speedcubesite
Member
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2019
- Messages
- 16
I'm trying to formalize a notation for N-minx style puzzles (kilo, mega, giga...) so I can add them to the speedcube site. I've looked around a bit, and I'm not sure if existing notation systems will fit my needs. Rather than try to solve this problem myself, I figured I'd post here to see if anyone knows of a spec that might work, or maybe help me come up with one.
I see that the WCA uses Pochmann's notation system, which seems sufficient for scrambling, but I don't think it will be a good fit for scs because players need to be able to set up keybindings that feel like the finger tricks they're already use. With that said, here are (I think) all of the requirements...
1. It needs to be able to turn all 12 faces. I don't want users limited to what key bindings they can set up, I want there to be nothing in the way of performing an algorithm exactly the way that feels best.
2. Control turning depth and allow for both "slice" and "wide" style turns. I hope to support everything from kilominx to teraminx, so turns will have to be able to rotate any specified layer depth.
6. Rotate the entire puzzle along any of the 6 axes.
I think something like cube notation might work, but I hit a wall when trying to think of letters to represent the faces. You can see some of my ideas on what that might look like here, but I'm not satisfied with it. It would result in turns that looks relatively normal like "R+", to something that looks ridiculous like "2DBRw++".
Sorry if this was a rambling post, I'd really appreciate any help coming up with a notation system to use.
I see that the WCA uses Pochmann's notation system, which seems sufficient for scrambling, but I don't think it will be a good fit for scs because players need to be able to set up keybindings that feel like the finger tricks they're already use. With that said, here are (I think) all of the requirements...
1. It needs to be able to turn all 12 faces. I don't want users limited to what key bindings they can set up, I want there to be nothing in the way of performing an algorithm exactly the way that feels best.
2. Control turning depth and allow for both "slice" and "wide" style turns. I hope to support everything from kilominx to teraminx, so turns will have to be able to rotate any specified layer depth.
6. Rotate the entire puzzle along any of the 6 axes.
I think something like cube notation might work, but I hit a wall when trying to think of letters to represent the faces. You can see some of my ideas on what that might look like here, but I'm not satisfied with it. It would result in turns that looks relatively normal like "R+", to something that looks ridiculous like "2DBRw++".
Sorry if this was a rambling post, I'd really appreciate any help coming up with a notation system to use.