Dowding: Man behind 'The Few' | Great British Battle Commanders
3
votes
Tum's recent activity
-
-
Comment on PC players must now install BattlEye anticheat to play GTA Online. Steam Deck and Linux users are locked out. in ~games
-
Comment on When Ukraine gets the F-16: What will happen? in ~misc
Tum Link ParentYes, this is a discussion on how they might be used and the competing defence priorities on that use.Yes, this is a discussion on how they might be used and the competing defence priorities on that use.
-
Comment on When Ukraine gets the F-16: What will happen? in ~misc
Tum LinkA reasonably nerdy talk about the implications of giving fighters to UkraineA reasonably nerdy talk about the implications of giving fighters to Ukraine
-
When Ukraine gets the F-16: What will happen?
15 votes -
Comment on Activision and Call of Duty have published a paper detailing skill based matchmaking and how its presence or absence affects enjoyment of games in ~games
Tum Link ParentYeah, Call of Duty has pretty bad slippery slope mechanics that reward good players with power-ups etc for consecutive kills. That doesn't surprise me lol.Yeah, Call of Duty has pretty bad slippery slope mechanics that reward good players with power-ups etc for consecutive kills. That doesn't surprise me lol.
-
Comment on Activision and Call of Duty have published a paper detailing skill based matchmaking and how its presence or absence affects enjoyment of games in ~games
Tum Link ParentInteresting, do you mind sharing which game this happens to you in?Interesting, do you mind sharing which game this happens to you in?
-
Comment on Activision and Call of Duty have published a paper detailing skill based matchmaking and how its presence or absence affects enjoyment of games in ~games
Tum Link ParentI think this graph is useful to visualise the system, and at lower levels perhaps the random/volatile element you're talking about has a broader, smoothing statistical effect. But, as a...I think this graph is useful to visualise the system, and at lower levels perhaps the random/volatile element you're talking about has a broader, smoothing statistical effect.
But, as a counter-point, your argument referring to inconsistent skill gaps seems to be the same argument for having such a system in the first place. The point of the system is to narrow the skill gap, and if there are improvements that can reduce variability/lower skill gaps at lower levels then I'd consider that an improvement as well.
-
Comment on Activision and Call of Duty have published a paper detailing skill based matchmaking and how its presence or absence affects enjoyment of games in ~games
Tum Link ParentThat you feel like you're being 'punished' for your ELO increasing with your skill seems strange. Why do you think you deserve to be placed with 'lower ranked' players relative to your own skill?...That you feel like you're being 'punished' for your ELO increasing with your skill seems strange. Why do you think you deserve to be placed with 'lower ranked' players relative to your own skill? This seems to highlight that you feel the meta-game is as important as the basic mechanics, and if that's so maybe you should feel a higher rank is something to aspire to?
-
Google dropping plan to remove ad-tracking cookies on Chrome
22 votes -
Comment on It's starting to look a lot like... Y2K in ~tech
Tum LinkAh yes, null pointer strikes again. Maybe this will mean increased interest in Rust and ebpf?Ah yes, null pointer strikes again. Maybe this will mean increased interest in Rust and ebpf?
-
Comment on Linux gaming and the Steam Summer Sale: What are your favorites? in ~games
Tum Link ParentI get a little overwhelmed with Dwarf Fortress. I love reading about it or watching someone who knows what they're doing build a fortress and follow the intricate stories being lived by their...I get a little overwhelmed with Dwarf Fortress. I love reading about it or watching someone who knows what they're doing build a fortress and follow the intricate stories being lived by their inhabitants... the only problem is I struggle to get to the level where I can become immersed in the social stories of my dwarfs.
If anyone has a resource or guide to make this game a little less daunting to begin with I'd love to know!
-
Comment on Spain has more green power than it can use in ~enviro
Tum Link ParentOr maybe they should expand the power transmission grid to countries without as much renewable energy (or have dams that can be filled).Or maybe they should expand the power transmission grid to countries without as much renewable energy (or have dams that can be filled).
-
Comment on French power slumps as surging renewables push out atomic plants in ~enviro
Tum Link ParentI'm also confused about why they'd choose to shut off reactors as the economics of nuclear power plants is largely the time to build and associated capital costs, not the operating costs. You have...I'm also confused about why they'd choose to shut off reactors as the economics of nuclear power plants is largely the time to build and associated capital costs, not the operating costs. You have to pay interest rates regardless of if you run the reactor or not.
Isn't the answer to renewable variability batteries:
- Lithium ion for grid stabalisation/energy dense applications
- Flow/hydro batteries to flatten the daily energy curve
- Hydro batteries for long term fluctuations
The problem is if these fluctuations are too large and you have no baseload to compensate you get over/under supply.
edit: why aren't they using the transmission grid to move energy to countries who are using more expensive fossil fuels than shutting down nuclear power plants?
-
Comment on The world’s most annoying man: Steven Pinker in ~humanities
Tum (edited )LinkI think this is Pinker's core argument. The idea is that social markets, trade and technological/medical progress are making life better for everyone and it's these trends which drive humanity...Pinker’s broad thesis is that, aside from a few unfortunate statistical blips like the Second World War and the rapid acceleration of climate change, for the most part life on Earth has been getting better all the time. Usually, he qualifies this by saying that Of Course There Are Still Terrible Problems and he’s Not Saying This Is The Best We Can Possibly Do
I think this is Pinker's core argument. The idea is that social markets, trade and technological/medical progress are making life better for everyone and it's these trends which drive humanity forward. Yes, you can have bad or good policies, but as long as these underlying trends continue we can expect life to get better. The risks are that good or bad policies could disrupt/improve this.
I feel the counter-argument people make is that he is saying everything is just peachy and if we just get out of the way everything will continue to get better. This clearly isn't the case. But if we apply rationality to the improvements we make hopefully we can positively augment these underlying trends.
-
Comment on Ukrainians contemplate the once unthinkable: Losing the war with Russia in ~society
Tum Link ParentIf you only care about Ukraine having the equipment to defend itself then what really matters in this case is having the weapons and ammunition to hold out long enough for industrial capacity to...If you only care about Ukraine having the equipment to defend itself then what really matters in this case is having the weapons and ammunition to hold out long enough for industrial capacity to increase to the amount required for that defence. This isn't a request for unlimited support into the indefinite future, it's a request to bridge the gap until Europe has that capacity. This is Europe's hour of need, and it's not simply money that is needed.
-
Comment on Ukrainians contemplate the once unthinkable: Losing the war with Russia in ~society
Tum Link ParentThe problem at the moment doesn't seem to be money, it's specific weapons and ammunition. Europe is giving Ukraine just about everything that isn't required for the bare minimum to defend...The problem at the moment doesn't seem to be money, it's specific weapons and ammunition. Europe is giving Ukraine just about everything that isn't required for the bare minimum to defend themselves. Germany is giving most of their air defence, many air forces are giving F16's and Gripens and they're so desperate for artillery shells that they're starting a fund to collectively buy it from abroad.
At the moment they've reached the limit of their existing stockpiles and production capacity. Areas where they can scale up production is in modifying old weapons with cheap technology like drones and glide bombs, but this takes time and innovation.
-
Comment on Fortress Europe isn’t working – Europe needs a workable migration strategy. Instead it’s attacking asylum seekers to placate the right. in ~society
Tum LinkHere is the press release from the European Commission if you're interested. Also note that Europe plans to work with countries of origin to prevent smugglers from sending people to begin with....Here is the press release from the European Commission if you're interested. Also note that Europe plans to work with countries of origin to prevent smugglers from sending people to begin with. This isn't just about dangerous boat crossings.
-
Comment on German state ditches Microsoft for Linux and LibreOffice in ~tech
Tum (edited )LinkNot entirely true. If you're making a commercial agreement the parties are bound by contract (or statute, if you legislate). I think the main benefit of open source is the ability to customise it...As The Document Foundation, the organization backing LibreOffice, put it, "The term digital sovereignty is very important here. If a public administration uses proprietary, closed software that can't be studied or modified, it is very difficult to know what happens to users' data."
Not entirely true. If you're making a commercial agreement the parties are bound by contract (or statute, if you legislate). I think the main benefit of open source is the ability to customise it to your needs should you ever need to without having to make another commercial agreement. This is basically what copy-left contracts are doing: ensuring that - no matter what - you have the right to read and modify the code.
edit: to be clear, I'm not saying either open source or proprietary source are better in all situations. When you buy software you're paying for someone else's development (which, if they have a lot of customers, can be considerable). If you're open source you either developing/extending it yourself or pay a vendor (like RedHat) to do it on your behalf.
-
Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
Tum Link ParentMaybe Borderlands 2 or Borderlands 3?Maybe Borderlands 2 or Borderlands 3?
That this problem still exists blows my mind. Anti-cheat seems to be the perfect fit for eBPF, which Windows and Linux now both support. Maybe this is coming and all it takes is more steam deck sales?