[Discussion] What is the next advancement in puzzle hardware?

[I_<3_SCS]

lol this is what I expected u to say

Me too lolzsauce

 

[Mellis Ferton]

2. Megaminx designed around magnets. Harder, but possible.

Since Megaminx's have 12 faces, more magnets would have to be placed in, and that would make it more costly.

 

[cuber314159]

One thing that may help is lockable outer layers on 5x5x5 that would make it feel like a 3x3x3, something that could be pressed quickly that would lock the edges in place, it may be unnecessary but idk

 

[shadowslice e]

I think a gans octocore style mega would be interesting. Maybe not necessarily an improvement but interesting.

 

[I_<3_SCS]

how bout no hardware? Just turns straight out of the mold. kinda like single print 3d printed models with hinges and sh*t.

 

[One Wheel]

Since Megaminx's have 12 faces, more magnets would have to be placed in, and that would make it more costly.

Number of magnets isn't that big of a deal. A properly magnetized megaminx would take 120 magnets, which is less than a 6x6 or 7x7, and only 24 more than a 4x4 or 5x5. At $0.10 a magnet (slightly less in bulk) that's a total of $12/puzzle. Not a cheap budget puzzle, but for a high-end puzzle not too bad. Mostly I just want one that's relatively easy to magnetize so I can do it myself. The issue is that the angles of a megaminx make it much more difficult to create a corner design that isn't too cramped to fit magnets into.

One thing that may help is lockable outer layers on 5x5x5 that would make it feel like a 3x3x3, something that could be pressed quickly that would lock the edges in place, it may be unnecessary but idk

That's exactly the point of magnets, with stronger magnets on the inner layers than outer layers. I suspect that having an additional locking mechanism will add weight, decrease reliability, and take too long to actuate mid-solve.

 

[VenomCubing]

I think a gans octocore style mega would be interesting. Maybe not necessarily an improvement but interesting.

The yuxin mega should be close enough.

 

[Mastermind2368]

I personally think that 3x3's will be modded in ways like magnets, smaller/bigger sizes, ges crap ect... As for the rest of the WCA puzzles, I think they will become better and will all be around the same advancement as about 3x3's from 5 or so years ago. Then 3x3's will slow down again and the other puzzles will catch up. After that, someone will come up with something else that helps all the WCA puzzles. Also I have thought about this before, but what if the WCA becomes so big that they start making there own cubes that are only comp legal. Also things like robots that mix the cubes up in like 2 seconds. The WCA starting to make cubes is far fetched, but I could def see the robots scrambling.

 

[One Wheel]

Also I have thought about this before, but what if the WCA becomes so big that they start making there own cubes that are only comp legal. Also things like robots that mix the cubes up in like 2 seconds. The WCA starting to make cubes is far fetched, but I could def see the robots scrambling.

WCA mandating that only WCA-manufactured cubes are comp-legal: that's the day that a competitor organization starts and WCA becomes the stuff of memes.

Mechanical scrambling: I like. It's really not even that complicated of a mechanism. I wouldn't be surprised if you could build a few for <$100 each. Dodecahedron scrambles are mechanically 2-gen, so a scrambler would be even cheaper than a cube scrambler. That could also reduce the validity of the primary argument against adding gigaminx as a WCA event: "it takes too long to scramble!"

 

[TipsterTrickster]

A clock that corner cuts with magnets and fluid turning

WCA mandating that only WCA-manufactured cubes are comp-legal: that's the day that a competitor organization starts and WCA becomes the stuff of memes.

Mechanical scrambling: I like. It's really not even that complicated of a mechanism. I wouldn't be surprised if you could build a few for <$100 each. Dodecahedron scrambles are mechanically 2-gen, so a scrambler would be even cheaper than a cube scrambler. That could also reduce the validity of the primary argument against adding gigaminx as a WCA event: "it takes too long to scramble!"

and the mechanical scrambler is a great idea, but I don’t know how you would make one that scrambles clock, skewb pyraminx, and 4x4+. Also I think the mechanical scrambler would be the most effective with 4x4+, Possibly Square 1, and megaminx. But not so much with skewb, pyra, 2x2 and 3x3.

 

[Mastermind2368]

A clock that corner cuts with magnets and fluid turning
and the mechanical scrambler is a great idea, but I don’t know how you would make one that scrambles clock, skewb pyraminx, and 4x4+. Also I think the mechanical scrambler would be the most effective with 4x4+, Possibly Square 1, and megaminx. But not so much with skewb, pyra, 2x2 and 3x3.

Clock could just have gears that fit into the knobs and pistons to change the pins. For most of the WCA puzzles, you could make something that wraps around each side. Somethings would be a bit harder to scramble like squan or maybe mega, but I still could see ways to scramble them.

 

[One Wheel]

Clock could just have gears that fit into the knobs and pistons to change the pins. For most of the WCA puzzles, you could make something that wraps around each side. Somethings would be a bit harder to scramble like squan or maybe mega, but I still could see ways to scramble them.

Square-1 and skewb seem like they'd be difficult to me, but I'm reasonably certain that megaminx would be pretty straightforward.

 

[Competition Cuber]

Square-1 and skewb seem like they'd be difficult to me, but I'm reasonably certain that megaminx would be pretty straightforward.

Maybe not skewb, but definitely squan. Because you do change orientation when scrambling skewb after all (the centers move)

 

[Reed Merrill]

I think sooner than later Chris Trans awesome idea for a totally 3x3 mechanism (project Alinea) will be made, hopefully by him. I think that would be a really cool improvement.