touch-link msg not working at odd times

(beginner level scripter here)

I'm trying to do a very simple touch event which link-messages a particle script on and off. What I don't get is why it works sometimes and not others. When it fails, I can actually see it **trying** to trigger... i.e. the particles start, but then they immediately stop. It's as if I clicked twice in super-rapid succession rather than once.

I'll post the script skeletons in here and if anyone knows what's going on, your help is much appreciated.


script in parent prim

// ON-OFF PARENT PRIM SCRIPT
integer gToggle;

default
{
    state_entry()
    {
    }

    touch(integer total_number)
    {
        if (!gToggle)
        {
            gToggle=1;
        }
        else if(gToggle)
        {
            gToggle=0;
        }

        llMessageLinked(LINK_ALL_OTHERS, gToggle, "", "");
    }
}

And then the script in the child particle prim

// PARTICLE SCRIPT
default
{
    state_entry()
    {
        updateParticles(1);
    }
    
    link_message(integer sender_num, integer num, string str, key id)
    {
        updateParticles(num);
    }
}

updateParticles(integer num)
{

if (!num)
    llParticleSystem([]);
else
    llParticleSystem([  PSYS_PART_MAX_AGE,age, 
// CUT SHORT THE PARTICLE SCRIPT FOR BREVITY

I thing that your touch event is being called a second time, and switching everything off right after it was switched on. (touch is called repeatedly as long as the object is being touched.)

Try using touch_start instead - it will only be called once per touch - which should do the trick.

Also I'd compress the contents of your touch into:

llMessageLinked(LINK_ALL_OTHERS, (gToggle = !gToggle), "", "");

Just a bit more compact =)

thanks guys. touch_start seems to work.

i avoided it cause i coulda sworn someone told me once that it was laggy... like it would start doing updates on it's own (you could press ctrl-shift-alt-u and watch the pulses go even when no one was touching)

but maybe that got translated poorly into my head. This works so I'm going to use it!