math.random in lua only generating one number

Question

I made a game in lua where a number between 1 to 10 is generated at random and the player needs to guess the number. The only number that seems to be generated, however, is 9. Here is the code:

number = math.random(1, 10)

function guess(number)
  print("Please input a number between 1 and 10: ")
  input = io.read()
  if tonumber(input) < number then
    print("Too low!")
    guess(number)
  elseif tonumber(input) > number then
    print("Too high!")
    guess(number)
  elseif tonumber(input) == number then
    print("You got it!")
 end
end

guess(number)

A random number between 1 and 10 should be created with math.random() and stored in the number variable, but it seems that the number that is generated is always 9. What could be causing this, and how can I fix it?

I'd agree it's a duplicate. Amusingly, the linked question is also a duplicate... Dupliception? — Josh
– Josh, Commented Feb 15, 2017 at 13:24

britzl · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-15 05:22:15Z

2

Despite it's name math.random() isn't actually random at all. It's a pseudo-random number generator which means that given the same input and seed it will always produce the same result. In your case you are not seeding your random number generator using math.randomseed(seed). A common way of providing a seed is to use os.time() like this: math.randomseed(os.time())

answered Feb 15, 2017 at 5:22

britzl

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3 Comments

HungryHobo Over a year ago

This fixed the problem. Thanks!

dalmate Over a year ago

os.time() is not small enough. If you run two script parrallel, it still regenerate the same result.

britzl Over a year ago

You should only call math.randomseed() once!

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