Would this count as a re-introduction?

[L_ghost]

Hello again, everyone. I was on here a year ago and made all of around five posts, but I've decided to actually be a part of this community again. I'm still playing Tetris, but mostly nullpomino. I have a few questions if no one minds answering them.

I've tried looking around for more info on TGM4, but I assume it never really took off, right? I can only find the few things that were released at its announcement.

In nullpomino, I can make a GM grade in Grade mania 1, and hit around S6 in Grade Mania 2. The thing I'm questioning is if that really even matters because I'm not using the default rule sets for the respective manias. I use Standard-Fast-B, which if I remember correctly is the Tetris DS rule setting. I guess it's not really anything special that I got a GM grade because I didn't use the proper rule set, right?

It might be because I'm not using the proper rule sets, but I appear to have hit a limit on how fast I can play. I've been essentially stuck for a year, not being able to obtain any sort of higher grade in any of the grade manias. Would anyone be kind enough to give a few pointers?

I hope no one mind my "return" and I look forward to being a part of this community.

[Zircean]

Howdy, welcome back!

TGM4 probably won't be released. Mihara took a ride on the crazy boat and isn't coming back (at least, not for a long time).

If you want the best experience for Grade Mania 1, use the Classic1 rule, and for Grade Mania 2, Classic2 is recommended. You might also want to try Speed Mania (Classic2 recommended for that as well). 20G in SRS-based rules like Standard-Fast-B is rendered kind of trivial because pieces spawn flat-side-down and because of the move reset behavior for lock delay

It might be just me, but ARS-based rules seem to allow people to go faster in 20G than SRS-based ones. It's probably because ARS is more predictable and stable...

Hopefully, this helps. Have fun!

[L_ghost]

It's good to be back! Although, I hate to hear that TOJ is going down. I enjoyed it for the short time period I played it.

The crazy boat, huh? How unfortunate. I was looking forward to seeing how Rounds mode worked.

I've tried doing the defaults for each Grade Mania 1 and 2; I can barely scrape an S2 in Grade Mania 1 before I top out. Perhaps I should have done this when I first picked up TGM instead of just picking a rule and running with it. Since I am using an SRS rule, my GM doesn't mean that much then. As you said, it's trivial at that point.

I'll just have to practice and see. To be honest, I feel almost ashamed that I've essentially been doing it wrong the entire time. Ah, well. At least this will let me feel the near orgasmic feeling of hitting GM after struggling to do so. As a thought, in Grade Mania 3 there are two rule sets: Classic 3 and Standard-Hard; Which one would you recommend?

Your post does help, thank you!  

[Kitaru]

I've tried looking around for more info on TGM4, but I assume it never really took off, right? I can only find the few things that were released at its announcement.

http://harddrop.com/article/article_309/
The last we heard is that Sega decided not to publish when all was said and done. It could be that they weren't happy with the performance of their Dekaris game (Giant Tetris), or that they were unhappy with the performance of the hardware series TGM4 was to be released on (Ringwide/Ringedge series, though there appear to be a good handful more games on this hardware than I was aware of; I only knew of Border Break and Melty Blood: Actress Again.)

I'll just have to practice and see. To be honest, I feel almost ashamed that I've essentially been doing it wrong the entire time. Ah, well. At least this will let me feel the near orgasmic feeling of hitting GM after struggling to do so.

Good luck on your journey.  http://kitaru.1101b.com/TGMGUIDE/ is an excellent resource if you're looking for tips. You won't necessarily be able to pick it up all at once, but it's great to come back now and then and see what you've learned and what you can now apply to games.

As a thought, in Grade Mania 3 there are two rule sets: Classic 3 and Standard-Hard; Which one would you recommend?

Classic/ARS is the true TGM experience, but TGM3 did feature the option to select World/SRS rotation rules. I'd say if you're picking up Classic for Grade Mania 1 & 2, then you might as well go all the way and pick it up for Grade Mania 3 as well. Classic3 also is a bit more lenient with piece handling than Classic 1 & 2, as it allows the I- and T- pieces to kick off the floor. Grade Mania 3 is a bit tougher for new players considering the increased speed, but the rotation rules may ease the transition a bit if you're having trouble learning on Grade Mania 1 & 2 alone.

I hope no one mind my "return" and I look forward to being a part of this community.

Welcome back.

[L_ghost]

I do remember hearing about the Giant Tetris. In fact, I remember hearing much more about it than I did TGM4, leading me to believe TGM4 was scrapped in favor of Giant Tetris. After reading the article though, it sounds like the plug was pulled due to clone programs of TGM. I find it strange though that in the same article stating that there will be no TGM4, TGM5 is mentioned.

Oh, I haven't seen this guide before. Thanks for the link. I remember when I first got into TGM a couple of years ago, I looked up every chart and article I could find. Yet, I've never come across this one.

I had assumed that since I was using a classic rule in Grade Mania 1 and 2, I would continue to do so in Grade Mania 3. So, let me see if I understand this. If a rule set has "Classic" in its name, then it is an ARS, but if it has "Standard" in its name, then it's a SRS. Also, are you saying that it might be beneficial to go ahead and train in Grade Mania 3? That'd be convenient if you are saying that, because my ultimate goal is to reach GM rank in TGM3/Grade Mania 3. Sure, it's lofty, but I just want to be able to say, "Yeah. I did that."

Thank you!  

[Kitaru]

I do remember hearing about the Giant Tetris. In fact, I remember hearing much more about it than I did TGM4, leading me to believe TGM4 was scrapped in favor of Giant Tetris. After reading the article though, it sounds like the plug was pulled due to clone programs of TGM. I find it strange though that in the same article stating that there will be no TGM4, TGM5 is mentioned.

Yeah, I think the TGM5 thing is just a reference to having to renegotiate the license now, even though TGM4 was already pretty much finished.

Oh, I haven't seen this guide before. Thanks for the link. I remember when I first got into TGM a couple of years ago, I looked up every chart and article I could find. Yet, I've never come across this one.

For the longest time player J.O's TGM guide was available only in Japanese, but Villadelfia took a crack at a rewrite using machine translation and consulting other knowledgeable English-speaking players to help clean up the wording. I remember this being a great resource when it was just diagrams and messy Google translation, but it should be even more useful now.

So, let me see if I understand this. If a rule set has "Classic" in its name, then it is an ARS, but if it has "Standard" in its name, then it's a SRS.

Yep, that's the Nullpomino naming convention. In other games, you may also see "World" referring to SRS.

Also, are you saying that it might be beneficial to go ahead and train in Grade Mania 3? That'd be convenient if you are saying that, because my ultimate goal is to reach GM rank in TGM3/Grade Mania 3. Sure, it's lofty, but I just want to be able to say, "Yeah. I did that."

I say play a good mix of the three depending on your mood at the time. If you do reach the level of skill necessary to reach TGM3 GM, you'd certainly have the chops to pick up TGM1 and TGM2 GMs along the way. Keep in mind that you're shooting for an achievement that would put you on the world stage, so expect to put in some good years of practice.