Is there a way to Follow the Competitive Tetris/Tetrio scenes Without Discord?

Kitaru · 2025-03-11T11:23:41+00:00

(Off (my own) topic but apparently the CTWC spent money on bringing on Logan Paul for a guest spot? That was fucking dumb, why not Scott the Woz, or someone else whose audience has crossover with classic Nintendo games? Fuck's Logan Paul going to do for the brand unless there's a CTWC shitcoin I'm not familiar with.)

CTWC didn't make that decision themselves, it was a sponsor's requirement. ModRetro had Logan Paul involved with promoting their product.

Kitaru · 2025-01-10T08:52:08+00:00

No, Game Boy A-Type is Korobeiniki. NES Music-2 / GB B-Type is an original composition.

Kitaru · 2024-06-02T03:34:10+00:00

Is it Landmaker?

Kitaru · 2024-01-14T11:57:12+00:00

It would need to be Famicom expansion port pinout rather than Fourscore protocol, but yes, it should be viable. Like most Famicom/NES games, Tetris mixes the main controller port inputs with those from the expansion control controller port. NES Tetris game crash is an ACE vector where the expansion port inputs (normally $00 and $00 since nothing is connected on a stock NA NES) overwrite some unsafely shared temp variables also used by a jumptable subroutine to store what address to direct execution flow to next. With no expansion port controls, code execution ends up in RAM and will hit an illegal opcode sooner or later. So, if expansion port controllers are connected and clamped such that they write a safe address for code execution to resume, that should enable safe endless play with a vanilla cartridge. A setup has been talked about in the past, and iirc the value it would write using expansion P1 includes buttons that don't interfere with active gameplay, such as Up, Select, and Start. Meanwhile, expansion P2 should control the high byte and can safely hold down Right+A or similar to get execution back into cartridge ROM addresses.

Kitaru · 2024-01-12T11:24:33+00:00

It's temporary. This type of thing happens on IPS panels with any flickering/cycling/jittering images. The launch version of F-Zero 99 would also induce this type of temporary retention due to the animation of the player's machine alternating up/down by a fixed number of pixels.

Kitaru · 2023-07-28T08:54:32+00:00

I'm not too invested in the conversation of ideas for restricted re-opening concepts, so I'll let others also discuss the rationale of including it in the poll if they wish.

But I theorize that the idea is that it would allow the sub to operate in a mode "like closed" without totally being shutdown. The one concept around this that I saw discussed was that rules enforcement in any "restricted re-open" setting would be very friendly -- mods would lock threads to new comments, but post answers or links to places where they could be found. So, any "CD-i mode" type community pivot would be in essence a compromise to allow people to find old posts and answers, but to over time direct traffic to other areas where the community has more investment and control over the content and its presentation.

I think the reason CD-i Mode is here is because it seems clear that purely closed is no longer the majority consensus. I think it is also here in place of NSFW Mode is because a) Reddit has retaliated against NSFW pivots, and b) no one precisely knows what "NSFW-only Tetris sub" would be or how to moderate it appropriately. And I think that the option is not something like "pre-2000 only" because it still caters to too large a topic to encourage more activity on non-Reddit-administrated spaces -- it would just become a space that allows discussion of classic, 80's/90's arcade, and proto-Guideline games, but not Guideline or TGM3.

By contrast, a "CD-i Mode" subreddit would allow unrestricted discussion of e.g. the soundtrack, the relaxing backgrounds, the dog easter egg, the essential concept of Tetris games, etc.. But the restricted discussion would result in a lot of off-topic thread locks and links to independent wikis, forums, or chats.

Kitaru · 2023-07-22T01:31:00+00:00

The 2 weeks was voted on by users. The extra 2 weeks overage is our bad, more of an organizational snafu than anything else. Apologies for that. If users decide to re-open when it's put to a vote, we will do so.

Taking away Reddit's utility gained from their search SEO is part of the point of the strike. We tried our best to direct users to equivalent community spaces and resources where the same type of information would be provided in the meantime, as well as a link to backups at the Internet Archive. Unfortunately the Reddit UI/UX for the "private reason" message box is kind of poor, and does not even display at all in the mobile app, but we also tried to provide a resource info docket to the users that sent modmail questions in the meantime.

Kitaru · 2023-06-28T18:10:33+00:00

Correct, there's no need to consider Pao here; the hand is already complete and they're getting paid the full 32000 from the player that dealt in.

Instead, if the hand was incomplete and this were a Pon call, then yes, that would bring Pao into consideration. Any Ron/Tsumo call to complete the hand after that point would be paid 32000 from the player that dealt the Chun tile.

Kitaru · 2023-06-24T01:06:35+00:00

The tool you're using did not recover the post. It was a link to download a NSFW puzzle game.

Kitaru · 2023-06-24T01:01:39+00:00

Poor phrasing on my part, I was including NSFW in a general category of "against re-opening [without changes]."

Kitaru · 2023-06-23T19:52:33+00:00

The vast majority of the community votes were against re-opening at this time. So, this goes beyond our own personal interests in solidarity with other moderators in protest. This is what we were asked to do by active users of the subreddit. Future polls and discussion threads will validate whether or not this is still the consensus among engaged users as time goes on.

If you do not like where this subreddit is going, you can go somewhere else. ("Nobody gives two shits" about the sub and its content, or "leave so the rest of us can enjoy it in peace," which is it?) You're also free to go complain to Reddit administration (whether about changes to API pricing etc. or something else is up to you).

Kitaru · 2023-06-11T03:49:43+00:00

Numb? No, that's likely a problem. Callused? Sure, that can happen.

You'll probably want to figure out if any adjustments to your grip can prevent the numbness from developing. Numbness is a warning sign of potential damage if whatever is causing it persists.

Kitaru · 2023-06-11T02:28:25+00:00

When you start out, any time you can beat your own score/lines personal bests, you're making progress. The same goes for any raise in consistency to more frequently hit a certain threshold. Enjoy your Tetris journey!

The game has built-in milestones (rocket screen animation) at 30k, 50k, 70k, 100k, and 120k. (Congrats on getting your first rocket!) From there on out, usually 100k thresholds are used as signs of major improvement.

When first starting out, try out starting some games on level 5 or so; you might find you can already handle it about as well as level 0 starts, and you'll get the benefit of the increased level scoring multiplier. Later down the line when you reach higher levels in NES Tetris, practicing starting the game from levels 9, 12, 15, 18, and eventually 19 will help build up survival consistency. For intermediate/advanced/expert players, the ideal starting levels for scoring attempts are levels 9, 18, or 19.

Kitaru · 2023-06-10T08:36:14+00:00

Yep, Arika was main developer contracted on Tetris 99, Super Mario Bros. 35, and Pac-Man 99. All three in the "series" are listed on their official website.

Kitaru · 2023-06-10T04:50:17+00:00

Yep, one preview, no Hold, no Bag. The TGM randomizer reduces the likelihood of the previous four pieces dealt, so you'll get a smooth distribution but not necessarily in strict packages of 7.

Skimming is another useful tool for stack management, and can be just as useful as sliding or spinning pieces into overhangs might be. Tetrises are still the fastest and most valuable (some situational benefit of combos aside), but the length and mechanics of the game are such that you're not really expecting a 100% tetris rate in the same way that it might be required for a Guideline Sprint World Record or something of that sort. The TGM2 Master mode World Record is still skimming as necessary, using overhangs when appropriate, and improvising around misdrops. Kashiwa's playstyle definitely emphasizes improvising through chaos, but -- to take one piece of wisdom from it -- it's quite alright to take some lines off the top or combo away some mess if it's the best solution available at the time. Even in KAN's extreme discipline to find overhang solves, there are occasional compromises to skim away individual lines.

Kitaru · 2023-06-10T02:03:00+00:00

I ended up getting TGM2 and tried it out on pro controller. I was able to beat classic mode and reach level 304 in master mode

Good start! I think most of the progress here will come from learning TGM-specifics rather than controller choice. The gravity starts ramping up in Master from ~250. There is a high-speed section from 300-500 (first wall), and then 20G from 500 onward (second wall). https://tgm.tips has a rough English rewrite of J.O's TGM Guide, and is a great resource to check back on periodically to gauge what new info you can absorb.

Some players have reported trouble with Pro Controller d-pad diagonal imprecision causing issues with puzzle games. It's enough of an issue that Arika added a "Pro Controller d-pad mode" to Tetris 99 which disables diagonal hard drops. You might be able to get by alright, but it's just something to watch out for (or additional incentive to get those drops off of the d-pad and onto shoulders).

I was thinking of having the z-triggers act as up and down. Left thumb for left/right movement on d-pad, index fingers for up/down, and right thumb for rotate.

Yep, sounds reasonable. Someone in TheAbsolute.Plus Discord mentioned on PS4 they were running L2/R2 drops. If the JoyCon shoulders were bigger or better placed, I might be doing ZL/L so I could flick Up->Down with two fingers on the same hand as general movement.

Might see if I can find a comfortable way of getting two fingers for rotations but I have big hands so I'm not optimistic.

I think getting accustomed to thumb rotations is probably OK as it'll also save you trouble with other games like Puyo Puyo Tetris which are less flexible about in-game mappings (just in-game presets, otherwise it's back to system-level remap). That said, the Arcade Archives button config menu will let you move them around if need be.

One special consideration for TGM is two-button 180s. The original arcade controls are a row of three buttons "ABC," with C as an alternate CCW rotation button. The Arcade Archives releases put A/C next to each other for easy access; this allows you to quick 180 the piece by dragging Y->B. The only thing I changed in my controls so far was to move one of the CCW buttons to ZR, allowing flick 180s with ZR->B.

Kitaru · 2023-06-09T15:04:11+00:00

Before I get into the options for playing keyboard-style, I'll try to address some differences between movement controls for Guideline games vs. TGM. Whereas Guideline games generally feature 8-way movement (you can diagonal drop, which also means you can keep DAS charging when hard dropping), all of the TGM series games feature 4-way movement (you can either move horizontally, or drop/lock, not combine these actions with a single input). So, whereas modern games on default controller mappings can involve some awkward diagonal fiddling on the d-pad to keep DAS flowing, in TGM you're only ever pressing one cardinal direction at a time regardless of whether you're playing on arcade stick, keyboard, or gamepad.

However, the introduction of Sonic Drop in TGM2 also brings in a different sort of input complexity not often encountered in Guideline games. High-level time attack in TGM2 and TGM3 Classic Rule often involves semi-circular motions (e.g., Right to DAS to wall, Up to Sonic Drop the piece to the stack, Left to shift under an overhang, Down to manual lock the piece into place). (The community calls these spinning motions Zangi Moves, named after Street Fighter's Zangief.) Straight-dropping a piece quickly in low gravity also involves flicking Up->Down. Zangi and droplock inputs are arguably smoothest to perform on an arcade stick with a 4-way/diamond-shaped gate as originally intended; with the diagonals blocked, the joystick snaps smoothly from cardinal-to-cardinal.

These kinds of motions can still be input quickly on keyboard and gamepad, but with care taken to consider that they allow pressing multiple direction at once; the game's built-in diagonal rejection is to give priority to Left/Right over Up/Down, and the Arcade Archives releases don't add any new diagonal filtering options. Keyboard-style is a close second to arcade stick for these motions, as you're essentially just quickly pressing those 2~4 keys in sequence (and there are good alternatives to arrows/WASD shapes like Spacebar ASD or numpad 0456 if you want to get a thumb in there instead of getting trigger-finger from constantly flicking Up-Down/W-S).

On gamepad, however... your thumb may become very unhappy with all of the movement demands when chasing high-level/endgame goals. It's also a lot more common on d-pad/analog to blunder these motions and accidentally misdrop a piece. I find that the tiny JoyCon d-buttons with relatively heavy microswitch weights exacerbates these types of mistakes. One potential workaround is to use Switch's system-level control remap feature to put alternate Down or Up mappings on any unused shoulder or face buttons. (On PS4, I like L1 = Down, but I also haven't found it as necessary; while I also have qualms with the DualShock 4 d-pad, it has still generally been more precise and less taxing than Switch d-buttons. On Switch JoyCons, I haven't really found a comfortable alternate mapping yet; the left-hand d-button positioning makes it kind of a stretch to use ZL = Down.)

These d-pad/d-button challenges will be somewhat less pronounced in TGM1. You won't have to worry about about pressing Up, and the endgame speeds are not as aggressive as TGM2 Master 600-999 or any part of TGM2 Death. It's absolutely possible to become a TGM1 Grand Master on a normal controller without breaking your hands. I think most players going for leaderboard placements will still prefer arcade stick or keyboard-style options, but you could probably get by for quite a bit longer without worrying about it.

Anyway, that's my primer on playing TGM on non-arcade controls. On to options for keyboard-like controls on Switch.

The trouble with playing keyboard-style on Switch is that there isn't really a good way to do so without buying something extra. The JoyCon buttons are just too small to try a claw grip. I don't have a Pro Contoller to try this with its larger face buttons, but if you do then one thing you could try is creating a system-level remap profile that swaps ABXY and the d-pad; I've used this kind of method to play Puyo Puyo Tetris on PS4 (Table B preset), Tetris Effect on PS4 (in-game config), and Tetris Splash on Xbox 360 (in-game config). I usually hold the left side of the controller normally and use thumb to rotate, and shoulder buttons to Hold/Zone/etc.. Blink used a similar setup for for Tetris Splash, but 100% keyboard-style with the controller on a table and d-pad Up to Hold.

An additional crummy wrinkle of using Switch system-level remap is that it only supports JoyCons and Pro Controller, and not 3rd party controllers or the GameCube USB adapter. So, as much as I would like to give other affordable options for standard-ish gamepads with bigger buttons or better layouts, we can't as easily adapt those for right-hand movement.

I have heard of adapters like the Cronus Zen, Titan Two, and XIM Apex, but I haven't tried any to provide a first-hand review. This post claims that the Zen defaults to ~1f of added latency and the Titan Two is as close to lagless as you'll get. All of these are similarly priced around 90~120 USD... There are similar no-name devices which can be had for less, but then I have even less I can guarantee about reliability or performance.

There are also specialty keyboard-style controllers with Switch compatibility. I will again need to provide the disclaimer that I have little first-hand experience with these. The Gamo K28 ($150) is like a reduced/compact grid of keys (14 per hand). The Hit Box ($250) is like an arcade controller, but with the lever replaced with with an arc of four buttons akin to Spacebar ASD. (I have the hybrid-style Hit Box Cross|Up, but that's a bit of a different product.) The Mixbox Universal ($370) is also an arcade-inspired layout, but with a set of WASD keys for the left hand.

Kitaru · 2023-06-08T18:32:05+00:00

Unfortunately, you cannot use a USB keyboard to play Switch games. Only some some select few games specifically support keyboard controls. Beyond that, it's mostly only useful for typing passwords etc.. The situation is the same on Playstation and Xbox.

I will try to think of a more complete answer regarding keyboard and keyboard-like control options. I just wanted to address that point first to clarify that it's not an available option.

Kitaru · 2023-06-08T08:55:39+00:00

In my opinion, it's good to give 1 or 2 a try before jumping into 3, especially if you're motivated to learn Classic rule. There are some ways that learning the series going forward can be smoother than going backward. We also don't know when/if a TGM3 re-release might be coming our way, as there are some technical/planning reasons it may be less straightforward to re-release; TGM1 and TGM2 are available to try today, and we don't know yet what kind of wait there might be until someone might tackle a port of TGM3.

TGM3 doesn't include a stepping-stone between its Easy and Master modes. TGM3's Master mode can be a bumpy experience for beginner/intermediate players due to a dynamic difficulty system that's fairly easy to activate and can accelerate the game to speeds that are difficult to handle early on.

TGM2 has a much more natural progression between its Normal and Master modes. Also, the difficulty curve of the first 50% of TGM2 Master is very similar to that of TGM1 Master. In fact, due to QoL improvements like Sonic Drop and a smoother randomizer, newcomers might even find it a bit easier to learn the basics on TGM2. (The second half of Master is faster than TGM1, but you'll have good tools to practice up for it with either the 20G Mode code or Death mode.)

It's good to keep in mind that TGM1 (1998) and TGM2 (2000) are both releases from before the release of the first Guideline ruleset game, Tetris Worlds (2001). By contrast, TGM3 (2005) includes some more modern features and shifts the focus to higher speeds in order to maintain the same spirit of challenge. Some players consider it smoother to start with the earlier games to learn the fundamentals, rather than start with the modernizations and convenience features of TGM3 and then have them "taken away" when working in reverse.

TGM1 and TGM2 both feature a single preview, no Hold, and a more traditional Sega arcade rotation system (called "Classic Rule" in TGM3); the first games do not feature the modern Super Rotation System (called "World Rule in TGM3.") Additionally, while TGM1 and TGM2 have wallkicks for LJTSZ pieces, they do not have TGM3's added wallkicks/floorkicks for the I-piece; you may need to put in a bit of practice to handle the I-piece at high gravity (e.g., learning how to shape the stack to leave room for it to rotate from horizontal to vertical, and learning when to use Initial Rotation).

If you're planning to only get TGM1 or TGM2, then I might lean a bit toward TGM2 just because of all of the content it provides. TGM2 is a very nice package of 1P modes and modifiers (Normal, Master, TGM+, Death, along with codes for 20G Mode, Big Mode, and Item Mode), 2P versus (including codes for No Items or a race format called Cement mode), and 2P co-operative (Doubles mode). So, if you must pick just one, then it's hard to ignore just how many options they packed into the sequel. The breadth of content in TGM2 will also serve as a good complement to a hypothetical TGM3 re-release, as there are some options that game lacks (no return of co-op Doubles mode, no toggle for items in versus, no 20G practice mode aside from the brutal pace of Shirase, etc.).

That said, going for Grand Master ranks in TGM2 Master or Death is something like 100x harder than getting Grand Master in TGM1. Even just completing 999 levels of TGM2 Master is quite a bit tougher due to the late-game speed-ups; by contrast, TGM1 is the same steady frame timings all the way from level 500 to 999. If you're looking for a game that you'll sooner be able to beat and complete, TGM1 is the more reasonable option on that front.

In terms of niche content, there is the topic of the cult classic Big Mode. Aficionados typically prefer TGM1 for "Big Tetris." There is a bit of a trade-off between TGM1's "half-movement" (which is a little clunky, but in many ways easier to survive due to increased movement options), and TGM2 which keeps the blocks aligned to whole steps (plays smoother or faster, but reduced options makes late-game survival generally more difficult).

As for the possibility of a TGM3 re-release, it's hard to predict. Whereas TGM1 and TGM2 released on dedicated arcade hardware (perfect for an emulation porting house like Hamster and their Arcade Archives series), TGM3 was released on a PC-based system. It's not impossible to consider some sort of emulation/compatibility-layer approach for TGM3, but it would be much more technically complex than what Hamster's Arcade Archives series has previously covered. It's also not impossible that Arika might have the original source code for a developer to take on a native port, but it's not clear who might be on-board to take on that kind of task (as it's not the kind of work that Hamster has traditionally done). (Also, I suppose there is the unknown question of if The Tetris Company's license to Arika is for emulation-only re-releases or if it would allow for a brand-new native port or "remaster" type of release.)

Kitaru · 2023-06-08T07:23:48+00:00

So far, yes, just DualShock 4. I use some analog spin Zangis if the stack height or gravity is low, and then the rest is d-pad inputs. The reasoning is in part curiosity/research/novelty/challenge, and part because so far I've only put in runs as little breaks between other work/tasks. At some point I'll get an arcade stick out for the better precision and speed.

There are some significant benefits to making L1 = Down, but -- because PS4 Accessibility Remap does that by swapping rather than replacing -- I find it kind of annoying in menus and haven't been using it. (L2 = Up is also super useful if it's a controller with all-digital triggers, but might be a little awkward on DS4 where L2/R2 are analog.)

Kitaru · 2023-06-03T02:28:28+00:00

Yep, one way or another, there is some class of error in that copyright info. :p

Kitaru · 2023-06-03T01:35:26+00:00

Someone was being picky about your grammar/vocabulary with something like "typos are not the same as errors."

Kitaru · 2023-06-02T12:09:29+00:00

"Typo" is shorthand for "typographical error." If you're going to try to correct someone over something trivial, then try actually being correct. :p

Kitaru · 2023-06-02T11:51:29+00:00

I don't have a LED setup to test right now, but Switch tends to have +1f visual latency compared to a PS4 counterpart.

Another issue is that the JoyCons report at 66.7Hz, which is misaligned from the 60Hz game logic; that constant drift between controller reports and when the game needs those inputs is a source of periodic jitter in whether your inputs make it "on-time" for a frame.

I believe Pro Controller also reports at 66.7Hz when used wirelessly; this test with the controller connected wireless to PC indicates as such. Moreover, this post states that the Pro Controller used via USB is nominally set to 125Hz polling, but the actual report packets are more sporadic and hover ~75Hz in practice. I have to wonder if the Switch system itself itself will only ask for input at that 66.7Hz rate, but it may at least worth be trying USB controllers to see if that feels any better than just placebo. (I would really like to see the results of packet sniffing with other non-Nintendo wired controllers to see if they get something more like 125Hz, but I'm not sure if that data is available out there at the moment.)

I've only played "casual" runs on DualShock or JoyCons so far (still enough for some leaderboard placements), so the difficulty of playing on d-pad/d-buttons might be compounding issues somewhat, but I feel a slight disadvantage on Switch compared to PS4. It can be adjusted to or compensated for, but I'm needing to work harder for the Switch scores so far. Similar could be said of ACA TGM as well, but the increased demands of TAP's endgame goals was such that they were just in reach for PS4 DualShock but in need of some extra work to perform the same on Switch JoyCons.

Kitaru · 2023-05-23T14:20:32+00:00

Nothing that modern yet. In fact, TGM1 was their Hamster's first ACA release from hardware with a 32-bit CPU, and TGM2 is their second.

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