TGM series: how to play fast (ARE/lock delay)

Thread in 'Strategy' started by Tetroid, 30 Jan 2015.

  1. Having always been intrigued by the Tetris Grand Master series, the recent AGDQ exhibition finally gave me the impulse to try the games for myself. I am however running into an unexpected problem.

    I've been messing around with TGM3 on the PC, and also TGM2 through MAME.

    I can't play the game as fast as I want to. At least early on. The lock delay after a piece has fallen is driving me nuts, it takes too long for the next piece to show up. I understand that I can press down to lock the piece in, but even pressing down as fast as possible after the hard drop there's much more delay between pieces than I'm seeing in videos of other people playing. What am I doing wrong?

    Here's a video of a guy doing easy mode in TGM 3:


    How is he getting all the pieces to drop that fast after eachother right away at level 1? I must be missing something. It is very annoying to be limited by the gamespeed, especially in a game that gets so insane later on.

    I can't seem to replicate this speed in Texmaster or Nullpomino either.
     
  2. Press up to drop the piece. Press down to lock it. If you're on WORLD rule then it's the other way around but WORLD sucks.
     
  3. This is what I am doing, but it's not as fast as in the video. Maybe my keyboard is the problem. Is that a possible cause? Even if I just spam up down up down up down it's not convincingly fast.

    Also, unrelated question, I can't seem to get TGM1 working in MAME (tried with 0157b and 0158b). It keeps insisting that it's missing an extra file(s), but I've put the ZN2 file in the roms folder. TGM2 works just fine.
     
  4. I use shmupmametgm, I have the following file:

    cpzn2.zip

    it contains: 'coh-3002c.353'

    Regarding the video.. The player on the right side is on easy mode, the left player is doing shirase. Just to clear that up in case you missed it. If you're on keyboard try sliding your middle finger from 'W' to 'S' or whatever key config you use to drop and lock as quick as possible.
     
  5. Maybe you're experiencing input lag? Otherwise it's just that you are comparing Master Mode to Shirase Mode, which starts on a 10 frame ARE delay as opposed to Master Mode's 25 frames.

    ARE is basically the unskippable delay betwen pieces. I think it's pretty insane to START OUT with TGM worrying about those delays. As of my current level, I'm still praising the fact that they exist so I can at least pretend that I have a little time to think and not fuck up.
     
  6. Muf

    Muf

    As of 0.150 you additionally need qsound.zip to play ZN2 games.
     
  7. Wow, I was actually looking at the Shirase player! This explains a lot. Thanks!

    I've been playing some more and I think I'm getting the feel of it. You are absolutely right, the delays aren't anything to worry about. It's the insane gravity that is starting to seriously mess up my game. I haven't reached level 400 in any of the T|GM games yet. Is it wise to stick to TGM1 or 2 for a while, or should I just practice on TGM3?

    This must be it, then. Thank you very much. I've started using shmupmametgm and that's working fine in any case.
     
  8. Ultimately play whatever you find fun, but I'd recommend plying your trade on TGM1 or TAP before spending much time on TGM3. Mostly because:

    1) Ti has hold and floorkicks - these make the game more forgiving and don't punish sloppy play quite as much as the stricter ARS in TGM1 and TAP do. In my opinion it's better to learn proper stacking and 20G ARS play on TGM1 and TAP and then loosen things up when you get to TGM3 than it is to get used to the more forgiving mechanics and then be frustrated when you can't get away with it in the stricter games.

    2) TGM1 and TAP have the same speed curve for Master mode, regardless of how you play. The grades and the level you get to are consistent between games. Meanwhile on Ti, the COOL system and the way it alters the speedcurve kind of complicates the grade system. On TAP if you get an S4 it's almost always a better game than an S3. On Ti it's a bit more debatable - it could be you got an S4 because you were shit early on and ended up on the lower speedcurve and so the game was much easier in the 300-500 level sections. I think the simpler mechanics and consistent speedcurve make TGM1 and TAP better for development because any progress you see is genuine and there's no motivation for slow play giving a higher grade.

    3) The games (in particular TGM1) are overall slower and have a better resolution in grades at the lower levels, so you'll find yourself having the reward of earning a new grade more often. Also 20G Mode TGM1 and Death are much better 20G training tools than Shirase is.
     
  9. Also, for the record, each mode has a different colour border around the outside of the playing field to denote which mode is being played:

    TAP:
    Normal = Silver (with a kind of stone finish)
    Master = Silver (with a metallic finish)
    TGM+ = Blue
    Death = Red
    Doubles = Silver but it's pretty obvious it's doubles

    Ti:
    Easy = Green
    Master = Silver, unless it's a Promo Exam, in which case it's all fancy and gold and shit (though IIRC demotion exams are still silver and just wobble the border every now and then)
    Sakura = Pink
    Shirase = Red
     
  10. K

    K

    It don't suck. it's just different. But i admit some people might feel bullied by this running gag.
     
  11. Zaphod77

    Zaphod77 Resident Misinformer

    World does suck. It would suck a bit less if button A and C were counterclockwise and button b was clockwise.
     
  12. I agree that the switched rotation buttons is just weird, but what keeps you from just playing mainly with button B+C, rather than A+B?
     
  13. See, this is what I thought too until Kitaru pointed out that the frame is blue.
     
  14. Thanks for the additional input, guys. My goal is to achieve GM in TGM1, who knows when that'll happen. My current record is grade S2, so I think I've got lots of 20G practice to do... I really miss the sonic drop early on in TGM1, though.
     
  15. Keep at it, don't give up. I myself went from a best of S6 to GM and it came as a shock as I had never even completed the game.
    Play often, watch other people play. Maybe analyze what they do differently than yourself in certain situations and why. Try the 20G code for practice. (Down x8 times + CBA on title screen)

    Also keep in mind that in TGM1 grades are entirely based on score, so to stack for tetris is key. The only exception is GM where you also need to meet certain requirements.
    Grade 1 by level 300 (in less than 4:15)
    Grade S4 by level 500 (in less than 7:30)
    and finally have 126,000 points at 999 (which is S9 plus a few more lines..) in less than 13:30

    Try to get S1 by level 200 or slightly after. It's a good start for the GM challenge.
     

Share This Page