I want to set my Jave game images to opaque

Hi all, I have my Java game the code below.  I want to have my Java game images to appear opaque onscreen and need some advice on how to do this.   The images are in the snake classthese ones:

food = ImageIO.read(new File("snakeimages/food.jpg"));
body = ImageIO.read(new File("snakeimages/snakebits.jpg"));

I have created the images in Photoshop with a transparent background!!!

Thank you all in anticipation

pjcrooks2000


JaySnake:::

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.* ;
import java.awt.event.* ;
import java.awt.image.* ;
import javax.imageio.* ;
import java.io.* ;
import javax.swing.* ;
import java.util.*;
import java.applet.AudioClip;
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.net.URL;

public class JaySnake extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
 class Game extends JPanel implements Runnable
 {
     private BufferedImage backBuffer ;
   private Graphics myBackBuffer ;
 
/*The HashMap  class is roughly equivalent to Hashtable,
*except that it is unsynchronized and permits nulls*/
   HashMap imageMap = new HashMap(4);
    public int waitTime = 65;

/*Method used to get text from background menu items and set background image from that*/
    public void setImage(String fileName) throws Exception
    {
         if (fileName.equals("backgrounds/default")) //Sets background to default image
         {
                   backgroundImage = ImageIO.read( new File( "backgrounds/default.jpg" ) );
        }
        else if (fileName.equals("Long grass")) //Sets background to longGrass image
        {
                  backgroundImage = ImageIO.read( new File( "backgrounds/longGrass.jpg" ) );
        }
        else if (fileName.equals("Yellow Sand"))//Sets background to sand image
        {
                 backgroundImage = ImageIO.read( new File( "backgrounds/sand.jpg" ) );
        }
               else if (fileName.equals("Blue Glass")) //Sets background to blueGrass image
        {
                 backgroundImage = ImageIO.read( new File( "backgrounds/blueGlass.jpg" ) );
        }
        else //Sets to default if none mathced
        {
                  backgroundImage = ImageIO.read( new File( "backgrounds/default.jpg" ) );
        }
    }
      public Game()
   {

 /******Try read in default backgroundImage file and catch any exception*/
     try //first read in default image
     {
           backgroundImage = ImageIO.read( new File( "backgrounds/default.jpg" ) );
           clip = Applet.newAudioClip(new URL("file:" + System.getProperty("user.dir") + "/sounds/music.au"));
           appleEaten = Applet.newAudioClip(new URL("file:" + System.getProperty("user.dir") + "/sounds/apple.au"));
     }
     catch( IOException e )
     {
       System.out.println(e) ;
     }
        backBuffer = new BufferedImage( DISPLAY_W, DISPLAY_H, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB ) ;
     myBackBuffer = backBuffer.getGraphics() ;

//set up the menubar
     menubar = new JMenuBar();
     setJMenuBar(menubar);

   }

   public void paintComponent( Graphics g )
   {
     g.drawImage( backBuffer, DISPLAY_X, DISPLAY_Y, null ) ;
   }

    public void paint( Graphics g )
   {                    super.paint(g);
       g.drawImage(backgroundImage,0,0,null);

         //Draw green scoreboard and black rects
       g.setColor(Color.black);
       g.fillRect(1,540,598,20);
       g.fillRect(1,34,598,6);
       g.setColor(Color.white);
       g.drawRoundRect(1,0,598,32,10,10);

         //Calls Snake paint method
         if (snake != null)
            snake.draw(g);
                 }
 
   public void run()
   {
     //     1000/25 Frames Per Second = 40millisecond delay
     int delayTime = 1000 / 25 ;

     Thread thisThread = Thread.currentThread() ;
     while( running )
     {
       //startTime = System.currentTimeMillis() ;
       // render to back buffer now
       render( myBackBuffer ) ;

       repaint() ;
       //  handle frame rate
       //elapsedTime = System.currentTimeMillis() - startTime ;
       //waitTime = Math.max( delayTime - elapsedTime, 5 ) ;

       try
       {
              Thread.sleep( waitTime ) ;
       }
       catch( InterruptedException e )
       {}
     }
     System.out.println( "Program Exited" ) ;
   }

 
 }

 private Thread gamePlay ;
 private boolean running = true ;
 private Game game ;

 private final int DISPLAY_X ; // value assigned in constructor
 private final int DISPLAY_Y ; // value assigned in constructor

 private static final int DISPLAY_W = 610 ;
 private static final int DISPLAY_H = 610 ;

 int size, hsize = 0, score1 = 0, score2 = 0, highscore = 0 ;

 /****Creates JMenuBar */
 private JMenuBar menubar ;
 /****Creates JMenu to house items */
 private JMenu gameMenu = new JMenu( "Game" ) ;
 private JMenuItem gameStart = new JMenuItem( "Start" ) ;
 private JMenuItem gameQuit = new JMenuItem( "Quit" ) ;

 private JMenu bgMenu = new JMenu( "Backgrounds" ) ;
 private ButtonGroup bgGroup = new ButtonGroup() ;
 private JRadioButtonMenuItem bg1 = new JRadioButtonMenuItem( "Default" ) ;
 private JRadioButtonMenuItem bg2 = new JRadioButtonMenuItem( "Long grass" ) ;
 private JRadioButtonMenuItem bg3 = new JRadioButtonMenuItem( "Yellow Sand" ) ;
 private JRadioButtonMenuItem bg4 = new JRadioButtonMenuItem( "Blue Glass" ) ;

 private JMenu soundMenu = new JMenu( "Enable sounds" ) ;
 private JCheckBoxMenuItem soundMusic = new JCheckBoxMenuItem( "Music" ) ;
 private JCheckBoxMenuItem soundSound = new JCheckBoxMenuItem( "Sounds" ) ;

 private JMenu helpMenu = new JMenu( "Help" ) ;
 private JMenuItem userInstruct = new JMenuItem( "User Instructions" ) ;
 private JMenuItem helpAbout = new JMenuItem( "About" ) ;

 /******JaySnake constructor*/
 public JaySnake()
 {
   setResizable( false ) ;
   game = new Game();
   getContentPane().add( game, BorderLayout.CENTER ) ;
   this.setJMenuBar( menubar );
         menubar.add( gameMenu ) ;
   gameMenu.add( gameStart ) ;
    // ActionListener to quit the game when quit is clicked
   gameStart.addActionListener( new ActionListener(){  
         public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent e )
         {
            String name = new String();
            name = JOptionPane.showInputDialog( "Please enter your name" );
            snake = new Snake(JaySnake.this, name, (soundForApple ? appleEaten : null));
         }
    });
      gameMenu.add( gameQuit ) ;

   // ActionListener to quit the game when quit is clicked
   gameQuit.addActionListener( new ActionListener(){          public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent e )
        {
            System.exit( 0 );
         }
    });                                                 /*Background selection menubar setup adding actionlisteners*/                          menubar.add( bgMenu ) ;
   bgMenu.add( bg1 ); bg1.addActionListener(this);
   bgMenu.add( bg2 ); bg2.addActionListener(this);
   bgMenu.add( bg3 ); bg3.addActionListener(this);
   bgMenu.add( bg4 ); bg4.addActionListener(this);
/* "bgGroup"  groups menu items for background together*/
        bgGroup.add( bg1 );      bgGroup.add( bg2 );
        bgGroup.add( bg3 );        bgGroup.add( bg4 );

    /*Sounds menubar selection with actionListeners*/      menubar.add( soundMenu );
   soundMusic.setState(true);
   soundMenu.add( soundMusic );
   soundMenu.add( soundSound ) ;
   soundSound.setState(true);

    /* Listeners */
    soundMusic.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
              public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
                {
                   try
                   {
                        JCheckBoxMenuItem source = (JCheckBoxMenuItem)(e.getSource());
                        System.out.println(source.getText());
                        if (source.getState())
                        {
                             clip.loop();
                        }
                        else
                        {
                             clip.stop();
                        }
                                          }
                   catch (Exception ex)
                   {
                        System.out.println(ex);
                   }
                }
         });
            soundSound.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
              public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
                {
                   try
                   {
                        JCheckBoxMenuItem source = (JCheckBoxMenuItem)(e.getSource());
                        if (source.getState())
                        {
                                  soundForApple = true;
                                  snake.setAppleSound(appleEaten);
                        }
                        else
                        {
                                  soundForApple = false;
                                  snake.setAppleSound(null);
                        }
                   }
                   catch (Exception ex)
                   {
                        System.out.println(ex);
                   }
                }
         });
    /* /Listeners */
      menubar.add( helpMenu ) ;
   helpMenu.add( userInstruct );
   userInstruct.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {

           public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
               System.out.println("Instructions button pressed");
               //Create new Jframe to view User instructions
               JFrame f = new JFrame();
               JEditorPane p = new JEditorPane("text/html", "");
               f.getContentPane().add(p); // was missing in the previous code snippet
               p.setEditable(false);
               URL instructions = getClass().getResource(
                       "instructions/index.html");
                             try {
                   p.setPage(instructions);

               } catch (Exception ep) {
                   System.out.println("Not Got index.html");
               }

               f.setSize(265, 540);
                             f.setVisible(true);

           }
       });

   helpMenu.add( helpAbout );
   helpAbout.addActionListener( new ActionListener(){             public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent e )
    {
//Create an instance of About class window
                  About dlg = new About( JaySnake.this );
                  Dimension dlgSize = dlg.getPreferredSize();
                  Dimension frmSize = getSize();
                  Point loc = getLocation();
                  dlg.setLocation((frmSize.width - dlgSize.width) / 2 + loc.x, (frmSize.height - dlgSize.height) / 2 + loc.y);
                  dlg.setModal(true);
                  dlg.pack();
                  dlg.show();
   }
    } ) ;

   addWindowListener( new WindowAdapter()
   {
     public void windowClosing( WindowEvent e )
     {
       dispose();
       System.exit( 0 ) ;
     }
   } ) ;

   Insets insets = getInsets() ;
   DISPLAY_X = insets.left ;
   DISPLAY_Y = insets.top ;
   resizeToInternalSize( DISPLAY_W, DISPLAY_H ) ;
 }

 public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
 {
    try
    {
         JMenuItem source = (JMenuItem)(e.getSource());
         System.out.println(source.getText());
         game.setImage(source.getText());
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
         System.out.println(ex);
    }
 }

 public void resizeToInternalSize( int internalWidth, int internalHeight )
 {
   Insets insets = getInsets() ;
   final int newWidth = internalWidth + insets.left + insets.right ;
   final int newHeight = internalHeight + insets.top + insets.bottom ;

   Runnable resize = new Runnable()
   {
     public void run()
     {
       setSize( newWidth, newHeight ) ;
     }
   } ;

   if( !SwingUtilities.isEventDispatchThread() )
   {
     try
     {
       SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait( resize ) ;
     }
     catch( Exception e )
     {}
   }
   else
     resize.run() ;

   validate() ;
 }

    public void playMusic()
    {
         clip.loop();
            }
    public void start()
 {
   Thread gamePlay = new Thread( game ) ;
   gamePlay.start() ;
 }

//**************************Main method *************************************
      public static void main(String [] arguments)
    {
        System.out.println( "Starting JaySnake........" ) ;
        final JaySnake app = new JaySnake() ;
          app.addKeyListener(new KeyAdapter() {
           public void keyPressed(KeyEvent keyevent) {
               //System.out.println("Test key press >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>");
               app.snake.keyPressed(keyevent);
           }
       });
        app.setSize( DISPLAY_W, DISPLAY_H ) ;
        app.setTitle( "JaySnake Game" ) ;
        app.setVisible( true ) ;
        Splash splash = new Splash(app);

        new Thread(new Runnable()
             {
                  public void run()
                  {
                          try
                          {
                            app.playMusic();
                            Thread.sleep(200);
                       }
                       catch (InterruptedException e)
                       {
                            System.out.println(e);
                       }
                  }                 }).start();
   }

/*Render method for graphics content*/
   public void render( Graphics g )
   {
    if( backgroundImage != null )
       g.drawImage( backgroundImage, 0, 0, this ) ;

/*Draw scoreboard and player details, sets color for score and player
*fills rectangle and text white and draws another rectangle that is used
*to highlight the playing area*/
     g.setColor( Color.black ) ;      /*sets color to black*/
     g.fillRect( 0, 0, 598, 32 ) ; /*fillsRectangle for scoreboard*/
     g.setColor( Color.white ) ;   /*sets color to white for text*/
/*Draws text and uses score variables*/
     g.drawString( "Player 1 score: " + score1, 10, 13 ) ;
     //g.drawString( "Player 2 score: " + score2, 10, 27 ) ;
     g.drawString( "High score: " + highscore, 510, 15 ) ;

      }

 /******declared class variables/containers*/
 private Image backgroundImage ;
 private Snake snake = null;
/* The musicclip to be played.*/
 private AudioClip clip = null;
/* The sound of the applet when eaten.*/
 private AudioClip appleEaten = null;
// Indicate if we want sound for eating the apple
    private boolean soundForApple = true;
}

Snake:::

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.image.*;
import javax.imageio.*;
import java.io.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.applet.AudioClip;


/*public class Snake implements ActionListener in
*particular [CODE]KeyPressed[/CODE]*/

public class Snake implements ActionListener
{

    // The sound of eating an apple
    AudioClip appleEaten = null;
   /*Image declarations treat and snake body parts
*/
 private Image food, body;

/*class variable sp*/
   private JaySnake sp;
    /*Used for users name input from dialogue*/
   private String player;


/*int variable declarations*/
 private int size =3,
         dir,
         score1 =0,
         score2 = 0;
     
/*boolean state declarations*/
 boolean game = false,
         ate=false,
         gameplay=false,
         collide = false;
       /*Array of points for location on the screen of snake and apples*/
         Point[] location = new Point[600];

         Point treat = new Point(12,7);

/*Constructor - passing snake class to app defined in class as sp*/
    public Snake(JaySnake app, String player, AudioClip appleEaten)
    {
         this.appleEaten = appleEaten;
         this.player = player;
         sp = app;

//initialise all points with 0
           for(int i=0; i<600; i++)
       location[i] = new Point(0,0);

         // Setting all starting points
         location[2].move(15,25);
         location[1].move(15,24);
         location[0].move(15,23);
         treat.move(1,6);

//try read in treat and food images
         try
         {
              food = ImageIO.read(new File("snakeimages/food.jpg"));
              body = ImageIO.read(new File("snakeimages/snakebits.jpg"));
         }     catch(IOException e)
         {System.out.println(e);
         }

              try{ Thread.sleep(70); }
         catch(InterruptedException e) { }
    }

    public void setAppleSound(AudioClip clip)
    {
         this.appleEaten = clip;
    }
   /* [code]public void actionPerformed[/code] on KeyPress repaint sp snake panel.*/
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
    {
       sp.repaint();
    }

/*Snake class graphics method*/
   public void draw( Graphics g )
   {
         //Draw score board texts
       g.setColor(Color.green);
        g.drawString(player + "'s score: "+score1,10,13);
        g.drawString( "Top score: "+score2,500,15);
              //Draws the first treat onscreen
       g.drawImage(food,treat.x*20-20,treat.y*20-20,19,19,null);
     
         //Collison detection for treat
       if(gameplay)
       {
            if(location[0].x==treat.x && location[0].y==treat.y)
            {
                   if (appleEaten != null)
                 {
                      appleEaten.play();
                 }
                                ate=true;
                 size++;
                 score1++;
            }
                       // Drawing new head position, erasing last tale position
            if(location[size-1].x == treat.x && location[size-1].y == treat.y)
                 g.drawImage(food,treat.x*20-20,treat.y*20-20,19,19,null);
                 //Move snake body parts based on cases of dir (direction)
            if(gameplay)
            {
                 for(int i=size; i>0; i--)
                      location[i].move(location[i-1].x, location[i-1].y);
                    switch(dir)
                 {
                      case 0: location[0].x = location[0].x+1; break;
                      case 1: location[0].x = location[0].x-1; break;
                      case 2: location[0].y = location[0].y-1; break;
                      case 3: location[0].y = location[0].y+1; break;
                 }
            }
                 // Checking if had just eaten an treat, if yes - draw new treat location
            if( ate )
            {
                ate = false;
                   //Math.randon generate new apple positions using the co-ordiantes
                treat.x=(int)(Math.random()*30+1);
                treat.y=(int)(Math.random()*25+3);
                   //print co-ordinateds if required
                   //System.out.println("treat.x = "+treat.x+" treat.y = " +treat.y);
                 g.drawImage(food,treat.x*20-20,treat.y*20-20,19,19,null);
                            }
        }

         // Check for collison with walls and snake bits
       for(int i=3; i<size; i++)
            if(location[0].x == location[i].x && location[0].y == location[i].y)
                {
                     gameplay = false;
                 restart();
               }
            //Walls collison
       if(((collide ||
               (dir==0 && location[0].x==31) || //Right co-ordinates
                 (dir==1 && location[0].x==0) ||   //Left co-ordinates
                 (dir==2 && location[0].y==2) ||  //Top  co-ordinates
               (dir==3 && location[0].y==28))))  //Bottom co-ordinates
           {
            gameplay = false;
               restart();
       }

         //Sets images for body
       for(int i=0; i<size; i++)
            g.drawImage(body,location[i].x*20-20,location[i].y*20-20,20,20,null);
    }//end snake draw method

    /*resets game settings including location of snake and apple.  Also updates
     *the Top score and resets player score*/
    public void restart()
    {
         System.out.println("restart");
              // Setting all starting points again
       if(score1>score2){
       score2 = score1;}
       score1 = 0;
       game = false;
       dir =0;
       size=3;
         //Move snake back to original position
       location[2].move(15,25);
       location[1].move(15,24);
       location[0].move(15,23);
         //Re generate new apple locations
       treat.x=(int)(Math.random()*30+1);
       treat.y=(int)(Math.random()*25+3);
      }

    /*If keys are presees up Arrow, Down Arrow, Left Arrow and Right Arrow
     *move snake to new location on grid */
    public void keyPressed(KeyEvent evt)
    {
       int key = evt.getKeyCode();
       if(key == KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT && location[1].x!=location[0].x+1) { dir=0; gameplay=true; }
       else if(key == KeyEvent.VK_LEFT && location[1].x!=location[0].x-1) { dir=1; gameplay=true;}
       else if(key == KeyEvent.VK_UP && location[1].y!=location[0].y-1) { dir=2; gameplay=true;}
       else if(key == KeyEvent.VK_DOWN && location[1].y!=location[0].y+1) { dir=3; gameplay=true;}
       else if(key == 112 || key == 1508)
       {
        gameplay=false;
         }
    }
}//end class