ReadKey gets the key pressed before being called

Question

I'm making a reaction time game. This is the code:

Thread.Sleep(rnd.Next(1000, 5000));
Console.Write("NOW: ");
long start = DateTime.Now.Ticks;
Console.ReadKey(true);
long timePassed = DateTime.Now.Ticks - start;

if (timePassed < 5_000_000) Console.WriteLine("Fast");
else Console.WriteLine("Slow");

The problem is that you can press the key whilst the program is sleeping and then when it is checking for keypresses it will think that you pressed the key instantly which ruins the game.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5147327/disabling-input-in-c-sharp-console-until-certain-task-is-completed/5147535#5147535 — Hans Passant, Oct 29 '22 at 17:22

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 29 '22 at 17:00

1

The Console class has a KeyAvailable property (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.console.keyavailable).

Right before you output "NOW: ", use a while loop with a call to Console.KeyAvailable (and possibly ReadKey) to empty the input buffer.

answered Oct 29 '22 at 17:00

Flydog57

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I'm sorry I don't think I understand. A code example would be helpfull – callumetheridge Oct 29 '22 at 17:17
Sorry, I would, but I'm in a phone, on a train – Flydog57 Oct 29 '22 at 17:25
`while (Console.KeyAvailable) { Console.ReadKey(true); }` – Jesse C. Slicer Oct 29 '22 at 17:26

ReadKey gets the key pressed before being called

1 Answers1