CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonlistpython-3.xrandompython-3.5
sporkl
sporkl

Reputation: 419

Random List Generation not working

I am working on a game where I need to randomly generate classes for a list. I use a self-made function randList to do this. The code for that function looks like this:

def randList(options, num): #RANDOMLY SELECTS NUM ITEMS FROM LIST OPTIONS
returnVal = [] #CREATE A LIST THAT IT RETURNS
for i in range(num - 1): #FOR DESIRED NUMBER OF RETURN ITEMS
    val = r.choice(options) #RANDOMLY SELECT ITEM FROM OPTIONS
    returnVal.append(val) #ADD THAT TO RETURNVAL
    options.remove(val) #REMOVE IT FROM OPTIONS.
return returnVal #RETURN GENERATED LIST

I am using that to randomly generate monsters and items in a room like so:

class roomParent: #ROOM CHARACTER FINDS
    def __init__(self, entities, floor): #INIT WITH ENEMIES IN ROOM, ITEMS ON FLOOR
        self.entities = entities #ENEMIES THERE ARE
        self.floor = floor #ON FLOOR THERE IS
    def generate(self):
        global enemiesBeat
        if enemiesBeat >= 500:
            self.entities = [dragon]
        else:
            self.entities = randList([goblin, dwarf, slime, naga, troll, beholder], 1)
        self.floor = randList([scrap, scrap, scrap, fireJar, ambrosia, sword, spearhead, armor, potion, slimeball], r.randint(0, 3))

room = roomParent([], [])

Just so you know, goblin, dwarf, slimeball, etc. are defined earlier in the code. I don't think they have anything to do with the problem. I generate the room later like this:

def main():
    room.generate()
    print("Enemies: " + str(room.entities))
main()

I want it to print out a list with two random monsters in it from room.generate(), but it always prints Enemies: []. There are no errors in the code, and after trying to troubleshoot for 10 minutes, I decided to consult he web with no fruits in result of that labor. Thank you in advance for any help you give.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 188

Answers (2)

Alex L
Alex L

Reputation: 1114

Use the random.sample library function.

Also, you might want to rethink your capitalization...snake_case is preferred over inCaps for function names.

Upvotes: 2

Tagc
Tagc

Reputation: 9076

As Oliver points out, the reason you get always get an empty entities array is because self.entities is set to randList([goblin, dwarf, slime, naga, troll, beholder], 1) within generate (I assume the global variable enemiesBeat is less than 500 in your tests).

In your randList function you have an off-by-one error that I mention in the comments which means that the generated list will contain one fewer items than specified by num. As you try to generate a singleton list for self.entities (num = 1), you'll actually have it assigned to an empty list.

You can correct this issue by changing for i in range(num - 1) to for i in range(num) in your randList function.

As an aside, I don't think you need to pass entities and floor as parameters to the roomParent constructor, since it doesn't seem to have any effect. Instead, you could modify the class definition:

class roomParent(object):
    def __init__(self):
        self.entities = []
        self.floor = []
    ...

And instantiate it like this:

room = roomParent()

Upvotes: 3

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