A random container is a generic and unofficial term used on Asphalt Wiki to describe "containers" that grant random items in the Asphalt games. First implemented as Pro Kit Boxes in the Winter Update of Asphalt 8: Airborne, they mark the introduction of gambling elements to the games. The concept is the same as "loot boxes" in many other games outside the Asphalt series.
Names[]
The names of random containers vary from simply Box in Asphalt Xtreme or Card Pack in Asphalt 9: Legends to various subtype names like Package, Bundle or Coin Pack—but despite their names and their outer appearance of a container, they contain nothing at all. The only thing they "contain" is the abstract right to perform a defined number of random draws to obtain virtual items. This is also the reason why box descriptions never read "contains xy", but always "grants xy".
The main names in the Asphalt games are:
- Card Pack – Asphalt 9
- Gift Box – Asphalt Streetstorm
- Box – Asphalt Xtreme
- Kit Box – Asphalt Nitro
- Pro Kit Box – Asphalt 8
Definition[]
A random container is not a random process in itself. It is a mere way for game publishers to combine and group random experiments (like revealing a card) of the same or different kinds. In terms of probability theory, revealing items from a random container is a variation of the classic urn model: An urn contains x white and y black balls, well-mixed together. One ball is drawn randomly from the urn and its color observed; it is then placed back in the urn (or not), and the selection process is repeated.
The trick with random containers is that they can combine draws from different urns without letting the player know. Thus, in mathematical terms,
- a random container is a set of random experiments of the same or different kinds.
Examples[]
- The simplest form of a random container are boxes like the
Random Box 5 from Asphalt 8: All trials have the same possible outcomes (the same sample space). In terms of the urn model, the player can draw five times from the same urn (with putting back, as it is possible to get the same card several times). - An example for containers with openly different experiments would be a box containing 5 cards with a description like "contains at least one Rare or Legendary card". Using the urn model, this means that players can draw 1 card from an urn that contains only rare and legendary cards. The other 4 cards are drawn from a different urn that contains all kinds of cards (commmon, rare and legendary).
- An example for hidden rules is the
Daily Kit Box † from Asphalt 8. It contains 10 cards, 1 card is always an Engine, 1 card is always either Mid-Tech or Advanced Tech, and 8 cards are always Parts. Therefore the player draws from three different urns without being aware of it: once from an urn containing only Engine cards, once from an urn containing only Mid-Tech and Advanced Tech cards, and 8 times from an urn containing only Part cards. The draws from the three urns represent three different experiments with different sample spaces (sets of possible outcomes). - Box descriptions can also be inaccurate or misleading: The description of the
Expert Kit Box from Asphalt Nitro says that it contains "at least 3 fuel or a booster". The term "a booster" may imply that the booster can be of any kind, but in reality, the only booster granted by this box is a Nitro Starter. This was only revealed when drop rates were introduced with the 2019 Winter Update, or could have been found with statistical means by opening a large amount of boxes until it would have been almost sure that the box grants no other boosters than Nitro Starters.