department of questionable sciences

[invisible]

afer a 100+ runs there is just things i have noticed.. i dont know if there bugs of just bad RNG

1. Card Keys- sometimes i feel as the zone does not recognize that yo are looking for a key... when this happens i usually leave the zone and renter and get the key on the first proper encounter.. i this bad RNG/no luck or a actual data problem...

Location - Ultraspatiottemproalanomalistics have notice a large problem with several encounters repeating that main two are Quantum Uncertainty when you choose option (Tell him to bugger off) and stink slacks when you choose (hit) when these options are chosen it seems to repeat itself many times and up the chances of you seeing the event again and again... is this a game mechanic or bad RNG (bot choices create an encounter in the noncombat) why i thought maybe it was intentional...

and the door to legion.. when you renter the zone to get the last key and head for legion it seems like the door repeats itself alot back to back
i have seen it up to 5 or 6 times in a row.. also when you have the 4th key it seems to not like to come up... i have resorted to leaving and reentering the zone and it seems to help.. but it could all be in my head... is there some way to make the door a 2 time event once to get the quest and once to open it,,,, I know this is not how the door was designed its part of the randomness...

just some questions and ideas any help any answers would be a help.. and if it sounds confusing sorry i could try to give more details

Invisible

[jimmyBUFFET]

I have found that in the science dept, specifically the astro and ultra labs, that I'm able to kind of predict the order of things as far as an encounter with a specific adventure. I haven't, however, found it affecting my card drops...I do it in the same order each time and it seems to vary considerably from run to run.

-jB

[Gobberwart]

Everything you're observing here is part of the surprisingly non-random nature of random numbers. I recently tweaked the way the adventure queue works, which has definitely improved the repetitiveness in SOME areas, but it looks like more work is needed to tweak it further.

I'll put some more thought into it.

[invisible]

Gobberwart after reading your reply i thought i would do a few runs and keep some data on what i was seeing... this data is from 3 runs my 136th to 138th and all are post legion.... as the runs went on i kept more data and will try to make it as simple as possible for reading...

run 136 i had 35 turns left after killing legion
29 of them i got Quantum mechanics always choosing (tell him to bugger off)
4 times i saw a Giant scientis-eating shroom
2 times stink slacks choosing *hit)

Run 137 i had 69 turns and kept more data and creating a Key as i saw each encounter and how many times
QU = Quantum Uncertainty (tell him to bugger off)
shroom for giant scientis-eating shroom
the cncounter and the amount of times in a row i encounter is the data i am showing

QU 2/ shrooms 2/ QU 2/ shroom 1/ QU 2/ shroom 1/ QU 7/ shroom 2/ QU 2/ shroom 3/ / QU 3/ shroom 1/
QU 4/ shroom 1/ QU 2/ RIght Now 1/ QU 4/ shroom 1/ QU 2/ shroom 1/ QU 4/ shrooms 1/ QU 2/ shrooms 1/ QU 1/ shrooms 1/
QU 6/ shroom 1/ QU 1/ shrooom 1/ QU 6 that should be 69 turns so that is 50 Quantum Uncertainty.... 18 shrooms... and 1 right now


Run 138 had 64 turns and kept data about the same
QU 1/ stint stunt(hit) 1/ shroom 1/ QU 6/ shrooms 2/ QU 9/ shroom 3/ QU 1/ stint stunt(hit) 1/ QU 14/ shroom 2/ QU 9/
shroom 5/ QU 3/ shroom 2/ QU 3/ should equal 64 turns so that is 46 quantum uncertainty 16 shrooms and 2 stint slacks...


not saying this data is conclusive that its a bug but something worth looking at there is a trend here that when you choose to fight Schorodinger cat .. you seem to get locked in a chain which is either a game design or a bug...

if you would like to see more runs and data i would do some more.... and as always TY for your time

Invisible

[jimmyBUFFET]

visi, if you're up to it you should see in the astrophysio lab, I find that I get the stat noncombat (dont remember the name) a lot when i dont take the socks. any time that I don't get that noncombat, I fight the scientist who drops the key.

-jB

[Right2Wrong2000]

Agreed with Jimmy and Invis here. I got Schrodinger and the Pants OVER and OVER. Rarely encountered the Scientist Eating Plant. My drops from the day clearly show this too. I think theres a slight bug. I only got the Rifle the Pockets adventure ONCE out of 170 or so turns.

[Gobberwart]

Location - Ultraspatiottemproalanomalistics have notice a large problem with several encounters repeating that main two are Quantum Uncertainty when you choose option (Tell him to bugger off) and stink slacks when you choose (hit) when these options are chosen it seems to repeat itself many times and up the chances of you seeing the event again and again

OK, looks like the two non-combats that turn into combats when you select the correct option aren't setting flags in the database properly. Looking at it now.

[Gobberwart]

OK, checked the code. Here's the deal...

When you visit a location, there's an algorithm that looks over the past n turns spent in that location (depending how many different encounters are in that location) and tries to select a new encounter that you haven't had recently. It's an extremely complicated algorithm, but gives a better appearance of randomness than simple random number generation does. Go figure.

Anyway... because non-combats that turn into combats only record the combat id, not the non-combat, the non-combat doesn't show up in the queue and hence the algorithm thinks you haven't had it recently, and there is then a very high probability that you'll get it again.

If, however, you choose one of the options that DOESN'T result in a combat, then the non-combat is recorded properly and you won't get it again for a few turns.

I've just made some changes in dev that I'll test and move into prod asap.

[invisible]

Ty Gobb I kinds thought that was what was happening but i am not that literate in code ... but i am very interested to see how the new changes will work and Ty for looking at... I just had a gut feeling it was in the code and not RNG...


Invisible

[Gobberwart]

Definitely in the code and fixed in dev. I'm at work right now so can't upload changes, but I'll do it when I get home tonight if I can stand the heat in the office, or first thing in the morning.

Just FYI testing with modified queue results as follows:

quantum uncertainty
stint stunt
time trousers
shroom
publications
quantum uncertainty
shroom
shroom
stint stunt
time trousers
shroom
publications
quantum uncertainty
stint stunt
time trousers
publications
quantum uncertainty
stint stunt
stint stunt
time trousers
shroom
shroom
quantum uncertainty
publications
stint stunt
time trousers
quantum uncertainty
publications
shroom
stint stunt
shroom
quantum uncertainty
time trousers
shroom
publications
stint stunt
quantum uncertainty
time trousers
shroom
publications

*Wherever I got "Quantum Uncertainty", I chose "Bugger Off" and wherever I got "Stint Stunt" I chose "Hit"

Granted, this is only 40 or so turns, but it shows evidence that repeats are much less common and that encounters aren't happening in the same order every time. I've also tested in a couple of other zones with similar results. I'm not bothered about the occasional repeat, but the chances of getting the same thing 3 or more times in a row is greatly reduced as compared with using just straight random numbers.

[Right2Wrong2000]

Ive just helped fix a bug! I feel special. Yay!

[invisible]

yea your 40 turns looks very nice compared to what i was seeing.. cant wait till kill the kitty without fear of seeing it over and over.. even though it was profitable... would rather see something work right then be profitable and R2 you feel special.. LOL I found a Bug and almost didnt say anything about it.. because i just was not sure...

[Right2Wrong2000]

So... I looked into the bug a little more today and it seems ALOT better, but it still seems a bit fuzzy. When I ran 100 adventures straight, I got these results: 48 Schrodinger Cats, 32 Jeans, 20 Shrooms, and 0 Time Trousers. I noticed a few things while I was at it too... Shrooms almost ALWAYS come in groups of 2-4. Schrodinger and Jeans seem to go together also... I would usually get 4 or 5 Jeans in a row and likewise with Schrodinger... These are all just observations but the kitty seems a bit overweighted still.

[Gobberwart]

Er... R2, given that I hadn't actually changed anything when you did your "testing", I'm not surprised. Please read my previous post carefully.

Changes have now been made in production (as of about 5 minutes ago) and results should be VERY different.

PS. Get a hair cut

[Right2Wrong2000]

Gotcha! Invisible told me there after... I just figured you had... nevermind... And stop being jealous of my locks!

[mastechno]

Thanks for looking into it Gobb!

Also I seriously doubt there is ANY jealousy of your "locks", Goldie.


P.S. Get a hair cut! :-p

[invisible]

love the changes Gobb its a much improvement.... great job

[Right2Wrong2000]

Mas... You are jealous cause you are a ginger, and everyone knows gingers are bitter folk. But yes, thank you Gobb! Its working fantastically now!