MAN page from Mandrake Other xpuzzles-5.4.1-3.i386.rpm

XPYRAMINX

Section: Games and Demos (6)
Updated: 01 January 1997
Index

NAME

xpyraminx - Pyramid X widget

SYNOPSIS

/usr/games/xpyraminx[-geometry [{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]][-display [{host}]:[{vs}]] [-mono][-{foreground|fg} <color>] [-{background|bg} <color>][-{border|bd} <color>] [-face{0|1|2|3} <color>][-{size <int>|sticky}] [-{mode <int> | both}] [-[no]orient] [-[no]practice] [-username {string}]

DESCRIPTION

The original puzzle has 9 triangles per face (size = 3) and has period 3turning (i.e. the face or points turn in 120 degree intervals). Thepuzzle was designed by Uwe Meffert and called the Pyraminx. This has2^5*3^8*6!/2 or 75,582,720 different comibinations.

Another puzzle Senior Pyraminx 3x3x3 exists only on paper, it has period 2turning (i.e. edges turn with 180 degree intervals) but the corners wouldfall off unless it had some tricky mechanism. (This may be the same asthe Master Pyraminx which has 446,965,972,992,000 different combinations).

Another puzzle (which was not widely distributed), the Junior Pyraminx(and similarly the Junior Pyraminx Star, a octahedron formed by twotetrahedra, this has 7!*3^6 or 3,674,160 different combinations), has 4triangles (size = 2) per face and at the time I designed this computerpuzzle thought that it had only period 2 turning (i.e the edges rotate).It turns out the puzzle has a period 4 turning (edges turn with 90 degreeintervals) which makes it analogous to the 2x2x2 Rubik's cube. This puzzlemakes various non-tetrahedral shapes. The puzzle contained here has noperiod 4 turning flexability.

One is able to simulate Halpern's Tetrahedron or Pyraminx Tetrahedron(period 3 turning and sticky mode). Also one is able to simulate one withvariant turning (period 2 turning and sticky mode).

FEATURES

Press "mouse-left" button to move a piece. Release"mouse-left" button on a piece on the same face and in the same row(but not an adjacent piece or the move is ambiguous). The pieces willthen turn towards where the mouse button was released.

Click "mouse-center", or press "P" or "p" keys to togglethe practice mode (in practice mode the record should say "practice").One must double click on "mouse-center" if the puzzle is being workedon. This is good for learning moves and experimenting.

Click "mouse-right", or press "R" or "r" keys to randomize(this must be done first to set a new record). One must double click on"mouse-right" if the puzzle is being worked on.

Press "I" or "i" keys to increase the number of "tetras".

Press "D" or "d" keys to decrease the number of "tetras".

Press "O" or "o" keys to toggle the orient mode. One has toorient the faces in orient mode, besides getting all the faces to be thesame color. To do this one has to get the lines to be oriented in thesame direction, this only matters with center "tetras", if at all (i.e.those "tetras" not on a corner or edge). This does add complexity sothere are 2 sets of records.

Press "2", "3", "B", or "b" keys (not the keypad2, 3) to change modes to Period 2, Period 3, or Both.

Press "Y" or "y" to toggle sticky mode (increase/decrease isdisabled here if sticky mode is on).
"Sticky" and "Period 2" turning allows only the edges to turn, and the 2center rows turn together. It is as if the middle cut of the three cutsdid not exist.
"Sticky" and "Period 3" turning allows only the faces to turn, it is as ifthe middle cut of the three cuts did not exist.
Beware, the "Sticky" mode is a hack and much could be done to improve itslook.

"S" or "s" keys reserved for the auto-solver (unimplemented).

Press "U" or "u" keys to undo move.

Press "G" or "g" keys to get a saved puzzle.

Press "W" or "w" keys to write or save a puzzle.

Press "Q", "q", or "CTRL-C" keys to kill program.

Use the key pad, "R" keys, or arrow keys to move without mouse clicks.
Key pad is defined for Pyraminx as:

/ Counterclockwise

  8 9   Up, Upper Right

  ^
4<5>6 Left, Clockwise, Right

  v
1 2 Lower Left, Down

Use the shift keys to access "Period 3" turns from "Both" mode, otherwiseit assumes "Period 2" turning. Faces and points turn in "Period 3" andedges (2 points) turn in "Period 2".

Use the control key and the left mouse button, keypad, or arrow keys tomove the whole tetrahedron. This is not recorded as a turn.

The title is in the following format (non-motif version):

: xpyraminx.{2|3|both<turning modes>}: {1|2|3|4|5|6|7|sticky<number of"tetras" per edge>} @ (<Number of moves>/{<Record number of moves><username>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) - <Comment>

If there is no record of the current puzzle, it displays "NEVER noaccess".

OPTIONS

-geometry {+|-}X{+|-}Y: This option sets the initial position of the pyraminx window (resourcename "geometry").
-display host:dpy: This option specifies the X server to contact.
-mono: This option allows you to access the mono mode on a color monitor(resource name "mono").
-{foreground|fg} color: This option specifies the foreground of the pyraminx window (resource name"foreground").
-{background|bg} color: This option specifies the background of the pyraminx window (resource name"background").
-{border|bd} color: This option specifies the border color of the tetras in the pyraminxwindow (resource name "borderColor").
-face{0|1|2|3} <color>: This option allows you to change the color of a face (resource name"faceColorN"). In mono-mode, color is represented as the first letterof the color name. The faces are ordered top to bottom and left to right.If you has two colors that begin with the same letter you should have onein uppercase and one in lowercase to distinguish them in mono-mode. You canchange the colors of the faces to make a stupid pyraminx (i.e. all White orin mono-mode all "W"). Unfortunately, it will not normally say its solvedwhen its randomized. This would be cheating.
-size <int>: This option allows you to change the number of tetras on a edge(resource name "size").
-sticky: This option allows you to set the sticky mode (resource name"sticky").
-mode <int>: This option allows you to set the turning mode (resource name"mode").
-both: This option allows you to set the turning mode to both period 2 andperiod 3 (resource name "mode" set at 4).
-[no]orient: This option allows you to access the orient mode (resource name"orient").
-[no]practice: This option allows you to access the practice mode (resource name"practice").
-username string: This option specifies the user name for any records made or else it willget your login name (resource name "userName").

SAVE FORMAT

The format is not standard. The reason for this is that this is simple toproduce and the standard notation is no good for variable number of"tetras" and turning modes.

Pyraminx with default colors, not randomized:
0 B Blue

1 R Red
2 Y Yellow

3 G Green

: size: 1-7 <number of triangles in the same orientation as the face perrow>
mode: 2-4 <period 2 turning, period 3 turning, or both (4)>
orient: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if 1 then lines on "tetras" to be oriented>
sticky: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if 1 then some "tetras" move together>
practice: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true>
moves: 0-MAXINT <total number of moves>
startingPosition: <2 dimensional array of face "tetra" position, eachface has size * size "tetras", if orient mode then orientation numberfollows face number: 0 up, 1 upper right, 2 right, 3 down, 4 lower left,and 5 left>

This is then followed by the moves, starting from 1.

: move #: <face> <position> <direction> <control>

Each turn is with respect to a face and position.
Position is 0 to size * size - 1. Position 0 is the triangle furthestfrom the center, increasing clockwise.
Direction is represented 0 up, 1 upper right, 2 right, 3 down, 4 lowerleft, 5 left, 9 clockwise, and 15 counterclockwise.
Control is represented as 0 or 1, 1 if the whole tetrahedron is moved atonce (here position does not matter), 0 if not. The xpyraminx recordkeeper does not count a control move as a move, but here we do.

Caution: the program may crash on corrupted input.

REFERENCES

Mastering the Magic Pyramid by Tom Werneck, Evans Brothers Limited, London,1981. pp 109-111.

Beyond Rubik's Cube: spheres, pyramids, dodecahedrons and God knows whatelse by Douglas R. Hofstadter, Scientific American, July 1982, pp 16-31.

Magic Cubes 1996 Catalog of Dr. Christoph Bandelow.

COPYRIGHTS

BUG REPORTS AND PROGRAM UPDATES

Send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author

: David Albert Bagley, <bagleydAATTbigfoot.com>

The most updated source could be found on ftp.x.org under/contrib/games/puzzles.

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