What method is this?

[conn9]

I was playing around with my 3x3 the other day and realised something. Doing Fridrich F2L, once you've solved the 3rd pair, you can create the cross on top using the 4th slot. This is by (eg if you're doing the white cross) bringing yellow pieces up onto others, moving them, and bringing down non oriented yellow edges (like 4x4 centres). You can do this relatively quickly. Then, when you solve the last pair, the yellow cross will be already solved on top. I guess this is great for people doing 2-look OLL, as it requires no algorithms up to the cross stage.

What method is this, because it must have been 'created' before?

(Sorry if this has been posted before, I can't find it)

 

[JyH]

I was playing around with my 3x3 the other day and realised something. Doing Fridrich F2L, once you've solved the 3rd pair, you can create the cross on top using the 4th slot. This is by (eg if you're doing the white cross) bringing yellow pieces up onto others, moving them, and bringing down non oriented yellow edges (like 4x4 centres). You can do this relatively quickly. Then, when you solve the last pair, the yellow cross will be already solved on top. I guess this is great for people doing 2-look OLL, as it requires no algorithms up to the cross stage.

What method is this, because it must have been 'created' before?

(Sorry if this has been posted before, I can't find it)

Edge control
There are other 'methods' for orienting the edges that actually have names.

 

[Kirjava]

EOLS would be the technical name for the meta group of those kinds of steps.

ZBLS is an example of a system for it.

 

[qqwref]

I'd personally call this "intuitive ZBLS". The real ZBLS involves solving the last pair while orienting the edges, all in one step. There's also a related system called VHLS which involves pairing up the two pieces, then inserting the pair while orienting the edges in one step.

 

[Hershey]

I guess this is great for people doing 2-look OLL, as it requires no algorithms up to the cross stage.

Not really. The problem is that the movecount makes it not worth the trouble. You can still use a little bit of edge control on the last pair if the case is easy (like R' F R F'), but otherwise you might as well just continue to learn OLL.

 

[Akuma]

The method is called VHF2L which is a precursor to ZBF2L.

They are algorithms for every case that lets you influence the top layer to turn into a cross by doing specific algorithms with the 4th pair.

You can find them here:
http://jmbaum.110mb.com/zbf2l.htm

It's kind of an oxymoron though because by the time you are enough proficient with F2L that you can intuitively influence the top layer, then you are probably good enough to master OLL anyway, thus making VHF2L rather meaningless.

I used to use VHF2L when I was sub-30 as a way of avoiding Full OLL and I've seen some intermediate cubers do the same thing, but it is rather pointless for the sole reason that I stated above.

The only exception when I would use VHF2L is when I use sledgehammer insertion (F , R' , F' , R) to get a yellow cross in one specific case.
But other than that, if you are an advanced cuber (30-20s) then VHF2L is sort of useless by then and you should just rather get on with learning full OLL+full PLL

 

[Jostle]

That's not an oxymoron.