Thanks DJ. I feel like such a newbie. I tried the ent_create function. But for some reason, this line:

player_ship = ent_create ("player_ship", temp, move_bullet1);

generates an error. I keep getting an error message that says the keyword is unknown. I checked the syntax.

its supposed to be

ent_create (string, vector, function or action);

what am I missing? I also have this at the end of my file. Should I put this command in a different spot?