Is there a better way of making a fair 50/50 chance script without using math.random()?

[nomcell (Katlepic)]

I Made a lot of scripts using math.random() and most times it will only do one thing and not the other thing
Is there something else which will do a 50/50 chance and will be fair with both values?

[Operatik]

Random is a feature that is different from math.random(), perhaps you could use it? It was introduced 3 years ago:

A Random Feature

Hey everyone, In observance of the gift-giving season, we’re releasing a new Lua datatype: Random. Random is used to generate high-quality pseudorandom numbers from a dedicated internal state. API Random.new([double seed]) Creates a new Random object from the given seed. Multiple Randoms seeded with the same value will always produce the same number sequence. If a seed isn’t specified, one will automatically be pulled from an internal entropy source. int Random:NextInteger(int min, int ma…

The other thing you need to think about is the count of outcomes. Thus you need to check for the condition of the output to choose A/B. Oh, and if the random is not truly random, set the math.randomseed(seed) to something, such as os.clock().

[BenMactavsin]

I thought they changed math.random()'s algorithm to the same one that Random uses years ago.

[Operatik]

It is now. They are exactly the same algorithm. There was a post which explained its differences well:

What's the point of Random.new():NextNumber()? Random vs. math.random()?

The Random object and math.random share the same algorithm. The Random object is good for holding state and branching results however, which the math.random object doesn’t do. Seeding is global to all uses of math.random, whereas Random objects can have their own seed. Passing a seed in the constructor is only necessary if you need deterministic randomisation where the results of each iteration are the same, otherwise leave it blank. The seed will automatically be randomised from a source of en…

[ReturnedTrue (Raiden)]

No, that’s just the way it is. There’s a 1 in 2 chance of retrieving one thing rather than another, this is susceptible of continuously picking the same result. For example, if you asked 10 people to pick between 1 and 2 there is a chance all will be 2.

However, you could potentially force it to choose the 2nd option if the 1st is chosen more than 3 times.

ie.

local last_picked = {};

local function last_three_equal(n)
    local total_picked = #last_picked;
    
    for i = total_picked, total_picked - 3, -1 do
        if (last_picked[i] ~= n) then
            return false;
        end
    end
    
    return true;
end

local function pick_option()
    local picked = math.random(2); --// Picks between [1, n]

    if (last_three_equal(picked)) then
        return picked == 2 and 1 or 2;
    end

    return picked;
end