soloburden's recent activity
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Comment on What makes an e-sport an e-sport? in ~games
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Comment on Recommendations for a new food processor in ~food
soloburden LinkIn Germany, anyone have a suggestion? The whole concept of food processors seems lost on Germans and Cuisinart doesn't sell a mixed voltage 14cup (~4 liter) food processor here. Their underpowered...In Germany, anyone have a suggestion?
The whole concept of food processors seems lost on Germans and Cuisinart doesn't sell a mixed voltage 14cup (~4 liter) food processor here. Their underpowered 3 liter (~8cup) overflows and is simply a bad product.
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Comment on How to discuss probability to/as devs and the community? in ~games
soloburden Link ParentYour ClapBearCheeks quest had me rethink some objectives and I'm grateful for your post. Pity systems worked great for matching design objectives (quests should take no longer than X) but allowing...Your ClapBearCheeks quest had me rethink some objectives and I'm grateful for your post. Pity systems worked great for matching design objectives (quests should take no longer than X) but allowing some randomness. They have also shown to work well for lootboxes (probably legally required at this point).
The high variance, low success chance problem doesn't appear to have any perfect solution. A pity system on top of a ClapBearCheeks quest a player may lose the ability to measure/perceive progress even if the max required kills is capped (by the pity) at exactly the same requirement (2000 in your case).
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How to discuss probability to/as devs and the community?
Consider A game system with a random success rate of 1% (a) (like a loot drop in an mmo) A game system with a random success rate of 1%, pity=100 (b) (pity in this context means the probability of...
Consider
- A game system with a random success rate of 1% (a) (like a loot drop in an mmo)
- A game system with a random success rate of 1%, pity=100 (b) (pity in this context means the probability of success is changed on your 100th successive failure to 100%)
How long would it take a player to earn an their success given 1 attempt/minute?
The answer for (a) is "infinity" which the community rarely accepts. It is possible (though unlikely) for someone to fail forever, they can. The answer for (b) at most 100 attempts (100 minutes).
Developers can describe (a) as the average player will succeed after a little over an hour (~69 attempts). However the 99th precentile takes about 7.5 hours... and the unlucky 1%? Longer. 1 hour and 7.5 hours aren't in the same ballpark.
Anyone have a solution to cut through the mathplexity? Decisions in their own game design or what they've seen others do? I simply have pities when the odds are worse than 1 in 5 or relegate (a) style probabilities to combat systems (non-reward).
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Comment on How do you feel about eBooks and eBook readers? in ~books
soloburden LinkI think we are in a transition period. I feel the readers will become open source as the existing readers (apple, amazon, etc) are tied to publisher rules which don't take into account the quick...I think we are in a transition period. I feel the readers will become open source as the existing readers (apple, amazon, etc) are tied to publisher rules which don't take into account the quick evolution of:
- text to text
- text to image
- text to audio
- text to video
- ai trained models abusing copyright
Shortly you will have the ability to annotate or download a community annotations with enough marketup to turn your ebook into another form. It may even create derivative fan fiction of an author like Terry Pratchett who left us too soon.
The industry wants to charge you each time the material is transformed. Large print for those with reading glasses, abridged, or editorialized were oldschool. Cease and desist is newer. The internet wants to tinker and see what can be made. And within many of our lifetimes you will be able to say/type: "Make chapter 2 into an manga styled after berserk."
Currently I use: epub format on an ipad.
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Comment on What are some noteworthy games that aren't available through traditional/common means? in ~games
soloburden LinkStarsector An early access game (for years) only available from a developers website with a store that screams scam. It absolutely isn't, and the the mod community and the developer have made this...Starsector
An early access game (for years) only available from a developers website with a store that screams scam. It absolutely isn't, and the the mod community and the developer have made this into one of the premier fleet management/4x (limited)/exploration space games you can find. Bonus it supports pc, mac and linux.
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Comment on What do you miss the most about the old internet? in ~tech
soloburden LinkView Source not showing minified/obfuscated code. There was an era where people learned by seeing what others did. Now it is more a "I got mine, pull the ladder up". Obviously there are enough...View Source not showing minified/obfuscated code.
There was an era where people learned by seeing what others did. Now it is more a "I got mine, pull the ladder up". Obviously there are enough teachers out there willing to teach but we are probably under a few years from outright drm built and the whole spirit of what originally existed will be gone.
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Comment on Thoughts on making Tildes groups more independent in ~tildes.official
soloburden LinkGroups to me are default subscribed tags editable on your groups/subscription page. ]all[(tags=all) (hidden but is your top page list of results) ]anime[(tags=anime) ]arts[(tags=arts) ... You...Groups to me are default subscribed tags editable on your groups/subscription page.
]all[(tags=all) (hidden but is your top page list of results)
]anime[(tags=anime)
]arts[(tags=arts)
...You can't solve the problem of what subscriptions (and their tags) should be in the future or for every user or use-case You can however build tools to allow the individual or community to work towards more solutions for more people.
I'd suggest the groups/subscription page become more or a tag management page.
- Custom subscriptions like "]de[(tags=de,all)"
- Tag specific moderation "The tag 'de' has been marked as language specific, threads with this tag hidden when this tag is not specifically used. See the language preference issue tracker
- Current 'tag' issues. The tag "reddit" has a limit under ~tech to the top 3 voted for the next 72 hours. See "downwithreddit" issue.
- Here are the most popular tags in the last 7/30 days
- Here are the most popular subscriptions, subscribe or modify to your preference
- Here are popular subscription playlists (think themed set groups you can hotswap)
I don't think any soothsayer can predict if finance.crypto, tech.crypto or crypto should be a group. And since it only matters for the 'default' experience I'm perfectly fine with the site admin just making a decision based a coinflip. I'd advocate search and subscriptions should accommodate all of these possibilities. Aka welcome to set theory/combinatorics and tag management.
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Comment on If you would like to add a feature to Tildes, what would you recommend? in ~tildes
soloburden LinkSimple mutable areas of posts. In effect you can have >text< which changes based on a third party webservice. Tildes provides the interface for markup and moderation. Users can find or create the...Simple mutable areas of posts.
In effect you can have >text< which changes based on a third party webservice. Tildes provides the interface for markup and moderation. Users can find or create the webservices.
Examples: (Severe) weather reports, election results, stock tickers, exchange rates, other live data (like current donations to a charity stream). Someone could make 'Zork' (where the current room is the text of the post).
You can also allow some of these APIs to be used on user specified locations (like a dashboard). The key would be text and perhaps iconography. Example: >cloudicon< 63F
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Comment on What was the last event that significantly improved your life? in ~talk
soloburden Link ParentI am in the bubble of places I have visited and it is always interesting to hear about other areas. Ex: San Francisco had a homeless encampment adjacent to City Hall. It was an open market for...I am in the bubble of places I have visited and it is always interesting to hear about other areas.
Ex: San Francisco had a homeless encampment adjacent to City Hall. It was an open market for bike parts, where you'd have seen hundreds of bikes in various states of disassembly and if you were willing the going rate was 20% of retail (what amazon.com listed) for parts.
People who lived there long enough just accepted this as the norm.
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Comment on What was the last event that significantly improved your life? in ~talk
soloburden LinkMoving from San Francisco to Germany. While I have nothing specificly wrong with the US nor my decades of living there, some aspects of adulting I would happily have given up if I had an option. I...Moving from San Francisco to Germany.
While I have nothing specificly wrong with the US nor my decades of living there, some aspects of adulting I would happily have given up if I had an option. I prefer no robocalls, bikes not being stolen (as freqently), tic tacs that aren't 0 calories/carbohardrates* (nutrition labels are per 100g not per serving here), insurance that insures ... it just seems the social contract is closer to "don't be a duck" vs "what can I get away with".
The move happened just prior to Corona so hearing from US friends the mask situation perhaps flavored my opinion.
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! in ~tildes
soloburden LinkI'm a reddit refugee but what I've seen most difficult to replace here given my limited time adventuring/exploring is: Are foreign languages supported? The toll on moderation is obviously...I'm a reddit refugee but what I've seen most difficult to replace here given my limited time adventuring/exploring is: Are foreign languages supported?
The toll on moderation is obviously difficult but I've seen success in areas involving language learning to geospecific subreddits organize themselves over time. I'm not sure tagging is a solution (unless certain tags aren't surfaced at tilda roots). Ex: ~ask.de
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Comment on What are some rookie mistakes you've made as a cook? in ~food
soloburden LinkHard Boiling Eggs. I put the eggs into boiling water vs starting with cold water and slowing bringing it to a boil. Some eggs were nice and only cracked, but others were mildly explosive. There...Hard Boiling Eggs.
I put the eggs into boiling water vs starting with cold water and slowing bringing it to a boil. Some eggs were nice and only cracked, but others were mildly explosive. There were recipes using the microwave that I learned to avoid. It is almost like people on the internet are secretly snickering in the corner knowing someone will attempt their 'Perfect Hard Boiled Egg Recipe'.
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Comment on How do you feel about the ongoing Reddit migration to Tildes? in ~tildes
soloburden LinkAs the audience grows (as I am a new member) I'm curious how subgroups/communities will diverge. You can have a community like r/de that isn't viewable in r/all that doesn't even write in the main...As the audience grows (as I am a new member) I'm curious how subgroups/communities will diverge. You can have a community like r/de that isn't viewable in r/all that doesn't even write in the main language of reddit, commmunities which have a political adjenda like r/antiwork, or support networks for people who shared specific life experiences.
I'm glad I found tildes. I'm waiting until cat pictures and dadjokes exist.
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Comment on What’s a genre or style you wish was explored more in games? in ~games
soloburden LinkTurn based strategy on a hex board. In my youth I played a game on the Turbo Graphics 16. Military Madness. You had a map with a hex grid. You have finite resources (tanks, planes, artilary,...Turn based strategy on a hex board.
In my youth I played a game on the Turbo Graphics 16. Military Madness. You had a map with a hex grid. You have finite resources (tanks, planes, artilary, troops) as does the AI. Your goal was simple, destroy everything or capture (with troops) specific locations. They eventually created a sequal Nectaris. There was strategy involved in your position, planning, etc but it was mostly about overcomming odds stacked against you.
Turn based strategy has morphed into 4x and Gacha with Into the Breach being the cloest at eliciting my feelings of nostalgia though it is a normal grid.
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Comment on What is the most recent game to really impress you? in ~games
soloburden LinkFor me there are two ways to answer this type of survey/question. Games that stand the test of time (diablo 2, darkest dungeon 1, slay the spire, risk of rain 2, dead cells, terraria). In effect...For me there are two ways to answer this type of survey/question.
Games that stand the test of time (diablo 2, darkest dungeon 1, slay the spire, risk of rain 2, dead cells, terraria). In effect they have systems that are deep and likely not to be fully explored in one playthrough. They are almost all games of full information without surprise mechanics beyond what is explicitely expected of the player. This feeling I have towards them can be lost when designs follow math formulas (aka diablo 4).
The other category are games that exceed my expectations in a surprising way. One example is "live service events", such as in Honkai Star Rail. Unfortunately it is a gacha game but it is also a game designed ontop of what was learned by the game studio with their other titles. Specifically the schedule of events and generally quality and diversity of events is top notch. Sure it is the game gambling built but like Fortnite it has a solid pace of events. Some are hits, some misses, but the sheer volume of attempts made is what I find facinating. For contrast, New World (a newish game), reuses events yearly almost unchanged... And for two companies in theory boht in the persuit of $ ... this difference is huge to me. Re-invest in your game if you call it a live service game.
tldr; Ignore me, I'm rambling.
How games become esports is different when you are talking about game companies or players.
Players want to group together and beat or compete. Honey, race me on Rainbow road to decide who has to do the dishes. If this was streamed online ... it would be an esport. Dinner Races. People compete locally, often mutating the rules to allow for the underdog to still compete. Because it is lonely at the top with long arse queue times. I'm surprised we don't have a way to have steam play chat roulet with owned multiplayer games. SteamUserBob, meat SteamUserJohanna, together: earn achievement X in Splatoon. You have 4 hours once started and must start within 12 hours, here is your chat window. There are 10 other squads, with the top place getting $steambucks.
But I digress. Simply put historically the business modivations around supporting Esports (or pre-esports) was seeing Esports as advertising.
Capcom sent Street Fighter 2 arcade cabinets to Milpitas, CA where a mini-golf outfit (Golfland) held tournaments. It was advertising, a lost leader. It likely broke even but the community spread this information across all of Silicon Valley. They perhaps even sold more arcade cabinets. But it was "community organized." People had to go pre-internet to a physical location, put a coin on a machine, to get their butts kicked.
Lan parties dominated the early university dorms of the late 90s. Quake, Unreal Tournament, Descent, player made maps, hacks, all for the ability to talk smack down the hall.
Comic book stores caught on with Magic the Gathering tournaments, all local, often making up arbitrary rules about how many packs you needed to buy for entry, their own system of trading. The rules of the game were not always clear and the tournament rules often even more unclear.
Then it changed. DOTA made a big company think (in my opinion): We are leaving money on the table. It wasn't enough for box sales of Warcraft 3. They were losing money when the korean people were hosting Starcraft 2 tournaments. Look at how much more money we'd make .... we invented these ips! We are the special ones. Absolutely warcraft was not a rip off of Warhammer and Starcraft the name of a recreational vehical parked outside. Let me finish my coffee at Point Diablo as I work on a game doc for Diablo.
But now we live in a Darkest Timeline where companies are afraid of user control and user contribution. It is a meme that people would draw Dicks with a shovel in Apple's Mythic Quest (but this is what they did with the Wii). Companies have to control everything to control the narrative.
The Olympic Esports may have failed based on their choice of games, but the reality is: No big company today will cede control of their IPs to allow money to exchange hands without them being in full legal control or have enough lawyer reviews for it to gain a blessing.
Imagine what Only UP would look like using Overwatch assets and skills. It wouldn't have been enough to be on the front page and be relevant due to a non-corpos contribution. They wouldn't have been happy with a 30% cut. They want it all.
Good luck getting people who aged out of competitiveness to want to care about a game when you don't allow those exact people to reimagine and reinvent what they loved.