Tw.2s4.me Scrolling ticker script (update #2)

// Assume writeCharAt is defined somewhere in the environment.

/**
 * Helper function to display text at a specific coordinate, clearing the previous display area.
 * @param {string} text The text to display.
 * @param {number} startX The starting X coordinate.
 * @param {number} startY The starting Y coordinate.
 */
const displayAt = (text, startX, startY) => {
    // Clear the current line first (assuming max 20 chars for this example)
    writeCharAt(" ".repeat(20), 0, -8, -5);

    for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i++) {
        writeCharAt(text[i], 0, startX + i, startY);
    }
};

// --- Multiple Messages Setup ---
const messages = [
    "hello and welcome",
    "This is message two",
    "And a third one!",
    "Looping..."
];
let currentMessageIndex = 0;
let currentFrame = 0;
const updateInterval = 850; // A faster interval for a smoother scroll

/**
 * The main animation loop.
 */
setInterval(() => {
    const message = messages[currentMessageIndex];
    const fullLength = message.length;
    // We can define the total frames needed to scroll one message fully
    const totalFramesForMessage = fullLength * 2 + 1;

    // Calculate the text snippet based on the current frame
    let displayedText;

    if (currentFrame < fullLength) {
        // Phase 1: Text scrolls off to the left
        displayedText = message.substring(currentFrame) + " ".repeat(currentFrame);
    } else {
        // Phase 2: Text scrolls in from the right
        const charsToShow = currentFrame - fullLength;
        displayedText = " ".repeat(fullLength - charsToShow) + message.substring(0, charsToShow);
    }

    // Ensure the text length is consistent for display
    // padEnd ensures that we clear the full space the message might occupy
    displayedText = displayedText.padEnd(fullLength, " ");

    // Update the display (using coordinates from original script)
    displayAt(displayedText, cursor.x, cursor.y);

    // --- Message Switching Logic ---
    // Increment the frame counter
    currentFrame++;

    // Check if the current message's animation sequence is complete
    if (currentFrame >= totalFramesForMessage) {
        currentFrame = 0; // Reset frame counter for the new message
        currentMessageIndex = (currentMessageIndex + 1) % messages.length; // Move to the next message (loops back to 0)
    }

}, updateInterval);