Random question please help

azavega

Can't find this post but I'm sure somebody ask this before...
Trying to spawn actors falling from the top down using random but I can't get a nice flow of actors...
They fall down almost on the same spot over and over...
Somebody have a better idea?

azavega

Well I got an actor on the top of the screen going side to side X and this actor is the on who spawn the other ones with a timer.
So timer its set to every(random(1,5) spawn actor blue and another timer set to every(randon(2,6) spawn actor red...

magic101hi

you are not setting them to spawn at different locations... you need to set the x location to be (random(1,380)

-Josh

azavega

well the actor that is moving its at different locations already I want it to look like this actor is like a dispenser deploying the other actor while he goes left and right on the screen

azavega

hello any help... bump!!

Strobanik

unfortunately you can not use random time like that in a timer. you'll have to use an attribute, and then randomize that attribute at the same time the actor is spawning.

otherwise it will randomize it only once (when opening), and then use that same number over and over again.

did that make sense?

firemaplegames

You cannot use a random number in a Timer like that, unfortunately.

I know that you want a Timer with every(random(1,5) to spit out something like:

1,2,3,2,4,5,1,2,5,3,4,4,3 etc...

But it doesn't work like that.

The Timer will randomly pick the first number, but then it will use that number for the rest of the time that the Timer is active.

So it will spit out numbers like:

3,3,3,3,3,3,3, etc.
or 2,2,2,2,2,2,2, etc.

To make it work correctly, you need to destroy the Timer and recreate it each time.

Something like this will work:

Create a new Boolean attribute in the spawner Actor called 'reseed'. Set it initially to true (check the box).

Then a Rule is the spawner like this:

Rule
When all conditions are valid:
self.reseed = true
.....Change Attribute: self.reseed to: false
.....Timer After random(1,5)
..........[do something]
..........Timer After 0.1 seconds Run to completion
...............Change Attribute: self.reseed to: true

Hope this helps!
Joe

EDIT: Strobanik beat me to it!

azavega

thanks i will try that... thank for your help. Its kind of frustrating that random doesn't work like its suppose to..

BarkBarkCo

It IS working as it is intended. It's just not working how you wanted... ;-)

azavega

ok your right. let me stop bitchin about it and go back to work...

azavega

Didn't work continue doing the same now they r falling every 5 seconds and when preview again every 3 seconds... once it pick a random between 1 to 5 stick with that value

firemaplegames

are you destroying the timer and reseeding it?

azavega

I'm doing exactly what you told me on your reply on top but didn't work

azavega

question the second timer that you mention its inside the first timer or its totally independent?

firemaplegames

It needs to be nested inside.

azavega

yep thats the way i did it... and i tried the other ways to... don't worry tomorrow will be another day i'm just stuck right now... can't think anymore... been reading most of the threads here about random and my head its about to blow lol... thanks for ur help ... I appreciated...

firemaplegames

I have lightning that appears randomly in my latest game, and I am using the above Rule to achieve it. Hopefully you will get it figured out!

Also, if you are making a jumping game like Doodle Jump, ToastKitten made a nice jumping game template with randomly appearing platforms.

azavega

nope Im just trying to make an actor on the top of the screen that works like a dispenser... throwing down balls of different colors while he is moving left and right continuosly... this balls I want them to be spawn at a random order in color and quantity just a random number thats going to be increasing while the level goes up... I think Im asking to much? lol

JackBQuick

I don't know if you have this figured out but I think there may be another way to do this. I'm retooling CodeMonkey's suggestion from this thread:

Switch Between Clockwise and Counter-clockwise Rotation

Make a timer that every second, change the value of a self.Random attribute to random(1,10), then have a Rule that checks if that attribute is a certain value. If it is, for example, 1 then spawn a blue actor. If it is 2, then spawn a red one. You can increase the frequency of spawning by changing the upper random limit from 10 to, say, 5.