Question: How do you rotate an object in GameMaker?

Answer

In GameMaker, rotating an object involves changing its image_angle property. This property sets the angle of the sprite associated with the instance of the object in degrees. Rotation is typically done within the Step event of the object or through a control object that manages other objects' properties, depending on your game's logic.

Here's how to rotate an object to follow the mouse position:

// In the Step event of the object you want to rotate
var _mouseX = mouse_x;
var _mouseY = mouse_y;
image_angle = point_direction(x, y, _mouseX, _mouseY);

To continuously rotate an object at a steady rate, you would change its image_angle relative to the current frame:

// In the Step event of the object
image_angle += 5; // Rotate 5 degrees every step

If the rotation needs to be time-based to ensure consistency across different frame rates, you could use the delta_time variable to help with this:

// In the Step event of the object
var _rotationSpeed = 90; // degrees per second
image_angle += (_rotationSpeed * (delta_time / 1000000)); // Adjust for delta_time being in microseconds

Additionally, if you want to rotate an object towards a specific point or another object smoothly, you might incorporate lerp (linear interpolation) functions to gradually adjust the angle:

// Assuming you have a target x and y you want to face (target_x, target_y)
var _targetAngle = point_direction(x, y, target_x, target_y);
image_angle = lerp_angle(image_angle, _targetAngle, 0.1); // Smoothly slerp to the target angle by 10%

Make sure to replace target_x and target_y with the actual coordinates you're intending to direct your object towards.

Remember to always tailor these snippets to fit the context of your game and the specific behaviors you want from your objects.