A few days late, but with July now over we've got another round of updates for you all! This includes an overview of all the new changes to existing games, some future goals, and new information regarding Animal Crossing: New Leaf :D

https://pretendo.network/blog/8-2-24

Note: We know that we have released monthly progress update posts twice in a row now, but to be clear this may not consistently happen. Much of our work is research related, deals with internal tooling, making updates/improvements to our helper libraries, etc. These updates are not always necessarily interesting enough to make it into blog posts, so there may be periods where we do not publish any. However if you'd like to see these smaller things featured in blog posts, we may begin to include them

i still strongly believe that the default mode for any competitive multiplayer game should not rely on competitive matchmaking at all

the most obvious negative consequence is that this means every single game has to be treated with the same set of rules and fair play requirements -- and since it's impossible to moderate tens of thousands of matches at the same time, that means harsh algorithms and client-side cheat detection that compromises your system's security or fails on linux or causes other issues

whereas in the real world, an overwhelming majority of matches are casual. nobody brings in a league-licensed referee and does a doping test before organizing a workplace soccer game. there aren't cameras and faraday cages to prevent cheating at every chessboard in the local park.

now also consider that most ranked systems work based on either the Elo algorithm or one of its variants. these algorithms start off by placing the player into the middle-skill category and then down- or up-ranking them as they win or lose. these were intended to compare skilled professional players, and when you put them into a multiplayer environment, you basically break the system, because now the middle-skill area now has a constant influx of newbies amid actual mid-level players. then the system delivers those newbies a gut-wrenching series of losses just because they were initially placed beyond their skill level. (even worse, as said series of losses goes on, they usually stop being matched with other newbies and start competing against more skilled low-to-mid-tier players, leading to further losses!)

do ranked matches have a place in gaming? of course. especially since now every game wants to have a high-level e-sports competition. but these should not be the default way in which one plays online matches. the default mode should be based on dedicated servers and perhaps friend lists, matching the way we play games in the real world. then, once the player feels skilled enough to play ranked, they can join the ranked mode and fight through the leagues for their e-sports glory.

Isotope analysis reveals men and women had equal access to resources 6,000 years ago

A study analyzed human remains from the Barmaz necropolis. This Middle Neolithic site, located in Collombey-Muraz, dates back to between 4500 and 3800 BCE.

This analysis revealed that both local and non-local individuals, regardless of gender, had equal access to food resources...

More information: https://archaeologymag.com/2024/06/men-and-women-had-equal-access-to-resources/

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#archaeology #barmaz #middleneolithic #neolithic