Can I put a _process() function inside another function?

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1

Godot Version

4.6.3

Question

I am making a small game where you play as a bear trying to remove expired food from your house before it explodes. I am trying to make it so that if you are infront of the fridge and press the action button then the fridge will open. I am not very experienced in Godot so I would like to know if it is possible to put a process() function inside a *_*body_entered function like in the script shown below:

func _on_fridge_body_entered:
    if Input.is_action_just_pressed("action"):
        func _process(_delta):
		    if (body.name == "PlayerSprite"):
			    $Fridge/FridgeSprite.play("Open")
		    else:
			    $Fridge/FridgeSprite.play("Close")
2

No but you can toggle whether _process() runs or not by calling set_process().

3

Thank you. I do not have my computer with me right now to test it but I will test it when I get back home. Now that the mention set_process I think I recall having used it in the past, guess I just forgot. Thanks!

4

the body_entered signal only triggers this function once, at the exact moment the area/body is entered. You probably don’t want _process at all, instead tracking if the player is within the area and using that as a condition in your input.

This sample tracks if a body named “PlayerSprite” is within the area, and plays one of the animations depending on if the body is nearby, though I think you want your animation to be toggled, not based on proximity?

var nearby_player: Node2D = null

func _on_fridge_body_entered(body: Node2D) -> void:
	if body.name == "PlayerSprite":
		nearby_player = body

func _on_fridge_body_exited(body: Node2D) -> void:
	if body == nearby_player:
		nearby_player = null


func _unhandled_input(event: InputEvent) -> void:
	if event.is_action_pressed("action"):
		if nearby_player != null:
			$Fridge/FridgeSprite.play("Open")
		else:
			$Fridge/FridgeSprite.play("Close")
5

I just tried this and it worked like a charm! thanks very much

6

That was not your question though. You asked if you can put _process() inside another function.

7

I know I am answering my own question here, but (at least for my situation) this seemed to work the best. I was playing around and I realized that if you put _delta into the end of the on body entered it turns it into a function. func _on_fridge_body_entered(_delta):$Fridge/FridgeSprite.play(“Open”) func _on_fridge_body_exited(_delta):$Fridge/FridgeSprite.play(“Close”)

FYI: I am now in godot 4.7

8

your _on_fridge_body_entered was already a function, that didn’t change by adding _delta. In fact _delta has no special meaning, it would work the same with _body (which also has no special meaning, you could name it _floorp, same function), while the code’s function doesn’t change the meaning makes a lot more sense as body_entered never gives you a frame-delta value, it will always give a physics body.

Your code plays the open animation once something enters the area, and plays close when something exits, no interaction or “action” action is used. Probably nicer from a player point of view.

9

So, in other words, on fridge body entered was already a process function and the animation would have worked? Besides, the animation works perfectly now, so I’m happy, and I’ve learned a lot

10

not a “process” function, a normal function connected to the signal body_entered, I wanted to clarify that the name of the variable _delta didn’t matter, and may be a misnomer.

_process is an override function, it along with a few others are somewhat special. In the editor you will see a blue arrow beside override functions, in the docs they will be marked “virtual”. Override functions are called automatically at certain times, much like connected functions are automatically called when a signal emits.

11

So why did my fridge only open when I added _delta? At least that is what happened when I tried. When I get back I could open up Godot to check but that is what I remember happening. Not questioning your knowledge at all, just curious about how Godot works.

12

Is there a way to disable the process function on a single script only? Also is physics_process affected too?

13

without exactly one argument the function isn’t a valid override, you could use any name, body: Node2D is normally filled in, but without an argument the function signature isn’t the same.

set_process only affects the current script, you can apply it to other scripts with dot notation, other_object.set_process(false)

You can use set_physics_process to enable/disable _physics_process, similarly set_process_input and set_process_unhandled_input to enable/disable _input and _unhandled_input.

14

that makes sense. Thanks!