Random numbers for computer graphics
Mayur Patel · 2006
We focus on hashing functions as random sources because they are applicable in the widest variety of circumstances. When producing sequences of random values associated with an entity, an integer counter can be attached to the entity. The concatenation of the entity’s relevant state variables with its counter produces a key which can be hashed. The counter would increment after each random value calculation. When compared to pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs), hashing allows the developer to control state size. Modern high-quality PRNGs often have large fixed-size states, making it prohibitive for very many instances to coexist in memory.