Timeline Removing a Movie Clip

programming flash
1

Hello,

I am making a timeline-based game in AS3. On one frame of the main timeline I have the game menu, contained in a movie clip, and on the second, I have the actual game screen, again contained in a movie clip.

I have always thought that when the timeline advances to a frame that a child movie clip is not on, that movie clip stops existing. So, in my case, when I tell the main timeline to gotoAndStop() to the “game screen” keyframe, I want it to remove the menu movie clip completely.

However, when I create and run a Timer object in the menu movie clip, the timer continues to run, even after I gotoAndStop() to the game screen. Here’s what the timer does:

function gogogo(e:TimerEvent):void{
    trace("I EXIST!", this, parent.eUM);
}
var t:Timer = new Timer(500);
t.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, gogogo);
t.start();

The main menu movie clip has an instance name of “eUM” on the main timeline. When the main timeline is on the “menu” frame, the timer traces* “I EXIST! [object mcMainMenu_241] [object mcMainMenu_241]” *as expected. However, when the main timeline is on the “game screen” frame the timer still runs, and traces “I EXIST! [object mcEditUnitMenu_241] null”. So, “this” – the main menu – still exists, but when referenced from the parent, it does not.

So, it looks like I was wrong about a movie clip ceasing to exist when it is no longer on the timeline? I want it so that all of the main menu’s child objects and script stop when it is no longer on the main timeline.

Sorry for my newbie-ish questions.

2

Why not remove the menu (and stop the timer, too, if it’s not needed anymore) just before
going to the main game screen?

removeChild(menu movie clip);
t.stop();
gotoAndStop("game screen")