Basic randomizing question

[Macaw]

I have an enemy that shoots a projectile, and I'm wondering how to make it so that instead of just shooting every 2 seconds or so, it shoots randomly between say 2-4 seconds. Whats the best way of doing this?

Thanks for any help

[ProdigyX]

Set an Alterable Value to (Random([Number of Possible Seconds])*[Your Max Frame Rate])+[2x Your Max Frame Rate]. Have this AV always count towards 0. When it hits 0, fire the target and restart the counter.

In the case of 60 fps, the formula should be (Random(3)*60)+120

The possible values are

(0*60)+120 = 120 (2 seconds)
(1*60)+120 = 180 (3 seconds)
(2*60)+120 = 240 (4 seconds)

In the case of 50 fps, the formula should be (Random(3)*50)+100

(0*50)+100 = 100 (2 seconds)
(1*50)+100 = 150 (3 seconds)
(2*50)+100 = 200 (4 seconds)

etc...

[Macaw]

Thank you! It works great!

I have another question though, If I have more than 1 enemy, how do I individualize the firing for each one instead of all of them firing at the same time?

[ProdigyX]

Its already setup to be individualized. Remember to fire when the AV = 0. Also, always subtract 1 from the AV.

[ProdigyX]

As seen here, already individualized.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25332369/Random.mfa

[Macaw]

Thanks for the help guys!

[Macaw]

Yeah I noticed that, very cool. I also did end up using a matching fastloop in my code as my enemies consist of 2 objects (sprite and hitbox) and complications with the more basic code was causing some crazy bugs with monsters eventually spawning hundreds of bullets all over the place. Theres probably be a way to make the more simple code work with some effort and minor changes, but just putting in the match fastloop was an easy solution to guarantee each enemy is individualized.