4x4 OPA Tutorial (ARP Tracing)

[@ulrikbredland6965]

Awesome, been waiting for this video! Thanks for sharing :) The trainer you mentioned is made by Einar, but the idea is mine. I also made my own version, but it's private and only in python, so not as clean or easy to use as Einar's. In case anyone's wondering about how to use it: 1. Scramble the cube with the given scramble 2. Time your tracing (spacebar to start/stop) 3. Press 1/2 for odd/even (or parity/no parity) 4. From the already scrambled state, apply the next (shorter) scramble. Note: You can apply the scramble from anywhere (5.) Repeat steps 2.-4. as many times as you want The idea is that tracing is the hardest part, and with this trainer you don't need to solve the cube between each tracing, meaning you can focus on improving that step only. The trainer also gives you statistics on how well you're doing and improving. The way the program checks parity is by counting how many quarter wide moves are applied, so even = no parity, and odd = parity.

[@LarsJohan]

Sterkt, Ulrik! 💪

[@michaelnielsen3551]

certified hood classic

[@brodymeschke4025]

WE LOVE CASTING SPELLS

[@LiamHighducheck]

Very nice! It turns out we did end up inventing the exact same thing completely independently. Except I start at 1 and switch between odd and even whenever I see a bad edge instead of starting at 0 and counting up whenever I see a good edge. I can’t believe how close in proximity we were to each other too, like I only used it about a month before you. I can’t remember the last time something like this happened in cubing. It’s all very exciting!

[@AedanBryant]

Yay I’m so happy to see this finally released!! I can’t wait to see how this method gets used in the future, and I’m honored to have been apart of this journey in some way!

[@ashtenjampayas]

You don't know how excited I was when I saw this got uploaded! Thank YOU!

[@pitime2887]

All this time I was sure ARP stood for Ari Randers-Pehrson...

[@DivnoorCubes]

surely it does

[@bernhardbrodowsky3261]

For people who like it better: rather than counting, you can also just go back and forth between 0 and 1.

[@josuke21]

Like CSP

[@willcallan942]

Awesome! Quite the coincidence ARP is your initials too, its fate

[@MaxSiauwCubing]

IT'S FINALLY HERE

[@MaxSiauwCubing]

Beautifully explained. I've already started training :)

[@EinarKvamLundberg]

Finally I can use my trainer 🤩

[@hanspeterpitsch]

Haven't been cubing for a couple years but always thought there must be a way to predict and avoid parity on 4x4, it's just a matter of time before people discover a viable way for speedsolving. Very nice to see we're at that point by now :)

[@carykh]

This was a very well-made explanation of OPA! I (and probably 99% of people here) use Yau, but I wonder if OPA will make old-fashioned Reduction slightly more worth it again, since you solve the third center and lock in parity much earlier? Actually, my guess is that Yau+OPA is still better

[@trianglescube]

probably would make hoya more popular, since hoya solves 2 opp centers and the cross center first

[@willlagergaming8089]

Wait idk that you are a cuber what a surprise to see your comment. Love your content.

[@AnuarOnofre]

Nice video! Thanks for mentioning my method. I'm glad to see the optimizations, I might switch to this method in the future. It looks a lot easier to trace under 15 seconds using ARP.

[@5tuffz]

finally!! so excited to watch this!

[@josuke21]

Fantastic tutorial!! 20th August 2022, 11:55 P.M.

[@samyelsherif6046]

I found this on reddit, 2 minutes later I found this on my home page!

[@HermanKalland]

Thank you for making this video Ari!

[@StianNystad]

Finally!! very helpful video bro

[@Fiskeolje]

This was very well explained!🤩

[@Anthony_Jiang]

Amazing video Ari

[@shakhishops6267]

Thanks for this good method it helped me a lot to improve my solves😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@ZekeMackay]

ITS HERE

[@wallford49]

ARI YOU THE BEST!!!

[@TheFuzzyCuber]

You were at the competition I went to

[@matishabtay5361]

This is severely based

[@MistWurm98]

The next big thing!

[@koulmemaybe]

let's goooooo ari

[@al_cuber]

Your name is also ARP for short! what a coincidence!

[@cubiccanvas]

I can’t understand what determines if a wing is “good” or not. I keep repeating the part where you are explaining it, but I’m not getting what you mean exactly.. any help would be epic!!

[@carsonwidjaja2252]

Finally!

[@rouxbiccuber2082]

How do you go about keeping track of what's been traced? I'm using my fingers but it's all over the puzzle and so slow and I almost make moves.

[@ulrikbredland6965]

I don't think there's any fool proof and effective way of doing it, but one trick is to use the number. If you're done tracing and the number is low, you're probably missing something. If it's high, you probably don't have any more wings to trace. I've practiced OPA/APR for a couple of weeks now, and from my experience you learn it intuitively after some time. I still miss some 2/3-cycles here and there, but overall I've gotten quite good at knowing when I'm missing something.

[@cookierobber]

Since this is the same as edge tracing in BLD, you do the same things people do when starting out there - use your fingers for edges on the left and right sides, and just remember edges in the M slice. Alternatively use your fingers for every edge, but take them away when you hit all the edges on a given face. Either way though, you'll develop a sense for it over time

[@campbellcubing2965]

Not me thinking ARP tracing stood for Ari Randers-Pehrson tracing.

[@pratikkhanna3182]

I am still not able to understand,but great video , I'll watch it again

[@seb_bock_cubing]

As a hoya user, does anyone have any experience on if it is faster to solve two adjacent centers of the cube as the first step so parity is decided sooner or just continue tracking parity state for 3 centers, solving two opposite centers first like normal.

[@CharlesDaKing]

Could this be used on 6x6? It would just take forever to trace right

[@remyscube4865]

Yo, great video as always!! Is there like an OPA discord server or something? I recently changed from yau to OPA and I was wondering if there was like a server to discuss the method.

[@cookierobber]

You can do the first cycle trick (not the x2, but only adding 1 if the adjacent edge is bad) for subsequent cycles too, right? Seems like another small optimisation that could be useful

[@AedanBryant]

Yes the first cycle trick can (and should be) used for all subsequent cycles.

[@cookierobber]

@@AedanBryant Yeah I thought as much, seemed odd that wasn't mentioned

[@ariranderspehrson]

You can use the first cycle trick for other cycles if you want to, but I decided not to for a couple reasons. Feel free to try it out though if it makes more sense to you! One reason is that once you get familiar with tracing you can start choosing which wing you trace with. E.g., after picking an edge and adding 1 for a new cycle, you trace to whichever wing you see first. This can make tracing smoother with fewer big pauses. If you use the first cycle trick for subsequent cycles you don't have this option

[@cookierobber]

@@ariranderspehrson I mean you totally can trace to whichever edge you see first, you just need to remember the orientation of the edge you started from to know whether to add 1 or not

[@abhijeetghodgaonkar]

Nice yo

[@LevMaslov]

Thanks for the explanation! Btw how much time you were practicing OPA before your tracing time got under 15 seconds?

[@ariranderspehrson]

I don't know how long it took me to be sub-15, but it seems to take most people a couple weeks

[@bruhnish598]

Who else thought ARP tracing was a method invented by Ari.

[@AryanChhabra]

finally!

[@remycubes30]

arp tracing stands for ari randers-pehrson tracing

[@tylerhicks621]

So, would this necessarily be harder with half centers? Since you have to keep counting further into the solve?

[@ariranderspehrson]

Yes it would be harder

[@ravnexx8354]

I have a question. I am white/yellow cuber so I solve white and yellow centers. But I prefer checking the orientation having white front and blue too (which is my blind orientation). I am so much used to this scheme and wheneber i see an edge, i can instantly tell where it should be solved. The question is, if it is possible to do tracing in my blind orientation and solve it in normal orientation?

[@ariranderspehrson]

Yes! The parity state of the cube is the same no matter the orientation you trace with. This means you can start on any color

[@ravnexx8354]

@@ariranderspehrson nice thanks!

[@sail1look]

Hi man! I was learning how to do OPA and a guy in facebook basically showed me this method, I was thiking about doing a tutorial in Spanish but idk if you're ok with that, is there a problem with it? (i'll give you all the credits for the method, i just want to intruduce this to the community)

[@ariranderspehrson]

That's no problem at all. Feel free to share the method anywhere you'd like :)

[@sail1look]

@@ariranderspehrson thank you!!! I'll tag you in the video then

[@antrix1331]

before starting the video, I thought ARP means Ari Randers-Pehrson 😅

[@igortarasow]

Great method and great tutorial. Can I make an almost identical tutorial but in ukrainian?

[@ariranderspehrson]

Yeah definitely!

[@filipnilsen6286]

What do you guys do if the buffer is solved? Ulrik suggested doing a y (to get an unsolved buffer) then x2

[@ariranderspehrson]

That is exactly what I do. Doing a y' rotation could also work if you prefer that

[@filipnilsen6286]

@@ariranderspehrson Do you remember the piece that is at the end of the cycle before doing the x2? If so, do you have any tips on how to remember it

[@ariranderspehrson]

@@filipnilsen6286 I don't memorize the piece. After practicing a bunch I'm able to use intuition to know when I finish the first cycle, and sometimes the piece is in the back of my mind and I know which one it is

[@JavaCuber]

How long do you take to trace and how long do you take to plan F2C?

[@ariranderspehrson]

My tracing is about 8 seconds on average. When planning F2C I use as much time as possible before the judge says 12 seconds, once that happens I start putting the cube down. In emergencies I can plan a center in 1-2 seconds but 3-4 seconds is usually enough for a minimum of one and a half centers

[@isaacmyers6909]

Idaho Noodle OPA got so close yet so far…

[@brendyndunagan]

LMAOOOO

[@spacemario]

I'm barely sub 1 minute. Would you recommend this method or is it too early for me?

[@ariranderspehrson]

I would generally recommend waiting until you are somewhere in the 30-40 second range or lower before fully switching to OPA. That said, if you find the method fun, I wouldn't worry about using it too early

[@charlievater215]

I thought ARP stood for Ari Randers-Pehrson

[@ashtenjampayas]

When I first learned anything about opa I interpreted tracing a scramble to be odd as "You have to solve the scramble with an odd amount of inner slice turns." When I saw your tutorial I realized there is 2 ways to interpret it. Do you think there's an advantage of solving it your way?

[@wildrubikslegokids1242]

You know your initials are ARP, right?

[@Alex.K1]

Cool

[@AdrienAuvrayMatyn]

arp stands for avoiding random parity

[@effperm]

arp doesnt stand for your initials !?

[@cadenparker35]

I'm ngl I thought ARP was for ari Randers pehrson

[@jouda2097]

ARP tracing = ZZ EO but more pieces

[@rubix4716]

The method of determining if an edge is good or bad is the exact same as what you'd do for ZZ on a 3x3

[@schmack221]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@JihunYang]

Seemed ARP means Ari Randers-Pehrson lol

[@BrandonLin1]

Just making sure, the method still works if you increment for bad wings instead right (and the opposite for your cycle starting position)?

[@ariranderspehrson]

Yes it should still work. The number might be different but the parity state will be the same regardless. I only picked this way because it made the most sense to me when I was learning

[@nqkhanhskewb]

lmao i thought ARP stands for your name

[@creamycubing]

please tell me im not the only person who thought arp tracing stood for ari randers-pehrson tracing 😭