Message #3849

From: Luna Peña <scarecrowfish@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MC4D] Re: Time for another speedsolving contest!
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2017 06:38:09 +0000

Unfortunately, I might have to sit this one out, because my computer’s hard
drive just failed the other day and I have nothing to solve on. I might be
able to get it fixed before then, but somehow I doubt it. :(

I’ll try my best to be there though.

~Luna

On 28 Nov 2017 03:24, "Melinda Green melinda@superliminal.com [4D_Cubing]" <
4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

OK then let’s do this thing!

I’ve just taken a very cursory look at YouTube live streaming, and it looks
like my channel might already be set up enough for real-time chat events
without audio or video. The URL is https://www.youtube.com/c/
MelindaGreen/live so if some of you would go there and try sending messages
to each other, I’d appreciate it. If that works, then great. If not, then
let me know what happened and I’ll try to make it work.

Regardless of the platform we use to communicate, let’s plan on doing a dry
run this Saturday at 11 AM Pacific time, and if all goes well, we’ll do the
real one exactly a week later. If we’re able to see each other’s chat
before the test, then I will chat out the URL of the scramble log as soon
as it appears that everyone who wants to participate is ready. The goal
will be to launch exactly on time, so be sure to get there a bit early.

If anything goes wrong with the launch, I may need to declare a false start
and try again. Since there probably won’t be any audio, that means you’ll
have to monitor the feed once the race has begun or ask a friend to monitor
it and interrupt you with any important updates.

Here is the URL from the first contest we did: http://superliminal.com/cube/
contest/3-4-contest1-v2-2.log, so make sure you can download that file and
load it into MC4D. And of course make sure you have the latest version of
MC4D and get as much practice as you can with the interface, hotkeys,
solution and macro file handling, and of course solving of a variety of
different puzzles. Just because you’re not a real speed solver and may not
have tried the exact puzzle I pick doesn’t mean you have no chance be the
first one with a solution.

Questions or comments?

Happy puzzling!
-Melinda

On 11/7/2017 9:16 PM, Ty Jones whotyjones@gmail.com [4D_Cubing] wrote:

No preference on date from me! 🙂

On Tue, Nov 7, 2017, 9:08 PM Melinda Green melinda@superliminal.com
[4D_Cubing] <4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Great, it sounds like we have enough interest for a fun event.
>
> To Nan’s question, this will be one of the MC4D puzzles. I recommend
> watching the Mathologer’s wonderful video in which he shows a trick to solve
> pretty much any twisty puzzle
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NL76uQOpI0>. If you practice it on a
> couple of random MC4D puzzles, then you should be in a position to have at
> least a chance at winning. Speed is a factor, but I suspect that a steady,
> methodical approach and a bit of preparation may be more important than raw
> efficiency or brain power. With the contest at least 3 weeks away, I expect
> there’s enough time for any suitably motivated person to win. And of course
> if you’ve been wanting to solve any of the non-cube puzzles anyway but just
> haven’t taken the time, this is the perfect opportunity to do that.
>
> Nan prefers not the Thanksgiving weekend, so I’ll assume some Saturday in
> December? Do people want to avoid Christmas or New Year’s weekends, or
> maybe those are more attractive? If you are even mildly tempted to join in
> the fun, then please let me know if you already know that any of those days
> will not work or if you have a preference for the beginning or end of the
> month. I want everyone to have a chance. You never know!
>
> Happy puzzling,
> -Melinda
>
>
>
> On 11/7/2017 4:51 PM, damienturtle@hotmail.co.uk [4D_Cubing] wrote:
>
> Sounds great! I had fun the last time, and the idea of a different
> undisclosed puzzle is interesting. I probably won’t have much time to
> practise, but I’ll keep my eye on the discussion and should be able to join
> in when it happens. Then I’ll buy a 2^4 if I don’t manage to win one first.
> I wonder how many competitors this will have?
>
> Matt
>
>
>