Is there a way to create a math.random that doesn't overlap movieclips?

Question

Hi,
Actually I have two questions. I am creating a memory sequence game and I was wondering:
1. Is there a way to random position movieclips on the stage without having them overlap each other?
2. Is there  a way to have flash draw a vector line from one clip to another in sequence and then have the user retrace what flash did? I have 6 movieclips on the stage, each with their own instance (ex. obj1_mc, obj2_mc, etc.). Is there a way to tell flash to always draw a line between movieclips in sequence even though the movieclips are randomly placed on the stage?
Thanks,
OJ

Answer 1

sure.
1.  the easiest way to position objects without over-lapping, IF you can assume it will always be possible, is to use something like:
var mcA:Array=[your movieclips]
var index:uint=0;
positionF();
function positionF(){
// assuming top-left reg points of your movieclips
mcA[index].x=Math.random()*(stage.stageWidth-mcA[index].width);
mcA[index].y=Math.random()*(stage.stageHeight-mcA[index].height);
var hitBool:Boolean=false;
for(var i:int=0;i<index-1;i++){
if(mcA[index].hitTestObject(mcA[i])){
hitBool=true;
break;
if(hitBool){
positionF();
} else {
index++;
if(index<mcA.length){
positionF();
} else {
// positioning complete.  do whatever
2.  you can use the graphics class to draw dynamic lines.