Why won't the string cout - visual-c++

Question

O.F community! I'm very new to c++ and I decided to create my own game.
My issue is that at one point in the game the player is asked to answer 3 things:
-Gender
-Age
-Setting
void assessment()
{
cout << "Now that the characteristics have been selected. Let's review what they are:\n\n";
cout << "Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "You are a " << ageNumber << " year old " << gender; //incomplete - needs //<< setting;
}
The issue is with gender not being displayed. It can cout << ageNumber fine. But when the game is played and this part is reached this is what it says:
Now that the characteristics have been selected. Let's review what they are:
Press any key to continue
1
You are a 16(that is what I put for ageNumber earlier on) year old . <- Notice how "old" and "." have a space? As if the string gender is read as a blank.
EDIT: It is supposed to say:
You are a 16 year old male/female/it.
This is the part that determines the gender.
void fate()
{
cout << "Before we begin, a few characteristics must be selected\n\n";
cout << "Gender?\n\n";
cout << "1. Male\n";
cout << "2. Female\n";
cout << "3. Other\n\n";
cin >> genderNumber;
cout << "Now your next characteristic...Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "What is your age? (Must be younger than 50 to play)\n\n";
cin >> ageNumber;
setting2();
if (genderNumber == 1)
{
string gender = "male";
}
else if (genderNumber == 2)
{
string gender = "female";
}
else if (genderNumber == 3)
{
string gender = "'it'";
}
else
{
"invalid input\n\n\n\n\n\n";
fate();
}
===========================================================================================
This is the full code:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
void rules();
void controls();
void start();
void fate();
void assessment();
void setting2();
int fateNumber;
int anykey;
int ageNumber;
int settingNumber;
int genderNumber;
string gender;
string setting;
int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
cout << "===W E L C O M E T O C H O O S E Y O U R F A T E=== \n\n";
cout << "Press any key to continue\n";
cin >> anykey;
start();
}
void controls()
{
cout << "Throughout this game will you be making choices, each choice will have a corresponding number next to it. Press the letter to the corresponding choice you want to make. Press any key to continue\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "Here is an example...you are a cat, you can either\n\n";
cout << "1. Meow\n\n";
cout << "2. Hiss\n";
cout << "Press any key to continue\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "If I wanted to Hiss I would press the 2 key\n\n";
cout << "Press any key to continue on to the rules\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
rules();
}
void rules()
{
cout << "#1 You will be given a set number of choices. Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "#2: There are 2 factors to this game. Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "#3: The first factor is that either you live or you die. Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "#4: The second factor is that if you live, your character will be judged based on events you've made. You can still live, but you might have a good or bad effect on the people around you. Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "Let's play shall we?";
}
void start()
{
cout << "You shall begin a journey that'll decide either you make it or you don't. Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> fateNumber;
cout << "But before we start...The game needs to be explained.\n\n\n\n";
cout << "Controls(1 key)---------------------------Rules(2 key)---------------Skip(3 key) \n\n";
cin >> fateNumber;
if (fateNumber == 1)
{
controls();
}
else if (fateNumber == 2)
{
rules();
}
else if (fateNumber == 3)
{
fate();
}
else
{
cout << "invalid key\n\n\n\n\n\n\n";
start();
}
}
void fate()
{
cout << "Before we begin, a few characteristics must be selected\n\n";
cout << "Gender?\n\n";
cout << "1. Male\n";
cout << "2. Female\n";
cout << "3. Other\n\n";
cin >> genderNumber;
cout << "Now your next characteristic...Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "What is your age? (Must be younger than 50 to play)\n\n";
cin >> ageNumber;
setting2();
if (genderNumber == 1)
{
string gender = "male";
}
else if (genderNumber == 2)
{
string gender = "female";
}
else if (genderNumber == 3)
{
string gender = "'it'";
}
else
{
"invalid input\n\n\n\n\n\n";
fate();
}
if (ageNumber >= 50 && ageNumber < 100)
{
cout << "Didn't you read the age rating dumbass? Younger than 50...\n\n";
}
else if (ageNumber < 50 && ageNumber > 22)
{
setting2();
}
else if (ageNumber <= 22 && ageNumber >= 16)
{
setting2();
}
else if (ageNumber < 16 && ageNumber >= 0)
{
setting2();
}
else if (ageNumber >= 100)
{
cout << "More than a century old and you expect me to believe you got this far? Bullshit.";
}
else
{
cout << "Error - Invalid number\n\n\n\n\n\n";
cout << "what is your age again?\n\n";
cin >> ageNumber;
}
}
void assessment()
{
cout << "Now that the characteristics have been selected. Let's review what they are:\n\n";
cout << "Press any key to continue\n\n";
cin >> anykey;
cout << "You are a " << ageNumber << " year old " << gender << ". You are " << setting << endl << endl;
if (settingNumber == 1)
{
string setting = "home";
}
else if (settingNumber == 2)
{
string setting = "jail";
}
}
void setting2()
{
cout << "Alright and lastly pick your setting\n\n";
cout << "1. Home sweet home\n";
cout << "2. Vacation \n";
cout << "3. Jail\n\n";
cin >> settingNumber;
assessment();
}
=======================================================================================
Any help is appreciated ^^ Code on!

Answer 1

Output (thru ofstream-s like cout) is buffered in C++. You want
cout << flush;
or
cout << endl;
to ask the buffer to be flushed (endl manipulator also emits a new line but flush does not).
So code:
cout << "You are a " << ageNumber << " year old " << gender << flush;
or
cout << "You are a " << ageNumber << " year old " << gender << endl;
Also, your gender should be declared at a wider scope:
if (genderNumber == 1) {
string gender = "male";
}
should become (to refer to the global gender)
if (genderNumber == 1) {
gender = "male";
}
BTW, if you enabled all warnings with your compiler (e.g. compile with g++ -g -Wall -Wextra, if using GCC, e.g. on Linux) you should have been warned. And of course, you should use the debugger (e.g. gdb, at least on Linux) and step into your code with it.