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COMP1206/Coursework

Introduction

This is a major piece of coursework worth 40% and will put into practice all the skills you have developed in the module so far into building a challenging application - but one not too dissimilar to the ECSChat application you have developed already.

It is expected that you will spend around 60 hours on this coursework.

This coursework builds on everything you have learnt and practiced so far:

JavaFX

Custom Components

Graphics and Animation

Listeners, Properties and Binding

Communications

Media

Files

If you have any problems, please go back and reference the lecture material and ensure you have worked through the corresponding labs - this coursework uses the same techniques but in a different application - your job is to apply your understanding and what you've learnt so far to solve a similar but different problem: In this case - a game!

TetrECS

Your challenge for this coursework is to build a game called TetrECS:

A fast-paced block placement game

You have a 5x5 grid

You must place pieces in that grid

You score by clearing lines, horizontally or vertically

You can rotate pieces

You can store a single piece to come back to later

The more lines you clear in one go, the more points you get

Every piece that you play that clears at least one line increases your score multiplier

As your score goes up, so does your level, and you get less time to think

If you fail to place a block, you lose a life

Lose 3 lives, and you’re out of the game

Sections

The Coursework is split into sections, gradually increasing in difficulty:

Creating the Game Logic

Building the User Interface

Adding Events

Adding Graphics

Adding a Game Loop

Adding Scores

Adding an Online Scoreboard

Adding Multiplayer

Extensions

Getting Started

Just like the labs, we will provide you with a basic skeleton application to get you going. We have also provided you with a demo so you know what you're aiming for.

You can find both the skeleton application and the demonstration here:

git clone http://ofb-labs.soton.ac.uk:3000/COMP1206/coursework.git   git clone http://ofb-labs.soton.ac.uk:3000/COMP1206/coursework-demo.git

The Skeleton

While you do not have to use everything inside the skeleton, you must base your project on it.

The skeleton provides the following:

Components

Events

Game

Network

Scene

UI

App/Launcher

Assets

Components

GameBlock

Is a JavaFX custom component extending a Canvas

Displays an individual block

GameBoard

Is a JavaFX custom component extending a GridPane

Holds all the GameBlocks in a grid

GameBlockCoordinate

Holds an x and y column and row number of a GameBlock in the GameBoard

Events

We supply a couple of Listeners to get you started

BlockClickedListener: Handle a block being clicked

CommunicationsListener: Handle receiving a message from the server

You will need to add more later

Remember, these are just interfaces with a single method

Game

This package holds the model and game logic

Game: Handles the game logic

GamePiece: Handles the model of a piece

Grid: Handles the model of the grid

This is displayed by the GameBoard

GamePiece

Already has the 15 different pieces defined for you

Every piece holds a 2D block array representing the piece

Call the static createPiece method

A GamePiece holds a grid of blocks - with a value of 0 for an empty block, or a value greater than 0 representing a block (which is used as it's colour in rendering)

The centre of a GamePiece is used for placing it (the middle of the grid)

GameGrid

Holds a 2D array of the grid

SimpleIntegerProperties are used to represent each block

The GameBoard binds to these properties

Update the grid, update the graphical GameBoard representation

Network

Communicator

Works the same way as ECS Chat

You can add listeners to receive messages

You can send messages

The server that is connected to is ofb-labs.ecs.soton.ac.uk:9700

This is different to the ECS Chat Server

This is a dedicated server for TetrECS

You need to be on the VPN to reach this server

Scenes

Each Scene represents a “screen” in the game

You will be adding more later

For example

Intro

Instructions

Multiplayer (Lobby, Game)

BaseScene

Provides a base scene the others inherit from

Basic functionality

ChallengeScene

The single player challenge UI

MenuScene

Displayed when the game is launched

UI

Provides useful parts of the User Interface

You shouldn’t really need to change these

GamePane

This is a special pane which will scale all it’s internal content, adding padding to ensure correct aspect ratio

GameWindow

The single window that switches scenes to change screen in the game

App/Launcher

App

The JavaFX Application

Launcher

Starts the application

As with ECS Chat

You shouldn’t need to worry about these

Assets

You are welcome and encouraged to make the game look like how you want – with your own sound effects, graphics, music, theme. However, for those who want an easy life, we are providing you with all the assets as found in the demo game!

The font

The graphics

The sounds and music

The CSS

Your Tasks

Creating the Game Logic

Building the User Interface

Adding Events

Adding Graphics

Adding a Game Loop

Adding Scores

Adding an Online Scoreboard

Adding Multiplayer

Extensions

Please note: The documentation below is a suggested guide to implementing it. Some of the concepts are key to follow (e.g. separation of view and model, listeners and properties etc.) but you are free to follow your own implementation if you prefer, as long as you hit the main goals and match the marking scheme. We are not using automated testing so you do not need to follow class or method names or follow the suggested implementation.

Before you Begin

Use Logging: This will be a complicated application, especially as you get further in.

Add logging statements at the start of every function you write which outputs what method has been called and with what parameters - this will make it much easier to see what's going on.

Add further helpful logging information to highlight what is taking place, how and when

The investment will pay off when it comes to working out what's not working!

Game Logic

The first step to implementing the game is to implement the basic game logic. This includes:

Add the logic to handle placing pieces

Can a piece be played?

Place a piece onto the grid

Add the logic to keep track of pieces

Keep track of the current piece

Create new pieces on demand

Add the logic to handle when a piece is played

Clear any lines

Remember:

The 5x5 game grid is represented as a 2D array of SimpleIntegers, with 0 representing empty, and a value greater than 0 representing it is filled and with what colour

A piece is represented as a 3x3 2D array of integers, with a 0 representing empty and a 1 representing that a block of the piece exists there. For example, the line piece is

To add a piece to the game grid, we iterate through the area of the grid where the piece is being placed and check that there is space for the piece (everywhere the piece has a block is 0) and then update the grid with the value (it's colour) of the piece being played. If we were to place the line piece (which has a value of 1, as seen in GamePiece.java) above (using it's centre) at x=2, y=2, we would then get

Need help getting started? Watch the Coursework: Getting Started and Q&A 2023.

To do this:

Make sure that you use the logger to log what is happening at every point - this will make your life much easier to work out what's going on!

In the Grid class:

Add a canPlayPiece method

Which takes a GamePiece with a given x and y of the grid will return true or false if that piece can be played

Tip: Iterate through the piece blocks, if the piece has a block at a given x and y (a value of 1), check if the corresponding x and y on the grid is empty there (a value of 0)

Add a playPiece method

Which takes a GamePiece with a given x and y of the grid will place that piece in the grid

Tip: You are aiming to write to the grid the value of the piece (piece.getValue) in the x and y spaces represented by the pieces blocks (piece.getBlocks)

Tip: Remember, you will need to offset the x and y co-ordinates to ensure a piece is played by it's centre!

In the Game class:

Add a spawnPiece method to return a GamePiece

Create a new random GamePiece by calling GamePiece.createPiece with a random number between 0 and the number of pieces

Tip: Create a Random object, and call nextInt to generate a random number between 0 and a given number

Add a currentPiece GamePiece field to the Game class

This will keep track of the current piece

When the game is initialised, spawn a new GamePiece and set it as the currentPiece

Add a nextPiece method

Replace the current piece with a new piece

Update the blockClicked method to play the current piece from it's centre if possible, then fetch the next piece

Add an afterPiece method, and add logic to handle the clearance of lines

To be called after playing a piece

This should clear any full vertical/horizontal lines that have been made

You will need to iterate through vertical and horizontal lines, keeping track of how many lines are to be cleared and which blocks will need to be reset

Tip: You may find a HashSet of GameBlockCoordinates to be helpful here (so a block doesn't get added/cleared/counted twice)

Any horizontal and vertical lines that have just been made should be cleared (including intersecting lines - multiple lines may be cleared at once).

Need a bit of help getting started? We go over some of the initial steps in the Q&A session

Clearing Lines: Additional Help

If you're struggling on how to clear lines, perhaps this example will help:

Consider the grid

Here, we need to clear two lines and 9 blocks.

We start by iterating through from left to right, top to bottom, and keep track of what we see. (Search for horizontal lines)

We need to store: Number of lines to clear, the blocks to clear (which we hold as a set to avoid duplicates)

Iteration 1: 5/5 = +1 line and 5 blocks to clear (we add those blocks to the set)

Iteration 2,3,4,5: 1/5 = no lines, no blocks to clear

Then we need to iterate from top to bottom, left to right (Search for vertical lines)

Iteration 1: 5/5 = +1 line, and 5 blocks to clear (we add those blocks to the set - the block in the top left corner is already in the set so doesn't get readded)

Iteration 2,3,4,5: 1/5 = no lines, no blocks to clear

Result: 2 lines to clear, 9 blocks to clear (the size of the set), and we have a set of all the blocks to clear

Sort out the score, then iterate through the set of blocks to clear and set them to 0

Build the User Interface

Next, we want to build the basics of the user interface for the game:

The user interface should keep track of

Score

Level

Lives

Multiplier

Show these in the UI

Update them appropriately when events happen

Implement Scoring

Implement Multiplier

Add Background Music

Add Appropriate Styles

To do this:

Add bindable properties for the score, level, lives and multiplier to the Game class, with appropriate accessor methods.

These should default to 0 score, level 0, 3 lives and 1 x multiplier respectively.

Add UI elements to show the score, level, multiplier and lives in the ChallengeScene by binding to the game properties.

Tip: Use the .asString method on an Integer Property to get it as a bindable string!

In the Game class, add a score method which takes the number of lines and number of blocks and call it in afterPiece. It should add a score based on the following formula:

number of lines * number of grid blocks cleared * 10 * the current multiplier

If no lines are cleared, no score is added

For example, if a piece was added that cleared 2 intersecting lines, 2 lines would be cleared and 9 blocks would be cleared (because 1 block appears in two lines but is counted only once) - this would be 180 points with a 1 times multiplier (compared to 200 points if 2 non-intersecting lines were cleared at the same time)

Implement the multiplier

Every time you clear at least one line with a piece, the multiplier increases by exactly 1

The multiplier resets as soon as you play a piece or a piece expires without clearing any lines

The multiplier is increased by 1 if the next piece also clears lines. It is increased after the score for the cleared set of lines is applied

The multiplier is reset to 1 when a piece is placed that doesn't clear any lines

Example: If you clear 4 lines in one go, the multiplier increases once (now at 2x). If you then clear 1 line with the next piece, the multiplier increases again (now at 3x). If you then clear 2 lines with the next piece, it increases again (now at 4x). The next piece you play clears no lines (multiplier resets to 1x)

Implement the level

The level should increase per 1000 points (at the start, you begin at level 0. After 1000 points, you reach level 1. At 3000 points you would be level 3)

Create a Multimedia class

Add two MediaPlayer fields to handle an audio player and music player

These need to be fields, not local variables, to avoid them being garbage collected and sound stopping shortly after it starts

Add a method to play an audio file

Add a method to play background music

The background music should loop

Implement background music on the Menu and in the Game using your new class

Ensure everything is styled in some way

You may create your own aesthetics with as much freedom as you want, or use the default styles and assets as provided, but we expect you to show you can apply them

Important: Use listeners to link your Game (the game model and state) and the GameBoard (the UI) via the ChallengeScene. Do not directly include the GameBoard inside your Game (read the FAQ as to why!)

Enhance the User Interface

Now we have the basics down, we want to enhance the user interface further:

Make a better Menu

Add an Instructions Screen

Make a custom component to show a specific piece

Add a listener for handling a next piece being ready

Use the component the upcoming piece in the UI

To do this:

Create a PieceBoard as a new component which extends GameBoard

This can be used to display an upcoming piece in a 3x3 grid, which we will update using a NextPieceListener later (see below)

It should have a method for setting a piece to display

Add it to the ChallengeScene

Update the MenuScene

Add pictures, animations, styles and a proper menu

Add appropriate events by calling the methods on GameWindow to change scene

Create a new InstructionsScene

This should show the game instructions

Add an action from the Menu to the Instructions

In the InstructionsScene, add a dynamically generated display of all 15 pieces in the game

You can create a GridPane of PieceBoards

You do not need to worry about handling more than the 15 default pieces

Add keyboard listeners to allow the user to press escape to exit the challenge or instructions or the game itself

Tip: You want to listen for keyboard input on the scene - if you try to add it to a control, how would it know which control should receive the event?

Tip: The initialise method on the Scene is an appropriate place to add this listener, once the scene has been initialised

Tip: You will need to add a method to shutdown the game in the ChallengeScene to end and clean up all parts of the game, before going back - or it'll keep playing!

Create your own NextPieceListener interface which has a nextPiece method which takes the next GamePiece as a parameter

What we are aiming for: The ChallengeScene (UI) will register a NextPieceListener on the Game (model), so that when a new piece is provided by the game, it can update the PieceBoard with that piece (so the ChallengeScene acts as the bridge between the model - game - and the pieceboard component)

Add a NextPieceListener field and a setNextPieceListener method to Game. Ensure the listener is called when the next piece is generated.

Create a NextPieceListener in the ChallengeScene to listen to new pieces inside game and call an appropriate method.

In this method, pass the new piece to the PieceBoard so it displays.

Events

Now we need to handle some of the main events and actions in the game:

Add the next tile in advance

Add piece rotation

Add piece swapping

Add sound effects

Add keyboard support

To do this:

Add a rotateCurrentPiece method in Game to rotate the next piece, using GamePiece's provided rotate method

Add a followingPiece to Game. Initialise it at the start of the game.

Update nextPiece to move the following peice to the current piece, and then replace the following piece.

Add another, smaller PieceBoard to show the following peice to the ChallengeScene

Update the NextPieceListener to pass the following piece as well, and use this to update the following piece board.

Add a swapCurrentPiece method to swap the current and following pieces

Add a RightClicked listener and corresponding setOnRightClicked method to the GameBoard

Implement it so that right clicking on the main GameBoard or left clicking on the current piece board rotates the next piece

Add sounds on events, using your Media class, such as placing pieces, rotating pieces, swapping pieces.

Add keyboard support to the game, allowing positioning and dropping pieces via the keyboard.

You will need to keep track of the current aim (x and y)

Drop the piece on enter

Move the aim when relevant buttons are pressed

Suggested Controls

Graphics

Let's now enhance the graphics by working with our canvas:

Add tiles to the game, not just squares

Add hovering

Add animations on clearing to show tiles cleared

To do this:

Update the GameBlock drawing to produce prettier filled tiles and empty tiles

Update the PieceBoard and GameBlock to show an indicator (e.g. a circle) on the middle square

Ensure that any pieces placed on the board are placed relative to this.

Add events and drawing code to update the GameBoard and GameBlock to highlight the block currently hovered over

Create a new fadeOut method on the GameBlock

By implementing an AnimationTimer, use this to flash and then fades out to indicate a cleared block

Tip: You could do this by painting the block empty, then filling them in with a semi-transparent (gradually getting more transparent) fill each frame

Create a new fadeOut method on the GameBoard which takes a Set of GameBlockCoordinates and triggers the fadeOut method for each block

Create a LineClearedListener which takes a Set of GameBlockCoordinates (that hold an x and y in the grid of blocks cleared) and add it to the Game class to trigger when lines are cleared.

Use the LineClearedListener in the ChallengeScene to receive blocks cleared from the Game and pass them to fade out to the GameBoard

Game Loop

Next we need to handle the game progression, which is done via the timer - when no piece is played, we move on to the next piece. We need to:

Add a timer to count down how long there is until the piece must be placed

When the timer runs out, move on to the next piece and lose a life

Show the timer in the game UI

To do this:

Add a getTimerDelay function in Game

Calculate the delay at the maximum of either 2500 milliseconds or 12000 - 500 * the current level

So it'll start at 12000, then drop to 11500, then 11000 and keep on going until it reaches 2500 at which point it won't drop any lower

Implement a Timer or ScheduledExecutorService inside the Game class which calls a gameLoop method

This should be started when the game starts and repeat at the interval specified by the getTimerDelay function

When gameLoop fires (the timer reaches 0): lose a life, the current piece is discarded and the timer restarts. The multiplier is set back to 1.

The timer should be reset when a piece is played, to the new timer delay (which may have changed)

Create a GameLoopListener

and a setOnGameLoop method to link it to a listener

Use the GameLoopListener to link the timer inside the game with the UI timer

Create and add an animated timer bar to the ChallengeScene.

Use Transitions or an AnimationTimer to implement the timer bar

The ChallengeScene should use the GameLoopListener to listen on the GameLoop starting and reset the bar and animation

The timer bar should change colour to indicate urgency.

Tip: You may want to use a Timeline or create a Transition to animate the bar, which provides a smooth animation using interpolation

Tip: The demo uses a Rectangle

When the number of lives goes below 0, the game should end.

Scores

Now we've got the game working, we need a reason to play the game - to get a high score! We'll add a new Scores screen:

Create a new Scores Screen

Save and read high scores to a scores file

Prompt for a name on getting a high score

To do this:

Create a new ScoresScene

Add the relevant method to start it into GameWindow

Switch to it when the game ends.

You should pass through the Game object, containing the final game state

Set up an observable list property to hold the scores

Add a localScores SimpleListProperty to hold the current list of scores in the Scene

Use Pair to represent a score

Create an ArrayList to hold those Pairs

Use FXCollections.observableArrayList to make an observable list out of that ArrayList

Create a SimpleListProperty as a wrapper around the list, exposing it as a property

Create a new ScoresList custom UI component and add it to the ScoresScene, which will hold and display a list of names and associated scores

Use a SimpleListProperty inside the ScoresList

Update the scores when the list is updated

Bind the ScoresList scores to the ScoresScene scores list

Add a reveal method which animates the display of the scores

Tip: You are binding the ScoresList UI component to an observable list property. When the list property is updated, the scores list UI should update it's display of those scores

Write a loadScores method to load a set of high scores from a file and populate an ordered list

A simple format of newline separated name:score will suffice

Update the ScoresScene score list with the loaded scores (which will update the ScoresList)

Write a writeScores method to write an ordered list of scores into a file, using the same format as above.

If the scores file does not exist, write a default list of scores to the file.

When the ScoresScene starts

Load the ordered list list of scores and link the scores to the ScoreList

If the score contained inside the Game beats any of the scores, prompt the user for their name, insert it into the list at the correct position, display the scores and update the saved file.

Reveal the high scores

Add a getHighScore method to the ChallengeScene

Get the top high score when starting a game in the ChallengeScene and display it in the UI

If the user exceeds it, increase the high score with the users high score.

Online Scores

Next, let's integrate with the online server and compare our scores with other people:

Receive online scores from the server

Include these in the Score Screen

If the new score beats the current scores, submit it to the server

To do this:

Add a remoteScores SimpleListProperty in the Scene

Add loadOnlineScores method to ScoresScene

Use the Communicator to request HISCORES when entering the ScoresScene

Use a CommunicationsListener within the ScoresScene to parse the high scores and create a second ordered list of online high scores.

Update the remoteScores list

You will need to ensure you only trigger displaying the high scores and checking the high scores occurs after the scores list arrives!

Add a writeOnlineScore method

Use the Communicator to submit a new HISCORE if the user has beaten the previous high scores, as well as inserting their score into the list.

Add another ScoresList component bound to the remoteScores property to display the online scores list alongside the local high scores list.

Network Protocol

The Network Protocol that you need is:

Send: HISCORES

Receive: HISCORES :\n:\n...

Description: Get the top high scores list

Send: HISCORES UNIQUE

Receive: HISCORES :\n:\n...

Description: Only include each unique player name for a more varied high score list

Send: HISCORES DEFAULT

Receive: HISCORES :\n:\n...

Description: Include a default high score list. Good for testing

Send: HISCORE :

Description: Submit a new high score. Do not cheat - we will know!

Receive: NEWSCORE :

Testing

We suggest you test by calling HISCORES DEFAULT initially and then sending a HISCORE and ensuring you receive a NEWSCORE response