Looping through a list and choosing a random option?

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#1

Hello, fellow developers. I am making a game in which you open a crate. I need to make a script that loops through the options and picks a random one.

It is kind of like a spinner like in Murder Mystery 2, except it only shows the text looping through every option, not anything else. For example: if it looped through a knife, a gun, and a crowbar, the text would say, “Knife”, then “Gun”, then “Crowbar”, and would eventually stop at a random option.

Also, how would I make it work faster at the beginning and slow down until it reaches the end? I have tried taking apart an actual spinner but failed.

I am not looking for a full script, just how I could do something like this, because I have no idea. Any help?

Thanks,
SpeakerDev

#2

What method are you currently using to move your spinner? Manually moving each UI element (Position = UDim2.new(0, 0, 0, 0)), TweenService or another alternative?

#3

As mentioned, I am not looking to create an actual spinner, just a TextLabel that acts like a spinner without moving. Sorry for any misunderstanding!

#4

To accomplish this you can do something like this to show it visually. This is assuming you handle the actual chosen item on the server.

local possible = {
   'Knife',
   'Gun',
   'Crowbar'
}

local textLabel = script.Parent
local chosen = 'Gun' -- this is where youd put what the server chose

for i = 1, 10 do
   wait(1.1-i/10) -- makes it go faster each loop
   textLabel.Text = possible[math.random(#possible)]
end
textLabel.Text = chosen
 -- do whatever else you want to do after showing the player what they got
#5

Have a table with a list of all the possible things that can be picked
Ex:

local possibleChoices = {"Gun", "Knife", ...}

Pick one before they even spin it

local chosenObject = possibleChoices[math.random(1, #possibleChoices)]

Make loop for changing the text.

local timeToTake = 5 --in seconds
local speed = 3
local startTime = os.clock()
local current = ""
while true do
    for i = 1, #possibleChoices do
        task.wait(speed / 60)
        current = possibleChoices[i]
        textLabel.Text = current
        speed /= .1
    end
    if os.clock() - startTime > timeToTake then
        break
    end
end
if not (current == chosenObject then
    task.wait(speed / 60)
    textLabel.Text = chosenObject
end

You can change the speed /= .1 to adjust the change in speed. (What this does is it makes it start off faster and end slower)

1 Like
#6

This works perfectly except sometimes it stops way early. If I have the time set to 10 seconds, sometimes it stops after 1 second.

#7 
--:// Constants
local Items = {'Knife', 'Gun', 'Axe', 'Lightsaber', 'Parachute', 'Apple'}
local Spins = 3 -- Set this to how many times you want it to go through the table fully before it finally reaches the object.
local InterfaceButton = path.to.object -- Set this to be the path to your object, e.g. script.Parent.TextButton
local InterfaceDisplay = path.to.object -- Set this to be the path to your object, e.g. script.Parent.TextLabel

--:// Variables
local SelectedItem, Speed, Spinning = nil, 1, false  -- Defines a few variables to avoid doing so later.

--:// Functions
function SelectItem()
	SelectedItem = Items[math.random(#Items)]
end

--:// Main 'Spinner'
InterfaceButton.MouseButton1Click:Connect(function()
	if Spinning == true then return end
	SelectItem()
	Spinning = true
	Speed = 1
	for i = 1, Spins do
		for _, v in pairs (Items) do
			InterfaceDisplay.Text = v
			task.wait(Speed / 60)
			if Speed <= 3 then
				Speed /= 0.1 -- How fast you want it to slow down.
			end
		end
	end
	for _, v in pairs (Items) do
		InterfaceDisplay.Text = v
		if v == SelectedItem then
			InterfaceDisplay.BackgroundColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(113, 255, 52)
			task.wait(0.1)
			InterfaceDisplay.BackgroundColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(255, 255, 255)
			task.wait(0.1)
			InterfaceDisplay.BackgroundColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(113, 255, 52)
			task.wait(0.1)
			InterfaceDisplay.BackgroundColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(255, 255, 255)
			task.wait(0.1)
			InterfaceDisplay.BackgroundColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(113, 255, 52)
			task.wait(0.1)
			InterfaceDisplay.BackgroundColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(255, 255, 255)
			task.wait(0.1)
			break
		else
			task.wait(Speed / 60)
		end
	end
	Spinning = false
end)

Not the world’s cleanest script, but it works.

Feel free to use the place below.

ThomasTest.rbxl (38.5 KB)

2 Likes
#8

Thank you so much, this works absolutely perfectly. I can’t imagine how much time you probably spent on this, especially since you took the time to make your own place to show it. Thank you again!

3 Likes