Code Issue Analysis and Solution

Overview of the Problem

The provided C++ code implements a simple text-based game where a player can move around a grid to avoid zombies that spawn randomly. Potential issues in the code could stem from player movement, zombie spawning, collision detection, and user input handling.

Review of Previous Code Attempts

Upon reviewing the code, several areas require enhancements:

1. User Input Handling: The game does not handle invalid inputs gracefully, which could lead to unexpected behaviors.
2. Zombie Movement Logic: The zombies should exhibit more intelligent behavior rather than moving directly towards the player without any delay.
3. Repetitive Zombie Spawning: Currently, zombies are spawned at initialization but not after their deaths, which can result in a game with too few or too many zombies over time.
4. Screen Clearing Command: Because the command to clear the screen depends on the operating system, an abstraction or a check is recommended.

Proposed Solutions

The following improvements should address the identified problems:

1. Enhanced Input Handling: Implement a mechanism to validate user input.
2. Zombie Behavior Modifications: Introduce random movement patterns for zombies.
3. Dynamic Zombie Respawning: Allow for zombies to respawn after a certain condition.
4. Cross-Platform Clear Screen Function: Create a function to clear the screen in a cross-platform manner.

Updated Code Implementation

Below is an updated version of the provided code, incorporating the aforementioned improvements.

#include 
#include 
#include 
#include 
#include 

using namespace std;

const int WIDTH = 20;
const int HEIGHT = 10;
const char PLAYER_CHAR = 'P';
const char ZOMBIE_CHAR = 'Z';
const char EMPTY_CHAR = '.';

struct Entity {
    int x, y;
};

class Game {
public:
    Game() {
        player.x = WIDTH / 2;
        player.y = HEIGHT / 2;
        srand(static_cast(time(0)));
        spawnZombies(3);
    }

    void run() {
        char input;
        while (true) {
            clearScreen();
            printBoard();
            cout << "Move (WASD): ";
            cin >> input;
            if (!handleInput(input)) {
                cout << "Invalid input. Please use 'W', 'A', 'S', or 'D'." << endl;
                continue;
            }
            updateZombies();
            if (checkCollision()) {
                cout << "Game Over!" << endl;
                break;
            }
        }
    }

private:
    Entity player;
    vector zombies;

    void spawnZombies(int count) {
        zombies.clear(); // Clear existing zombies
        for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
            Entity zombie;
            // Ensure zombies do not spawn at the player's location
            do {
                zombie.x = rand() % WIDTH;
                zombie.y = rand() % HEIGHT;
            } while (zombie.x == player.x && zombie.y == player.y);
            zombies.push_back(zombie);
        }
    }

    void printBoard() {
        char board[HEIGHT][WIDTH];

        for (int i = 0; i < HEIGHT; i++) {
            for (int j = 0; j < WIDTH; j++) {
                board[i][j] = EMPTY_CHAR;
            }
        }

        board[player.y][player.x] = PLAYER_CHAR;
        for (const auto& zombie : zombies) {
            board[zombie.y][zombie.x] = ZOMBIE_CHAR;
        }

        for (int i = 0; i < HEIGHT; i++) {
            for (int j = 0; j < WIDTH; j++) {
                cout << board[i][j] << ' ';
            }
            cout << endl;
        }
    }

    bool handleInput(char input) {
        switch (input) {
            case 'w': if (player.y > 0) --player.y; break;
            case 's': if (player.y < HEIGHT - 1) ++player.y; break;
            case 'a': if (player.x > 0) --player.x; break;
            case 'd': if (player.x < WIDTH - 1) ++player.x; break;
            default: return false; // Invalid input
        }
        return true; // Valid input
    }

    void updateZombies() {
        for (auto& zombie : zombies) {
            // Random movement logic for more unpredictability
            int direction = rand() % 4;
            switch (direction) {
                case 0: // Move up
                    if (zombie.y > 0) --zombie.y;
                    break;
                case 1: // Move down
                    if (zombie.y < HEIGHT - 1) ++zombie.y;
                    break;
                case 2: // Move left
                    if (zombie.x > 0) --zombie.x;
                    break;
                case 3: // Move right
                    if (zombie.x < WIDTH - 1) ++zombie.x;
                    break;
            }
        }
    }

    bool checkCollision() {
        for (const auto& zombie : zombies) {
            if (zombie.x == player.x && zombie.y == player.y) {
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

    void clearScreen() {
        // Cross-platform clear screen
#ifdef _WIN32
        system("cls");
#else
        system("clear");
#endif
    }
};

int main() {
    Game game;
    game.run();
    return 0;
}

Code Usage Example

To run this game, compile the code using a C++ compiler (e.g., g++) and execute the resulting binary. The player can move around the board using 'W', 'A', 'S', and 'D' keys. Avoid colliding with zombies, which move randomly around the board.

Note that the player starts in the middle of the grid and zombies spawn randomly. Adjust the spawnZombies function call in the constructor to change the number of zombies.

Conclusion

The enhancements made to the game address the primary issues identified, leading to a more engaging and stable user experience.