Trying to make a console application run at 20 frames per second

Question

I'm trying to create a timing mechanism so that a console application that I'm working on runs at roughly 10 frames a second. When I run this code, rather than being a smooth 20 frames a second it is stuttery and freezes often. I'm having trouble debugging this due to the fact that it relies on the DateTime.Now.Millisecond function, so whenever I insert a break into the code it messes up the timings of the application.

do
{
    frameTimer = DateTime.Now.Millisecond;

    if (firstLoop == true)
    {
        timeTillNextFrame = frameTimer + 100;

        firstLoop = false;
    }

    if (timeTillNextFrame < DateTime.Now.Millisecond && DateTime.Now.Millisecond < 901)
    {
        Console.Clear();

        grid.removeFromGrid(ball.xPos, ball.yPos);
        ball.newPos(gridSizeX, gridSizeY, grid.gridArray);
        grid.addToGrid(ball.xPos, ball.yPos, ball.symbol);

        grid.gridDraw(gridSizeX, gridSizeY);

        timeTillNextFrame = DateTime.Now.Millisecond + 50;

        if (timeTillNextFrame >= 1000)
        {
            timeTillNextFrame -= 1000;
        }

    }

You probably want `DateTime.Now.TotalMilliseconds` everywhere, right? And I'm not sure what the `< 901` comparison is meant to do. `timeTilNextFrame` also seems like a misleading name. Maybe it should be `timeOfNextFrame`? — user94559, Jun 21 '17 at 13:04
You're seeing the console redrawing itself. You're basically spamming CLS in a command prompt. — Alex, Jun 21 '17 at 13:05
Why not just use a timer? Also, how long does griddraw take to execute, you need to account for that... — Trey, Jun 21 '17 at 13:05
I also don't see where/how you wait until the time of the next frame. — user94559, Jun 21 '17 at 13:05
(If you do switch to `TotalMilliseconds`, be sure to remove the `if >= 1000 ... -= 1000` code.) — user94559, Jun 21 '17 at 13:06
@smarx Thank you, I'll make these changes and see how it goes. :) — Jacob Knowles, Jun 21 '17 at 13:09
@Trey I don't think the grid draw time is a problem but I will take it into account, thank you! — Jacob Knowles, Jun 21 '17 at 13:10
Alternatively you could create your own (more or less) emulated console which supports higher refresh rates. Like @Amy said, the console was not made for this purpose. — SharpShade, Jun 21 '17 at 13:17
Oh, `DateTime.Now.TotalMilliseconds` doesn't exist, sorry. :-) See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4016483/get-time-in-milliseconds-using-c-sharp for a couple options. `Stopwatch` is probably the best idea (more likely to give you the precision you need). — user94559, Jun 21 '17 at 13:25
Just a random opinion, but your `removeFromGrid` method should just be named `Remove`, and it should have an overload that takes a `Ball` object, so the code would look like: `grid.Remove(ball);` (and the counterpart, `grid.Add(ball);`. Makes for much easier to read (and write) code. — Rufus L, Jun 21 '17 at 13:45

nvoigt · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-21T13:38:33.407

0

You don't want DateTime.Now.Millisecond, you want the total milliseconds:

private static readonly DateTime Epoch = new DateTime(1970, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc);

var totalMilliseconds = DateTime.Now.ToUniversalTime().Subtract(Epoch).TotalMilliseconds

edited Jun 21 '17 at 13:38

answered Jun 21 '17 at 13:11

nvoigt

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I can't find the namespace that I need to implement this, any hints? – Jacob Knowles Jun 21 '17 at 13:21
I am getting an error saying there's no extension method for 'TotalMilliseconds'? – Jacob Knowles Jun 21 '17 at 13:24
Yeah sorry, mixed up TimeSpan and DateTime. Edited the answer. – nvoigt Jun 21 '17 at 13:25
@Trey This is my first actual attempt at coding something so I have very little knowledge on anything, I thought this would be a fun project to try and complete in a day or two. – Jacob Knowles Jun 21 '17 at 13:37
Fair enough. Good luck to you sir. – Trey Jun 21 '17 at 13:39

Trying to make a console application run at 20 frames per second

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