Message #366

From: 4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com
Subject: New poll for 4D_Cubing
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 01:34:53 -0000

Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
4D_Cubing group:

As mentioned in a message thread, we now understand what is happening with the broken macros in the 2^4 and would like to elicit your opinion on potential resolutions. We’re not promising to implement the winning design but it could could strongly influence the resolution.

The three solutions that Don and I have considered are based on three different reference "things" we might use.
1) Sticker Based – In this design you orient your macro based on 3 arbitrary stickers. Those same specific stickers must be selected when you apply your macro. This means that you can not define use a macro on one puzzle and use it on a differently sized puzzle. You would have to redefine new versions of each macro for each puzzle size that you want to use it with. The advantage to this approach is that you can be very expressive in your definition sticker patterns.
2) Grip Based – The program has an internal concept of "grips" which are the 26 rays emanating from the center of each face that you can twist about. Macros are currently implemented with this approach which allows macros to be used on multiple puzzle sizes but fails for the 2^4 unless we give users some way to select grips other than just those associated with the 2-color cubies.
3) Corner Cubie Based – In this design you would select reference "cubies" instead of stickers or grips. Only selection of corner cubies would be allowed. This would work naturally across all puzzles but would give up reference pattern expressiveness. For example, a sticker-based macro that simply rotates a selected face to the center might naturally be defined on a pattern that clicks a center sticker three times but with this design you would instead have to select 3 corner cubies in an L shape.

Please vote for your preferred solution but also please talk on the mailing list about any thoughts you have on the subject. There may be other choices or modifications to these and we want to hear your feelings.

o Sticker Based
o Grip Based
o Corner Cubie Based

To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4D_Cubing/surveys?id=12493898

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!