"What RNG is for those who don't know, and why we tend to see coorelations to Location and Time of Day with seemingly random things"

#PokemonGO: RNG stands for Random Number Generator. Nearly all games in existence use RNG in some form or another as the calculations are quick, efficient, and hard to manipulate.So let's now take a step back and explain what I mean by this. (this will be a very basic explanation). Random number generators aren't random (an annoying misnomer which leads to people calling them pseudo-RNG). They typically use a calculation to generate a number, then a check to see where in a range the number lies. This allows them to create percentages of things happening (pokemon capture rates is a great example of this). When it's time to "roll" a number, the system will generate a seed from some values inherent to your account and state in the game and use these values to calculate a number. In our "catching" example, if that number is within the designated 'catch' range, then the pokemon will be caught. If not, the pokemon will escape the ball.If it isn't random can't it be manipulated? Yes! But it is insanely difficult. Here's a video describing how it is done in several generations of main games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mQn8W9HZbk ....Basically you need to know what the seed values are in order to manipulate. If a game is built well it will have seed values that are very hard to replicate (usually generating new numbers 60 times per second, or involving very exact GPS locations, or often times both while pulling several other values).What this means for POGO. We don't know the seed values and this is a very good thing. If we did then botting would be horrid as they could manipulate items received, capture mechanics, and so on. We likely won't figure out what these seed values are since there is usually numerous ever changing values being used (again this is a great thing). We tend to see coorelations and patterns though because it is highly likely that location and time of day are a portion of the equation. So when you see the same item drop numerous times, it's likely because a portion of the seed value is the same each time and you increase your odds of getting the same item. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2qFoe4r