crafto22
Member
Hi all, it's been a while since I've made a new thread to introduce a method, but I think I've finally developed this idea to the point where I can truly call it a proper method. You may already know me for my development of ABC, or Adam-Briggs Columns, a method which was not so clearly defined but relied mostly on the orientation of all corners, and perhaps edges, depending on the variant (once again, not so clearly defined) early in the solve. The main problem that always came up, no matter the variant or my countless attempts to optimize the beginning of the solve was the last few steps. I would always find myself solving the last eight edges of the cube, and no matter how low of a move count these solves were, those last steps ruined them. I can definitively say that L8E is terrible. Despite my many efforts, I could never find a good way to solve the last eight edges. So finally, I decided to accept that ABC is truly not that great of a method. It was a good try, I'll give myself (and Joseph of course) that much. However I continued to believe that orientation of all the pieces early in the solve could somehow result in a great method. With this in mind, I present to you all just that: a promising method that incorporates this concept.
What is LOBT?
For the time being I'm going to be calling this method LOBT, which stands for Lines, Orientation, Blocks, TTLL, and yes, don't worry, I will gladly change this name as soon as a better one comes to mind. As the acronym suggests, the method does require one to learn full TTLL, which is only 78 algorithms if I recall correctly. You will all certainly agree that for most advanced methods, this isn't an absurd number of algorithms. The many advantages of TTLL have been greatly discussed already, and you can go check out some other threads or videos discussing just that if you aren't quite convinced yet. The lookahead is generally very smooth and solves can quite easily be completely rotationless, along with the first step reducing the cube to <RUD>, a very nice move set. Additionally, LOBT boasts a fairly low average move count of around 45 STM.
Steps
Full example solve:
Scramble (generated by cstimer.net): F R2 D' L2 R2 D' L2 U F2 U' F2 L2 B R D F' D U L D B D'
x z M' B L2 D' L' U' R2 U' R U' R2 D2 // Lines (12/12)
M2 U R' U2 R' U' R U2 R' U' R// Orientation (11/23)
U2 R2 U' R2 U' r2 U R2 // Blocks (8/31)
U' R2 U R2 U R2 U2 R2 E2 // TTLL (9/40)
I'd like to point out that once the Lines were done, the entire solve from that point forward was pseudo 2-gen. I did get lucky with that 2-gen TTLL, but this goes to show how fluid solves can be. A pretty nice solve, almost under 40 moves! I did get somewhat unlucky during Lines and Orientation, I'm sure this could've been done much better but I'm tired so this will have to do
.
If you made it through all of that, thanks a lot for reading! I hope this was somewhat interesting and not totally nonsensical. I'd love to hear what everyone has to say about this along with some ideas for potential optimizations!
What is LOBT?
For the time being I'm going to be calling this method LOBT, which stands for Lines, Orientation, Blocks, TTLL, and yes, don't worry, I will gladly change this name as soon as a better one comes to mind. As the acronym suggests, the method does require one to learn full TTLL, which is only 78 algorithms if I recall correctly. You will all certainly agree that for most advanced methods, this isn't an absurd number of algorithms. The many advantages of TTLL have been greatly discussed already, and you can go check out some other threads or videos discussing just that if you aren't quite convinced yet. The lookahead is generally very smooth and solves can quite easily be completely rotationless, along with the first step reducing the cube to <RUD>, a very nice move set. Additionally, LOBT boasts a fairly low average move count of around 45 STM.
Steps
Step 1: Lines
This first step can be broken down into steps 1a and 1b. Step 1a is simply solving an EOLine made up of the FL and BL edges. Step 1b is also very simple, and consists of solving a 1x1x3 and placing it under the EOLine to form a pseudo 1x2x3.
Example:
Step 2: Orientation
Here comes my signature move, corner orientation! In this step, you have many options, but the end result must be solving the remaining E-slice edges without necessarily permuting them, so long as they can be solved by an R2. Here I will present three different ways to go about this:
Example:
Step 3: Blocks
In lack of a better name, I call this step Blocks because it consists of building a few blocks to reduce the cube to TTLL. The first block to be solved is a pseudo 2x2x3, which can be built by adding the FD and BD edges onto our pseudo 1x2x3. There are many ways to go about this, and so there are no real instructions for this part. Next, solve a corner-edge pair made up of the remaining D-layer edge and one of the two remaining D-layer corners. Finally, solve this pair whilst fixing the E-slice to solve reduce the cube to TTLL. It should be noted that this whole step must be done using only r2, R2, M and U moves to preserve corner orientation.
Example:
Step 4: TTLL
This step is pretty self-explanatory. One of 78 algorithms to solve the cube. Just go learn full TTLL, you'll thank me later.
This first step can be broken down into steps 1a and 1b. Step 1a is simply solving an EOLine made up of the FL and BL edges. Step 1b is also very simple, and consists of solving a 1x1x3 and placing it under the EOLine to form a pseudo 1x2x3.
Example:
Scramble: x2 B' F' L2 D U L F2 L' F' L R2
EOLine: U D F' B'
1x1x3: R' D'
EOLine: U D F' B'
1x1x3: R' D'
Step 2: Orientation
Here comes my signature move, corner orientation! In this step, you have many options, but the end result must be solving the remaining E-slice edges without necessarily permuting them, so long as they can be solved by an R2. Here I will present three different ways to go about this:
The Easy Way:
Simply solve the E-slice edges like F2L pairs, but instead of attaching a specific corner to the edges, you can use any old corner, as long as it is correctly oriented. Keep in mind that your E-slice edges can be off by an R2. Once this is done, simply use OCLL (6 algorithms) to orient the corners.
The Recommended Way:
The way I would recommend you execute this step is the same as The Easy Way, except you only attach an oriented corner to one of your E-slice edges. The other one can simply be inserted whilst solving the "pair". Once you have completed this, you can use one of 22 algorithms (6 of which are just OCLLs) to orient all corners.
The Best Way:
I say this is the best way because theoretically this strategy will result in the most fluid and efficient solves. However, it requires learning full TSLE and using that as oppose to inserting the last E-slice edge and then executing an algorithm as described in The Recommended Way. I may or may not end up using this strategy in the future, but for anyone wanting to try this method out, I wouldn't recommend it.
Simply solve the E-slice edges like F2L pairs, but instead of attaching a specific corner to the edges, you can use any old corner, as long as it is correctly oriented. Keep in mind that your E-slice edges can be off by an R2. Once this is done, simply use OCLL (6 algorithms) to orient the corners.
The Recommended Way:
The way I would recommend you execute this step is the same as The Easy Way, except you only attach an oriented corner to one of your E-slice edges. The other one can simply be inserted whilst solving the "pair". Once you have completed this, you can use one of 22 algorithms (6 of which are just OCLLs) to orient all corners.
The Best Way:
I say this is the best way because theoretically this strategy will result in the most fluid and efficient solves. However, it requires learning full TSLE and using that as oppose to inserting the last E-slice edge and then executing an algorithm as described in The Recommended Way. I may or may not end up using this strategy in the future, but for anyone wanting to try this method out, I wouldn't recommend it.
Scramble: x2 R2 D' B2 D2 U' R2 D2 U' R' F2 L' D2 U2 L2 B2 D' L' F2
E-slice: U' r2 U' R
CO: y R U' R' U R U R' U' R U R' y'
E-slice: U' r2 U' R
CO: y R U' R' U R U R' U' R U R' y'
Step 3: Blocks
In lack of a better name, I call this step Blocks because it consists of building a few blocks to reduce the cube to TTLL. The first block to be solved is a pseudo 2x2x3, which can be built by adding the FD and BD edges onto our pseudo 1x2x3. There are many ways to go about this, and so there are no real instructions for this part. Next, solve a corner-edge pair made up of the remaining D-layer edge and one of the two remaining D-layer corners. Finally, solve this pair whilst fixing the E-slice to solve reduce the cube to TTLL. It should be noted that this whole step must be done using only r2, R2, M and U moves to preserve corner orientation.
Example:
Scramble: F2 U B2 R2 D2 L2 U B2 R2 U R2 D2 F2 U'
Pseudo 2x2x3: U' M U2 M
Reduce to TTLL: R2 U' R2
Pseudo 2x2x3: U' M U2 M
Reduce to TTLL: R2 U' R2
Step 4: TTLL
This step is pretty self-explanatory. One of 78 algorithms to solve the cube. Just go learn full TTLL, you'll thank me later.
Full example solve:
Scramble (generated by cstimer.net): F R2 D' L2 R2 D' L2 U F2 U' F2 L2 B R D F' D U L D B D'
x z M' B L2 D' L' U' R2 U' R U' R2 D2 // Lines (12/12)
M2 U R' U2 R' U' R U2 R' U' R// Orientation (11/23)
U2 R2 U' R2 U' r2 U R2 // Blocks (8/31)
U' R2 U R2 U R2 U2 R2 E2 // TTLL (9/40)
I'd like to point out that once the Lines were done, the entire solve from that point forward was pseudo 2-gen. I did get lucky with that 2-gen TTLL, but this goes to show how fluid solves can be. A pretty nice solve, almost under 40 moves! I did get somewhat unlucky during Lines and Orientation, I'm sure this could've been done much better but I'm tired so this will have to do
.If you made it through all of that, thanks a lot for reading! I hope this was somewhat interesting and not totally nonsensical. I'd love to hear what everyone has to say about this along with some ideas for potential optimizations!
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