long it takes for the hwTimer object to cycle back to (relative) T = 0. If a CycleTime is specified, time will cycle from Lifetime[0] to Lifetime[0]+CycleTime.
# Pause time for the children of this object, for 10 seconds starting
# 100 seconds into time
hwTimer {
Lifetime = {100,110}
Equation = {100} # In other words, make T = 100.0 seconds
Children = {
hwSpinner {
UpType = HW_SPIN_LINEAR
UpParams = {0,360}
CycleTime = 5
Children = {
hwFile {
FileName = "foo.gfx"
}
}
}
}
}