MM Suggestion

[CitizenFry]

Hi! If we're to continue grinding Mirage Master for Gran every day, can you at least make it a little less painful by having the game count down "number of mistakes remaining" instead of "number of moves remaining"? It is lame that the game continues after the point where you cannot win because you have made too many mistakes. Yes, I realize there is a "restart" button on the left, but I shouldn't need to go click more to get back to the grinding.

[crimsonshade]

It's not hard to calculate as you go along flipping. (Well, not as hard as it looks below...)

1. "Normal" flips required: Beginner = 9, Intermediate = 18, Advanced = 36 <<< you get this by taking total cards on the screen and multiplying by 3/4

I suggest going for intermediate **** which gives you 18 turns exactly, so no calculations needed. Good 15 gran payoff for the least amount of time wasted.

2. We can use this method to predict the number of turns we will end up with to win. We use intermediate **** as an example. It gives 18 turns, which is the same as required normal flips. So provided all your flips are "normal", you will win with remaining turns 0/18. So at the start, we have 0 as our ending number (E). So E = 0.

3. Now there are two types of flips which are "abnormal".
- The bad kind: Making a mistake (eg forgetting that the other pair is already up there), or flipping the second card to find that it already has a pair from previous cards flipped (essentially the same as making a mistake, except this one is not your fault). Both are the same in the sense that you have a spend an extra turn making the pair match.
- The good kind: Getting a pair from the first flip of two previously unflipped cards. We love this because it makes us feel lucky, and less worried about memorizing more cards.

And, surprise surprise, "bad" flips reduce E by 1, while "good" flips increase E by 1.

4. For our example, E = 0 at the start. So if you get one bad flip and the rest normal, then by above we have E = -1 (which means you need one more turn to finish, i.e. you lose). So to win it just means that you must have the same number of good flips to offset any bad flips.

I suggest going along by rows or columns to be systematic. That way, if you encounter a bad flip, you know that you have to quit if you don't encounter a good flip by the halfway point. Or you could just quit if you encounter a bad flip at the very first 2 pairs (if you already have one that early, it's quite unlikely that you will recover). Conversely, if you get a good flip early on, then you can relax that you have the insurance of having E = 1, or even E = 2, as safety against bad flips.


This looks complicated, but it's easier than it looks.

I hope this helps.

[RivalIczer]

Yes, I use the same system as Josh over there.

Anyway, while we're talking MM... does it really need the double restriction?
From what I understand:
- The number of flips limits the player's number of possible mistakes, i.e. makes the game "harder".
- The time limit is there to ensure no "cheating" by various methods (noting down the cards, taking screenshots, whatever).

But does the time limit need to decrease with each level of difficulty? If the first (non-999) limit is sufficient to prevent cheating, why decrease it at higher difficulty levels? It does not make the game harder, it just makes it more punitive for slower connections.

[Soiyeruda]

But does the time limit need to decrease with each level of difficulty? If the first (non-999) limit is sufficient to prevent cheating, why decrease it at higher difficulty levels? It does not make the game harder, it just makes it more punitive for slower connections.

Lol, 5 minute advanced mode Master Pro (or whatever it's called). If I had that, I could have sufficient time to cheat, actually.

But yeah, the decreasing time limit sorta ensures that you can't just write down what card goes where. I've tried that several times for the 4* advanced mode. In the end, I just end up getting confused, and would have to go significantly faster on the next card clicks to make up for it.

Just imo, it's a matter of adapting. My first week of Alteil pretty much consisted just playing Beginner 4* for my 10 gran/day, because Intermediate seemed so difficult. Once I realized I could effectively double my daily allowance, I tried Intermediate 3*. Though I could've made up to 8 errors, I failed pretty bad. Then a learned to give the cards simple names associated with their pictures, making them easier to remember, allowing me to reach Int. Pro. Advanced mode is obviously for people with a much greater sense of memory, of which I haven't quite been able to achieve yet (I'm still stuck remembering only about 25% of the cards in Advanced mode at a time). However, if I continue to practice, I'll probably get better, making the time limit insignificant, and making it only a matter of memory.

[Eladin]

dude, that totally did look more complicated than it needed to be...

divide total amount of cards by 2 to give you the minimum number of turns you need to win. subtract that from your turn count max.
ex: beginner 4*
12 / 2 = 6
8-6= 2
that's the maximum number of mess ups you're allowed. get a third. reset.

inter 4*
24 / 2 = 12
18-12=6
make 7 mistakes...reset.

heh, i use the same nickname system Soiyeruda.