Why is my sf::Clock in SFML resetting by itself? - c++

Question

I'm working on a little SFML game in C++. What I'm trying to do is start the game with an introductory text that flashes two different colors, like "Arturo Girona Presents." I made it work by using a counter that incremented inside the while (window.isOpen()) loop, but then I tried using an sf::Clock to see if it made the flashing look less random. However, for some reason, the clock keeps resetting after each loop when I haven't explicitly told it too, so it's not transitioning from the text screen. How's the clock resetting by itself and how do I fix it?
Here's my while loop:
int count = 0;
sf::Clock clock;
int timer = clock.getElapsedTime().asMilliseconds();
while (window.isOpen())
{
count++;
sf::Event event;
while (window.pollEvent(event))
{
if (event.type == sf::Event::Closed)
window.close();
}
window.clear();
while (timer < 5000)
{
if (timer < 200 && introText1.getColor() == sf::Color::Red)
{
introText1.setColor(sf::Color::White);
window.draw(introText1);
window.display();
}
if (timer < 200 && introText1.getColor() == sf::Color::White)
{
introText1.setColor(sf::Color::Red);
window.draw(introText1);
window.display();
}
break;
}
if (timer == 5000) {
window.clear();
window.draw(door);
window.draw(doorWindow1);
window.display();
}
cout << timer << endl;
if (timer > 0)
cout << "Time is moving" << endl;
}

Answer 1

The clock is not being reset, you simply never read the new value. ;-)
Move int timer = clock.getElapsedTime().asMilliseconds(); inside the main loop.
Additionally, you don't want the while (timer < 5000) loop especially with a break as last statement.