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Leadership in Product Development and IT Services: Insights from Sarat Chandra Routhu

Desarrollo de Productos ukat Servicios IT ukan irpirinaka: Sarat Chandra Routhu ukan amuyunaka

Liderstvo u razvoju proizvoda i IT uslugama: Uvidi Sarata Chandre Routhua

Liderazgo en desarrollo de productos y servicios de TI: perspectivas de Sarat Chandra Routhu

رهبری در توسعه محصول و خدمات فناوری اطلاعات: بینش سارات چاندرا روتو

Vezető szerep a termékfejlesztésben és az informatikai szolgáltatásokban: Sarat Chandra Routhu betekintése

Leadership nello sviluppo di prodotti e servizi IT: approfondimenti di Sarat Chandra Routhu

製品開発と IT サービスにおけるリーダーシップ: Sarat Chandra Routhu の洞察

Rurukuna wiñachiypi chaymanta IT Serviciokunapi umalliy: Sarat Chandra Routhumanta hamut'aykuna

Лидерство в разработке продуктов и ИТ-услугах: идеи Сарата Чандры Руту

ความเป็นผู้นำด้านการพัฒนาผลิตภัณฑ์และบริการไอที: ข้อมูลเชิงลึกจาก Sarat Chandra Routhu

Mahsulotni ishlab chiqish va IT xizmatlarida etakchilik: Sarat Chandra Routhudan tushunchalar

Ubuholi Ekuthuthukisweni Komkhiqizo kanye Nezinsizakalo Ze-IT: Imibono evela ku-Sarat Chandra Routhu

Scientific American, Vol. XXXVII.—No. 2. [New Series.], July 14, 1877 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . SETTING LOCOMOTIVE SLIDE VALVES. here SETTING LOCOMOTIVE SLIDE VALVES. BY JOSHUA ROSE. E. G. asks: "How can I set the slide valves of a locomotive when she is on the road?" J. H. S. asks: "What is the method of setting locomotive slide valves from marks on the slide spindle?" And F. O. asks: "How are the valves of inside cylinder locomotives set, since the back ports are out of sight and you cannot measure the lead?" Our correspondent will find these questions answered in full below. It is presumed that the lengths of the eccentric rod, reverse rod, and other parts are correct, and they are properly connected and oiled so as to be in working order. The first thing to do is to place the reverse lever in the forward full-gear notch of the quadrants, or sectors, as they are sometimes called. The next procedure is to place the crank on its forward dead center as near as can be ascertained by the eye, and loosening the set screw of the forward eccentric, that is to say, the eccentric which connects with the upper end of the link, move that eccentric round on the shaft until the valve leaves the port at the front end of the cylinder open to the amount of whatever lead it is desired to give the valve. In moving the eccentric round on the shaft, it is necessary to move it in the direction in which it will turn when in operation. This is done in order to take up any lost motion there may be in the eccentric straps, in the eccentric rod eyebolts, or other working parts or joints between the eccentric and the slide valve rod or spindle. If the eccentric was turned backward instead of forward, all the lost motion would operate to vitiate the set of the valve, because, when the eccentric begins to move, its motion will have no effect in moving the slide valve spindle, until all the lost motion in the various parts is taken up by the eccentric movement. In considering this part of the operation, we must bear in mind that, to set the valve, we must move the wheels of the engine, it being impracticable to move the piston itself. Now, in moving the wheels, we are confronted with the fact that the crank pin is pulling the connecting rod; hence, if there is any lost motion in the brasses at either end of the connecting rod, the piston will not be at the end of its stroke when the crank is on its dead center. Suppose, for instance, that we have moved the driving wheel forward until the crank stands upright at a right angle to the bore of the cylinder, the resistance to motion of the piston and crosshead has caused the crank pin to bed against the half-brass nearest to the cylinder, all the play or lost motion is then between the other half-brass and the crank pin. When, however, the engine is at work and the piston is driving the crank pin, instead of being driven by it, the lost motion will exist between the crank pin and the half-brass nearest to the cylinder, and the contact will exist between the crank pin and the other brass. The difference in the position of the piston, caused by this lost motion, may be ascertained by moving the piston back and forth until the crank pin contacts with first one and then the other half-brass. It is sometimes attempted to remedy the defect due to this lost motion by moving the crank pin past the dead center and then moving it back to the dead center, so that while on that center the play or lost motion in the connecting rod is taken up. This is all very well so far as the connecting rod and piston is concerned, and will cause them both to stand on their respective dead centers with the lost motion taken up; but, in moving the wheel back to the dead center, we have given full liberty to all the lost motion in the various parts of the valve motion or gear, as already explained, in reference to moving the eccentric upon the shaft. As there are so many more parts in the valve gear, in which lost motion may occur, it is manifestly preferable to take up that play by moving the driving wheel in a continuous direction, rather than to move the latter back to accommodate any play there may be in the connecting rod. The crank being placed by the eye upon its forward dead center, and the eccentric connected to the top of the link being moved round on the axle (in the direction in which the wheels will run when the engine is going forward) until the steam port at the front end of the cylinder is open to the amount of the lead, we fasten the eccentric to hold in that position. We then throw the reverse lever over into the last notch at the other end of the sector, lifting the link up so that the eccentric connected to the lower end of the link may be approximately adjusted, which is done by moving the eccentric round upon the axle (in the direction in which the axle will revolve when the engine is running backward) until the crank stands upon the same dead center, and the front port is open to the amount of the lead. This being done, we have the eccentrics approximately adjusted and may proceed to the final adjustment, in which the first thing to do is to find the exact dead centers of the crank. It is obvious that a line drawn through the center of the crank pin and the center of the wheel axle, will stand horizontally true and level when the crank is on either of the dead centers, but the presence of the crank pin makes it impracticable to draw such a line. We can therefore draw one which will be parallel to those centers; and to do this we draw a circle upon the end of the wheel axle (and from its center) of the same diameter as that of the crank pin, and then resting a straight-edge upon the bearing of the crank pin (taking care to avoid the round corner upon the pin, if there is one), we place the other end of the straight-edge even with the top of the circle drawn upon the axle; and then, using the straight-edge as a guide, we draw a line across the end of the axle and the wheel face. When this line is level the crank will be upon its dead center. This plan is sometimes employed, but is not a very accurate one, because the length of the line is very short as compared to the circumference of the driving wheel; hence, an error of the thickness of the line becomes one equal to several thicknesses of the line when carried out to the wheel circumference. Furthermore, if the line of the cylinder does not stand horizontally level, as is sometimes the case, the result of the whole proceeding will be inaccurate. Again, the connecting rod end and the coupling rod is in the way, rendering it awkward to both draw and level the line. A better and more accurate method to find the dead centers is as follows: Place the reverse lever into the end notch of the sector at the forward end, and then move the driving wheel forward until the guide block is within about a quarter of an inch of the end of its travel, then place a straight-edge against the end of the guide block, and draw, on the outside face of the guide bar, a line even with the end of the guide block. Bend a piece of wire (pointed at both ends) to a right angle, make a center punch mark either in the rail, under the driving wheel, or in some stationary, solid part contiguous to the wheel, or at such distance from it that when one end of the bent wire is placed in the center punch mark, the operator with the other end will be able to draw a line across the rim of the driving wheel. Here, however, arises another consideration, that it is better to set the valves with the wheel axle in its proper position in the pedestal shoes, and in order to do this the wheel should rest upon the rail with its proper proportion of the weight of the engine resting upon it. The springs will then be deflected to their proper amount, and the axle box will have passed its proper distance up the pedestals. It is obvious that if the engine is blocked up so that the driving wheels clear the rails (which is done in order to avoid having the weight of the engine to move while setting the valve), the axle boxes will drop in the pedestal and the valve will be set incorrectly, as the wheels are in a wrong position. To avoid this, and at the same time to avoid having to move the whole engine while setting the valve, the engine is blocked up from the rails, and the axle boxes of the driving wheels are wedged up so as to be lifted up into their proper position. In this case there is no very accurate means of ascertaining what is the exact proper height, save it be by first marking upon the outside faces of the shoes or pedestal a line even with the top of the axle box when the load is upon the wheels, and then, after blocking up the engine from the rails, wedging up the axle boxes till the face again comes even with the line. Whatever plan is pursued, one end of the piece of wire is rested in the fixed center punch mark, and with the other a line is drawn across the outside face of the wheel rim. The driving wheel is then revolved forward until the guide block returns, having passed to the end of its travel. When its end again stands exactly even with the mark made upon the guide bar, the piece of wire is again brought into requisition, one end being rested in the fixed center punch mark as before, and with the other end another line is drawn across the outside rim of the wheel. It is obvious that by taking a pair of compasses and finding a point exactly equidistant between the two lines thus marked upon the wheel rim, and then marking that point with a center punch mark, the crank will be upon its exact dead center, when one end of the piece of bent wire rests in the fixed center punch mark, the other end rests in the center punch mark upon the wheel rim. To find the other dead center, the wheel must be moved about halfway round and the process repeated with the motion block at the other end of the guide bars. Thus, whenever the piece of wire will stand with one end resting in the fixed center punch mark and the other end in either of the center punch marks upon the wheel run, the crank is upon a dead center. Having thus placed the crank upon either dead center, we measure the valve lead, and if in temporarily fixing our eccentrics we gave it too much lead, we mark where it stands upon the shaft by means of a line drawn on the axle and carried up on the side face of the eccentric; then move the eccentric back some little distance more than is necessary to make the adjustment, and then move it forward again a little at a time, noting when the valve has the proper amount of lead, and thus fasten the eccentric upon the axle by means of the set screw. The object of moving the eccentric too far back and then moving it forward is to make the adjustment so that the latter may be made with the lost motion of the valve gear all taken up. The next proceeding is to move the driving wheel halfway round and try the lead at that end of the stroke. If the lead at the two ends is not equal, it shows that either the slide valve spindle or the eccentric rods are not of the proper length and must be rectified; this being done, the crank must be again placed upon first one and then the other dead center, the valve lead being measured at each end. When the lead is equal at each end, the rods are of correct length, and the amount of the lead must be regulated by moving the eccentrics as already directed. If the link block does not come opposite the end of the eccentric rod when the reverse lever is in the end notch of the sector, the length of the reverse rod is wrong and should be corrected. If the link block comes right, under the above conditions, for the forward but not for the backward eccentric rod, the notches in the sector are not cut in their proper positions, or the link hanger is not of the proper length. In either case the error may be remedied by altering the length of the latter. But, as doing this would alter the amount of the valve lead, it is well, if there is any prospect of such errors, to correct them before setting the valves. Instead of measuring the lead of the valve with a rule, or by a wedge, the following plan is very often adopted: After the valve and spindle are in position, the valve is placed with the proper amount of lead upon the front port. A center punch mark is then made upon the face of the steam chest. A piece of quarter inch iron wire is then bent at right angles and each end filed to a point. One end of this wire is placed in the fixed center punch mark in the steam chest, and with the other a mark is made upon the slide spindle. Upon this latter mark a center punch mark is also made sufficiently deep to be very plainly visible when the burr raised by center punching is filed off, which is necessary to prevent this burr from cutting the packing. It follows that whenever the bent piece of wire will rest with one end in the center punch mark in the steam chest, and the other end in the center punch mark in the slide spindle, the valve is in its proper position when the crank is on the corresponding dead center. This plan is a very old one and possesses the advantage that the valve may be set without seeing it, that is to say, with the steam chest cover on. If the length of the piece of wire measured direct from point to point is known, the valve may be set when the engine is upon the road without taking off the steam chest cover. The center punch mark upon the steam chest should, however, always be placed in about the same spot, so as to avoid mistakes in case of there being other similar marks upon the chest. It should always be made deep, so as not to get filled up with paint and be difficult to find. In course of time the mark upon the slide valve spindle is apt to disappear from the wear of the spindle, hence the center punch with which it is made should have a long conical point. To mark the position of the eccentric upon the axle, it is an excellent plan, after the eccentrics are finally adjusted, to take a chisel with the cutting end ground to the form of a fiddle drill, one cutting edge being at a right angle to the other. The chisel must be held so that while one edge rests upon the axle, the other edge will bear against the radial face of the eccentric. A sharp blow with a hammer upon the chisel-head will make a clean indented cut upon the axle and the eccentric, the two cuts exactly meeting at their junction and denoting the position of the eccentrics. In setting the valves of inside cylinder locomotives, the back ports being out of sight, the amount of lead is ascertained by making a wooden wedge about three inches long, a thirty-second of an inch thick at one end and three eighths of an inch thick at the other end. The faces of this wedge are chalked, and the lead is measured by inserting it between the edge of the valve and the edge of the port until its thickness just fills the space, and then moving it edgeways so that the valve and port edges will just mark it. By measuring the thickness of the wedge at the mark, the amount of lead is ascertained. After the valves are set, it is still desirable to mark the position by center punch marks upon the outside of the steam chests and upon the valve spindles, as already described. If an eccentric should slip when the engine is upon the road, and there are no marks whereby to readjust them, it may be done approximately as follows: Put the reverse lever in the end notch of the forward gear, then place the crank as nearly on a dead center as the eye will direct, and open both the cylinder cocks, then disconnect the slide valve spindle from the rocker arm, and move the valve spindle until the opening of the port corresponding to the dead center on which the crank stands will be shown by steam blowing through the cylinder cock, the throttle valve being opened a trifle. The position of the valve being thus determined, the eccentric must be moved upon the shaft until the valve spindle will connect with the rocker arm without being moved at all. The throttle valve should be very slightly opened, otherwise so much steam will be admitted into the cylinder that it will pass through any leak in the piston and blow through both cylinder cocks before there is time to ascertain which cock gives first exit to the steam. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2012). Scientific American, Vol. XXXVII. —No. 2. [New Series.], July 14, 1877. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/38481/pg38481-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

SETTING LOCOMOTIVE SLIDE VALVES

Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX. No. 6. [New Series.], August 10, 1878, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . NEW STEAM VALVE. here NEW STEAM VALVE. The improved valve shown partly in section in the engraving is designed for removing the water of condensation from steam pipes, so that dry steam may be furnished. In the engraving, the globe valve, A, is of the usual form, except that the casing below the valve seat is enlarged, forming a pocket, B, which communicates through an aperture at the bottom with a small valve, C. The steam, in passing through the valve, fills the pocket and there deposits any water that may have condensed from the steam in its passage through the steam pipe. The increased depth of the lower portion of the valve prevents siphoning, which takes place in valves of the ordinary form. The valve, C, is kept slightly open to discharge the water at the moment it collects in the pocket; the water is thus prevented from passing onward to the engine or other point of use. This valve affords a ready means of supplying dry steam to sulphuric acid chambers. We are informed that by its use a chamber in ordinary working order will produce acid 3° to 5° Baumé stronger than can be obtained with ordinary globe valves. Thirty steam pipes, arranged at different points, are found to deliver into a chamber in the space of five minutes from 4 to 16 ounces of condense water (according to the circumstances of distance, temperature of the air, size of pipe, etc.). These valves, being placed close to the chamber separating all the condense water, deliver with certainty uniformly dry steam, without the inconvenience of ordinary steam traps or other expensive appliances. This valve was patented through the Scientific American Patent Agency, May 21, 1878. For further particulars address Mr. Joseph Saunders, 975 Third avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. A Hint from the Mormons. Ex-Governor Hendricks, in a recent industrial address, alluded to the highly prosperous condition of the Mormons as existing previous to the influx of the Gentiles into Utah, saying that "to the fact that they produced all they consumed I attribute their wonderful prosperity." This remark, associated with the prosperity of other communities in different parts of the country, would suggest the query of "Why the principle cannot be more largely applied to the whole nation?" Certainly the resources of the whole country would indicate a much greater diversity of production, and if there was the same regard for a uniform building up of our industrial system there would seem to be need of but little importation, certainly of goods which can be readily made, and which our people need the labor to produce. New Agricultural Inventions. Joseph George, of Springfield, Greene Co., Mo., has patented an improved form of Cultivator or Shovel Plow, designed to be convertible into either a single, double, or triple shovel plow as occasion may require. It consists in two detachable clamping plates, which hold the plow beams, and their arrangement with respect to the said beams and the handles of the plow, whereby a single bolt is made to secure the forward ends of the handles and clamp the plates to hold the plow beams in place. Russel O. Bean, of Macedonia, Miss., is the inventor of an improved Seed Planter for planting cotton and other seeds, and for distributing fertilizers. The details of the construction of this planter cannot be explained without engravings. Rutus Sarlls and Alexander Kelman, of Navasota, Texas, have invented an improved combined Planter, Cultivator, and Cotton Chopper, which may be readily adjusted for use in planting seed, cultivating plants, and chopping cotton to a stand, and is effective and reliable in operation in either capacity. William H. Akens, of Penn Line, Pa., is the inventor of an improved Dropper, for attachment to the finger bar of a reaper, to receive the grain and deliver it in gavels at the side of the machine, so as to be out of the way when making the next round. It is so constructed that when attached to the finger bar of a mower it will convert it into a harvester. James Goodheart, of Matawan, N. J., has devised an improved machine for Distributing Poison upon potato plants to destroy the potato bug. It may also be used for sowing seeds. William V. McConnell and Charles M. Dickerson, of Crockett, Texas, have invented an improved Fruit Picker, having cup-shaped self-opening spring jaws attached to its handle, and operated by a cord to close upon and clamp the fruit. It also has a hollow extensible adjustable handle and a fruit receiver. Quick Work. Two years ago a farmer-miller and his wife, at Carrolton, Mo., furnished some invited guests with bread baked in eight and a quarter minutes from the time the wheat was standing in the field. This year it was determined to make still better time. Accordingly elaborate preparations were made to reap, thrash, grind, and bake the grain with the least possible loss of time. In 1 minute 15 seconds the wheat, about a peck, was cut and thrashed, and put on the back of a swift horse to be carried to the mill, 16 rods away. In 2 minutes 17 seconds the flour was delivered to Mrs. Lawton, and in 3m. 55s. from the starting of the reaper the first griddle cake was done. In 4 minutes 37 seconds from the starting of the reaper, a pan of biscuits was delivered to the assembled guests. After that, according to the Carrolton , other pans of delicious "one minute" biscuits were baked more at leisure, and eagerly devoured, with the usual accompaniment of boiled ham and speech making. Democrat About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2013). Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX. No. 6. [New Series.], August 10, 1878. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19406/pg19406-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

NEW STEAM VALVE

Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . IMPROVED SAFETY VALVE. here IMPROVED SAFETY VALVE. In the annexed cut we have represented a steam safety valve, which is the invention of M. Schmidt, M. E., of Zurich, Switzerland. It consists of a lever terminating in two prongs, one of which extends downward and rests upon the cap, closing the top of the tube through which the steam escapes. The other prong extends upward and catches under a projection of the steam tube, and forms the fulcrum for the lever. The opposite end of this lever is provided with an adjustable screw pressing upon a plate that rests on the top of a spiral spring, which keeps the valve closed by pressing the outer end of the lever upward. As soon as the pressure of the steam overcomes the pressure of the spiral spring the valve will be raised, permitting the steam to escape. The apparatus is contained in a case having a central aperture for the escape of steam. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2007). Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/21081/pg21081-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

IMPROVED SAFETY VALVE

Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . AUTOMATIC BALANCE ATTACHMENT FOR VALVES. here AUTOMATIC BALANCE ATTACHMENT FOR VALVES. It is well known that in all air compressors and water pumps the pressure in cylinder of air compressors or in working barrel or cylinder of pumps is much greater at the point of opening the delivery valves than the actual pressure in the air receivers of compressors or in water column of pumps because of the difference in area between the top and bottom of delivery valves. In some air compressors a hundred and twenty-five pounds pressure to the square inch is required in the cylinder to eighty pounds in the receiver, and in some instances a hundred pounds pressure is required in the cylinder to eighty pounds pressure in the receiver or column. The engraving shows an invention designed to remedy this defect in air compressors and pumps, to provide a device which will enable the compressors and pumps to operate with equal pressure on both sides of the delivery valve. The invention consists of an auxiliary valve arranged outside of the cylinder, where it is not subjected to back pressure, and connected with the delivery valve by a hollow valve stem. In the engraving, which is a sectional view, the cylinder of an air compressor is represented, on the end of which there is a ring containing delivery ports, through which the air from the cylinder is forced into a receiver or conducting pipe. This ring is provided with an inner flange or valve seat on which rests the delivery valve. These parts are similar to those seen in some of the air compressors in common use, and with this construction and arrangement one hundred pounds pressure to the square inch in the cylinder is required to open the valve against eighty pounds pressure in the receiver or in the conducting pipes. A drum having an open end is connected with the cylinder head by inclined standards, and contains a piston connected with the valve by means of a rod that extends centrally through the cylinder head. On the outer end of this rod is screwed an adjusting nut, by means of which the piston may be adjusted. This rod is bored longitudinally, establishing communication between the compressor cylinder and the drum containing the piston. It will be seen that the upper face of the piston is exposed so as to be subjected to atmospheric pressure only, and when the compressor is in operation a portion of the air in the compressor cylinder passes through the hollow rod into the space beneath the piston, and there exerts sufficient pressure, in combination with the pressure on the inner face of the valve, to open the valve against an equal pressure in the receiver or conducting pipes, so that when the pressure in the cylinder equals the pressure in the receivers the valve is opened and held in place until the piston in the cylinder starts on the return stroke, when the pressure under the piston is immediately relieved through the hollow rod and the main valve closes. The space between the valve and its seat is made as shallow as possible, so that the space may be quickly filled and exhausted. The piston may be adjusted to regulate this space. This invention was recently patented by Messrs. Samuel B. Connor and Henry Dods, of Virginia City, Nevada. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2007). Scientific American, Volume XLIII., No. 25, December 18, 1880. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/21081/pg21081-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

AUTOMATIC BALANCE ATTACHMENT FOR VALVES

A HORIZONTAL SLIDE-VALVE ENGINE.

You can’t have missed all the bad press NFT and blockchain has been getting of late. And while mainstream media and FUD is normal and entirely keeping in line with how crypto is initially viewed in various shades of misunderstanding, those in the industry shouldn’t dismiss this as “expected behaviour”. This is because most of the criticism has come directly from the heart of many gaming communities -- straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. I’ve written about the bungled NFT attempts of Ubisoft and others and when Steam firmly opted to from its platform, the move was roundly welcomed and applauded by gamers themselves. The only ones left irked, understandably, were the blockchain developers themselves, supported in loud protests only by crypto buyers and NFT speculators themselves. ban all NFT and blockchain games So when Valve co-founder Gabe Newell fielded media questions about NFTs during his press tour for his company’s new Steam Deck software this month, it should have come as little surprise for him to back the decision. As reported by Eurogamer, Newell : said "The things that were being done were super sketchy. And there was some illegal shit that was going on behind the scenes, and you're just like, yeah, this is bad. Blockchains as a technology are a great technology, that the ways in which has been utilised are currently are all pretty sketchy. And you sort of want to stay away from that.” Blockchain thrives when listening to the critics As a supporter of blockchain gaming and NFT development, I hope that developers everywhere sit up and take note of his comments. For sure, his words aren’t actually explicitly pointing out what exactly was “pretty sketchy” about the implementation of blockchain elements in gaming, but if you’re truly active in the industry or have yourself played any of the blockchain games out there and participated in the token economy, either by trading NFTs or minting them in games, then you know he’s right. a. Blockchain games have little playability Blockchain games in the “Play to Earn” or P2E sector are especially guilty of this. As I wrote in a previous , it’s hard to imagine a single P2E title that would ever win a gaming award or to ever make it into a gamer’s cherished list of all-time greats. They don’t introduce new ways to play, they are hardly original, they simply don’t engage and enthral the way games are supposed to. post The only incentive, it seems, for anyone to ever pick up the game to play, would be to try and earn some income from it. b. NFT games are pay-to-win Never mind that most blockchain games require a huge initial investment just to gain access, typically through the enforced purchase of NFTs to start the game. We’re talking about hundreds of dollars just to be able to play the game. But when you center an economy around token scarcity, demand, and supply, then you attract all kinds of market manipulation from crypto speculators. c. They are too many bad actors Newell said there was too much fraud and bad actors -- and that’s not just words. Valve experiences found half of crypto-related purchases to be fraudulent. And all we need to do as blockchain users is look up every legitimate token there is to find at least one attempted copycat or scam tryiing to fool people into buying your token. We also can’t ignore that the reasons are interlinked -- most P2E games aren’t even playable simply because they’re just copycat code to quickly churn out a new token and rug pulll as soon as investors start pouring in money. This is also related to the next and final point. d. There aren’t enough gamers Look, I’ll be the first to say that we can’t let one rotten apple spoil the rest. But if you allow that one drop of ink fall into the tub of milk, it’ll spoil the entire thing (to paraphrase another saying). So there is an urgent need for blockchain game developers to focus on what matters: the game. Build a good game and it’ll do the rest for you. Gamers want to play good games and if they like what they see, you’ve got your own team of marketeers, influencers, promoters, ambassadors. Happily, willingly, organically talking about your game. So the takeaway I guess I’m trying to elucidate here is that, maybe NFTs and blockcain developers shouldn’t be whining about the FUD from the gaming community. There may be a true case for groundbreaking innovation and disruptive models for blockchain technology in gaming and I truly believe in this myself. But perhaps we all have to earn that right to make our case. And we do this by making great games and proving blockchain makes games great. But if blockchain games insist on a crypto-first, token-first, earning-first mentality, then your users will reflect that. And that creates an environment ripe for all the above problems. Demand for earning models rather than playability. A landscape filled more with scams than with real games. A condition that attracts bad actors rather than good ones.

Valve Says NFT Activity in Games are "Super Sketchy" ...They're Kinda Right!

Valve dice que la actividad de NFT en los juegos es "súper incompleta"... ¡Tienen algo de razón!

The Vulnerabilities Research Of Valve’s Game Networking Sockets

Our Favorite Word Is the One That Makes Us The Dumbest

Newer technology is always a game-changing thing. In the case of video games, it’s literally so. And what other new piece of tech to talk about than what’s all the rage at the moment—artificial intelligence or AI? Companies have been quick to adopt AI for various purposes. Whereas the majority of corporations from Bloomberg to Disney see it as a tool to cut costs, the game development industry has a very different take on all this. This take is more creative in nature. It’s being used to develop new story arcs, generate new gameplay ideas, and analyze existing player data at a whole other level. Some companies are even experimenting with AI-based NPCs (non-playable characters) where these seemingly harmless folks can now hold entire conversations and retain context throughout their adventures in-game. We’re at a very early level here. In this post, we’ll focus on a new aspect that can be revolutionized with AI—virtual economies. Let’s hop right into it, shall we? What are Virtual Economies? Believe it or not, virtual economies are one of the most lucrative businesses today. A lot of gamers are a part of at least one such economy, sometimes unknowingly. A virtual economy is an in-game trading system. It ranges from the player-based economy of trading posts in classic MMOs such as World of Warcraft and Elder Scrolls Online to Loot Boxes in CS:GO and Valorant. A strong virtual economy is at the heart of these games. These don’t necessarily have to involve real money transactions. There’s a lot of in-game currency transactions, trading, and item barter involved here. But yes, the most popular forms of virtual economies are tied to real money. The best case would be CS:GO skins that you can buy from reputed sellers. These are skins that you buy with real money for a nice change of clothes or a weapon loot box. It’s an active, thriving community of transactions and items. AI in Virtual Economies Developers are quickly realizing the potential of leveraging AI-based technologies and deep learning models to optimize these in-game virtual economies. The only current problem is the scale. To really scale it up, a developer will need to make some serious investments in AI. Today, suffice it to say that justifying this cost in front of stakeholders isn’t going to go very smoothly. But the potential is there, and we all know it. AI has already shown us how we can build better games. Smart NPCs, dynamic procedural environments, choice-based challenges, matchmaking balances, data analysis, anti-cheat, etc., are all very serious real-world use cases where AI is already doing a lot of work or is poised to be a strong factor in the coming years. Now, let’s shift our focus toward virtual economies. What exactly can AI do in this space? Players trade in-game items ranging from armor and weapons in some games to skins and cosmetics in others. These are facilitated mainly with the help of real-world money or some kind of virtual currency that can only be purchased using real money. With that in mind, here’s how AI can help. Dynamic Pricing AI models can be trained to be good at understanding the virtual economy’s market demand. Many financial models are already available, often proprietarily, to do this for real-world markets. These algorithms will be able to maintain pricing stability just by looking at the market trends, user demand, and trading history of these virtual items. Trend Prediction With all that data, such algorithms or models can easily predict the rise and fall in demand for certain skins or cosmetics, which will allow the marketplace to adjust the listings and prices accordingly. For example, we know that a lot of people buy bundles and treasures in Dota around The International, only to sell them at a higher price later. But when you make all this formulaic, suddenly you can predict a lot more trends than just that. Preventing Fraud AI can also help in detecting instances of fraudulent transactions and suspicious activities. This is a huge benefit for any marketplace moderator or game developer. The strength of an AI model is the training or inferencing part. This is why AI can predict weather better than a supercomputer. It relies on past data. The more data it is fed, the more accurate it will be. So, if a company like Valve trains an AI algorithm on fraudulent transactions and suspicious users, it will quickly learn to spot future offenders, which will be an immense help for all the other players. Leading CS:GO skin selling platforms can develop their own algorithms this way to make sure that their marketplace remains spotless. Such a case has already been implemented by sites such as skinsmonkey. Where Do We Go From Here? The times are changing fast. The future is full of AI, even in the world of video games. Though there’s still time before we can reach a world akin to Cyberpunk 2077, it’s much easier to accept a worldview where we will have AI-controlled virtual economies that can be easily scaled. AI-driven price predictions, automated price setting, authenticity verification, highly optimized trade algorithms, and so on. Artificial intelligence models and algorithms can bring about a net positive change in the world of in-game economies that so many gamers rely on. It won’t be an overstatement to say that games will be much better for player transactions and economies with AI in the picture. Major Concerns in AI Gaming AI Needs Data: AI requires heaps of data and training. Any company that wishes to make a foray here needs to properly label and deconstruct its existing data and then train a model on it. If it’s done in a shallow or incorrect way, such an algorithm will be able to do nothing good for the players.


Constant Learning: At its core, AI models are all about constant learning. If they are not allowed to hook into the economies in a friendly manner, then trends will change before they can pick up on them. This is especially challenging because so far, virtual economy data hasn’t really been intended for public use through APIs. Such APIs will be crucial if we want to use AI for continuous learning. This might require major rewrites of the game’s code before they can even be prepared for something like this. We Wrap Things Up Here It's all exciting, that’s for sure. But only time will tell how practical these AI use cases are, or when we finally achieve something valuable for the gamer. Until then, happy gaming. Newer technology is always a game-changing thing. In the case of video games, it’s literally so. And what other new piece of tech to talk about than what’s all the rage at the moment—artificial intelligence or AI? Companies have been quick to adopt AI for various purposes. Whereas the majority of corporations from Bloomberg to Disney see it as a tool to cut costs, the game development industry has a very different take on all this. Bloomberg Disney This take is more creative in nature. It’s being used to develop new story arcs, generate new gameplay ideas, and analyze existing player data at a whole other level. Some companies are even experimenting with AI-based NPCs (non-playable characters) where these seemingly harmless folks can now hold entire conversations and retain context throughout their adventures in-game. We’re at a very early level here. In this post, we’ll focus on a new aspect that can be revolutionized with AI— virtual economies . Let’s hop right into it, shall we? revolutionized virtual economies What are Virtual Economies? Believe it or not, virtual economies are one of the most lucrative businesses today. A lot of gamers are a part of at least one such economy, sometimes unknowingly. A virtual economy is an in-game trading system. It ranges from the player-based economy of trading posts in classic MMOs such as World of Warcraft and Elder Scrolls Online to Loot Boxes in CS:GO and Valorant . virtual economies MMOs World of Warcraft Elder Scrolls Online Loot Boxes CS:GO Valorant A strong virtual economy is at the heart of these games. These don’t necessarily have to involve real money transactions. There’s a lot of in-game currency transactions, trading, and item barter involved here. But yes, the most popular forms of virtual economies are tied to real money. The best case would be CS:GO skins that you can buy from reputed sellers. These are skins that you buy with real money for a nice change of clothes or a weapon loot box. It’s an active, thriving community of transactions and items. AI in Virtual Economies Developers are quickly realizing the potential of leveraging AI-based technologies and deep learning models to optimize these in-game virtual economies. The only current problem is the scale . To really scale it up, a developer will need to make some serious investments in AI. only current problem is the scale Today, suffice it to say that justifying this cost in front of stakeholders isn’t going to go very smoothly. But the potential is there, and we all know it. AI has already shown us how we can build better games. Smart NPCs , dynamic procedural environments , choice-based challenges , matchmaking balances , data analysis , anti-cheat , etc., are all very serious real-world use cases where AI is already doing a lot of work or is poised to be a strong factor in the coming years. Smart NPCs dynamic procedural environments choice-based challenges matchmaking balances data analysis anti-cheat Now, let’s shift our focus toward virtual economies. What exactly can AI do in this space? What exactly can AI do in this space? Players trade in-game items ranging from armor and weapons in some games to skins and cosmetics in others. These are facilitated mainly with the help of real-world money or some kind of virtual currency that can only be purchased using real money. With that in mind, here’s how AI can help. Dynamic Pricing AI models can be trained to be good at understanding the virtual economy’s market demand. Many financial models are already available, often proprietarily, to do this for real-world markets. These algorithms will be able to maintain pricing stability just by looking at the market trends , user demand , and trading history of these virtual items. market trends user demand trading history Trend Prediction With all that data, such algorithms or models can easily predict the rise and fall in demand for certain skins or cosmetics, which will allow the marketplace to adjust the listings and prices accordingly. For example, we know that a lot of people buy bundles and treasures in Dota around The International, only to sell them at a higher price later. Dota around The International, But when you make all this formulaic, suddenly you can predict a lot more trends than just that. Preventing Fraud AI can also help in detecting instances of fraudulent transactions and suspicious activities. This is a huge benefit for any marketplace moderator or game developer. The strength of an AI model is the training or inferencing part. This is why AI can predict weather better than a supercomputer. It relies on past data. The more data it is fed, the more accurate it will be. So, if a company like Valve trains an AI algorithm on fraudulent transactions and suspicious users, it will quickly learn to spot future offenders, which will be an immense help for all the other players. So, if a company like Valve trains an AI algorithm on fraudulent transactions and suspicious users, it will quickly learn to spot future offenders, which will be an immense help for all the other players. Leading CS:GO skin selling platforms can develop their own algorithms this way to make sure that their marketplace remains spotless. Such a case has already been implemented by sites such as skinsmonkey . skinsmonkey skinsmonkey . Where Do We Go From Here? The times are changing fast. The future is full of AI, even in the world of video games. Though there’s still time before we can reach a world akin to Cyberpunk 2077, it’s much easier to accept a worldview where we will have AI-controlled virtual economies that can be easily scaled. AI-driven price predictions , automated price setting, authenticity verification , highly optimized trade algorithms , and so on. Artificial intelligence models and algorithms can bring about a net positive change in the world of in-game economies that so many gamers rely on. AI-driven price predictions automated price setting, authenticity verification highly optimized trade algorithms It won’t be an overstatement to say that games will be much better for player transactions and economies with AI in the picture. Major Concerns in AI Gaming AI Needs Data: AI requires heaps of data and training. Any company that wishes to make a foray here needs to properly label and deconstruct its existing data and then train a model on it. If it’s done in a shallow or incorrect way, such an algorithm will be able to do nothing good for the players. Constant Learning: At its core, AI models are all about constant learning. If they are not allowed to hook into the economies in a friendly manner, then trends will change before they can pick up on them. This is especially challenging because so far, virtual economy data hasn’t really been intended for public use through APIs. Such APIs will be crucial if we want to use AI for continuous learning. This might require major rewrites of the game’s code before they can even be prepared for something like this. AI Needs Data: AI requires heaps of data and training. Any company that wishes to make a foray here needs to properly label and deconstruct its existing data and then train a model on it. If it’s done in a shallow or incorrect way, such an algorithm will be able to do nothing good for the players. AI Needs Data: Constant Learning: At its core, AI models are all about constant learning. If they are not allowed to hook into the economies in a friendly manner, then trends will change before they can pick up on them. This is especially challenging because so far, virtual economy data hasn’t really been intended for public use through APIs. Such APIs will be crucial if we want to use AI for continuous learning. This might require major rewrites of the game’s code before they can even be prepared for something like this. Constant Learning: We Wrap Things Up Here It's all exciting, that’s for sure. But only time will tell how practical these AI use cases are, or when we finally achieve something valuable for the gamer. Until then, happy gaming.

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