Minecraft - Random number generator

This video will take you around my random number generator and how it works. With this video, the minecraft wiki, and some basic understanding of digital logic, you should be able to easily reproduce this circuit.

It's a 13-bit linear feedback shift register with taps on bits 13, 12, 11, and 8. As mentioned in the video, you can find polynomials for your own shift register on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_feedback_shift_register#Some_polynomials_...

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• minecraft
• random
• number
• generator
• redstone
• circuit
• linear
• feedback
• shift
• register

[MrFizzry]

if u use shift register does that mean is not fully random? or does it have a pattern?

[frother]

@MrFizzry

That's right, it's fully deterministic within the game and you can predict the next sequence of bits by looking at the registers. The only way to get real randomness (within the game world) would to be to harness something like the movement of NPCs or the falling of cactus blocks

[fright01]

@frother However, those are again only pseudo random. :\

[frother]

@fright01

The randomness comes from outside the game world in those cases, so they would be said to be non-deterministic, or truly random.

[janejetzt]

@frother Thats wrong dispenser work fully random! So just put in 64 arrows and 64 glowstones in one and u have 50% chance that a glowstone get dropped out. Srry for bad english but i hope u understand what i mean...

[frother]

@janejetzt

Ha, that's a great point. Good idea

[MrDiablo5222]

dude i made one on accident just messing around and it only takes up a 10X10 area

[fright01]

@frother Yeah, from the "Java" world... Which also isn't random. It is pseudo. But the author is aware, so don't worry.

[ThePirateKing2]

@fright01

Until notch implements radioactive ores that experience realistic decay, you're going to have to live with "pseudo random".

The admin on my server tried making one and we came up with a system that uses a chicken in a glass cage. I'd say that's about as good as you're gonna get within a video game. The only issue is that spawning the chicken pretty much has to be done manually (with eggs).

[MrFizzry]

@frother good idea on the cactus thing but can we control them :P