# Method Development Competition January 2021 - The winner receives a $10 gift card! - Sponsored by SpeedCubeShop.com



## Athefre (Jan 11, 2021)

As part of the Method Development Competition January 2021, four teams have come together and created competing methods. After a month of development, the following methods were produced:

*Squall** - Mehta Knights (Winner of the competition)
Atropos - The ZZouxFOPers
Utah - Random Team Name
ECP - Kübirz*


*View the final poll results here*



Spoiler: Competition Details



Welcome everyone to the first method development competition of 2021! In this semi-annual competition teams will compete to create the best 3x3 speedsolving method. At the end of the competition, the community will vote on which method they think is the best. To sign up, post here to let us know that you are interested and join the Method Debate and Development Discord server linked at the bottom of this post. The Discord server is where most of the discussion will occur.

Everyone has three weeks to form a team. Form your teams early so that you can start working as soon as possible. Those that have a complete team from the beginning have more time to work together to think of and develop ideas. You can add your teams using this Google Sheets document. If you are searching for a team, use that same document to add yourself to the list.

*Each member of the winning team will receive a $10 gift card from** SpeedCubeShop.com**!*

*Competition Start: Sunday, January 31 at 10 P.M. GMT

Competition End: Sunday, February 21 at 10 P.M. GMT*

*Rules:*


The method must be intended for speedsolving. The goal should be to create a method that is equal to or faster than the most popular methods right now. Don’t focus too much on creating a method that averages 30 moves per solve. But also avoid having your team's method average 70 moves. Find a method that has the perfect balance of move-count, ergonomics, number of algorithms, and the ability for humans to actually use it in a speedsolve.
Try to be original. Avoid making something that many would view as a variation of another method. That could be disrespectful to the work of the original creator and your method would be less likely to be unique and receive votes. Don't use a method that you've already posted in the "New Method" thread or anywhere else. Also, the purpose is to create a complete method, not a new step. For example, another LSLL method doesn’t fit the criteria.
Teams must contain at least three members and no more than five. Give your team a name. Once your team is created, let me know who all is on your team and your team name. Try to work together throughout the competition. Don’t leave one member of the team to develop something on their own.
Send everything in a document to me at the end of the competition. In the past, teams have typically used Google Docs and that has worked well. You can send the document to me in a private message on Discord, SS, or Reddit. About this document:
It must contain accurate numbers. If your method has a step that requires an algorithm, your team must provide the number of cases for that step. Generating the algorithms for these steps would also go a long way toward showing the move count and ergonomics. It would also be appreciated by the community that is voting for one of the teams.
Your team must provide at least three example solves. These example solves must be clearly separated with the scramble and each step defined. You can provide this through text or by using alg.cubing.net.
Provide a list of advantages and disadvantages.
Create a name for the method.
Don’t list the members of the team in the document that is sent. However, send the list of the team members’ speedsolving.com usernames in a private message.
Try to make your document easy to understand. If readers don’t know what is happening in the method, they aren’t likely to vote for it.
Provide a summary of the steps to help with making it clear what the steps are.

Your team will not be allowed to see what the other teams are developing. This will be accomplished through channels on the Discord server. Your team will be placed into its own channel and won't have the permissions to view the messages in the channels of the other teams. All team discussion will occur in the team channel. Only share ideas with your team and avoid sharing your ideas in this thread.
If your team plans to provide move-counts, be careful about the use of programs such as HARCS. The numbers that these programs provide aren't possible for humans in a speedsolve. If your team includes these move-counts in the submitted document, then the team must also provide human move-counts. One way to determine this is to simply do a lot of solves and count yourself. You are also allowed to ask others in the community to help with this. In the past, teams have asked someone more experienced in a certain area to do a move-count average for a certain step. That is ok and it is actually encouraged to ensure that your team will provide accurate numbers. It is tempting to provide really low numbers from a program or easy scrambles, but it's not realistic. You are also allowed to ask someone outside of your team to help determine the number of cases for a step. Be sure in your move-counts to include the human possible numbers for the intuitive steps, all AUFs or other pre/post-algorithm adjustments, and the speed-optimal algorithm numbers.
At the end of the competition, submit all documents or messages directly to me. Please don't post your finished products to this thread. Also avoid including team or member names in any products. In the voting poll, the teams that created the method will be anonymous. The link to the poll will be shared here, Reddit, Discord, and other places. Last year the voting was based on the method that receives the most votes. Starting this year we will be using a different voting system. A list of useful resources has been provided at the bottom of this post. Below is the link to the Discord server. Good luck!









Join the Method Debate and Development Discord Server!


Check out the Method Debate and Development community on Discord - hang out with 108 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.




discord.gg





*Useful Resources:*

SpeedSolving Wiki (to research what already exists)
Method and States Map (same purpose as above)
Google Sheets
Google Docs
CubeExplorer (For generating algorithms. PlayOnMac will enable you to use CubeExplorer)
KSolve (Algorithm generator. Online version of KSolve. Can also use this.)
VisualCube
Algorithm Translator
alg.cubing.net
AlgDb.net
Previous Competition Methods


----------



## BlobinatiCentral (Jan 11, 2021)

I'm interested and I think I have my team, just waiting for the other member to join the Discord server.


----------



## TheSlykrCubr (Jan 12, 2021)

i'd like to enter.

Can some people be on my team pls?


----------



## PapaSmurf (Jan 12, 2021)

You can find a team on the discord server. I'm sure as people join, there will be empty spaces.


----------



## Athefre (Jan 12, 2021)

Great news!

SpeedCubeShop will be sponsoring the competition! Each member of the winning team will receive a $10 gift card.


----------



## Scollier (Jan 12, 2021)

Can you go solo or do you need a team member(s)?


----------



## DNF_Cuber (Jan 12, 2021)

Scollier said:


> Can you go solo or do you need a team member(s)?





Athefre said:


> Teams must contain at least three members and no more than five


----------



## Athefre (Jan 12, 2021)

I have added a Google Sheets document in the second paragraph of the main post. Using this, people can add their team name and team members to the list. If you are searching for a team, there is a section for that.


----------



## Scollier (Jan 13, 2021)

I have two questions:

1. How are our team members going to communicate? 
2. It says that the competition starts on January 31, but can we start drafting a method before that?

Thanks.


----------



## PapaSmurf (Jan 13, 2021)

Scollier said:


> I have two questions:
> 
> 1. How are our team members going to communicate?
> 2. It says that the competition starts on January 31, but can we start drafting a method before that?
> ...



1. On the discord server, you get your own channel to discuss things. 

2. If you want to. No one can control what you do. It's just no new teams after the 31st.


----------



## Athefre (Jan 13, 2021)

TheSlykrCubr said:


> i'd like to enter.
> 
> Can some people be on my team pls?



Have you found a team yet? Are you on the Discord server?


----------



## Scollier (Jan 13, 2021)

Athefre said:


> Have you found a team yet? Are you on the Discord server?



@TheSlykrCubr can join our team if he hasn't already joined, since we only have two members.


----------



## TheSlykrCubr (Jan 14, 2021)

Scollier said:


> @TheSlykrCubr can join our team if he hasn't already joined, since we only have two members.



Im redmanpat


----------



## Scollier (Jan 14, 2021)

TheSlykrCubr said:


> Im redmanpat



Sorry, I didn't know. That makes sense now.


----------



## Athefre (Jan 16, 2021)

We have six teams so far. To join the competition you can add yourself to the list in the main post or ask one of the existing teams if you can work with them. Or let me know and I'll help you find a team.


----------



## abunickabhi (Jan 16, 2021)

I just added my team 'The 5-stylers' to the google sheet you mentioned above. Lets see how it goes.

Super excited!


----------



## Athefre (Jan 24, 2021)

One week left until the start of the competition! Create your teams now! We have seven teams so far and some of those teams still have a couple of spaces left if you want to join one of those instead of creating one of your own.


----------



## ribbon method (Jan 27, 2021)

Does anybody wanna join my team


----------



## Athefre (Jan 27, 2021)

ribbon method said:


> Does anybody wanna join my team



Are you on the server? There are a couple of teams with spaces still open.


----------



## ribbon method (Jan 27, 2021)

Yes


----------



## LukasCubes (Jan 27, 2021)

ribbon method said:


> Does anybody wanna join my team


I wanna join ur team but I don't have discord so I can't to like a call or anything


----------



## Athefre (Jan 29, 2021)

The competition starts this Sunday! If you don't yet have a team, you still have time.


----------



## ribbon method (Jan 29, 2021)

LukasCubes said:


> I wanna join ur team but I don't have discord so I can't to like a call or anything


Download discord on phone or laptop or pc


----------



## Athefre (Jan 30, 2021)

The competition starts tomorrow! Sign ups won't be allowed after that. So if you are wanting to compete, sign up now.



LukasCubes said:


> I wanna join ur team but I don't have discord so I can't to like a call or anything



Discord is easy to download and use. But if you have trouble figuring out how to use it, let me know.

Or if a team wants to create a separate group chat somewhere else, that is ok too.


----------



## carcass (Jan 30, 2021)

How do I join a team?


----------



## Athefre (Jan 31, 2021)

carcass said:


> How do I join a team?



Using the document in the main post, you can add yourself as searching for a team. I will also help you join a team.


----------



## abunickabhi (Feb 1, 2021)

Competition has started, super excited!


----------



## LukasCubes (Feb 3, 2021)

ribbon method said:


> Download discord on phone or laptop or pc





Athefre said:


> Using the document in the main post, you can add yourself as searching for a team. I will also help you join a team.


2 Things, my parents said I cant have discord until I graduate highschool (in mid-2025) and I got banned for a week a few hours after I said I wanna join ur team. Oh yeah and the comp has already started so I cant be a part of it sorry...


----------



## DNF_Cuber (Feb 3, 2021)

LukasCubes said:


> I got banned for a week


is this like your 5th one?


----------



## LukasCubes (Feb 3, 2021)

DNF_Cuber said:


> is this like your 5th one?


2nd but you are close. The YruRU one and the I replied to this 13 years after the last reply one. The I replied to this 13 years after the last reply got me banned I believe for 7 days and that just got lifted today.


----------



## Rubuscu (Feb 3, 2021)

I would have participated but my exams are knocking at the door. Will this event happen again in the future?


----------



## LukasCubes (Feb 3, 2021)

A Perm said:


> I would have participated but my exams are knocking at the door. Will this event happen again in the future?


im gonna guess he will do it in the summer


----------



## CyoobietheCuber (Feb 3, 2021)

A Perm said:


> I would have participated but my exams are knocking at the door. Will this event happen again in the future?


This is the second time he has done this so I’m pretty sure he’s gonna do it again.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 4, 2021)

LukasCubes said:


> 2 Things, my parents said I cant have discord until I graduate highschool (in mid-2025) and I got banned for a week a few hours after I said I wanna join ur team. Oh yeah and the comp has already started so I cant be a part of it sorry...



Because you had the ban issue and showed interest in joining before the competition started, you are still allowed to join if you want. It just really depends on if an existing team would want to communicate outside of Discord.



A Perm said:


> I would have participated but my exams are knocking at the door. Will this event happen again in the future?



Yeah, it will continue. For now this is a semiannual event. As LukasCubes said, the next one will likely be in the summer. However, the next event won't be about creating a 3x3 speedsolving method. It will be something different that I won't reveal until the post is made. I'm looking at various ideas for the next event and have received a few ideas from others on Discord. Having themes for each competition will be fun I think.


----------



## LukasCubes (Feb 4, 2021)

Athefre said:


> Because you had the ban issue and showed interest in joining before the competition started, you are still allowed to join if you want. It just really depends on if an existing team would want to communicate outside of Discord.


Maybe on facebook messenger if they have that? I just don't know if any team wants me.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 4, 2021)

LukasCubes said:


> Maybe on facebook messenger if they have that? I just don't know if any team wants me.



I'll ask on the Discord server. If not, we'll find a way for you to join the next one. Maybe a group conversation here on SS would be convenient.


----------



## LukasCubes (Feb 4, 2021)

Athefre said:


> I'll ask on the Discord server. If not, we'll find a way for you to join the next one. Maybe a group conversation here on SS would be convenient.


group conversation would be good but I would rather have my primary option on facebook messenger. I HAVE to be on the website and reload the page to get new notifications and messages here but I just get them whenever when it happens on facebook messenger. I don't care what I end up on or what option you choose tho. I will leave that to you.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 14, 2021)

Last competition I proposed a method as a way of participating without competing. This time I will do the same. This is one that I have been thinking about for a while:

*CBar:
Step 1:* FB on L
*Step 2:* Build two pairs on the U layer. This will be the pairs that go to UF+UFL and UB+UBL. Blockbuilding tricks and things like temporarily storing, or even building, a pair on the R layer will make this easy. The edges with the pairs can be the M edges that match the corners, any pair of M edges, or even L/R edges. Other pseudo techniques can be applied to the corners. The centers also don't have to be aligned with the pairs.
*Step 3:* R layer corners.
*Step 4:* Edges. The way I recommend at the moment is solving a triplet of R layer edges. Then do L4E on UL+UR+DF+DB. This is so that you can keep using the free slots at UL+UR.

This method takes advantage of a property, or flaw, that is in ELL, EPLL, and some L5E and LSE situations. Every common MU EPLL alg, for example, starts and ends with M2. The first M2 places the D edges on the U layer and the last M2 places them back. That is a waste of two moves. With this method, this small problem is solved. It also still provides for edge slotting during the edges step. Because CF methods are usually about doing things like U M' U'. I suppose FB could be built on the D layer and continue from there if someone prefers solving the last four corners on the U layer. But for overall ergonomics, FB on left is likely better.


----------



## abunickabhi (Feb 14, 2021)

Athefre said:


> Last competition I proposed a method as a way of participating without competing. This time I will do the same. This is one that I have been thinking about for a while:
> 
> *CBar:
> Step 1:* FB on L
> ...


Interesting method variant!


----------



## abunickabhi (Feb 14, 2021)

I tried to make a Roux+3-style variant 2 years back. It was a interesting approach. I got good candidates which can be improvements over Roux, or to use 3-style in 3x3 speedsolving methods.


----------



## carcass (Feb 15, 2021)

I am loving this comp, thanks for hosting it @Athefre


----------



## qwr (Feb 15, 2021)

Maybe you could do a comp for cuboids or FTO or kilominx or something. The less heavily explored side of relatively popular puzzles.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 16, 2021)

carcass said:


> I am loving this comp, thanks for hosting it @Athefre



I'm glad you're enjoying the competition! The next one will likely be very different from this one, so look forward to that.



qwr said:


> Maybe you could do a comp for cuboids or FTO or kilominx or something. The less heavily explored side of relatively popular puzzles.



Definitely. Something like that has been the plan since the first competition. I have a list of ideas and welcome ideas from others. I will add your suggestions to my list. So far the competition has been about creating 3x3 methods. 3x3 is already pretty well developed when it comes to speed methods. There are many other areas and puzzles that need attention. So that will become the focus of the competition starting with the next one. That may not be the only big change. After this competition ends I will be asking the competitors what they think about a certain idea that I have.


----------



## carcass (Feb 16, 2021)

I love the idea of another puzzle method dev competition. I was thinking megaminx, but at the top level you kinda do whatever method you feel like. 2x2 has too few options, big cubes would all be redux variants and pyraminx is all too first or v first. That leaves squan, clock, and skewb. Skewb is like 2x2 with Sarah’s advanced, and clock also hardly has any options. If there would be another event competition, it would probably have to be non wca to make any real improvements.


----------



## Silky (Feb 16, 2021)

carcass said:


> I love the idea of another puzzle method dev competition. I was thinking megaminx, but at the top level you kinda do whatever method you feel like. 2x2 has too few options, big cubes would all be redux variants and pyraminx is all too first or v first. That leaves squan, clock, and skewb. Skewb is like 2x2 with Sarah’s advanced, and clock also hardly has any options. If there would be another event competition, it would probably have to be non wca to make any real improvements.


FTO seems to be a good candidate with its rise in popularity. Also 4x4 could be an idea too. 4x4 incorporates direct solving, not just redux, and integrates 3x3 methods into the solve leaving many possibilities to explore.


----------



## carcass (Feb 16, 2021)

I think the FTO looks fun, I just don't have one and that is why I support curvy copter a lot more


----------



## JKS (Feb 18, 2021)

when will the next comb be? Are they monthly?


----------



## BenChristman1 (Feb 18, 2021)

JKS said:


> when will the next comb be? Are they monthly?


There’s 2-3 every year, so one every 4-6 months.


----------



## qwr (Feb 18, 2021)

Silky said:


> FTO seems to be a good candidate with its rise in popularity. Also 4x4 could be an idea too. 4x4 incorporates direct solving, not just redux, and integrates 3x3 methods into the solve leaving many possibilities to explore.


Yeah my gut feeling is that 4x4 still has some possibly interesting methods left. I'm not sure what the current status of trying to predict parities early is but if the community comes together for a new advanced counting method (maybe even with some part of it in inspection) maybe like CSP it will become viable. (For reference, squan has been a WCA event since 2003, yet CSP was only introduced in 2014.)


----------



## Silky (Feb 18, 2021)

qwr said:


> Yeah my gut feeling is that 4x4 still has some possibly interesting methods left. I'm not sure what the current status of trying to predict parities early is but if the community comes together for a new advanced counting method (maybe even with some part of it in inspection) maybe like CSP it will become viable. (For reference, squan has been a WCA event since 2003, yet CSP was only introduced in 2014.)


This would be really cool but it seems a rather daunting task. It seems that the closest that we have now would is solving parity at the end of edge pairing similar to k4. This could also mean that the method would have to be developed around the parity recognition which may not be beneficial/.


----------



## qwr (Feb 18, 2021)

Silky said:


> This would be really cool but it seems a rather daunting task. It seems that the closest that we have now would is solving parity at the end of edge pairing similar to k4. This could also mean that the method would have to be developed around the parity recognition which may not be beneficial/.


I was browsing around and I wonder if any fast roux solvers have tried speedsolving with this method https://www.speedsolving.com/threads/intuitive-4x4-method-with-parity-avoidance.73049/


----------



## Silky (Feb 18, 2021)

qwr said:


> I was browsing around and I wonder if any fast roux solvers have tried speedsolving with this method https://www.speedsolving.com/threads/intuitive-4x4-method-with-parity-avoidance.73049/


This is another method of the same vain but more of a Petrus style https://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Pet5

Seem generally commutators are the way to go..


----------



## abunickabhi (Feb 18, 2021)

qwr said:


> Maybe you could do a comp for cuboids or FTO or kilominx or something. The less heavily explored side of relatively popular puzzles.


Sounds like a good idea. 

I would love to see the theory of newer puzzles being developed.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 18, 2021)

JKS said:


> when will the next comb be? Are they monthly?



Right now the competition is twice a year. But it could change to be more or less frequent. This depends on the goal of the competition and how often it feels like it should occur based on refinements. The next one is planned for summer, but that could change.

I'll also answer here your post from the other topic.



JKS said:


> I have a really great method that I can solve with almost as fast as cfop even though I learned it in one day however I don't have time to make an entire doc about it. will the future competitions have 3x3 again?



The next competition won't be about 3x3 speedsolving methods. So you can post the method in the big New Method topic.


----------



## carcass (Feb 18, 2021)

We should do the next comp on megaminx. Maybe roux on megaminx IS possible after all.....


----------



## JKS (Feb 18, 2021)

I can't send you the doc


----------



## WarriorCatCuber (Feb 21, 2021)

This competition is ending in 5 minutes!


----------



## carcass (Feb 21, 2021)

Is it really over?


----------



## Scollier (Feb 21, 2021)

carcass said:


> Is it really over?



Yes. It was fun making the methods with you all! May the best method win!!


----------



## carcass (Feb 21, 2021)

This was so much fun. I can't wait to see what event the next competition is on!
When does voting start?


----------



## WarriorCatCuber (Feb 21, 2021)

Thank you @Athefre ! This will be my last method competition, thanks for organizing it so well!


----------



## Athefre (Feb 23, 2021)

Vote Now!

The methods are in! Click the link above to learn about each method and to vote for which you think is best in each category.


----------



## Swagrid (Feb 23, 2021)

Voted. Out of curiosity, when will the next be held? I'm no cube theory maniac but I do like learning about methods and I'm thinking about participating next time.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 23, 2021)

ZF slow said:


> Voted. Out of curiosity, when will the next be held? I'm no cube theory maniac but I do like learning about methods and I'm thinking about participating next time.



The next one will likely be in late summer or early fall. It will be a different theme and not about 3x3 speedsolving. It will be a puzzle or area that needs development.


----------



## carcass (Feb 23, 2021)

It is so cool to see the cool ideas other people have made. I can't wait for the results!


----------



## Scollier (Feb 23, 2021)

Out of curiosity, how long will voting be open for? I think you said that it will be open longer because you want more time for people to vote @Athefre


----------



## Jam88 (Feb 23, 2021)

Vote submitted! I can't wait for the results!


----------



## Scollier (Feb 23, 2021)

Good luck to all!


----------



## Athefre (Feb 23, 2021)

Scollier said:


> Out of curiosity, how long will voting be open for? I think you said that it will be open longer because you want more time for people to vote @Athefre



Last time was something like 24 hours. This time I'm going to keep it open and advertise until we get a good number of votes. Could be a few days, could be a week. We'll see.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 25, 2021)

Voting is still open! Let's get as many votes as possible.

Vote Here


----------



## WarriorCatCuber (Feb 26, 2021)

Just a bump so that some more people vote.


----------



## WarriorCatCuber (Feb 27, 2021)

Can't wait for the results!


----------



## Scollier (Feb 27, 2021)

WarriorCatCuber said:


> Can't wait for the results!



*breaths heavily* I'm nervous but also really excited haha


----------



## carcass (Feb 27, 2021)

Everyone has agreed to let out the results but Mehta knights. If you are a Mehta knight member, please say you are good with the poll ending in the method development discord server.


----------



## DNF_Cuber (Feb 28, 2021)

Honestly squall gets points for having such a nice name. 
"Squall" " Squuuuaalll" "Squl"

*_Insert me in the corner saying that for several hours*_


----------



## carcass (Feb 28, 2021)

What I like about each method:
Squall: L5EP in DR is genius, good blockbuilding influence
ECP: Very creative first step, almost entirely algorithmic
Utah: Nice 5CO and TTLL ending with some Blockbuilding
Atropos: I like how it uses F2L influence to make last layer far faster and overall more efficient

idk just wanted to get it out there


----------



## Athefre (Feb 28, 2021)

The results are in! The overall winner of the competition is...





*Squall from the Mehta Knights team!*

*

The winner of the most original method is ECP from Kübirz!*



*The winner of Best for FMC is Squall from the Mehta Knights team!*



*Finally, the winner of Most Potential for Variants and Extensions is ECP from Kübirz!*



The polling method used this time was Instant-Runoff. Whether that method was used or simply the most number 1 votes were counted, in all categories the result is the same winners. We had 41 votes and the majority of those votes came from the community and not from the teams themselves.

The form also had the option for voters to submit comments. Those can be read below. The comments can provide some perspective on why a method won a certain category and, in general, what the community thinks of each method.



Spoiler: Comments



Squall is almost identical to EOMR. Would classify it as a variant. Atropos could be better with ZZ-C algs, but also would be better if you just insert+ZBLL. ECP is genuinely pretty cool, just kinda impractical for speedsolving unfortunately. Utah is something that has been thought of before, but you're probably better off going for CFOP F2L. I still think that it could be kinda fast (like sub 10 fast) if you used a better LSLL (ZB or Zipper).

Interesting methods. Squall definitely has potential, but for one, the eo223 needs to be compared to petrus and leor eo223, and secondly, the statistics they provided at the end seem skewed(17tps is unreasonably high imo) The Atropos and Utah method need better documentation with a few more pics, because they are hard to read through as it stands. Overall, people have come up with some great methods. The Atropos method is definitely one of the most original methods I've seen. I'd love to see the teams put in a bit more and some fast cubers try out these methods.

A new aim for the methods should be added; they seem to lack quality compared to the last competition.

Squall is cool, Utah feels like a fusion between the francisco methods, and mehta-ct. also cool.

I don't have a grudge against Squall or anything, but I feel like it is just a knockoff of Roux and CFOP. And, of course I would vote our team's method for first. Utah is definitely my second favorite, it seems like a really cool and fun method. ECP has a lot of algs, which is difficult and may be painful to learn, but pretty good for speedsolving since it's mostly algorithmic. That's my verdict.

Squall is pretty unoriginal

I think I could figure out which method is Blobinati Central's

poggers methods

Squall: seems similar to YruRU but good method Atropos: interesting method that has lots of potential ECP: overall i was least impressed with this method Utah: improved version of keyhole with potential

Utah is pog and so is squall I don't really like atropos because its similar in a bad way but thus are my opinions

I did participate in this competition, but I tried to be as objective as possible.

Congrats to every participant, a real treat to read!

Utah

ECP better win most original.

Thanks everyone for participating in the competition! We will have a different theme next time, so look forward to that!



Thanks to every team for participating and to the community for voting! I will contact SpeedCubeShop.com and ask them how they would like to send the gift cards to the winning team. The next competition will likely be in late summer. This may have been the last time, at least for a while, that the theme of the competition is 3x3 speedsolving. The theme for the next competition will be something different and focused somewhere that needs development. So everyone look forward to that!


----------



## carcass (Feb 28, 2021)

Congratulations to the Mehta Knights! I had so much fun with this competition.


----------



## Athefre (Feb 28, 2021)

carcass said:


> Congratulations to the Mehta Knights! I had so much fun with this competition.



I'm glad you enjoyed the competition. Utah had a lot of positive comments, both in the poll, and on Discord.


----------



## carcass (Feb 28, 2021)

I had to restrain myself from thanking them to maintain anonyminity lol


----------



## carcass (Mar 4, 2021)

@Athefre you worked on atropos and it was your favorite right? I can't tell from the wording in the spoiler. Thank you for the kind words, earlier I kind of skimmed over the spoiler.


----------



## Athefre (Mar 4, 2021)

carcass said:


> @Athefre you worked on atropos and it was your favorite right? I can't tell from the wording in the spoiler. Thank you for the kind words, earlier I kind of skimmed over the spoiler.



The spoiler contains all of the comments that were submitted to the poll form. Individual comments are separated by new lines. My comment is actually the very last one that thanks everyone for participating. The rest are anonymous.

I didn't work on Atropos. I wasn't on a team and just ran the competition. I did however submit a method for the competition, but not to compete. You can see it here:









athefre - CBar


This method was developed for the Method Development Competition January 2021. Because I was running the competition, I submitted the method not as a competitor. This method takes advantage of a flaw that exists within EPLL, ELL, and some L5E and LSE cases. Take for example any EPLL case. Almost




sites.google.com


----------



## efattah (Mar 6, 2021)

Where are the links to the actual method descriptions. In the original post I see only rules, and the final post I see only vote tabulations.


----------



## Athefre (Mar 7, 2021)

efattah said:


> Where are the links to the actual method descriptions. In the original post I see only rules, and the final post I see only vote tabulations.



The links were in the survey itself. I've been working on creating a wiki page for the competition, just as there is one for the first competition and one for the overall competition. The plan was also to update the main post with the methods that were developed. I just updated the main post with the method links.


----------



## carcass (Mar 10, 2021)

Would you guys want an example solve game for ECP, Utah, or Atropos? I think Squall could fit in with LEOR although it is quite different.


----------



## Scollier (Mar 10, 2021)

carcass said:


> Would you guys want an example solve game for ECP, Utah, or Atropos? I think Squall could fit in with LEOR although it is quite different.



I'm up for that! It would be fun.


----------



## carcass (Mar 10, 2021)

Which method should I make a thread on? or just a "January 2021 Method Example Solve Game" that has all the methods


----------



## Sub1Hour (Aug 8, 2021)

A Little late to the party, but I'd like to propose a variation of the Utah method.

Provo Variation!

Provo Variation completes EO during Utah instead of belt. I haven't messed with it much and I'm not sure if it's actually better, but I use ZZ a lot and it seems like you could be much more efficient using a zz style EO while block building.

Also, If you do EO completely before Utah that might also count as a new variation, maybe Bountiful variation?

If it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about it's because I'm not, I've only looked at Utah for like an hour total and thought this would be cool.

These variations are only to reduce move count, I doubt they're actually faster but who knows?


----------

