Thanks David for your suggested solution - it looks very promising. I am not sure what 4-connected means? But I think I understand the general idea
I am just wondering if your solution would guarantee that there will always be a matching tile within a clear path? For example if the random sequence is 4,4,27,27,1,1,36,36, <BLANK> -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,-1 then -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,04 -1,-1,-1 then -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,04 -1,-1,04 then -1,-1,27 -1,-1,04 -1,-1,04 then -1,-1,27 -1,-1,04 -1,27,04 then -1,-1,27 -1,01,04 -1,27,04 then -1,-1,27 -1,01,04 01,27,04 then -1,36,27 -1,01,04 01,27,04 then -1,36,27 36,01,04 01,27,04 then 00,36,27 36,01,04 01,27,04 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Hershberger Sent: 11 March 2009 17:40 To: Flash Coders List Subject: Re: [Flashcoders] Advice on creating random grid of pairs for a game My first thought for your algorithm is to essentially follow the solution path that your user might end up taking. Your user will be clearing areas out, opening them up. Your algorithm could start with an empty grid and fill in around a starting seed, growing the tile array outward. 1) empty grid 2) generate random sequence of pairs with the blank embedded in it, such as 4,4,27,27,1,1,36,<blank>,36, etc 3) choose random location for first tile, and place it there, and take it off the pair queue. 4) choose an unfilled location which is 4-connected to any filled location, and put the next tile from the queue in it. 5) repeat 4) until the queue is empty. In this system, putting the "blank" in a location counts as filling that location, so the value for "blank" needs to be different than the initial values in the grid. So for example, if -1 means uninitialized and 0 means blank: -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,-1 then -1,-1,-1 -1,-1,04 -1,-1,-1 then -1,-1,04 -1,-1,04 -1,-1,-1 then -1,-1,04 -1,27,04 -1,-1,-1 then -1,-1,04 -1,27,04 -1,27,-1 then -1,-1,04 01,27,04 -1,27,-1 then -1,-1,04 01,27,04 -1,27,01 then 36,-1,04 01,27,04 -1,27,01 then 36,00,04 01,27,04 -1,27,01 then 36,00,04 01,27,04 36,27,01 This guarantees that a solution exists, because the algorithm essentially traces out the solution as it generates the level. This presumes that players are not allowed to move tiles around yet leave them on the board while solving the puzzle - it assumes that tiles just disappear from the grid when the user selects a pair which has a clear path between it, and that's the only interaction allowed. If they can slide them around, my algorithm will still produce solve-able puzzles, but they won't be as difficult as they could be, I think. :) Interesting problem! /mailman/listinfo/flashcoders _______________________________________________ Flashcoders mailing list [email protected] http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
