Message #1201

From: Andrey <andreyastrelin@yahoo.com>
Subject: [MC4D] Re: :-)
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 04:02:53 -0000

Melinda,
I found that viewing parameters in MC4D that are optimal for me are different for different puzzles and for different stages of solving.
For 3^4 I use some medium sticker size and medium-to-small faces. Sometimes I find that it’s better to use smaller stickers on the first stage (search of "red" 2C stickers), but usually I forget about it (or have no time).
For 5^4 I’ve used three different settings. On the first two stages (solving of the first center and of "central" 4x1x1x1 columns) there were small stickers and small-to-medium faces - for better view of inside stickers. On the next stage stickers were larger (with 20% gap), but faces were small enough so they haven’t hide each other. On the last stage (after reduction to 5^3) I’ve set sticker and face separation to almost zero - so that the puzzle looked like more familiar 3D cube.
Puzzles with small face number (simplex and {3}x{3}) require the minimal possible "Eye W Scale" parameter - and it wasn’t enough: external faces of puzzle appeared almost flat. And for these puzzles I heavily use free 4D navigation (right-button sliding). Sticker and face sizes are medium.
Prop files for these cases are in http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/4D_Cubing/files/MC7D/aa_mc4d_props.zip file.

Andrey

— In 4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com, Melinda Green <melinda@…> wrote:
>
> This is interesting to me because of my experience with tuning the 4D
> viewing parameters for my own use. Certainly some views are better than
> others. I even had hopes that ones in which adjacent stickers are
> exactly touching their neighbors might be good because that’s a closer
> analog to the 3D puzzle, but that did not turn out to be the case. I
> find that I like to move the puzzle around a lot while planning my next
> steps, but I also know that Don likes to choose one static orientation
> that lets him see every sticker, and then only perform 90 degree
> rotations in 4D. I.E. using ctrl-click rotate a face to the center. So
> certainly different people prefer different viewing parameters but
> perhaps some collections of parameters are more or less ideal for most
> people. If so, I’d certainly want to make those the default values at
> the very least, and possibly even remove their UI controls or make them
> into debugging or advanced options.
>
> I feel towards the 5D puzzle much like I imagine a 3D solver must feel
> when encountering the 4D puzzle for the first time. I understand how to
> approach the problem of solving it but find that I have almost no idea
> how to best choose viewing parameters and their interactions. I
> therefore have two questions for everyone:
>
> 1) Would you please send me your "mc4d.props" file? It is probably in
> the folder that contains the program. In your email, please also briefly
> describe which of your preferences you adjust frequently and why. I’m
> particularly interested in face-shrink and sticker-shrink.
>
> 2) For those of you who have solved or made serious attempts at 5D and
> higher dimensional puzzles, there’s no need to send me your preferences
> file though Roice may be interested in getting those. Still, I’d love
> to hear more about which parameters you needed to tune permanently and
> which you adjust frequently and why.
>
> Feel free to reply privately or publicly to the list with your
> descriptions. Just don’t send your files to the list.
>
> I also wonder whether there might exist sets of viewing parameters that
> are ideal across all dimensions, but that’s more of a blue-sky subject.
> Who knows, maybe some day we’ll have a single implementation that has
> the best UI for all possible puzzles across all possible dimensions!
>
> -Melinda