activision created a patent that publicly explains how they match bad players with no skins up against good players with lots of skins to push those microtransactions. its sbmm, eomm, and money based matchmaking
@@GHOST9421GCI actually yes I have. The micro transactions that you buy or don’t buy are taken into consideration by the matchmaking. It does match players that buy bundles with players that haven’t bought bundles in order to advertise and entice others to buy. I can send you the patent, and a video breaking it down if you don’t believe me.
Today in Duel Masters Play's, I finally finished the deck I spent over 15 hours putting together and hop into ranked to test it out. I get my ass handed to me repeatedly. Half my opponents, for some reason, are running a very situational card that just turns off my deck. It even matched me up against the same person twice, which is a statistical anomaly. Then after about 6 consecutive losses, it matches me up against an obvious bot with sleeves, no playmat, and default avatar that uses a different, more expensive build of the deck I was playing and then they kicked my ass with it. Fastest uninstall on this side of the pacific.
fuck Activision, so quick to shut down community mods that keep their old forgotten games alive yet fuck over their playerbase with scuffed matchmaking and bundle stores
The worst is when games rework their ranked system to let EOMM takeover like in r6 siege. The best physical rank you hold means nothings and they matchmake you based off of a hidden “skill factor”. I’ve made it to the second highest rank with a negative win loss ratio because of the way the ELO distribution works. It’s all designed to manipulate you and keep you “happy”.
The sbmm needs 3 things to be actually useful. Longer term data not just the past 10 games, a protected bracket for the bottom 10%, the other 90% still exists but looser matchmaking like the old cods
my opinion is that xdefiant players are better than COD players because we don't need our hand held. Some matches i beat hell out of the other team and some matches i get beat up but u go into match not knowing which will happen. when fixes are made here they will stay because not new title coming out next yr.
COD can give out all the free battlepasses it wants we OGs ain't coming back. A game with SBMM/EOMM ain't a game for us. Also the Hit-Reg in XDefiant has vastly improved recently i reinstalled like the day before yesterday all my bullets registering now. I'm dying behind walls alot less this game has come so far. Respect to Mark and the Team for staying committed to fixing and giving us an experience with no SBMM/EOMM. Most fun FPS since BO2.
I agree with your points on EOMM but not SBMM. If you get stomped after playing a few matches well in SBMM, you can learn from that too. It should only be in ranked though, not casual. EOMM however can go f*** itself. Machine learning has been bad for gaming. Companies don't have an incentive to not use EOMM unless a lot of players refuse to play their games. But when you speak about EOMM in games, people call you paranoid and they just keep playing.
havent bought a COD since 2019 once I realized I was being manipulated and it as very obvious. cod 4, mw2 , BO 1/2 were great times in gaming, there was a natural process for getting good...learning maps, guns, spawns and just playing more. you never knew what kind of lobby you were getting into, Now i know if I play and have a good game im going to be in for punishment after that game. I also think SBMM still isnt a "fair" system. it feels like they put the really bad players together and everyone else together, I feel the middle of the pack gamers are stuck with people who way above their skill level. If these systems monitor every move and thing you do to match you with people who do the same thing, why am I being stuck with movement pros when I dont move like that in any way?
Not only that, but what’s the point of working hard to earn something and spend money (if you want) to buy skins and stuff if it just gonna be negated a year later with the next game?
The issue with sbmm in my eyes is that bad players get to run around without a care in the world being silly and having fun with one another. Meanwhile if you are even half decent at the game and you win you get tossed into these giga sweaty lobbies where you have to play meta, you have to be trying as hard as possible making zero mistakes if you want to do well and not just get rolled over and over. Also if you put effort to get better instead of being rewarded it just feels like your not getting better since once you do get better it just tosses you up into the next sbmm tier and your bottom fish again.. what annoys me is the fact that bad players get to have a ton of casual fun, while we are punished hard by having to sweat harder and harder and harder.. and you will never beat sbmm unless you become pro level good where your just better than the highest tier of sbmm which lets be real 99% of players cant get that good no matter how hard they try.
@@TheHollowBlade yea thats my point about middle of the pack players, the real bad/ casuals get their lobby and the rest get thrown into the meat grinder.
I found your channel when you were talking about different engines. As someone that used to work in the industry its very entertaining. You are very knowledgable. Excited for the next video.
@@captainswag9324 Ayo TH-cam recommended you this video too? 😂 Yeah this dude was over there praising it saying the prices are perfect lmao Even doubled down calling me a clown or summ. I’m definitely gonna listen to a dude with bias and agenda… lol
Might as well go to pve games, open worlds, survival etc. as these so called AAA game companies consistently keep disappointing the gamers so might as well jump ship
@@ScottyMcGaming yep. I'm sticking it out for the last season for MWiii afterwards I'll be done with it. So many pussy loser hackers and exploiters that can't play just ruin the game and crash the sessions. Back in the day probably, online game companies would have gone after them but now they sponsor them and allow them to get in their beds. I'm being semi vulgar and straight up sarcastic in my comment.
Sbmm is a matchmaking system made to match players of similar skill together. The argument is whether it should be in ranked (competitive) and social (casual). Lately this style of matchmaking has been in both. Which angers some gamers because there's no "chill" factor to the game. The EOMM is a type of theorized matchmaking based off a patent leaked from Activision on how to make the average player play more. In other words, to be more, "engaged." Tons of youtubers make circle jerk videos off this topic because hate and misinformation gains them clicks. If you wanna stop playing "sweats," then stop being one yourself. simple.
while im very much aware of the treadmill im just tired and fed up of it all dose not help that since im australian the player base pool is MUCH smaller so when all the casuals are scared away be it from whatever reason the game i would be enjoying only has two types of players left Sweats and Cheaters don't matter what game it is either a Popular shooter like The Finals a party game like Splatoon 3 , hero shooter like overwatch 2 hell even Xdefiant here in downunder is AGRESSIVLY sweaty no room for any casual fun the only compeative games i do .. ok at is ones that don't force me to play on a team things like Mario Kart , CTR Nitro Fuel and hell i did not to bad a Switch sports of all things but in the end im just tired and burned out from the endless tredmill grind not just of rank but of the Battle pass i will stright up say it i legit im starting to HATE most battle passes they are not fun they are a Ball n Chain that make the game even more less fun specialy when the prgression is tied to wins only oh sure you get a pitiful exp for just playing win or lose but most battle passes have challenges or missions atached to them and what is the most common task TO WIN A MATCH combine this with the rigging of SBMM and EOMM they legit have you HOOKED and not in a healthy way either you know its bad when i have fallen out of most online games and stuck to single player experiences and remembering what fun was playing against bots in something like Time Splitters 2 getting rewarded for just playing and doing cool things yeah i went way back thanks to the Power of Emulators
@Scotty Mcgaming, i see you having problems against that personal schield you try to shoot it, but then you die.., just try to sidestep so you can shoot them , from the side.. id run towards them and go around the shield to shoot or an frag works well too.. love your video's btw i knew i wasnt half bad, but the sbmm/eomm and cheater/smurfs shits the show for a big while already.
how do you know you are not only being matched with worse players against good players; ,but also your hit register gets worse and the damage you cause? or that you're playing against bots very well trained to look like players?
The thing about EOMM is that it works *too well.* If it has to, it will cause 1-in-10000 statistical anomalies to ensure the outcome it desires. The EOMM bots are usually easy to spot, and they dont show up very often. Their main purpose is to be a point of last resort when the algorithm has designated some highly specific criteria where it couldn't possibly find a human that meets it in a reasonable time frame. They come equipped with exactly what is needed to fulfill its purpose and nothing else. No fancy cosmetics, incredibly basic names consisting of a single word, etc.
Because people don’t explain it properly. It manipulates game paremeters like your hit reg, health, damage, footstep audio, even dud grenades, guns randomly jamming, airstrikes missing, revenge spawns… Definately in COD andI believe Fortnite and HALO. It is even worse though. It pairs you up with people who kill you wil MTX purchased guns so you will be enticed to buy the same bundles that killed you.
@@xstephxxadding onto what the dude above said, EOMM also tries to keep everyone, regardless of skill level at a 1kd. It’s also will give you just enough wins to keep you hooked, while at the same time giving you loses in order to make you crave the wins more and still feel challenged.
i've just started to play story mode games which was never really something I did a whole lot cuz I always enjoyed competetive games and trying to improve myself on the game I was playing (mainly COD) but not its not even worth your sanity playing these games, xDefiant is the best game FPS multiplayer to come out in a long time its too bad it died so quick.
I don’t think SBMM OR EOMM bothers me at all. I just don’t see a difference from defiant to cod ! XDefiant with no SBMM is equally sweaty and full of KD warriors just like cod with SBMM so I mean it’s no REAL REAL DIFFERENCE. It’s only the people who complain and cry about it.
maybe youre just bad at both? lmao because i see a HUGE difference. CoD everyone in the lobby is literally the sameskill level, so in turn everyone ends in about a 1 kd and the matches are always extremely clsoe In xDefiant, its balanced by teams in game, meaning, you have 2 really good players, 2 decent players and 2 bad players lol
@@InTheeU did you have a stroke when typing? And It’s not an opinion, it’s fact. Mark Rubin has already spoken on how their matchmaking is and its just like that. I guess you don’t know the difference between fact and opinion.
In the US everyone expects everything easy and rejects hard work. What makes you think their games would be any different. If you really enjoy next gen and want to see it improve, stop fucking buying it
They are both Real Time Gameplay Manipulation. Activision perfected it with Demonware. Activision paid Ubisoft too delay release til it was implemented. Trust us it's only in Welcome Playlist😂 Notice: Update requires restart 😂😂😂EOMM engaged😮😢
@@ScottyMcGamingthis is the reason why I don't take eomm and sbmm complainers seriously anymore. It brings out the "tisim" out of everybody including blametruth. But I do get what you're talking about games aren't what they used to be anymore. I do remember my old bo2 days where I would be excited to show my friends my new skill level. One week I'd go 12-27 and the next weekend I'd be 30-12. It was fun we had a rivalry, we pushed each other to our limits and try to grow from each other. But one day I was cut off from them all and I reunited with them in 2019. But tbh I don't really care about sbmm and eomm I don't know weather it's because I just don't give a shit anymore and I'm just not as competitive anymore. Or it's because I'm a dad now and I rather put my energy into my family than a few pixelated skins on a game that won't be relevant in a year
Ey up, you magnificent bunch… Don’t forget to like and subscribe, while dropping your thoughts here in the comments… 😎
PST, NEW H2M MOD IS HERE! THE HORIZON MODERN WARFARE DEVS JUST POSTED IT!!
WE'RE BACK BABY
@@Chickensea10 I know, my son has been playing it for the last 2 days... 😎
@@ScottyMcGaming HELLLLLLLLLL YEAAAAAHHHHHH
THE TRUE WAY TO PLAY COD!
@@Chickensea10 Yes it is... 😎
activision created a patent that publicly explains how they match bad players with no skins up against good players with lots of skins to push those microtransactions. its sbmm, eomm, and money based matchmaking
@@FPSBloodlustlmao ok lol bro have you read any of the Activision Patents, yes or no?
@@falcongaming3743Have you? 😂😂😂😂
@@GHOST9421GCI actually yes I have. The micro transactions that you buy or don’t buy are taken into consideration by the matchmaking. It does match players that buy bundles with players that haven’t bought bundles in order to advertise and entice others to buy. I can send you the patent, and a video breaking it down if you don’t believe me.
Today in Duel Masters Play's, I finally finished the deck I spent over 15 hours putting together and hop into ranked to test it out.
I get my ass handed to me repeatedly. Half my opponents, for some reason, are running a very situational card that just turns off my deck. It even matched me up against the same person twice, which is a statistical anomaly. Then after about 6 consecutive losses, it matches me up against an obvious bot with sleeves, no playmat, and default avatar that uses a different, more expensive build of the deck I was playing and then they kicked my ass with it.
Fastest uninstall on this side of the pacific.
@@GHOST9421GCI yes actually I have
SBMM should only apply to ranked modes.
EOMM is just sheer corporate greed.
Indeed 😎
fuck Activision, so quick to shut down community mods that keep their old forgotten games alive yet fuck over their playerbase with scuffed matchmaking and bundle stores
EOMM should be flatout ILLEGAL
@@SixxWolfZx agreed
@@FPSBloodlust why would they patent it then?
The worst is when games rework their ranked system to let EOMM takeover like in r6 siege. The best physical rank you hold means nothings and they matchmake you based off of a hidden “skill factor”. I’ve made it to the second highest rank with a negative win loss ratio because of the way the ELO distribution works. It’s all designed to manipulate you and keep you “happy”.
10/10 video that perfectly explains the problems with modern day FPS games
The sbmm needs 3 things to be actually useful. Longer term data not just the past 10 games, a protected bracket for the bottom 10%, the other 90% still exists but looser matchmaking like the old cods
When I hear "Ol rite, listen up u lot" I know its going to be an entertaining video
😎
my opinion is that xdefiant players are better than COD players because we don't need our hand held. Some matches i beat hell out of the other team and some matches i get beat up but u go into match not knowing which will happen. when fixes are made here they will stay because not new title coming out next yr.
Exactly 😎
COD can give out all the free battlepasses it wants we OGs ain't coming back. A game with SBMM/EOMM ain't a game for us.
Also the Hit-Reg in XDefiant has vastly improved recently i reinstalled like the day before yesterday all my bullets registering now. I'm dying behind walls alot less this game has come so far.
Respect to Mark and the Team for staying committed to fixing and giving us an experience with no SBMM/EOMM. Most fun FPS since BO2.
Thanks for your comment... The changes coming in season 2 will improve those issues even more... 😎
I agree with your points on EOMM but not SBMM. If you get stomped after playing a few matches well in SBMM, you can learn from that too. It should only be in ranked though, not casual. EOMM however can go f*** itself. Machine learning has been bad for gaming. Companies don't have an incentive to not use EOMM unless a lot of players refuse to play their games. But when you speak about EOMM in games, people call you paranoid and they just keep playing.
havent bought a COD since 2019 once I realized I was being manipulated and it as very obvious. cod 4, mw2 , BO 1/2 were great times in gaming, there was a natural process for getting good...learning maps, guns, spawns and just playing more. you never knew what kind of lobby you were getting into, Now i know if I play and have a good game im going to be in for punishment after that game.
I also think SBMM still isnt a "fair" system. it feels like they put the really bad players together and everyone else together, I feel the middle of the pack gamers are stuck with people who way above their skill level. If these systems monitor every move and thing you do to match you with people who do the same thing, why am I being stuck with movement pros when I dont move like that in any way?
Not only that, but what’s the point of working hard to earn something and spend money (if you want) to buy skins and stuff if it just gonna be negated a year later with the next game?
The issue with sbmm in my eyes is that bad players get to run around without a care in the world being silly and having fun with one another. Meanwhile if you are even half decent at the game and you win you get tossed into these giga sweaty lobbies where you have to play meta, you have to be trying as hard as possible making zero mistakes if you want to do well and not just get rolled over and over.
Also if you put effort to get better instead of being rewarded it just feels like your not getting better since once you do get better it just tosses you up into the next sbmm tier and your bottom fish again..
what annoys me is the fact that bad players get to have a ton of casual fun, while we are punished hard by having to sweat harder and harder and harder.. and you will never beat sbmm unless you become pro level good where your just better than the highest tier of sbmm which lets be real 99% of players cant get that good no matter how hard they try.
@@TheHollowBlade yea thats my point about middle of the pack players, the real bad/ casuals get their lobby and the rest get thrown into the meat grinder.
@@FPSBloodlust very confident response considering you dont know who i am or how i play, you must be a real peach to be around, bud.
You couldn't be more right! That's why I've been playing Hunt Showdown. I love your videos! Keep it up mate!
@@hippiegilmore2467 Thanks 😎
Hunt is such an amazing game
@@RebelDrinkingLiberalTears I may have to give it a shot... 😎
@@ScottyMcGaming It's difficult at first and the combat is a little slow so aim for the head, but it's definitely fun especially with friends!
I found your channel when you were talking about different engines. As someone that used to work in the industry its very entertaining. You are very knowledgable. Excited for the next video.
Thank you very much! 😎
If you are slightly better than your friends,sbmm will make them not want to play you much
Indeed…
Oh wow this is that dude I seen over on twitter praising the XDefiant store saying it’s perfect 😂 💀
Lol wow. The XDefiant store is a joke. Still don't understand what's the point of player skins in a first-person game.
@@captainswag9324 Ayo TH-cam recommended you this video too? 😂
Yeah this dude was over there praising it saying the prices are perfect lmao
Even doubled down calling me a clown or summ.
I’m definitely gonna listen to a dude with bias and agenda… lol
SBMM and EOMM do my head in, honestly 😂 Good video mate and thanks for the shoutout! I'll be sure to shout you out in my next video as well.
Thanks mate… I honestly still can’t see how you didn’t win!?! 🤷♂️ I guess we got lucky… One day, we’ll have a rematch… 😎
@@ScottyMcGaming You and your team held off well at the end! Looking forward to the rematch 🫡
Who knew ‘Callum’s Corner’ had a gaming channel? Now I get to experience the worst UK accent twice as much.
I do not have any affiliation with Callum's Corner, I've never heard of the channel till today, but I'm glad you enjoy the torture! 😅😎
Might as well go to pve games, open worlds, survival etc. as these so called AAA game companies consistently keep disappointing the gamers so might as well jump ship
I'll be honest, if it wasn't for XDefiant, I would jump ship too... 😎
@@ScottyMcGaming yep. I'm sticking it out for the last season for MWiii afterwards I'll be done with it. So many pussy loser hackers and exploiters that can't play just ruin the game and crash the sessions. Back in the day probably, online game companies would have gone after them but now they sponsor them and allow them to get in their beds. I'm being semi vulgar and straight up sarcastic in my comment.
Love it... 😎
It's fine....hit box and net code are the real big deal.
So you're saying you like the manipulation?
Sbmm is a matchmaking system made to match players of similar skill together. The argument is whether it should be in ranked (competitive) and social (casual). Lately this style of matchmaking has been in both. Which angers some gamers because there's no "chill" factor to the game. The EOMM is a type of theorized matchmaking based off a patent leaked from Activision on how to make the average player play more. In other words, to be more, "engaged." Tons of youtubers make circle jerk videos off this topic because hate and misinformation gains them clicks. If you wanna stop playing "sweats," then stop being one yourself. simple.
while im very much aware of the treadmill im just tired and fed up of it all dose not help that since im australian the player base pool is MUCH smaller so when all the casuals are scared away be it from whatever reason the game i would be enjoying only has two types of players left Sweats and Cheaters don't matter what game it is either a Popular shooter like The Finals a party game like Splatoon 3 , hero shooter like overwatch 2 hell even Xdefiant here in downunder is AGRESSIVLY sweaty no room for any casual fun the only compeative games i do .. ok at is ones that don't force me to play on a team things like Mario Kart , CTR Nitro Fuel and hell i did not to bad a Switch sports of all things
but in the end im just tired and burned out from the endless tredmill grind not just of rank but of the Battle pass i will stright up say it i legit im starting to HATE most battle passes they are not fun they are a Ball n Chain that make the game even more less fun specialy when the prgression is tied to wins only oh sure you get a pitiful exp for just playing win or lose but most battle passes have challenges or missions atached to them and what is the most common task TO WIN A MATCH combine this with the rigging of SBMM and EOMM they legit have you HOOKED and not in a healthy way either
you know its bad when i have fallen out of most online games and stuck to single player experiences and remembering what fun was playing against bots in something like Time Splitters 2 getting rewarded for just playing and doing cool things yeah i went way back thanks to the Power of Emulators
@Scotty Mcgaming, i see you having problems against that personal schield you try to shoot it, but then you die.., just try to sidestep so you can shoot them , from the side.. id run towards them and go around the shield to shoot or an frag works well too.. love your video's btw i knew i wasnt half bad, but the sbmm/eomm and cheater/smurfs shits the show for a big while already.
I’m practicing getting shots to land in that little zone at the top for head shots… Thanks for watching… 😎
This shit is why I went back to my GBA and N64.
Edit: I've also gone back to the PS2.
Can’t say I blame you… 😎
how do you know you are not only being matched with worse players against good players; ,but also your hit register gets worse and the damage you cause? or that you're playing against bots very well trained to look like players?
The thing about EOMM is that it works *too well.* If it has to, it will cause 1-in-10000 statistical anomalies to ensure the outcome it desires. The EOMM bots are usually easy to spot, and they dont show up very often. Their main purpose is to be a point of last resort when the algorithm has designated some highly specific criteria where it couldn't possibly find a human that meets it in a reasonable time frame. They come equipped with exactly what is needed to fulfill its purpose and nothing else. No fancy cosmetics, incredibly basic names consisting of a single word, etc.
Still don’t know what eomm is
Engagement optimized matchmaking
Because people don’t explain it properly. It manipulates game paremeters like your hit reg, health, damage, footstep audio, even dud grenades, guns randomly jamming, airstrikes missing, revenge spawns… Definately in COD andI believe Fortnite and HALO. It is even worse though. It pairs you up with people who kill you wil MTX purchased guns so you will be enticed to buy the same bundles that killed you.
@@williamkjwilliamkj1815 thank you. that's the first i've heard of that and if that's the case, sounds manipulative and horrible
@@xstephxxadding onto what the dude above said, EOMM also tries to keep everyone, regardless of skill level at a 1kd. It’s also will give you just enough wins to keep you hooked, while at the same time giving you loses in order to make you crave the wins more and still feel challenged.
@@falcongaming3743Yes that is also correct
great commentary Scotty.
Thank you 😎
i've just started to play story mode games which was never really something I did a whole lot cuz I always enjoyed competetive games and trying to improve myself on the game I was playing (mainly COD) but not its not even worth your sanity playing these games, xDefiant is the best game FPS multiplayer to come out in a long time its too bad it died so quick.
It’s not dead!
@@ScottyMcGaming it is quite dead brother, they struggle to have more than 30,000 players online at a time
Video increible !! Gracias y totalmente cierto todo , un saludo
Thanks 😎
Amen.
I don’t think SBMM OR EOMM bothers me at all. I just don’t see a difference from defiant to cod ! XDefiant with no SBMM is equally sweaty and full of KD warriors just like cod with SBMM so I mean it’s no REAL REAL DIFFERENCE. It’s only the people who complain and cry about it.
maybe youre just bad at both? lmao because i see a HUGE difference.
CoD everyone in the lobby is literally the sameskill level, so in turn everyone ends in about a 1 kd and the matches are always extremely clsoe
In xDefiant, its balanced by teams in game, meaning, you have 2 really good players, 2 decent players and 2 bad players lol
@@itstroy4145 yal be regretting the exact same opinions and they have no value.
@@InTheeU did you have a stroke when typing?
And It’s not an opinion, it’s fact. Mark Rubin has already spoken on how their matchmaking is and its just like that. I guess you don’t know the difference between fact and opinion.
@@itstroy4145 if the rumours are true, then the bad players have left xdefiant. so even if you're a decent player you would do worse than cod
Found the corporate shill
Nice mate
Thanks 👍
Bit beyond your reach ey Potter 😅😅😅😅😅😅
How did you know my name is Potter? 😱
In the US everyone expects everything easy and rejects hard work. What makes you think their games would be any different. If you really enjoy next gen and want to see it improve, stop fucking buying it
I've stopped playing xdediant after level 25 due to the lack of skill based matchmaking.
Shame, you’re missing out on true organic fun… 🤷♂️
@@ScottyMcGaming Just reclaiming my time. True organic fun can be found elsewhere.
@@detritiv0re144 So, it’s not the lack of SBMM that scared you off then? I mean you’re contradicting yourself there… 🤔
@@ScottyMcGamingSBMM doesn't make the experience any less organic. The opponents are still humans that play however they want.
@@ScottyMcGamingtell me you haven’t played past level 25 with out telling me you haven’t played past level 25z
marks got you fooled.
The fuck has Mark got to do with SBMM and EOMM?
They are both Real Time Gameplay Manipulation. Activision perfected it with Demonware. Activision paid Ubisoft too delay release til it was implemented. Trust us it's only in Welcome Playlist😂
Notice: Update requires restart
😂😂😂EOMM engaged😮😢
Now I'm confused... WTF you on about?
@@ScottyMcGamingthis is the reason why I don't take eomm and sbmm complainers seriously anymore. It brings out the "tisim" out of everybody including blametruth. But I do get what you're talking about games aren't what they used to be anymore. I do remember my old bo2 days where I would be excited to show my friends my new skill level. One week I'd go 12-27 and the next weekend I'd be 30-12. It was fun we had a rivalry, we pushed each other to our limits and try to grow from each other. But one day I was cut off from them all and I reunited with them in 2019. But tbh I don't really care about sbmm and eomm I don't know weather it's because I just don't give a shit anymore and I'm just not as competitive anymore. Or it's because I'm a dad now and I rather put my energy into my family than a few pixelated skins on a game that won't be relevant in a year