No new record but here's some pics to show I'm still playing... I actually had this sequence of games: M M M M M test (final grade not shown, probably m9) M Let's go better next time.
Only when I accidently play too well. With m-roll only about 25% of my games would get M. It's definitely one of my weaknesses but I'm content to ignore it for now. Once I've got faster MKs on my board and possibly MV that might change, but there's too little payoff for now. It's hard to motivate myself to practice m-roll when there's real tetris to be played.
Ti's invisible staff roll shouldn't really be called the "m-roll" as it's not a requisite of M grades. Personally, I think invisibility is rather gimmicky, it's one of the things I dislike most about Ti. The skills that invis requires are of such narrow application; mastering invis alone does not make a strong player. Yet an invis specialist who is otherwise mediocre can play a slow and sloppy game, with a clear time of over 8 minutes and not even a bronze SK, and still obtain the invis roll and have a good chance of getting a MasterO or MasterM, whereas a stronger and more rounded tetris player can clear the game in under 5 minutes with gold SK, and because they haven't invested the time to get good at a gimmick, they will struggle to even get a MasterK rank.
The difference in my eyes is that performance is not especially dependent on problem solving. You could play with really terrible sub-TGM1-Gm decisionmaking and still max out the grade, as long as you can keep the playfield shape in your head. Sure the world's best still play amazingly, but the entry-to-midrange TAP Master GM player has wins that would look like complete ass if you could see the playfield. I'd say there's a continuum of handicapping the player, with standard play on one side and invisibility and dance pad play etc on the other side. And stuff like Shirase [ ] blocks and one-handed play somewhere in between. Sure the core gameplay is there the whole way through, but as you approach the non-standard extreme the game challenges you in very different ways and becomes more gimmick than tetris. I'm still up for the challenge, but in my view it's much less interesting than real tetris.
You guys are making me quite sad, haha. :< I can see where you guys are coming from, but I personally enjoy invisible quite a bit. I think it is a refreshing challenge, and I think the restriction has changed the way I look at the game much like 20G has. I don't think it is as simple as "[maxing out the grade as long as] you can keep the playfield shape in your head." If you aren't being very thoughtful about how each placement as well as how potential subsequent placements will affect your stack and the visualization thereof, I can't imagine how you'd be doing anything other than taking a trip to the top. To each his own as always, but I find this gimmick quite meaningful. I think all the time I've spent playing Phantom and practicing M-Roll has definitely been beneficial to my development as a player. In fact, I believe that taking the time to look at the game from this different angle has helped develop my approach to stacking overall.
I really like the way TAP's done it, where failing the m-roll puts you one grade away from the top. It's a "separate the boys from the men" kind of thing, and Master isn't such a bad grade after all. The game's basically saying, "okay, you're a master... but are you a GRAND master?" I think invisible as well as grandfather blocks tie in well with TGM's roots as a game meant to look "cool" and attract a crowd.
Yeah, I agree with muf here... You can be a Master, meaning you're really good at Tetris, but then you can be a Grandmaster, meaning you're so good that you don't even have to see what you're doing and still play reasonably well.
Given the way this discussion has turned I thought I'd repost this little comic I drew about colour_thief the other day.
everyone whining about the m-roll is just frustrated knowing exactly what's going to happen to your piece when you give a specific input is the core element of the game, and there's no way to stress that more than making its environment invisible case clorsed
colour_thief doesn't need a button to hold. He does it with his mind. no actually I didn't draw them because originally it was gonna be TAP haha
It's been a while, but I made some progress after returning to the game for a bit. (CT requests that you ignore the 'crappy' m1 above my stellar s4. )
