The Case for Probabilistic Transactions (PTX)

As we continue to develop Hemis into blockchain gaming platform, we are focusing on a core feature that we believe will set us apart from other projects: Probabilistic Transactions (PTX). Scheduled for release in 2025, PTX is designed to simplify on-chain gaming by removing the need for complex and expensive smart contracts, making true decentralization achievable without sacrificing usability.

How PTX Works

The first version of PTX will offer a decentralized solution for 1:1 games of chance, with plans to expand to 1:n games in future updates. At its core, PTX uses transaction pairs to manage wagers between two participants.

Here’s how it works:

• Two players, wanting to wager tokens against each other, each submit mirror image transactions to the mempool.
• The Gamemaster network picks up these transactions, performs a dice roll (or more precisely, a random number operation), and determines a winner.
• The losing wager is burned, and the winner is paid directly from the block reward. The Gamemaster operator, who facilitates this process, is compensated with a fee for their service.

The advantage is clear: no smart contracts are required. Players simply need to share a secret with each other to link their transactions, and the Hemis network handles everything from there. This removes the need for users to interact with complex smart contract systems, eliminating costly fees and potential vulnerabilities that smart contracts can introduce.

The Complexity of Smart Contracts in Gaming

To illustrate the complexity that PTX seeks to solve, let’s consider how two players on a traditional Ethereum-based blockchain would conduct a simple coin toss wager using smart contracts.

1. One player would first have to create a smart contract. This contract would contain code to manage the wager, handle both players’ tokens, and determine a winner based on a random number or coin toss.
2. To create the contract, the first player has to pay gas fees to deploy it on the Ethereum network. This cost alone can be prohibitive, especially when the contract handles something as simple as a wager.
3. Once the contract is live, both players would then have to interact with the contract, each paying additional gas fees to submit their tokens and participate in the wager.

Below is an example of how a simple Ethereum smart contract for a coin toss might look in pseudocode:

pragma solidity ^0.8.0;

contract CoinToss {
    address public player1;
    address public player2;
    uint public wagerAmount;
    uint public randomNumber;

    constructor(address _player2) {
        player1 = msg.sender;
        player2 = _player2;
    }

    function wager() public payable {
        require(msg.value == wagerAmount, "Incorrect amount sent");
        if (msg.sender == player1) {
            player1Wager = true;
        } else if (msg.sender == player2) {
            player2Wager = true;
        }
        if (player1Wager && player2Wager) {
            resolveWager();
        }
    }

    function resolveWager() private {
        randomNumber = block.timestamp % 2;
        if (randomNumber == 0) {
            player1.transfer(wagerAmount * 2);
        } else {
            player2.transfer(wagerAmount * 2);
        }
    }
}

This contract example, while basic, still requires deployment fees, interaction fees, and complexity that doesn’t add much value for something as simple as a coin toss. Both players must trust that the contract will function as expected, and they must incur extra costs just to participate.

On Ethereum, the impression of simplicity in some gaming applications can be misleading. In reality, many projects centralize the game logic on off-chain servers, using smart contracts merely as an interface to interact with users. These projects effectively introduce single points of failure and third-party trust, which undermines the very principles of decentralization that blockchain should uphold.

Hemis PTX: A Decentralized Approach

With Hemis’ PTX, there will never be a third party to trust. Once both participants submit their transactions, the network itself resolves the game without requiring any central server or third-party verification. By using the Gamemaster network to settle games and burn tokens, Hemis ensures that all outcomes are generated in a decentralized, trustless environment.

Looking Ahead

As part of our commitment to continuous development, we recently updated our roadmap to reflect realistic timelines for this feature. PTX is scheduled for release in 2025, initially supporting only fungible tokens. However, we are already planning for NFT support later in the year, allowing more complex use cases such as in-game items, collectibles, and game pieces to be incorporated into our decentralized gaming ecosystem.

We understand that the blockchain gaming space is competitive, but we believe that by focusing on truly decentralized solutions like PTX, we can create a gaming platform that offers simplicity, security, and fairness without compromise.

Thank you for your continued support as we work toward this exciting release. Hemis remains committed to building a platform that adheres to the core principles of blockchain technology while creating real-world utility.