For todays javaScript example I will be going over a simple test module for testing javaScript modules that I am making to make sure that I get expected results when using a method in them. Most of the modules that I make are often a collection of pure functions where for a given set of arguments I should always get the same result, however I should also always get a result that I would expect for a given set of arguments. So it would make sense to have some scripts that will just call a method a bunch of times each time with a given set of arguments, the result of the call should then be compared to an expected result. If the function call equals the expected result, then it passes the test, if not it fails.

I could just start using a module in a project, and just address any problems for the methods as they come up, however by doing things that way problems can end up being harder to debug later on. So I think that it is better to just have a given module in its own folder, or maybe even better yet a whole separate repository. In the project folder for the module I will just have the source code of the module itself, and then a bunch of test scripts that are just a way to make sure that the modules is working the way that it should.

Writing test scripts might eat up a little time, but it will still be a whole lot less time then writing a whole application on tip of the module as a way to test it. Also if something goes wrong with the application it can often prove to be harder to debug compared to just having tests for each module that the application uses.

There are many frameworks that are used as a way to go about running tests, but for this javaScript example post I will be going over a quick crude yet effective test module that I made from the ground up.

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Todays javaScript example is going to be on a module that I have started a long time ago, but have come around to clean it up a bit because I might want to use it in a game in the near or distance future. The module has to do with and array of point values, and finding a simple ratio of those values, and using the ratio to set one of several kinds of types.

The general idea here is that I have an Orb object that contains an array of four numbers, each number is an integer from zero upwards and represents a count of a certain kind of element. For example the first element in the points array can represent a count of Earth elements, then Wind, Fire, and Water when it comes to that kind of idea with elements in a game. There is then the ratio of these elements that is of interest for example an Orb object with a points value of 14,4,2,2 would have a simple ratio of 7,2,1,1. The ratio could be a kind of recipe, for a special kind of Orb, with special attributes, or it could just be an unknown ratio that does not have any special meaning.

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This week I am continuing to get a little more work on my turret defense canvas example, and as such I think I will make another simple javaScript example where I am working out a separate stand alone project that is just one little feature that I may or may not add to the actual game.

In this post I am writing abound a quick amount of code that I thrashed together in a single day that might prove to be a better system for placing a player controlled turret in the game, along with additional units that can be placed in this player unit area of a canvas element. There are a number of ways to go about making this kind of system, but for this kind of unit grid I think a system where there is a fixed collection of objects for each gird location will work okay actually. The reason why I say that is because the gird will be rather small, I am thinking maybe only 3 by 3, or maybe one as large as 5 x 5, and that is it.

Much of the source code I worked out here is just a hacked over revision of the source code that I worked out for my other simple javaScript example where the aim was to work out rotation and fire control for a turret.

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Today I would like to work out another simple javaScript example, this time I wanted to start a very simple trade simulator example. Nothing major as I like to just work out simple basic examples of things when it comes to many of these javaScript examples, that I may, or may not continue to work on when it comes to truing it into something that I might use in a real project of some kind.

What I wanted to make is just a very simple starting point for a system where there are a number of items at a game market of some kind. At any given moment each item can be bought or sold at the market, and the current price of the items will go up and down within a certain range. The player can then buy an item at the market at a low price, and then later on sell it back when they are worth more to make money.

This trade simulator might just be a feature of a game, or I guess it could be the central focal point of the game actually. There are a lot of little details here, and there when it comes to something like this, such as the logic at play that will set prices, and how often prices will change. However I have to start somewhere when it comes to something like this, so in this post I will just be going over a very simple, basic, example of this sort of thing.

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This week I am continuing to work on one of my canvas examples that is just simply called turret defense because I am really bad at names. Anyway for the game I would like to have a level selection map where there are a bunch of display objects for each level in the game.

So then the general idea is to just have a collection of display objects, one for each level, and then at least two states in a crude yet effective state machine. When I click on one of these display objects in the map state I then go to the game state, but with the game state object created with custom options set by way of a game options object that is part of the level selection object in this map system.

With that said in this post I will be going over a very simple example of this kind of game map system, and for the game object I will just be using what I worked out in yesterdays post on working out a system for rotation and fire control.

What I will be writing about here then today will be yet another one of my javaScript example posts, where the aim is to work out some simple module, system, or mechanic, and not always worrying about making a full, finished product. There are a lot of ideas that come up when it comes to just having this kind of system in a game, but for the sake of this post I would like to have just a simple basic system for this sort of thing.

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