Which RNG are you using?

[nalzok]

Hi there,

I wonder which random number generator are you using? A quick search revealed that you are using std::mt19937_64 in many places, but I think it's better to confirm with you guys.

If it is, would you consider switching to xoshiro256** or the PCG-family, which appear to be state-of-the-art PRNGs? Both seem to have superior speed and quality compared to the Mersenne Twister (MT19937-64), so you might want to check it out if random number generation is your bottleneck.

[mnwright]

Yes, we are using std::mt19937_64. To be honest, we didn't spend much thought on it and just went for the standard. What I think we should do is:

1. Make it easy to change the RNG, e.g., by a wrapper
2. Investigate whether the RNG is the bottleneck somewhere

[nalzok]

Cool. Hopefully, that won't be too much work.

[mnwright]

Let's continue in #688.