How to make a working score counter?

[ancient topaz]

I'm pretty much having first exposure here and I have two jobs in my group's little project right now.
One was adding and changing textures of our player and enemies, and I did that after fumbling on both.

However, I'm still stumped on how to make a working score counter given that most of the tutorials I see use either GDScript (to which I have no qualms to) or use event nodes, that I know I should be doing with...
But the code of our game is C# and I see no proper event node that relates to the enemy being deleted.

Details:

Just need a barebones score counter. Just have the score's number displayed is enough.
Enemies are removed by using GetParent().QueueFree() contained in a separate C# file handling HP.
I'm very new, please guide me through.
Images here if they can help.

[shell vault]

On a Label node I'd add a script with a function like this. Lets say it's in a Label inherited class I'll call ScoreCounter.

private int score;
public void incrementScore() {
    score += 1;
    Text = "Score: " + score;
}```
Then in your `enemy` class get a refrence to that node and call the function. You can do that either by defining the refrence as exported `[Export] private ScoreCounter;` and then assigning it through the editor or declare the refrence without the `[Export]` and do it programmatically in `_Ready()` with `GetNode<>()`

Let me know if anything was unclear about that

[vague juniper]

Sorry but I disagree with @shell vault ; I would instead store a score variable as a global script, because presumably you will want to access this variable in lots of different places (in game, in other scenes, etc.) so keeping it only in a label would be limiting.

To do create a global script whose variables you can access from anywhere, you can do that using "singletons", read here https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/singletons_autoload.html

this script would have all the relevant functions to handle score, and then if you'd want to access it and display it in a label, you could do something like text = scriptName.score

[shell vault]

That would work too, personally I've just never been a fan of the singleton design pattern and it's drawbacks.

Before implementing a singleton you should definitely read up on the theory of them

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singleton_pattern

[ancient topaz]

Mmm, mind if you assist me through? I don't want to break anything right now since it already was a headache for me to get the assets properly loaded.
Also, I'll just be having this score counter present on this one scene since our project is broken into multiple sub-projects that we have no more time to merge them into one.

[shell vault]

Sure I'd be happy to

[ancient topaz]

So first is a Label node that I'll add onto our main game scene (shooter_game), right?

[shell vault]

Yes

It'll need to be a child of an canvaslayer to be visable

[ancient topaz]

Just add a node under ShooterGame in the Scenes, right?

[shell vault]

not quite

youll wanna do it like this

the CanvasLayer represents a ui while the Label is some text in the ui

[ancient topaz]

So I add a CanvasLayer first then add the Label?

[shell vault]

yes

[ancient topaz]

Huh, I can't seem to add it...

[shell vault]

type canvaslayer into the search

it inherits directly from Node

[ancient topaz]

Ah, there we go

Something like this, right?

[shell vault]

yea looks good

[ancient topaz]

Then from hereon I attach a Script to the Label, right?

[shell vault]

yes, it would also be a good idea to rename your label to something recognizable

like ScoreLabel

[ancient topaz]

I have done so already

Here I am now

[shell vault]

ok youll wanna add the variable youll store the score numeric in and functions to acces it

using Godot;
using System;

public partial class ScoreCounter : Label {
    private int score;

    public void incrementScore() {
        score += 1;
        Text = "Score: " + score;
    }

    // Called when the node enters the scene tree for the first time.
    public override void _Ready()
    {
    }

    // Called every frame. 'delta' is the elapsed time since the previous frame.
    public override void _Process(double delta)
    {
    }
}

something like this to start

[ancient topaz]

++ would work fine, right?

[shell vault]

yes thats fine

really how you adjust the score is up to you

[ancient topaz]

All right, got that down

[shell vault]

ok yea looks good

save that and build the project

[ancient topaz]

Game runs but nothing on the Label

[shell vault]

we haven't actually linked anything up to the function we just made so that's to be expected

[ancient topaz]

Yeah, but at least it's still running

[shell vault]

ok so now on whatever we want to increase the score we wanna add some code

i think you said that you wanted to increase the score when an enemy dies. correct?

[ancient topaz]

Yeah

Enemies are removed through the HP script with GetParent().QueueFree()

[shell vault]

ok

[ancient topaz]

I should note that though only enemies can be killed right now (as no attack script is implemented yet for enemies), the HP works for both the player and enemies

[shell vault]

hmm splitting the health off the main enemy script was an odd choice but thats workable

are you using this same health script for the player or is this for the enemy only?

[ancient topaz]

Same health script

At least from what I gather

[shell vault]

ok yea that complicates things a bit

id suggest to do the following

in health.cs where you delete the node ```
if (GetParent() is enemy){
((enemy)GetParent()).die();
}
GetParent().QueueFree();

then in enemy.cs ```
[Export] ScoreLabel score;
public void die() {
score.incrementScore();
}

so what this will do is that when the health determines it should die it calls die() in the associated enemy if there is one

[ancient topaz]

Where should I put this in? Before the if(health <= 0) part, or inside it?

[shell vault]

you would want it inside

really the whole point of adding this die function allows you to easily add more functionally to an enemies death without modifying a bunch of out of context code

[ancient topaz]

For the first line here, I should add it at the top of the declarations with the other [Export] ones, right?
Then I can just add the function at the bottom.

[shell vault]

yes you should put the variable at the top. but it can exist anywhere

[ancient topaz]

Then I'll just place it there with the others since it's prepended by [Export] too.

[shell vault]

sounds good

[ancient topaz]

All good.

[shell vault]

ok now if you build you should see that new exported variable in the node inspector

[ancient topaz]

It... didn't.

[shell vault]

assign the score label thats in your scene an its should update whenever you kill an enemy

[ancient topaz]

Let me check real quick-

[shell vault]

when i say build i mean click this button

that recompiles all your c# code which is needed for godot to find new exports

[ancient topaz]

Not sure why but I'm having build errors...

[shell vault]

you got one too many closing braces

the line should be ((enemy)GetParent()).die();

and for reference these build errors tell you exactly where the error was encountered

its formatted like this
C:\Users\phooo\Documents\Godot Projects\Demo\Player.cs(24,27): } expected
file path (line, charicter) error message

[ancient topaz]

I see

I've fixed it now

[shell vault]

cool so now assign the score label refrence

and then running should increment the score when an enemy dies

the last basic thing would be putting some default text in the score

[ancient topaz]

Um, where exactly?

[shell vault]

which you could do by setting Text i the labels _Ready

in the inspector for the enemy node

itll be right next to your other enemys expoted values

[ancient topaz]

Um... It's not here...

[shell vault]

you need to do this is the main scene

[ancient topaz]

From shooter_game?

[shell vault]

yes

you can only assign node references to nodes that exist in the same scene with the inspector

[ancient topaz]

Um...

[shell vault]

oh you are using a spanner

ok we will need to do it programmatically then

in _Ready for enemy add the following score = GetNode<ScoreLabel>("/root/ShooterGame/CanvasLayer/ScoreLabel");

[ancient topaz]

Added.

[shell vault]

ok now whenever an enemy spawns in it should find the label itself

go ahead and run it and kill a few enemies

[ancient topaz]

It works!

[shell vault]

cool, so the last thing youll wanna probably do is put some default text into the score

so its not blank before you kill your first enemy

you could do that by putting Text = "Score 0"; in ScoreLabel._Ready()

[ancient topaz]

I just did it with the Text property from the Inspector, it also worked.

Anyways, thank you so much for the help!

[shell vault]

ok nice

no problem

have a good evening or day or whatever