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Easy-Peasy Randomizer

Archive: 11 posts

Just a little something I stumbled upon while making a level - Completely random, works even better if there are more of them in conjunction.

The actual mechanism consists of;

• Three blocks of square, each with a magnetic key switch attached. The mag switches have a very small radius, so they activate only when they gets within 1 small grid unit of the mag key.

•*A dark matter vertical casing.

• A mag key on the bottom of the dark matter casing.

• A little stair system on the dark matter casing (as in, _—?)

• A piston attached from the top of the tracks to the square blocks.

• The first piston has a maximum length equivalent to the level of the first stair, the second piston of equivalent length for the second stair,etc.

• Each piston has an elapsed time of 10 secs (all around), a sync of 1.2 secs, and a flipper motion of "out".

• The first piston has a 1.0 pause, second a 2.0 pause, etc.

...

Now here's what makes this device random.

OK, so the pistons have varying lengths - due to this, even while they're still on the same time setting, the elapsed time to get to the top again varies. This is one of the factors, but what makes it MORE random is the pauses. These pauses muddle up the times the pistons take to get to the bottom (near the mag keys), by making each piston have different pause times.

Those are what make it random.

That's it! Nothing else.

I've also been thinking about making two of the piston blocks work in conjunction - so that when they reach their mag keys almost simultaneously, a 2-player mechanic will activate (activated by the two mag keys), reaching the output desired.

I know, that bit is complicated (not as complicated as some of the stuff rtm223 comes up with ), but that's just an idea. The real cool-ness of it is that it's random!

I'll post pictures tomorrow - I'm going to go to bed today. I think this will be very useful...

PICTURES ARE HERE!

Old version (disadvantage; does not use grid really)

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/KTOFT/Pictures/a_photo_14.jpg

New Randomizer (advantage, uses grid)

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/KTOFT/Pictures/a_photo_15.jpg
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/KTOFT/Pictures/a_photo_16.jpg
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/KTOFT/Pictures/a_photo_17.jpg		2010-04-28 04:33:00

Author:
Richasackboy
Posts: 619

Hmm...well, please do post pictures soon. I could have sworn the only thing absolutely random in this game was the player. Or at least, the player needs to be implemented into that randomizer...

Although there have been some pretty random things happening in LBP. Mostly bugs or glitches though.

So this sounds like a great idea, but I'm having trouble picturing the thought of a randomizer without the player needed.		2010-04-28 05:50:00

Author:
goldenclaw13
Posts: 224

sounds great but pics are a must for this one. I've been needing one for quite some time.2010-04-28 06:46:00

Author:
M_R_Enigma
Posts: 161

Those are what make it random.

Any 'randomizer' which doesn't involve a truly unpredictable variable (such as a player's movement) is only pseudorandom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudorandomness) at best, although in many cases, that's good enough.

Of course, it's arguable that even those systems which do incorporate such variables aren't truly random, because the divide between randomness and pseudorandomness is continually changing, as systems slowly become capable of predicting events we previously deemed to be chaotic.

Hopefully one day, in the not too distant future, we might even get reliable weather forecasts. 		2010-04-28 20:09:00

Author:
Aya042
Posts: 2870

Eh, well, it'll probably only be involved in processes that don't involve too much of a player peering into it. I couldn't find ay discernable pattern, and anyway, if you wanted to find out, you'd have to find a pen and paper and right all the patterns down!

I'm just saying it seemed to have no correlation! Pictures will be up tonight.		2010-04-28 20:14:00

Author:
Richasackboy
Posts: 619

Eh, well, it'll probably only be involved in processes that don't involve too much of a player peering into it. I couldn't find ay discernable pattern, and anyway, if you wanted to find out, you'd have to find a pen and paper and right all the patterns down!

I'm just saying it seemed to have no correlation! Pictures will be up tonight. Sounds cool. You could even slope the blocks attached to the pistons and make a glass ball with a key on it emit which activates a magnetic key switch. Maybe I'm overcomplicating it lol		2010-04-28 20:22:00

Author:
Unknown User

Sounds cool. You could even slope the blocks attached to the pistons and make a glass ball with a key on it emit which activates a magnetic key switch. Maybe I'm overcomplicating it lol

This could work as well - maybe we could come up with something that actually WAS random!

...Although it won't happen. 		2010-04-28 20:34:00

Author:
Richasackboy
Posts: 619

This could work as well - maybe we could come up with something that actually WAS random!

...Although it won't happen.

Make a sensor set to speed, make the radius about the size of the room you need for the randomiser and attach to the pistons. Player movement adds another level of randomness. Is this 1 output btw?		2010-04-28 21:53:00

Author:
Unknown User

The randomizer can be at any output.

Sorry for forgetting the pictures yesterday... My brother just had to run off to Europe so... 		2010-04-29 17:05:00

Author:
Richasackboy
Posts: 619

Any 'randomizer' which doesn't involve a truly unpredictable variable (such as a player's movement) is only pseudorandom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudorandomness) at best, although in many cases, that's good enough.


Almost any randomizer in LBP is pseudorandom. The logic pack randomizer, for example, has a timed speed-output piston for the wheel, and the fact that it's an omnidirectional wheel also creates pseudorandomosity. Like you said though, it's usually good enough.		2010-04-30 03:59:00

Author:
Incinerator22
Posts: 3251

Pictures up on the first post!2010-04-30 05:20:00

Author:
Richasackboy
Posts: 619


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