What to focus on as a relative beginner?

[ella_guru]

So I just realized how cool tetris is and a friend and I have been playing each other for fun. In most things I do, I like to know the why and the how and the below the surface sort of thinking. So he's trying to up his speed in just stacking as best he can and going for B2B tetris. That seems fun, but I get more satisfaction out of doing something I can work at and see the progress instead of just massing games and hoping it's working.

So, my query.

Should I just focus on stacking randomly and hone my instincts? I've been working on just setting up T spin singles here and there, I notice there is a build that lets you make T spin doubles/singles your main goal instead of tetris (more efficient!?) I've been working on that as well as the "play forever" loop which I can do pretty comfortably now (is this strategy no good in multiplayer?).

What's a good way to increase me skills? Look up stacking patterns and work on them or work on an opening (the SD yoshihiro looks fun) or just mass games, or learn how to make T spin overhangs over a single column .

Could you point  me in a direction to work on some things? I don't mind grinding it out in marathon to hone the skills, I just want a focal point.

ty ty

[Paradox]

Are you looking to be good at multiplayer?

When you play multiplayer the first thing you start with should always be a set-up. You have many choices for this. If your opponent is good the best thing to do is go for something that is quick but still packs a punch. For this reason a T-spin double is probably he best set up to start with.

After the set-up you should basically free stack. This means that you no longer follow any particular set ups. Anything that sends lines is useful in this case, it only depends on your scenario.

For example if your opponent sends you 4 lines of garbage it is best to do a tetris to clear that. If they send you one line the you might want to clear that line by making a t-spin. If your opponent has sent you a lot of garbage and you are near the top it is best to downstack. This basically means dig through what they sent you even though in some cases it won't send lines. The best players can downstack and send lines simultaneously. This means that while they are lowering their field they do t-spins, tetrises, and combos.

Hope this helps, if you have any issues with the terminology check out the wiki.

Also I can help you out one on one if you would like on nullpomino. You can find it at nullpo.weebly.com . It is currently one of the highest quality tetris games. It is a bit advanced but if you want to take tetris more seriously then that is a good place to start.

[ella_guru]

Are you looking to be good at multiplayer?


Hope this helps, if you have any issues with the terminology check out the wiki.

Yes, and just in general. And yes it helped a lot. So I need an opening.

Wow, great thanks! Should I go on it right now? I'm a real beginner but if you have some time to share that'd be great.

[Paradox]

I'm actually busy right now sorry! I usually am available though. There some other people on right now and you  can probably even ask on the shoutbox.

If not I'll just help you on another day.

[coolmaninsano]

If I could start playing Tetris all over again, I'd learn everything I have, just in reverse order. I wouldn'. be focusing on cool setups like the Yoshishiro SD, but on seemingly basic things like rotating both directions (which I'm struggling over now :/). Here's what you should focus on (in order):

-Rotating both directions and having rotations on one hand and movements on the other
-Basic T-spin setups (mainly doubles).
-Speed and stacking for tetrises.
-Downstacking.
-Using DAS/ARR and learning finesse.
-More speed.
-Advanced setups (like Yoshishiro SD).

[Paradox]

Here is a list of openings and explanations:

http://harddrop.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2519

I recommend starting with a t-spin double though. You can find a very detailed guide on how to use it midgame here:

http://harddrop.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2126

[Dakhath]

...  but on seemingly basic things like rotating both directions (which I'm struggling over now :/). Here's what you should focus on (in order):

-Rotating both directions and having rotations on one hand and movements on the other
-Basic T-spin setups (mainly doubles).

This. You can learn speed any time, but it's hard to pick this up after you're already playing pretty quickly, or it has been for me.

[ella_guru]

Jeese a helpful bunch here!

ok I'm rotating with Z and X seems to be going alright, just trying to remember which way the pieces go hah.

Coolman, is there a certain way or method/guidelines I should have in mind while practicing my stack?

-I'll have to look up DAS and ARR and finesse...

With the T spin double set up that Paradox mentioned

"Quick Openers
The TSD start "

so I should just aim to T spin double as my first move , then just stack up and play however I can from there?

I hope the questions and details aren't too much. I am a professional musician and amateur martial arts practitioner and I know solid, fundamental technique can get you very far. Your basic skill can never be too polished.

Ty ty  

[kdbar]

Hello! Congrats on your first post!

I've been playing Tetris for ~8 months now so I can still remember starting out and not really knowing what to do to get better. In my opinion, I feel that working on fundamentals has priority over learning set-ups. Of course, everyone gets better differently, but this is just how I got better. When I say fundamentals, I'm talking about speed, efficiency, and downstacking.

It seems like you're more interested in set-ups and openings though. I recommend reading the wiki for openings to find one you like. As for setting up t-spins and the like mid-game, it helps keeping the set-ups in your mind as you're playing. Just keep reminding yourself to look for patterns or possible set-up opportunities. You may have to learn to look a few pieces ahead to see if you can execute said set-ups. I feel that it pretty much comes down to knowing what the set-up looks like (this involves knowing what pieces you can/can't use to make the set-ups) and forcing yourself to look for opportunities while playing. It'll be difficult at first, but it starts to become more and more natural as you play on. Then, you'll be able to do set-ups without thinking about them at all.

[XaeL]

I recommend this order:
Rotate both directions
Get 40 Line speed down to 1 minute (dont learn tspins until you do this)
Learn tspins
Learn 2 step finesse.
Anything else.

The reason for this order is that when you get your 40 Line speed to 1 minute you will know how to intuitively stack for tspins. A 40 LIne speed of 1 minute indicates that you can stack for tetrises a high enough percentage of the time that when you set up tspins you can stack around the tspin efficiently enough to not FUKC YOURSELF up.

[Paradox]

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]so I should just aim to T spin double as my first move , then just stack up and play however I can from there? [/quote]

Yeah in my opinion the T-spin double is the best opener. After that you should play according to what your field gives you. What I mean by that is its better to use what garbage is sent to you rather than build it all up yourself (which will waste time). While you do that keep in mind what will send more lines as well as what can be set up quicker.  

Even after your opener the t-spin double will be one of the strongest and fastest line clears in your arsenal.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]
I hope the questions and details aren't too much. I am a professional musician and amateur martial arts practitioner and I know solid, fundamental technique can get you very far. Your basic skill can never be too polished.[/quote]

Professional musician? Awesome! I'm an amateur one hehe. What instrument do you play? Do you write music?

[ella_guru]

Oh this is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for.

I'm going to passively practice T spin double set ups (since I was doing t spin stuff already)

but on my frontburners I'm trying to remember the rotations for each piece, one at a time.


To Xael and those who are telling me to work on efficiency and stacking. Is there a sort of method, or pattern I should memorize or something to stack / guidelines? Or should I just mass games and slowly the patterns will reveal themselves...  Obviously, I should be trying to rotate in the least amount button presses as possible.

Also, should I be stacking for a combo pipe or a tetris pipe ? (2 spaces vs 1?)


To clarifiy - the "forever loop" method has no place in multiplayer, correct? Is it just too risky or not enough gain for the stack required?



Paradox! You play? What instrument / interests? That's great. Guitar is my main instrument, but I play all styles at a level that gets me hired. I studied the classical at university and mostly gig with that and different jazz groups, but the whole rock and pop thing comes up from time to time and is loads of fun. I also teach and get the odd transcribing /composition gig.

Oh yes, I write, all styles. Lots of "songs" just voice and guitar, and loads of instrumental things, usually mixing live sounds with electronic ones . Aside from my "songs" most people consider my instrumental stuff "far out" , whatever that means.

Oops, I gushed about music.

feel free to keep the tips and tricks comin I'm checkin this thread as I'm playing. I'd especially like to hear suggestions for just basic stacking since that seems to be a common thread in your answers. Thanks for welcoming me to the community BTW

ty ty  

[coolmaninsano]

For basic stacking: http://harddrop.com/wiki/Tetris_Stacking

Advanced stacking will have to be learned by yourself, it can't be taught. One way to get on the right foot is to watch Chopin's SRS Twist Guide.

As for the two gap vs. one gap, a five combo (10 lines stacked) sends less than a back to back tetris setup (8 lines stacked)

Downstacking through garbage and your own minos is better in multiplayer than the "playing forever" method.

Any other questions you can search the Wiki or ask me directly on the shoutbox.

EDIT: I'm surprised no one asked this already, but what game(s) do you mainly play? TF? Blockbox?

[XaeL]

For basic stacking: http://harddrop.com/wiki/Tetris_Stacking

Advanced stacking will have to be learned by yourself, it can't be taught. One way to get on the right foot is to watch Chopin's SRS Twist Guide.

As for the two gap vs. one gap, a five combo (10 lines stacked) sends less than a back to back tetris setup (8 lines stacked)

Downstacking through garbage and your own minos is better in multiplayer than the "playing forever" method.

Any other questions you can search the Wiki or ask me directly on the shoutbox.

EDIT: I'm surprised no one asked this already, but what game(s) do you mainly play? TF? Blockbox?

For flat stacking:
http://www.ryanheise.com/tetris/tetris_stacking.html

[kdbar]

I got better with efficiency just through practice. The patterns come up the more you play. You start realizing "hm, that piece would be better over here than there" and it becomes automatic. If I ever learn how to make fumen diagrams I'll show you some basic patterns that I've picked up.

On a tangent.... I really like jazz/hip-hop music. Not sure if it's your thing, but I love it.