I have one value that is a floating point percentage from 0-100, x, and another value that is a floating point from 0-1, y. As y gets closer to zero, it should reduce the value of x on a logarithmic curve.
So for example, say x = 28.0f and y = 0.8f. Since 0.8f isn't that far from 1.0f it should only reduce the value of x by a small amount, say bringing it down to x = 25.0f or something like that. As y gets closer to zero it should more and more drastically reduce the value of x. The only way I can think of doing this is with a logarithmic curve. I know what I want it to do, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to implement this in C++. What would this algorithm look like in C++?
It sounds like you want this:
new_x = x * ln((e - 1) * y + 1)
I'm assuming you have the natural log function ln and the constant e. The number multiplied by x is a logarithmic function of y which is 0 when y = 0 and 1 when y = 1.
Here's the logic behind that function (this is basically a math problem, not a programming problem). You want something that looks like the ln function, rising steeply at first and then leveling off. But you want it to start at (0, 0) and then pass through (1, 1), and ln starts at (1, 0) and passes through (e, 1). That suggests that before you do the ln, you do a simple linear shift that takes 0 to 1 and 1 to e: ((e - 1) * y + 1.