Light script flashes on and off

[system]

Hello, I have made a script to turn a light on and off when L is pressed, this goes onto my character model and it kind of works. The light starts as on, turns off when L is pressed, then if you press it again to turn it on again, it just flashes on and off.

Thanks in advance for any help, Krynn/Aaron

var torchDisabled : boolean = false;

function Update () {

var torchLight = GameObject.Find("Torch");

if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.L) && torchDisabled == false) {
torchLight.light.enabled = true;
torchDisabled = true;
}
else if (torchDisabled == true) {
torchLight.light.enabled = false;
torchDisabled = false;
}

}

[duck]

Hi,

The reason for the flashing is a problem with logic in your "if" and "else if" code. However, in your case your code could be reduced down to the following:

var torch : Light;

function Start() {
    // we find the instance once, at start
    var torch = GameObject.Find("Torch").light;
}

function Update () {
    // if the key is pressed during this update, we "toggle" the enabled value
    if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.L)) {
        torch.enabled = !torch.enabled;
    }
}

Explanation:

The "torch" var stores a reference to the actual light component on the torch, not the gameobject.

There's no need to store a separate var to remember the on/off setting as we can use the light's own "enabled" property to remember this.

When the key is pressed, we can "toggle" the enabled property by using the ! ("not") operator.

If your script is actually placed on the torch object itself, your code could be made even simpler, because no references to the torch object would be necessary.