Chess Clock on an LCD screen
This is the code for a Chess Clock - with a timer for each player, turn indicators, and switches.
Implementation
Base-setting game time
Using the ADC channel (same as in this post! - Temp measure on PIC24) we can switch between 3 pre-set game times: 5min, 3min, and 1min. The time is displayed on the screen.
#define TIME_5 300 // 5 min
#define TIME_3 180 // 3 min
#define TIME_1 60 // 1 min
int main ( void ){
SYS_Initialize ( ) ;
TIMER_SetConfiguration ( TIMER_CONFIGURATION_RTCC ) ;
ADC_SetConfiguration ( ADC_CONFIGURATION_AUTO_SAMPLE_CONVERT ) ;
int setting_time; // one of the options - 1,3,5
int time; //read from ADC
char message[10];
while (1) {
// read time setting
time = ADC_ReadPercentage(ADC_CHANNEL_POTENTIOMETER);
//Set time based on setting
if (time >= 66){ //move adc to the right for max time
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
snprintf( message, sizeof(message), "time:5min" );
LCD_PutString ( message, sizeof(message));
setting_time = TIME_5;
}
if(time < 66 && time >= 33){//keep it in the middle to set to 3min
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
snprintf(message, sizeof(message), "time:3min");
LCD_PutString ( message, sizeof(message));
setting_time = TIME_3;
}
if(time < 33){//move adc to the left to set time for 1min
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
snprintf(message, sizeof(message), "time:1min");
LCD_PutString ( message, sizeof(message));
setting_time = TIME_1;
}
if (BUTTON_IsPressed ( BUTTON_S4 )){//start game - player1 S3
start_game(setting_time);
}
}
return 0;
}Game Timer
This one was a little trickier. I feel like I added way too many side variables but couldn't figure out how to lower the number without losing functionality.
Let's try to get through this: t1 and t2 are the main variables keeping each player's time left - we set them to the chosen game time.
The sec/sec2 and min/min2 are for timer display formatting.
Player 1 sits on the left, and Player 2 on the right. In the while loop we are checking if either timer runs out and if so we turn on an alarm and display an ending message. If those if statements were omitted we start counting down the time left of the active player - the display shows both timers, and 4 far-right or far-left LEDs are turned on depending on which player is active.
Each player has a button to press after making a move - S3 for player 1 and S4 for player 2.
void start_game(int t){
int player=2; //first move is player2
int t1 = t; //main - how much time left
int t2 = t;
int sec = t; //for visual - how much left
int sec2 = t;
char message2[13]; //for putstring func
bool end = false;
while(end != true){ //do until game ends
if (t1 == 0){ //check if player1 lost the game
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
LCD_PutString ( "PLAYER1 LOST", sizeof(message2));
for ( int i = 0; i <= 5; i++){
//flash fancy LEDs when time ends
LATA = 170;
delay(300);
LATA = 85;
delay(300);
}
LATA = 0;
end = true; //end loop
break;
}
if (t2 == 0){ //check if player2 lost the game
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
LCD_PutString ( "PLAYER2 LOST", sizeof(message2));
for ( int i = 0; i <= 5; i++){
//flash fancy LEDs when time ends
LATA = 170;
delay(300);
LATA = 85;
delay(300);
}
LATA = 0;
end = true; //end loop
break;
}
if (player == 1){ //if it is p1’s turn
LATA = 240; //4 LEDs on the left
int min2 = sec2 / 60; //for LCD
sec2 %= 60; //for LCD
//t is the time setting (5,3,1)
for (int i = 0; i <= t1; i++){
t1 -= i; //for - for each second
sec = t1;
int min = sec / 60;
sec %= 60;
char time_str2[19]; // display timers
snprintf(time_str2, //sorry for the formatting
sizeof(time_str2), //limited space and
"%02d:%02d %02d:%02d", //long line
min, sec, min2, sec2);
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
LCD_PutString ( time_str2, sizeof(time_str2));
delay(1000); //1s
if (BUTTON_IsPressed ( BUTTON_S3 )){
player = 2;
break;
}
}
}
if (player == 2){ //if it is p2’s turn
LATA = 15; //4 LEDs on the right
int min = sec / 60;
sec %= 60;
//t is the time setting
for (int i = 0; i <= t2; i++){
t2 -= i;
sec2 = t2;
int min2 = sec2 / 60;
sec2 %= 60;
char time_str2[19];
snprintf(time_str2, //sorry for the formatting
sizeof(time_str2), //limited space and
"%02d:%02d %02d:%02d", //long line
min, sec, min2, sec2);
LCD_ClearScreen ( ) ;
LCD_PutString ( time_str2, sizeof(time_str2));
delay(1000); //1s
if (BUTTON_IsPressed ( BUTTON_S4 )){
player = 1;
break;
}
}
}
}
}Thanks for reading! ❤