§8.19. Random choices of things
Writing "a random number" is not allowed, because the possible range is too large, but that was the only reason why not.
a/-- random (description of values) ... value
This phrase makes a uniformly random choice from values satisfying the description given. Example:
a random visited room
a random scene
A problem message is issued if the range is too large (for instance, "a random text"). Unexpected results may follow if no value fits the description, unless we are describing objects, in which case the result is the special value "nothing".
For instance:
say "You can see [number of adjacent rooms] way[s] from here; how about [random adjacent room]?"
But it's important to worry about the possibility that nothing qualifies - here, that no adjacent rooms exist. The above would then say:
You can see 0 ways from here; how about nothing?
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![]() | Back to §8.18. Randomness |
![]() | Onward to Chapter 9: Time: §9.1. When play begins |
Suppose we want to give the player a bag of candies, of which a random one is poisonous. We can pick which one should be poisoned at the start of play, like this:
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Suppose we want to give the player a bag of candies, of which a random one is poisonous. We can pick which one should be poisoned at the start of play, like this:
Suppose we want to give the player a bag of candies, of which a random one is poisonous. We can pick which one should be poisoned at the start of play, like this:
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