[Help Thread] FMC Discussion

[TheCoolMinxer]

did another attempt today, it started quite promising but I couldN#t find anything after f2l-1, maybe some pro FMCers can help

L' U F2 U' L2 D B2 U L2 R2 F2 D' R U2 L' B' L U' L2 D B'
Inverse: B D' L2 U L' B L U2 R' D F2 R2 L2 U' B2 D' L2 U F2 U' L

F2 U' F2 U' B' //2x2
L' U L2 U2 L2 //2x2x3
I: R U R' //F2L-1

and after that there was like nothing, on normal nor on inverse

 

[CyanSandwich]

Had a real nice 1 move 3-corner insertion.

Spoiler

F2 L' B2 R D2 F2 R' U2 B2 U2 R2 D R2 B D' F R F' D' F
i: F' D F R' F' D B' R2 D' R2 U2 B2 U2 R F2 D2 R' B2 L F2
(L2 B2 D R' D2) //2x2x2
(F U2 F' U2 L2) //2x2x3
F2 R' F' R L' U2 L //3E5C (16)

sk: F2 R' * F' R L' U2 ^ L' U2 F U2 F' D2 R D' B2 L2

^ D' @ L2 D L' R F' L2 F R' L (cancels 2)
* R' B2 R F R' B2 R F' (cancels 2)
@ D R' D' L2 D R D' L2 (cancels 7)

Solution: F2 R2 B2 R F R' B2 R F2 R L' U2 R' D' L2 D L' R2 F' L2 F R' U2 F U2 F' D2 R D' B2 L2 (31)

did another attempt today, it started quite promising but I couldN#t find anything after f2l-1, maybe some pro FMCers can help

L' U F2 U' L2 D B2 U L2 R2 F2 D' R U2 L' B' L U' L2 D B'
Inverse: B D' L2 U L' B L U2 R' D F2 R2 L2 U' B2 D' L2 U F2 U' L

F2 U' F2 U' B' //2x2
L' U L2 U2 L2 //2x2x3
I: R U R' //F2L-1

and after that there was like nothing, on normal nor on inverse

F2 U' F2 U' B' //2x2
L' U L2 U2 L2 //2x2x3
I: R U R' //F2L-1
I: F U F' //Insert edge
I:F R U R' U' F' U2 //L5C in 21

Maybe some pro FMCers will have a better idea.

 

[G2013]

I'll give it a try and see what I find: (Although I'm by no means a Pro FMCer, I'm barely a beginner XD)

Scramble: L' U F2 U' L2 D B2 U L2 R2 F2 D' R U2 L' B' L U' L2 D B'
Inverse: B D' L2 U L' B L U2 R' D F2 R2 L2 U' B2 D' L2 U F2 U' L

() is on inverse

U' B' D2 B D2 //2x2
L2 U2 L2 U L2 //Pseudo 2x2x3, Premove L
(L') //Premove
U' F2 L' U2 L F' U' F' U' R U R' F' R' F2 R F//To L3C
Skeleton: U' B' D2 B D2 L2 U2 L2 U L2 U' F2 L' U2 L F' U' F' U' R U R' F' R' F2 R F L (28)

Then insertion with IF because I don't want to search it XD

U' B' D2 B D2 L2 U2 L2 U L2 U' F2 L' U2 L F' [@1] U' F' U' R U R' F' R' F2 R F L
Insert at @1: F' D' F U F' D F U'
Fewest moves: 34. 2 moves cancelled
The final solution: U' B' D2 B D2 L2 U2 L2 U L2 U' F2 L' U2 L F2 D' F U F' D F U2 F' U' R U R' F' R' F2 R F L

34 moves.
Not so bad for having found it in 10 minutes ;D

 

[guysensei1]

Weekly FMC
Scramble: R F2 B D2 L2 F2 B' D F2 U D B' L F2 R2 B U2 R F' U'

Spoiler

premove U'
B R2 U B2// 2x2x2 (4)
U' L' U L F U//pseudo 2x2x3+ preserve pair (10)
L2 F L U' // F2L-1 (14)
F' R' F2 R F' U F U'//F2L+EO(22)
D F' D2 B' U L2 U' B D2 F D' F//ZBLL (34)
35 moves for almost linear attempt, not bad considering I haven't done FMC in a while lol

 

[Cale S]

Weekly FMC
Scramble: R F2 B D2 L2 F2 B' D F2 U D B' L F2 R2 B U2 R F' U'

Spoiler

premove U'
B R2 U B2// 2x2x2 (4)
U' L' U L F U//pseudo 2x2x3+ preserve pair (10)
L2 F L U' // F2L-1 (14)
F' R' F2 R F' U F U'//F2L+EO(22)
D F' D2 B' U L2 U' B D2 F D' F//ZBLL (34)
35 moves for almost linear attempt, not bad considering I haven't done FMC in a while lol

My solution:

Spoiler

L2 // square
(B2 R2) // roux block
F2 L F' // 2x2x3
(B' R) R // 8 move F2L - 1 lol
D B D B' // 12 move F2L lol
B' L' D' L D B D // to L3C
skeleton:
L2 F2 L F' R D B D B2 L' D' L D B D R' @ B R2 B2
@ = [L, B R B']

Final solution: L2 F2 L F' R D B D B2 L' D' L D B D R' L B R B' L' B R B2 (24)



There's also this 5 move 2x2x3:
(B2 R2 F) L2 F2

 

[tseitsei]

24 single nr and 28.33 mo3 nr today

 

[CyanSandwich]

My solution:

Spoiler

L2 // square
(B2 R2) // roux block
F2 L F' // 2x2x3
(B' R) R // 8 move F2L - 1 lol
D B D B' // 12 move F2L lol
B' L' D' L D B D // to L3C
skeleton:
L2 F2 L F' R D B D B2 L' D' L D B D R' @ B R2 B2
@ = [L, B R B']

Final solution: L2 F2 L F' R D B D B2 L' D' L D B D R' L B R B' L' B R B2 (24)


There's also this 5 move 2x2x3:
(B2 R2 F) L2 F2

Here's my not-so-good 33 move solution.

Spoiler

Can't believe I missed that 1 move square lol.

(L2 F L D L2) //2x2x2 (5/5)
L B L' B2 //2x2x3 (4/9)
D2 R2 //Pseudo F2L-1 (2/11)
(R') //Correct F2L-1 (1/12)
R' D2 R //Insert edge (3-1/14)
B' L' D' L D B D //5C (7/21)

sk: L B L' B2 D2 (*) R D2 R B' L' D' L D B D R L2 D' L' F' L2

* = D' R' U' R D R' U (^) R
^ = F L F' R2 F L' F' R2

24 single nr and 28.33 mo3 nr today

Oh snap, that's pretty good. What do you average?

 

[tseitsei]

Oh snap, that's pretty good. What do you average?

Thanks

I would say that I average something like 31-32

Solves in this mean of 3 were 27 34 and 24

I'll try to post solutions and scrambles here later

EDIT: scrambles

#1
F2 L2 R2 D B2 D2 U' L' R2 F L F2 D2 U' B F2 D' U2 R'

#2
R2 U2 F R2 B' F R2 F2 U F L B2 R D R U2 B' U' R

#3
B2 D' R2 F2 D2 L2 B2 D' U' L' U' L2 F' U2 L2 R' D2 B' F2

EDIT2:

I only currently have a reconstruction for the last 24 move solve.

something I remember from the first 2 solutions:

Spoiler

1st solve was a 20 move skeleton to leave 4 corners that I got SUPER lucky insertions and cancelled 9 moves total for a 27 move solve.
Start was
(F2 U2) //2x2x1 on inverse
B2 L2 // 2x2x2

2nd solve was 20 move skeleton to leave 5 corners. Sadly I messed up finding insertions and just had to use a simple 8 move comm for the last insertion without cancellations because I was running out of time.
I'm pretty sure that the start was:
(L2 F R2 U D' R) // 2x2x2 + 1 pair on inverse

Full reconstruction of the NR single:

Spoiler

scramble: B2 D' R2 F2 D2 L2 B2 D' U' L' U' L2 F' U2 L2 R' D2 B' F2

Solution:
(R) //2x2x1 on inverse 1/1
R U2 // pseudo 2x2x2 + pairs 2/3
(U') // add premove U' to make a real 2x2x2 1/4
L B D2 // lol moar blocks! F2L-1pair-1edge 3/7
B2 U' L' U // F2L-1 + the first B2 fixes EO also 4/11
D' B' D // 2 more pairs 3/14
B D' B2 D // All but 3 corners 4/18

Skeleton: R U2 L B D2 B2 U' L' U D' B' [1] D B D' B2 D U' R

[1] = B L B' R2 B L' B' R2 // insert at [1]. 2 moves cancel 8-2=6/24

I also had a backup/safety skeleton with 3 corners left @ 22 moves so mo3 NR was already safe but this ending also gave me a single NR

backup:
(R) //2x2x1 on inverse 1/1
R U2 // pseudo 2x2x2 + pairs 2/3
(U') // add premove U' to make a real 2x2x2 1/4
L B D2 // lol moar blocks! F2L-1pair-1edge 3/7

Same start until here
U' L' U // F2L-1 but bad EO 4/10

After that on inverse with premoves U' L U D2 B' L' U2 R' 8/8

R' U // fix F2L-1 2/10
B' L' D L D2 B2 D //EO and preserve/build some blocks 7/17
B' L B L' B' //ab3c 5/22

 

[CyanSandwich]

PB mo3 (first sub-30), ao5 and ao12 simultaneously
29.33 / 31.33 / 32.1
36, 29, 35, 31, 34, 31, 32, 35, 33, 27, 33, 28

Spoiler: Mo3 solutions

Spoiler: 27

B2 U B2 U2 F2 U L2 F2 R2 B2 D B U R F R U2 B' R' U' R2
i: R2 U R B U2 R' F' R' U' B' D' B2 R2 F2 L2 U' F2 U2 B2 U' B2

(D' F R' D) //Pseudo 2x2x2 (4/4)
D2 //Fix 2x2x2 (1/5)
R' //2x2x3-corner (1/6)
U2 F' R U' R' //F2L-2 (5/11)
U' L' U L U2 //6C (5/16)

skel: D2 R' U2 F' ^ R U' R' U' L' U L U2 D' R F' D

^ U' L' U R U' L * U R' (cancels 4)
* B L2 B' R2 B L2 B' R2 (cancels 1)

solution: D2 R' U2 F' U' L' U R U' L B L2 B' R2 B L2 B' R U' L' U L U2 D' R F' D

Spoiler: 33

F2 U2 B D2 F' L2 R2 B' F' L2 F' U F' R' D' B' D F L B2 R2
i: R2 B2 L' F' D' B D R F U' F L2 F B R2 L2 F D2 B' U2 F2

(F' R F2 B' R)
F L' D' L2
F2 D F' D'
R F2 R2 D R D'
L' U L U' F' U' F U F' //3C (28)

sk: F L' D' L2 F2 D F' D' R F2 ^ R2 D R D' L' U L U' F' U' F U F' R' B F2 R' F
RGW - RGY - RBY
^ F L F' R2 F L' F' R2

solution: F L' D' L2 F2 D F' D' R F' L F' R2 F L' F' D R D' L' U L U' F' U' F U F' R' B F2 R' F (33)

Spoiler: 28

Super lucky insertions.

L2 F2 U B2 F2 D2 B2 U' L2 R2 B2 R B D2 B L2 U' F U' L2 R2
I: R2 L2 U F' U L2 B' D2 B' R' B2 R2 L2 U B2 D2 F2 B2 U' F2 L2

D' L' F L F //2x2x2 (5/5)
(F D' B' L) //Pseudo 2x2x3 (4/9)
L' //Fix Pseudoness (1/10)
D2 B2 D2 R D' R' //F2L-1 +EO (6/16)
D' B D B' L B' L' //5C (6/22)

skel: D' L' ^ F L F L' D2 B2 D2 R D' R' D' * B D B' L B' L2 B D F'

* = D' F' D B D' F D B' (cancels 4)
^ = L B L' F L B' L' F' (cancels 6!)

solution: D' B L' F L B' F L' D2 B2 D2 R D' R' D2 F' D B D' F D2 B' L B' L2 B D F' (28)

 

[Tanish]

FMC Help

okay.. so i want to start with FMC. i think its a really cool thing to do. so some basic questions
1) do we use htm or qtm to count the number of moves
2) what are the most common methods used for fmc
3) and in the beginning, should i just try to get a good average of like 45 or 50 using cfop or directly learn some advanced method to get like 30 or 25 move solutions?

 

[Sam N]

1. you use HTM. meaning that R2 is counted as one move not two.

2. There is nothing wrong with using CFOP, however I would not advise it. It's very rare to be able to get sub 40 with CFOP unless you spam things like crazy. As a beginner, I feel aiming for sub-40 is a good starting goal to have. getting to sub 30 consistently takes some practice with FMC techniques, however it's not that difficult to achieve if you practice enough.

For FMC techniques, I find that these skills are something every FMC solver uses

- inverse scrambles

- pre moves

- insertions for edges and corner pairs (examples being L3C = last 3 corners)

-having to do multiple insertions (things like L5C = last five corners)

- what a skeleton is

- basic block-building techniques such as pseudo-blocks

There are other advanced topics, but these are what I feel are a good introduction to FMC. THey might look difficult at first, but just take your time and you'll understand them. They are really fun and cool once you know how to use them.

If you want to practice FMC, you can always participate in the weekly competition on the forums. They have FMC every week, which is a good way to help maintain your skills at the event.

 

[Tanish]

is the heise method used most widely for fmc just like cfop is used for 3x3??

 

[AlphaSheep]

Read this. It's the best place to start by far: http://fmcsolves.cubing.net/fmc_tutorial_ENG.pdf

 

[Tanish]

So.....I was going through FMC Regulations and I couldn't understand E2e1. Can anyone explain it to me? Thanks in advance!

the link-

https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/#E2e1


Also i noticed that some comps have fmc mean of 3 and some have a single attempt. why is it like this??

 

[TDM]

So.....I was going through FMC Regulations and I couldn't understand E2e1. Can anyone explain it to me? Thanks in advance!

the link-

https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/#E2e1

If the delegate suspects someone has cheated (e.g. somehow used a computer to generate a near-optimal solution) they can ask the person to explain how the found it.

Also i noticed that some comps have fmc mean of 3 and some have a single attempt. why is it like this??

Although Mo3 is ranked officially, many competitions don't have a spare three hours to dedicate to this. So, the majority of competitions will only have one FMC attempt.

 

[Tanish]

Thanks a lot! All of you!

 

[tseitsei]

1) htm

2) There is no real "method of doing FMC. You have to try many things and see what works best for that particular case.
That said the "standard" solution is often
1. Blockbuilding until F2L - 1 pair is ready
2. Solve most of the pieces and leave rest of the pieces so that they can be solved with 1-2 comms
3. Solve rest of the pieces with commutator insertions

3) IMO you should start learning blockbuilding and comms right away. Doing FMC with plane CFOP is quite boring. You just spam different last slot or last 2 slots until you find a skip...

And the most important thing: READ THIS http://fmcsolves.cubing.net/fmc_tutorial_ENG.pdf
It's really pretty much everything you need to know about FMC...

 

[BQ]

I was analyzing Keaton's 5.09 scramble for fmc and found this-

Scramble: D2 B2 F R2 U2 B R D' L' U2 L' D' B' L' D2 B2 L
Skeleton: R F L B' D' F'

Explanation:
Premove: F2
2x2x2 with EO: R F L B' D' F //6 corners with 1 twisted and 3 edges

Couldn't do good insertions. Can anyone do the insertions? Its 4 insertions but IF doesn't do it

Also found 16 to 5 edges
Skeleton:R F L B' D2 F D' F' D' L' D L' F' B D2 B'

Yes, due to the performance and the most actual cases don't need 4 insertions, I disabled it. I've searched it for you just now: http://mf.qiyuuu.com/cube/if/dc239cf69c6a395cef3d2978c58b15f5.cube
The new version of IF is under construction and doing 4 insertions will be added back as queued tasks in order to make the server more stable. So that if anyone who want to search them could do it in the feature.

 

[G2013]

29 in weekly FMC
() is on inverse

Spoiler

Scramble: R F2 B D2 L2 F2 B' D F2 U D B' L F2 R2 B U2 R F' U'
Inverse: U F R' U2 B' R2 F2 L' B D' U' F2 D' B F2 L2 D2 B' F2 R'

L2 F' L' B' L' B2 L' F2 B2 //2x2x3
(D2 R' D R) //F2L-1 pseudo, premove R2
R2 //Premove
R D R' //Pair

L' u2 L D' L' u2 L D -> Pair cycle, translated below

L' D2 R D' R' D2 L //Pair cycle to L3C
B2 R2 B L B' R2 B L' B //A PLL

Backup solve: L2 F' L' B' L' B2 L' F2 B2 R' D R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L B2 R2 B L B' R2 B L' B R' D' R D2 (32 HTM)
Skeleton: L2 F' L' B' L' B2 L' F2 B2 R' D R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L R' D' R D2 (23)

Insertion:
L2 F' L' B' L' B2 L' F2 B2 R' D R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L R' D' R D2 (D' R2 D L D' R2 D L') +8-1=30
L2 F' L' B' L' B2 (D L' U L D' L' U' L) L' F2 B2 R' D R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L R' D' R D2 +8-2=29
L2 F' L' B' L' B2 L' (L D L' U L D' L' U') F2 B2 R' D R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L R' D' R D2 +8-2=29
L2 F' L' B' L' B2 L' F2 B2 R' D (F L' F' R F L F' R') R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L R' D' R D2 +8-1=30

Final solve: L2 F' L' B' L' B2 D L' U L D' L' U' F2 B2 R' D R' L' D2 R D' R' D2 L R' D' R D2 (29 HTM)

First sub-30 of the year!
Nice solve, after the 9-move 2x2x3 every edge was oriented
I'm happy with the result.
Insertions are optimals That's even better!

 

[guysensei1]

L B R2 U' R2 L F2 U' B' U' L2 U' R2 U L2 D' R2 B2 R2 U2

L D R' D R//2x2x2
B U' B U' L2//2x2x3
R' U R L' B2 L //F2L-1
U B' U2 B //3 pairs unsolved
F' U L U L' U' F U2//WV alg and PLL skip

28 moves, cool solve

EDIT: lmao using insertion finder to solve the 3 pairs cancels to the WV alg anyway

L D R' D R B U' B U' L2 R' U R L' B2 L U B' U2 B [@1] U'
Insert at @1: F' D F U F' D' F U'
After the 1st insertion: L D R' D R B U' B U' L2 R' U R L' B2 L U B' U2 B F' D F U F' D' [@2] F U2
Insert at @2: D F U' F' U D' L U L' U'
Fewest moves: 28. 11 moves cancelled
The final solution: L D R' D R B U' B U' L2 R' U R L' B2 L U B' U2 B F' U L U L' U' F U2