The Power of the Quicktap: An NES Tetris Tutorial

[@SaltedSofa12]

** CORRECTIONS: ** You have 3 frames to quicktap a longbar 8 high left on level 19 speeds, not 2 frames. Therefore, it technically doesn't require a frame-perfect quicktap. Also, at 10:50 12:15 and 13:45 I've come to realize that a quicktap is not required to get those pieces over (assuming you have fully charged das), regardless, it's still important to know that pieces in their horizontal orientation can go higher than the quicktapping limits of pieces in their vertical orientation which those examples do well at showing. Furthermore, on level 19 speeds, pieces can go 9 high left with fully charged das and can be quicktapped 10 high left and above.

[@Flyzguy]

Great stuff. This is why a "das rabbit" would be such a phenomenal challenge and why a 10hz ai is only a weak approximation for the mental work top DAS players are doing to manage risk reward on both board and DAS state.

[@ngc_man25]

Awesome video Sofa! For anyone who is looking for yet another leg up on other DAS players, there is a concept that Sofa touched on during the video called "wallcharging." This is something most people learn prior to learning how to quicktap... Now, what if i told you that you can combine the quicktap technique with the wallcharge technique for even more utility! As Sofa mentioned, a wallcharge completely charges DAS, so if you are able to perform a wallcharge after a quicktap (but before the piece locks) you can avoid the typical drawback of losing DAS after a quicktap. This is nearly impossible for "true" 8-high level 19 quicktaps. By "true", I mean that column 2 is 8 high and column 1 is also 8 high. In order to wallcharge after a quicktap, the player needs to flick the d-pad the opposite direction of the quicktap. If there is no wall to the right, you cannot wallcharge. However, if column 1 is lower than column 2, it is in theory possible to do a quicktap and keep FULL DAS for the next piece.

[@SaltedSofa12]

Well said, thanks for that! Definitely a strategy worth noting once you get more consistent at quicktapping.

[@fluidAnsem]

Great video, awesome to see people making DAS tutorial content aimed at way newer players. I got a long way to go but this was great to see in my recommended :)

[@czarjordan]

Lovely video! There are so many helpful das videos out there but none of them explain the quicktap in-depth. Thank you Sofa!

[@billymacmakes]

Thank you for putting together this video!! I've really wanted to add a quick tap to my game, but I cannot get any consistency with it. This helps me understand what I'm trying to do, and I hope this is the final hurdle to keep some of those 19 games alive and let me finally max!

[@SaltedSofa12]

I'm sure it will come my friend, best of luck!

[@micetro614]

Yes!! I loved this exploration of the great mystery of the QUICKTAP. and shop music makes me so happy!

[@Storm957]

Amazing video! Honestly, trying to explain DAS and quick taps is such a difficult thing to do, so it was nice of you to make full length video about it. Really great explanations and examples! 😄

[@SaltedSofa12]

It was quite challenging haha. Thank you though, I appreciate it

[@guelphdgc7995]

Great video thanks! Watched you for the first time this weekend at CTWC Montreal on twitch. New fan!

[@SaltedSofa12]

@@guelphdgc7995 oh amazing haha!! Thanks for the support

[@clockworker578]

Great video! I believe at 3:54, though, the window for an 8 high left quicktap on 19 is 3 frames not 2, so you don't technically need a frame perfect quick tap. You can have a frame of wiggle room by either shifting the timing by a frame or letting off the dpad for 2 frames instead of 1.

[@SaltedSofa12]

crap really? T_T

[@clockworker578]

Yeah, I tested with TAS editor to be sure. It makes sense, at 19 the pieces fall every 2 frames, so there's a 5 frame window for 7 high, 3 frame window for 8 high, and 1 frame window for 9 high (impossible)

[@SaltedSofa12]

ah gotcha, i'll see if I can add a correction. thanks for letting me know man@@clockworker578

[@lyssarq5600]

I quicktapped the like button 😊

[@mattmccloskey8102]

I've been trying to master this technique for a while now and I can get it sometimes but it's really tricky. I just play casually by myself on emulator but this video was very useful, and I like detailed explanations on how things work

[@SaltedSofa12]

Glad it helped! Emulator can definitely be trickier to time the quicktap due to input lag. Are you playing on keyboard or controller?

[@Spunney]

I think this is a great guide and very useful and easy to follow!

[@Javantea]

Thanks for the excellent video. I appreciate the time you put into research and editing. I'll give it a try.

[@osmeridium]

Super informative! Great job!

[@ShmeckleBoy]

I wish I had this video when I was learning. I started playing in 2017 and it took 6 years for me to get them down. Wasn't able to max without quicktaps

[@afaelr]

Amazing tutorial, thanks!

[@davidjennings2300]

Beautiful video! Very practical. and I enjoyed seeing myself at 11:58 :)

[@SaltedSofa12]

Looking good as always

[@GekkiSpeedruns]

Awesome video! Such a great explanation

[@TheZachAttackG]

Great video, maybe you could make a follow up explaining the other terms you mentioned as well (Wallcharging, skill stops, slow tapping etc…)

[@SaltedSofa12]

Maybe in the future! I attached a link to a very useful das guide in the description that explains a lot of das techniques in great detail if you're interested :)

[@elzixa]

Hey, great video. Btw At 13:47 the quicktap is not required for the L piece. Pure das is enough to get the L flat over.

[@SaltedSofa12]

ah you are correct, thank you for bringing that to my attention

[@cuboscubicom6747]

What a great video, really well made, hopefully I'll improve my quicktaps. I was curius what font you used during explanations such as in 17:11

[@SaltedSofa12]

Thank you and best of luck! The font is Moon Get! I think it's the font used in Mario Odyssey lol

[@cuboscubicom6747]

@@SaltedSofa12 thanks, I recognized it but couldn't figure out from where

[@PretzelBS]

Always remember you can keep your das with L,_,L,R 👍

[@bendy1427]

Very well made video, almost forgot I was in it lol

[@ragegage1221]

still cant do them....I respect people that have mastered this.

[@SaltedSofa12]

Keep practicing! Focus on keeping your finger on the dpad during the quicktap but just letting off pressure and quickly brining that pressure back.

[@AvGeekW159]

Maybe I've misinterpreted but I always thought a quicktap being 2f, like 8 left on 19, meant you have 2 frames in between inputs. 12 left on 18 and 4 right on 29 are the frame perfect or "1 frame" quicktaps. Love the video, I always love watching you play, and I know this is gonna help a bunch of people. -AvGeek (bc this acct has my real name lol)

[@SaltedSofa12]

Thanks for the kind words man :) From the resources I gathered during the recording process, I interpreted it as both inputs needing to be within 2 frames because that's how much time you have before the piece locks. However, I could have also misinterpreted it

[@gabrielbondon3673]

I'm a bit confused at the 10:50 example, is Sharky really quick tapping those squares ? It was 8 and 9 high so it was doable with full das given a wall charge on the previous piece. Perhaps he didn't have full das idk. Edit : finishing the video I'm even more confused. At 12:15 the square 12 left on 18 is achievable with perfect das. Same with the L flat at 13:45

[@SaltedSofa12]

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I errored in saying that horizontal pieces and squares can be quicktapped 9 high left on level 19 speeds when, indeed, they can get there with fully charged das. I added those corrections to the description of the video.

[@gabrielbondon3673]

Sorry if I sounded harsh. The video is well edited and narrated, thanks for taking the time to make it ! The community needs more educational videos like this :D

[@SaltedSofa12]

@@gabrielbondon3673 you didn't sound harsh at all. I'd want people to point out things I may have gotten wrong. Thanks for the kind words :)

[@sjn6112]

7:26 with an 8 high quicktap in gym quicktap mode can't you keep das charge after the quicktap just by holding the dpad? i mean, your piece here will fall for 8 blocks and each drop is 2 frames so wouldn't you get 16f of charge?

[@SaltedSofa12]

You can! However, I think it's better to practice wall charging after the quicktap because, realistically, you won't have that much time in an actual game to keep the dpad held down to get full das

[@jessamaeacevedo47]

When showing 2 people on your screen, why use 3rd person singular when using one person's name, and then later say "They digged themselves out of that". Who are those people that digged themselves out of that if your screen shows 2 people, out of which only 1 person did so? Are there some ghosts that we don't know about? It's just so confusing for no reason, especially if actually 2 people are visible in front of you, and you use "they are ...", when speaking about one... Please don't tell me "just look at the screen, see who is in a digging situation, duh", because you might as well just remove the whole audio, so that only eyes will be receiving information about what is happening, since the commentary is becoming not only pointless, but also misleading, and worsening the understanding of the situation. If you were to make a Radio commentary from a football match, for somebody driving a car, people listening to you would not have any way of knowing what is happening in the match from your Audio. Bro, I understand making somebody feel 'better" and refer the way he/she wants to be refered to, even using a requested nickname or he/she pronoun. But pretending with serious voice that 1 person has become a crowd of many people is messed up.

[@SaltedSofa12]

I respect peoples' pronouns man, and on top of that, I repeatedly used Hana's name during that part of the video to avoid confusion.

[@jessamaeacevedo47]

@@SaltedSofa12 I'm actually a girl but nevermind that. What I'm trying to say is that I can imagine how somebody feels "caged" and wants to transition, those people can make their gender fluid by taking specific hormones or at least being deeply devoted to such identity, and we should respect and support that.. But how is it logistically possible for 1 person to become "many people" and convice others to be refered to as "many people", before cloning is invented? I mean... if they don't like to be "he" or "she", then maybe lets just endlessly use their names, just to spare people the headache of receiving 2 conflicting stimuli.

[@Xenophilius]

language changes, try to have compassion and learn rather than being intentionally dense. singular “they” has widespread use, both as a personal pronoun and as a replacement for “he or she” in the generic form. pronouns are inherently ambiguous and require context. this isn’t new. the word “you” can be both singular and plural. you usually know what people mean because of context. and you can ask to clarify if you don’t. “we” is also ambiguous and requires context. so are “he” and “she,” for that matter. they’re used instead of a specific person’s name when you already know, and if you didn’t get the context, you’d be lost. people adopting “they” for singular, personal use has been happening for years (it was actually more widespread centuries ago in english, and has been making a comeback because of the increasing need for gender neutral language), and it certainly isn’t a case of them “introducing ambiguity” to a clean, perfect set of pronouns that never have ambiguity. that’s always been the case. treat it like learning people’s allergies. even if you don’t personally have those allergies, even if you’ve never heard of a certain allergy before, it’s not that hard to learn about it and just not cook that food for someone when they come over. this stuff hurts people. you may not understand why, but you can still listen and have respect for people who are different. just try to learn! it’s not that hard. be flexible, that’s part of intelligence and curiosity. you MUST know that, however inconvenient it is to take the time to expand your definition of the word “they” and be more inclusive of people you don’t fully understand, it’s MORE inconvenient by miles to throw a fit like this every time you hear people just trying to talk to each other respectfully.

[@Xenophilius]

these are things you will keep seeing more of: - “they” as a personal pronoun for people who are nonbinary - “they” generically, instead of “he or she,” as in “tell any new visitor they need to check in at the front desk” - “they” as a replacement for not knowing someone’s gender, like “who’s that? they’ve been standing there for an hour now.” you cannot control language. it changes! it will keep changing to suit people’s needs. just try to learn; and it’s okay if you mess up, those “did you just assume my gender” types are rare as hell and most folks just wanna get along pleasantly, same as anybody.

[@happy_mimimix]

This thing is useless for hyper tappers and rollers.

[@SaltedSofa12]

Well yeah, it's a das technique