[JS] Match 3 game - How to compare certain values stocked in a multi-dimensional Array

Questions & Answers
1

Hi,

I make a matched-3 game but based on Tetris gameplay (cubes are dropped like Tetris to create row & columns of colored cubes), and I need to find a way to Check if there is 3 colored cubes in a row (or column).

The game logic is actually very simple, but I have a problem with Cubes Comparison.

  1. Storing the values

I create a multi dimensional Array, and I push Values for every Cube, by using a Loop :

	cells[0, 0] // this is the Cube n°0, and it's X Position
	cells[0, 1] // this is the Cube n°0, and it's Y Position
	cells[0, 2] // this is the Cube n°0, and it's ID
	cells[0, 3] // this is the Cube n°0, and it's Color

	cells[1, 0] // this is the Cube n°1, and it's X Position
	cells[1, 1] // this is the Cube n°1, and it's Y Position
	cells[1, 2] // this is the Cube n°1, and it's ID
	cells[1, 3] // this is the Cube n°1, and it's Color
…

// etc…

So, if I want the X Pos. of my Cube 1, I juste have to Call “cells[0, 0];”. This works perfectly fine.

  1. The Matching 3 Logic

The logic to find a 3 cubes Vertical match is simple:

var row : int;
var cell : int = 0;

for (row = 0; row < cells.GetLength(0); row++){
	for (cell = 0; cell < cells.GetLength(1)-2; cell++){

		if ( cells[row,cell] == cells[row,cell+1] == cells[row,cell+2] ) // The Problem is here, see my question below
		  {
				print("Congrats, you have stacked 3 cubes in a column !");
				// + Here I add my function to Destroy cubes and Collapse row(s)/col(s)
		  }
	}
}

As you can see in my script, the line : “if ( cells[row,cell] == cells[row,cell+1] == cells[row,cell+2] )” is the problem.

What I (really) want to do:

if “CELL_X with Y position = 3” is equal to “CELL_X with Y position = 2 + 1” is equal to “CELL_X with Y position = 1 + 2”, then it’s a match.

  1. The problem

So, I can perfectly search for Vertical Cubes with the for loop, but my problem is in the line: “cells[row,cell] == cells[row,cell+1] == cells[row,cell+2]”.

Since if I wan’t “cell+1” to be “The Cell Pos Y value + 1”, the loop don’t find that value, but the next Value stored in the Array : Y Position, or CubeID, or Color ID…

Because if cell = 1, and I wan’t “cell+2”, cell+2 = cells[0, 2], so the result is: “the Cube n°0, and it’s ID”.

  1. The Question

How can I add a value to the Second int of Cells Array ?

Instead of:

cells[0, (1+1)] = Cube ID ( because result is: cells[0, 2] )

I want:

cells[0, (1+1)] = the value “Cube 0: Y Position” +1

So:

When I search for “if ( cells[row,cell+1] == 1 )”, I find the cube who has the number 1 as Pos Y Value.

I hope my explanation is good enough, if you need more details let me know. Thanks in advance for your help, and sorry for my poor english.

2

I would change your multi-dimensional array so that you have a class called Cell which is system serializable and has a position Vector2, a colour and an int ID. Then make a 2D array of these Cells, made such that the index of each cell is its position on the grid, x and y. This will make checking easier now, as you can just do something like:

for (int x = 0; x > widthOfGrid;x++)
{
    for (int y = 0; y > heightOfGrid;y++)
    {
        if (cells[x,y].id == cells[x+1, y] && cells[x,y] == cells[x+2,y])
        {
             //Do stuff
        }
        else if(cells[x,y].id == cells[x, y+1].id && cells[x,y].id == cells[x,y+2].id)
        {
            //Do stuff
        }
    }
}

This should work, tell me if there are any syntax errors