The One Year Challenge: BLINDFOLDED 40 lines

[DarthDuck]

2-step finesse would be a b****

[electrofry]

it is absolutely possible IF you have someone reading out the pieces for you. if you do not have any idea what the pieces are, even with 10000 pps and grandmaster reflexes with perfect 60Hz finesse, its still gonna be luck.

[Kitaru]

I also would want to hear the sound of the piece as it enters the playfield (this is how TGM works, correct?).

It's the sound of the next piece, but I can just tweak your Nullpo so it's the sound of the current piece if that's more helpful.

I'm going to take on this challenge whether anyone is still interested in it or not, but I'd have a much greater sense of accomplishment (IF I complete it) if everyone else agrees on the terms.

I started trying to do this again the other day and it's gnarly as hell. I'm trying to "ease into it" with a piece of graph paper taped to my wall and my laptop lid closed so I can at least focus on something, but it has not be exceedingly helpful. I think my best so far has been 20 Lines with heavy spam.

I almost wonder if I should just make a version of the game with more accessibility features for the visually impaired and stop trying to worry about accomplishing this within the constraints of the game as it is now. Maybe it'd be easier if I played with Bag. I don't know. This game is harsh.

[myndzi]

Shuey, I was playing with a kind of 'audio braille' configuration for the piece sounds. I only made one set and they're too slow for fast play, but it might be interesting for you depending on the rules you decide on. It'd certainly help take memorizing random weird sounds out of the mix.

By 'audio braille', I mean that the pieces were described from left to right with two tones:

....

:..

.:.

..:

::

':.

.:'

[Shuey]

Thanks Kitaru.  Yeah, I'm sure it's just a preference thing, but it seems to me that it would make more sense to focus on the current piece; especially if doing it blindfolded.  I know any of us could complete a game of 40 lines with no previews, so it just makes sense to me to play it the same way when attempting it blindfolded.  I would definitely like your help with modifying my piece sounds.

What do you (and anyone else interested) think about gravity?  Meaning, should this be taken on with a constant gravity of somewhere between 1-4, or should it be taken on like a normal sprint game (without the rush of course, but gravity that increases at a "normal" rate)?

myndzi: I'm not sure I follow what you're saying 100%, but it sounds really interesting.

I know it would be easier if I was to have my son say the pieces as they enter the well, but accomplishing this using a tonal identification method would make it seem interesting/impressive.  Someone calling out the pieces seems kinda ghetto, lol.

I also wonder, if it's even possible, if I should consider having a "heartbeat-like" tone added for the piece's gravity.  This could either make things a little easier (because you'd be aware of the piece's altitude), or it could make it much more difficult (because you'd have to keep track of a lot more; counting the tones to determine and keep track of the piece's altitude).

I think the first thing I need to do is solidify how and where the pieces spawn.  Of course I'm aware of this, but it's not something I "think" about when playing.  But when taking on this challenge, it's going to be one of the critical elements.

I haven't tried this yet, but I'm excited about the concept and everything that's involved with it.  Can't wait to give it a try!

[Sisu]

I can just tweak your Nullpo so it's the sound of the current piece if that's more helpful.

Want.  

[myndzi]

Won't be gravity in 40lines really so you probably don't need to worry about that.

http://depositfiles.com/files/tw9kjwxxf

[Shuey]

I guess as long as I don't ever need to slide a piece or spin a piece, I'll be fine.  But if I do, it'd be impossible to know when to spin or slide if you don't know the altitude of the piece...

[Sisu]

[attachmentid=340]

[Shuey]

Sisu: crazy sounds, lol.  I'll have to listen to those some more before I figure out if they'll work for sure .  OK, now that I've had a chance to actually play this (first try at 11:55pm!), I'm realizing how spot on Kitaru is: playing like this is brutal.  And with that said, here are some of my thoughts so far:

Sisu, I definitely don't want to use your piece sounds, lol - thank you though.

Everyone: After trying this, I will not be ashamed at all if I have my son or wife call out which piece is falling, lol.  Also, playing like this is very similar to playing the invisible mode, but even more challenging because you can't SEE the pieces falling, how you're rotating them, where you're moving them, what altitude they're at, and you don't get the visual feedback of the ghost moving over the stack.  With THAT said, I realized that this would probably be more brutal than I am ready for.... UNLESS!!  The stack quickly becomes impossible to remember (unless you have a photographic memory from your own imagination, lol), so I was reminded of all the "forever pattern" experience I gained recently!  I played again, this time using the playing forever technique, and had my wife calling out the pieces for me, and I was able to manage the stack, AND remember the status of the stack (or "stacks" in my case) as I built it (them)!  40 lines won't be nearly as difficult as previously thought.  Of course this might seem like "cheating" to some, and maybe they're justified in thinking that.  But that's because they either 1. have never tried this, 2. want to take on a challenge that 99.99% of the population would never be able to conquer, 3. *insert something else in here for me, lol*

It's late and I have to get some sleep, but I'll practice this some more tomorrow and upload a video of me performing it.  If anything, it will be an example to many of how much Tetris truly helps the mind to logically solve complex problems with simple solutions .

[Shuey]

OK, so when I first took on this challenge, I was extremely excited about it.  I had my son help me by calling out the pieces, and after a few games, I was able to complete 25 lines.  When he wasn't helping me, baseballboy helped me practice a few rounds.  I then tried to get my son to help me again and he started whining about how it's hard for him because he doesn't feel like sitting there for 30-60 minutes calling out pieces to me (which I can understand).  So I asked if my wife would help once in a while to take the burden off my son.  I explained what I needed her to do, and she wasn't understanding what I was asking... after struggling with her, and making her cry (literally, I made her cry - it sucked!), I was at the mercy of my son again.  After waiting for a week for him to help me, he finally offered to help me tonight.  There's one problem with that... he f'd up when calling out pieces on 4 different occasions!!  After the last time he screwed up, he started crying and said he can't help me anymore because it's too stressful.

Well, after that glorious painting of a picture, I am here to say: I REALLY NEED HELP!

If someone is willing to help with this, I would be extremely grateful.  I either need someone to call out the pieces to me, or I need someone to program nullpomino to call out the pieces (it's not as simple as calling out the current piece.  I can explain this in more detail when someone who is interested replies, but I'm thinking that it would probably be easier and less work if someone would just get on Skype chat with me and watch my game on netplay).  And if we work well together, and we can help me accomplish 40 lines, I will pay this person $20.

Anyone "game"?

[Sisu]

You can program nullpomino to call out the current piece. What else do you need?

[Shuey]

That's where the technical difficulty comes in... I need someone to not only call out the current piece, I also need to them to call out the J and L pieces, depending on how they're going to spawn.  Example:  If J is the current piece falling, I need to know if the O will eventually come next, or if the L will eventually come next.

[Sisu]

So you want the current and the next piece called out?

[XaeL]

lol mr playing forever.