game maker random cave generation - game-engine

Question

I want to make a cave explorer game in game maker 8.0.
I've made a block object and an generator But I'm stuck. Here is my code for the generator
var r;
r = random_range(0, 1);
repeat(room_width/16) {
repeat(room_height/16) {
if (r == 1) {
instance_create(x, y, obj_block)
}
y += 16;
}
x += 16;
}
now i always get a blank frame

Answer 1

You need to use irandom(1) so you get an integer. You also should put it inside the loop so it generates a new value each time.

Answer 2

In the second statement, you are generating a random real value and storing it in r. What you actually require is choosing one of the two values. I recommend that you use the function choose(...) for this. Here goes the corrected statement:
r = choose(0,1); //Choose either 0 or 1 and store it in r
Also, move the above statement to the inner loop. (Because you want to decide whether you want to place a block at the said (x,y) location at every spot, right?)
Also, I recommend that you substitute sprite_width and sprite_height instead of using the value 16 directly, so that any changes you make to the sprite will adjust the resulting layout of the blocks accordingly.
Here is the code with corrections:
var r;
repeat(room_width/sprite_width) {
repeat(room_height/sprite_height) {
r = choose(0, 1);
if (r == 1)
instance_create(x, y, obj_block);
y += sprite_height;
}
x += sprite_width;
}
That should work. I hope that helps!

Answer 3

Looks like you are only creating a instance if r==1. Shouldn't you create a instance every time?

Answer 4

Variable assignment r = random_range(0, 1); is outside the loop. Therefore performed only once before starting the loop.
random_range(0, 1) returns a random real number between 0 and 1 (not integer!). But you have if (r == 1) - the probability of getting 1 is a very small.
as example:
repeat(room_width/16) {
repeat(room_height/16) {
if (irandom(1)) {
instance_create(x, y, obj_block)
}
y += 16;
}
x += 16;
}

Answer 5

Here's a possible, maybe even better solution:
length = room_width/16;
height = room_height/16;
for(xx = 0; xx < length; xx+=1)
{
for(yy = 0; yy < height; yy+=1)
{
if choose(0, 1) = 1 {
instance_create(xx*16, yy*16, obj_block); }
}
}
if you want random caves, you should probably delete random sections of those blocks,
not just single ones.

Answer 6

For bonus points, you could use a seed value for the random cave generation. You can also have a pathway random generation that will have a guaranteed path to the finish with random openings and fake paths that generate randomly from that path. Then you can fill in the extra spaces with other random pieces.
But in regards to your code, you must redefine the random number each time you are placing a block, which is why all of them are the same. It should be called inside of the loops, and should be an integer instead of a decimal value.

Answer 7

Problem is on the first line, you need to put r = something in the for cycle