Message #2917

From: Melinda Green <melinda@superliminal.com>
Subject: Re: [MC4D] 120Z solved!!!
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:52:27 -0800

Well congratulations, Andrey, that’s quite a puzzle story!

It sounds like the perfect puzzle for you. I’ve worked on many projects
that came out to around 100 hours, and I like that size. It’s a big
investment, but you live with it for a matter of weeks or months and it
becomes like family. And then it’s over and you can relax and enjoy the
memories.

As you know, I find reflection moves to be very interesting, so I am
particularly happy to know that this puzzle is difficult, solvable, and
solved. Would you like to tell us a little more about what you mean
about working with the whole structure, and what you had to keep in your
head that you couldn’t write down? Perhaps the best way to ask this is
simply, what advice would you give to someone who might consider
attempting this feat? Clearly lots of macros and preparation. What else?

And these orbits you describe: Are they the lovely intertwined paths of
length 10 that run in straight lines through the 120 cell?

Lastly, what are your thoughts on short solutions? Your solutions always
seem to be very efficient, even when you are not trying. Were you happy
to break half a million twists or was it everything you could do just to
finish in a reasonable time?

Congratulations again,
-Melinda

On 1/30/2014 1:22 AM, andreyastrelin@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> I did it! It took 427287 twists and almost 90 hours by timer. 4C stage
> went without unexpected troubles (after preparing of large set of
> macros including 120deg rotation of the single piece).
>
> Probably it’s a most difficult puzzle that I met. It required work
> with structure of the whole 120-cell, and I had to keep it in mind,
> because it’s difficult to draw such object on 2D paper…
>
> This puzzle is unique because of multiple parity problems in the web
> of orbits of different dimensions. And I still don’t know was it a
> luck that 3C parities were solved by combination of 3 symmetrical
> clusters of flips, or there is really not much freedom of possible
> combinations at that stage.
>
>
> If anybody is going to try this puzzle I can only wish him good
> luck. And a lot of patience…
>
>
> Andrey
>
>
>
>