Do you think your console's warmth affects a game's random values?

[ReloadPsi]

I reckon it might. While I don't claim to have any knowledge of computer science (I am a total klutz with it) I have had the odd occasion where I was trying to trigger something in a game with a random chance, and found I was more successful if I did it just after switching the console on than if I'd been playing for a while.

I'm under the impression that the processor is what handles the generation of random numbers, and I'm also under the impression that its temperature can have a slight effect on these values. Is this true? Is this an actual thing that can happen?

[krissy]

not really.

it's likely that the systems are using a pseudo-random number generator algorithm which needs a seed to begin: the time since turning the console on may affect the seeding process, but unless you have documentation on how they're getting the numbers you're grasping at straws.

on the other hand, if they use an algorithm and use the current system temperature as a seed value somehow, you may be right. wiki seems to think temperature, console age, power source, etc., may have some effect on post-processing for the random numbers but gives no source.

but to be perfectly honest with you i think you're noticing this behavior because you've just begun to play and the random number turned out in your favor, whereas you hadn't had that luck after playing for a while previously. i'm not sure games have situations where the differences in seeds and temperature would make a huge difference in results.

[VeloZer0]

One of those things where you remember when it happens, but don't remember all the much more numerous times it doesn't. As krissy said there is no such thing as random number generation for a computer. It either takes a seed and uses an equation to give a psudo-random number, or has a pre-determined list of random numbers and uses the seed to pick from among them. Either way the result is perfectly predictable as long as you know the seed.

I only have a rudimentary knowledge of computer science, but I think the most common seed is a very precise reading of the time, something like thousandths of a second. At this level it is essentially a random number to begin with.

[Skyblade]

One of those things where you remember when it happens, but don't remember all the much more numerous times it doesn't. As krissy said there is no such thing as random number generation for a computer. It either takes a seed and uses an equation to give a psudo-random number, or has a pre-determined list of random numbers and uses the seed to pick from among them. Either way the result is perfectly predictable as long as you know the seed.

I only have a rudimentary knowledge of computer science, but I think the most common seed is a very precise reading of the time, something like thousandths of a second. At this level it is essentially a random number to begin with.

This is correct. It has two major strengths. First, reading the time to that degree makes the number nearly random. A seed generated by the exact time a system is turned on, or generated at a point based on how long the system has been on, or how long a particular mode is running, leads to very nearly random values. The level of precision is beyond what a person can manipulate with any degree of precision. And conversion of seeds to the end result means that the difference between one millisecond can be the difference between a 7 and a 85.

Second, it is easy. Essentially every piece of technology that games run on already tracks these numbers. Everything has a clock. From your DS, to your PS3, to your PC, they all have clocks built-in, tracking these numbers. Even systems that don't have them visible usually have them built into the framework somewhere. It takes minimal resources to run a digital clock, so almost everything has it. Which makes snatching a number from it very, very easy.

[Old Manus]

I can only imagine a hardware RNG would use CPU temperature in the number generation, and I don't think consoles use them these days.

[Loony BoB]

Any RNG worth it's salt should not be affected by temperature. Well, not the randomly chosen number, anyway. It might affect other things such as the speed at which it processes the random number.

[Vyk]

This was a common folk tale amongst my gamer friends growing up. Especially with games with higher difficulties and a lot of fighting games. There was already that issue where the computer knows the move you're doing and its difficulty settings determine if it will auto-counter or let you win. We were always under the impression that the longer the system was on, the cheaper it would get. i.e. "The game's all warmed up now, so you're in for some trouble"

[ReloadPsi]

Fair enough. I guess I just have the weirdest coincidental luck then :P

[Raistlin]

I doubt heat has anything to do with it, but just turning on the game might. It all depends on how "random" the actual algorithm is. For older games, especially, I wouldn't be surprised if the system wasn't so random after all, and certain values are automatically set when the game is just turned on.