There are three count-expressions: upcounter, downcounter and flipcounter, which obviate the need for declaring most variables that are used as simple counters.

They provide no extra functionality over variables and exist only for convenience. Each count-expression corresponds to an unnamed static variable, so they retain their underlying value from call to call. Every place a count expression is used has a unique underlying variable.

Up Counter

This can be used for many things, but it is mainly here to help streamline the addition of variety to object direction, because most of AGAST script coding is directly related to creative writing, and not complex programmatic logic. It's easiest to explain by example:

event Talkto -> WOLF
{
     switch upcounter(10) {
     case 0: "My, Granny, what big eyes you have."
     case 1: "My, Granny, what big ears you have."
     case 2: "My, Granny, what big teeth you have."
     case 3: WOLF: "Alright already, so I'm a wolf, Sherlock."
               "Big hairy deal."
     default: turn(6); // face audience
               "I'm not talking to him anymore."
               "He'd probably just eat me."
     }
}

Each time the user triggers this event, a new message will be said, until the counter reaches 5. From then on, the default-case is taken. If the user keeps triggering this event, the count will eventually reach 10 and stop.

If no argument is provided, the maximum value for a positive integer (over 2 billion) will be assumed.

Down Counter

The downcounter is like the upcounter, except it counts in reverse from the given value downto zero, where it stops. The first evaluation will return the same value as the argument, so that it 3 is passed for example, it will return 3, 2, 1, 0, 0, etc. If no argument is supplied, a value of 1 will be assumed, effectively returning true just once.

event Lookat -> Rock
{
     if downcounter(3) {
          "It's just an ordinary rock."
     }
     else if downcounter {
          "It's still just an ordinary rock."
     }
     else {
          "Don't you ever get tired of looking at that stupid rock?"
     }
}

The first three times the user looks at the rock, the first message will appear, the next time the second, and the final message will appear for the remaining duration of the game.

Flip Counter

The flipcounter counts forward just like the upcounter, but instead of reaching the upper bound, it cycles back to 0. If no argument is passed to it, it will assume a value of 2, and effectively return a sequence of alternating 0s and 1s.

event Lookat -> Flower
{
     if flipcounter {
          "She loves me."
     }
     else {
          "She loves me not."
     }
}