get_child is not returning the proper object

Question

Hello, I am creating a turn-based game where cars move in turns. One movement is one turn, and then the next car moves. The relevant tree is as such:

TurnQueue (Node2D)
- Car 1 (Kinematic Body)
- Car 2 (Kinematic Body)

Node2D contains the turn queue script. My turn queue script is as such:

extends Node2D

class_name TurnQueue

var active_character

func initialize():
    active_character = get_child(0)

func play_turn():
    yield(active_character, "move_completed")
    var new_index : int = (active_character.get_index() + 1) % get_child_count()
    active_character = get_child(new_index)

However, "activecharacter" returns a value of null, and therefore the playturn function cannot execute whatsoever. The yield part of play_turn() is meant to take a signal from the first car after moving, and then have the next car move and loop around to the beginning of the queue. How can I fix this problem?

Below is the script for the car nodes if it is relevant.

extends KinematicBody2D

onready var ray = $RayCast2D
var grid_size = 25

### MOVEMENT VECTORS OF CARS ###

var inputs = {
    'ui_up': Vector2.UP + 2*Vector2.RIGHT,
    'ui_down': Vector2.DOWN + 2*Vector2.LEFT,
    'ui_left': 2*Vector2.LEFT + Vector2.UP,
    'ui_right': 2*Vector2.RIGHT + Vector2.DOWN
}

### SIGNALS ###

signal move_completed

### SET VARIABLES FOR SPRITE TEXTURE CHANGES ###

onready var mysprite = get_node("Red Sedan")
var carTestNW = preload("res://Assets/Test Set/carTestNW.png")
var carTestSE = preload("res://Assets/Test Set/carTestSE.png")
var carTestSW = preload("res://Assets/Test Set/carTestSW.png")
var carTest = preload("res://Assets/Test Set/carTest.png")

### SET VARIABLES ###

func _ready():
    return

func _unhandled_input(event):
    for dir in inputs.keys():
        if event.is_action_pressed(dir):
            move(dir)
            emit_signal("move_completed")

func move(dir):
    var vector_pos = inputs[dir] * grid_size
    ray.cast_to = vector_pos # update position
    ray.force_raycast_update() # raycast looks where we want
    if !ray.is_colliding(): # ! = is not, if no collision, move
        position += vector_pos
        if Input.is_action_pressed("ui_up"):
            mysprite.set_texture(carTestSE)
        if Input.is_action_pressed("ui_down"):
            mysprite.set_texture(carTestSW)
        if Input.is_action_pressed("ui_left"):
            mysprite.set_texture(carTestNW)
        if Input.is_action_pressed("ui_right"):
            mysprite.set_texture(carTest)

I am very new to Godot, so I am sorry if anything is not understandable. Thank you for the help!

Answer 1

You could try to change

var active_character

func initialize():
 active_character = get_child(0)

to :

 onready var active_character= get_child(0)  

Comments

Thank you for the quick response! Now the error is gone, but the cars are still not moving in turns, but rather at the same time. Do you know how I can see the value that "active_character" is returning in real-time?