30.10.2020, 13:35
I have been following the postings of sudoku puzzles the recent couple of weeks on this site, and I have a couple of questions:
I have come to expect, from earlier experience, very high quality hand-crafted puzzles usually of an average to extremely high difficulty rating. Like the puzzles from phistomefel, stephane.bura, DiMono and many others; puzzles that no machine can generate. It is evident in those puzzles, that the author has spent a considerable amount of time creating the puzzle to try and make something that unfolds in a logical and beautiful way.
This past week I have also been seeing many many puzzles, usually of an easy to average difficulty rating, that most certainly could be machine generated. Very simple puzzles, that most of us could make in an editor within an hour. People seem to like these - they typically get a rating of some 80+% and sometimes 40+ solves within an hour or two of posting. Most of these are so simple, that they can be brute force solved by an algorithm in a matter of seconds.
It is difficult for me to watch a puzzle, I have spent a lot of time creating, only just getting enough solves to earn a grade, while puzzles, I could be churning out at a rate of two to three an hour, get loads of solves and fairly high grades. I fear that constructors like me, who spent a long time to create their puzzles, might be inclined to either a) chose another place to post their puzzles or b) make simpler and easier puzzles that have a broader appeal.
Now I am pretty new here and a fairly inexperienced creator thus my opinions should be taken with a pinch of salt.
I do however feel, that it is ok for me to make a post about my concerns, without offending anyone.
Thus:
* Could/should the puzzle-section of this site have two (or even multiple) sections? One for hand-crafted beauty (or possibly posterity, when rating is high - I would love an 'OLD 100% PUZZLES' thread) and one for more linear puzzles. Is it even possible to determine which is which - there would probably be a need for moderation? Or am I just being an elitist?
Tom
I have come to expect, from earlier experience, very high quality hand-crafted puzzles usually of an average to extremely high difficulty rating. Like the puzzles from phistomefel, stephane.bura, DiMono and many others; puzzles that no machine can generate. It is evident in those puzzles, that the author has spent a considerable amount of time creating the puzzle to try and make something that unfolds in a logical and beautiful way.
This past week I have also been seeing many many puzzles, usually of an easy to average difficulty rating, that most certainly could be machine generated. Very simple puzzles, that most of us could make in an editor within an hour. People seem to like these - they typically get a rating of some 80+% and sometimes 40+ solves within an hour or two of posting. Most of these are so simple, that they can be brute force solved by an algorithm in a matter of seconds.
It is difficult for me to watch a puzzle, I have spent a lot of time creating, only just getting enough solves to earn a grade, while puzzles, I could be churning out at a rate of two to three an hour, get loads of solves and fairly high grades. I fear that constructors like me, who spent a long time to create their puzzles, might be inclined to either a) chose another place to post their puzzles or b) make simpler and easier puzzles that have a broader appeal.
Now I am pretty new here and a fairly inexperienced creator thus my opinions should be taken with a pinch of salt.
I do however feel, that it is ok for me to make a post about my concerns, without offending anyone.
Thus:
* Could/should the puzzle-section of this site have two (or even multiple) sections? One for hand-crafted beauty (or possibly posterity, when rating is high - I would love an 'OLD 100% PUZZLES' thread) and one for more linear puzzles. Is it even possible to determine which is which - there would probably be a need for moderation? Or am I just being an elitist?
Tom