Qsolve PC Version 6.5 developed by Mark Longridge (c) 1989-1999 Instructions and Scope of Qsolve PC ----------------------------------- Qsolve is a general NxNxN cube simulation This specific implementation runs under MS DOS 5.0 or higher Requires 640K memory, EGA or VGA monitor for colour graphics, although there is an ASCII mode for TEXT ONLY video cards The database files were generated by a run on a 386DX 33Mhz with 128K cache Loading square.is as an ascii file takes 75 seconds Loading square.isb as a binary file takes 3 seconds! It simulates a Rubik's Cube from 2x2x2 (Rubik's Pocket Cube) to 10x10x10 (Which does not exist as a physical object) This file "cube.doc" resides in \rubik Binary cube files are stored as ".Q" files in \rubik\q Text move files are stored as ".MOV" files in \rubik\mov Text cube files are stored as ".TXT" files in \rubik\text (Mike Reid's format) Text cube files are stored as ".BAT" files in \rubik\bat (Greg S.'s format) Default colour arrangement is Tournament Standard: Top =White, Down =Blue, Left =Red, Right =Orange, Front =Yellow, Back =Green Cube is laid out as: TOP LEFT FRONT RIGHT BACK DOWN Files in Qsolve PC: rubik_iv.exe Current main program usage: rubik_iv file.mov (load in move file) rubik_iv file.q (load in cube file) rubikas3.exe Brute force count of antislice positions in qt metric (use 'y') cube.doc Documentation (this file) pattern.map Descriptions of all the patterns (q files) cmoves.txt Shortest known sequences for patterns checksum.map Checksums for patterns in the squares group square.dat ASCII database of all squares group patterns up to 8 moves deep Contains two fields: checksum and index into smoves.dat square.is Same as square.dat only indexed AND sorted (This file has record size of 15 bytes with 116441 records) square.isb Fast loading binary version of square.is with checksums only smoves.dat Database of all sequences for optimally solving sq group Squares group moves are in following sequence: 1 2 3 4 5 6 T2 D2 F2 B2 L2 R2 All cube patterns are stored in files of the form: "name.q" where name is a pattern name Commands: (All rotations are clockwise) * Resets cube to solved state $ Clear screen (except for main cube) ! Display all cube files in alphabetical order . Spawn a DOS shell (Note: command.com must be in root directory) t rotate top face 45 degrees T rotate top face 90 degrees d rotate down face 45 degrees D rotate down face 90 degrees f rotate front face 45 degrees F rotate front face 90 degrees b rotate back face 45 degrees B rotate back face 90 degrees l rotate left face 45 degrees L rotate left face 90 degrees r rotate right face 45 degrees R rotate right face 90 degrees vN Slice vertical N hN Slice hortizontal N - _ Slice current vertical down, up = + Slice current hortizontal right, left Commands which Randomize the Cube --------------------------------- , Full mix of cube k Intermediate mix of cube (T1, D1, R2, L2, F2, B2) m Squares group mix of cube < mix of the cube j Show intermediate flag (is the position intermediate? 1 = YES) [ Load cube arrangement (standard .q file) { Load cube arrangement as a string of moves (standard .mov file) I Load cube arrangement as a .mov file and save it's inverse O Load cube arrangement as a .mov file and find it's order ] Save cube arrangement / Save cube position as text file for Mike Reid's Cube Program (using .txt file) g Save cube position as text file for Greg Schmit's Cube Program N Set cube to size N (Where N is 2 to 10, enter 0 for 10) @ Input arrangement top =0, left =1, front =2, right =3, back =4, down =5 It helps to remember the colour numbers by counting forward 0 from top to down: 1 2 3 4 5 While in @: T, D, F, B, L, R selects face to edit and current colour is set by 0,1,2,3,4,5 (q to exit) c Invoke cycle editor (cycles to the identity) C Cyclic Decomp editor (cycles for N iterations) While inside Cycle Editor: [ = cube left ] = cube right ! = cube up @ = cube down \ = central reflection | = reflection in the (LR) plane q = terminates input ( Check to see if cube is in square's group ) Permute the 4 bottom edges using slice moves and D face s Solve squares group (Any key aborts) & Insolubility check ~ Print checksum for cube (valid only for squares group!) e Show edge checksum (Valid for any position) ^ Load in database of square's group checksums : Deallocates array for square's group checksums # Search in database for checksum of current position a Print out current arrangement in ASCII to screen p Print out current arrangement to Star NX1020 or NX2420 rainbow n Load in the next cube file, file argument is optional e.g. argument "mark" searches for matches to mark*.q Use return to step through each match, q to quit T Colour Rotation (TR)(FB)(DL) Order = 2 y Colour Rotation (TL)(FB)(DR) Order = 2 Y Colour Rotation (FRT)(BLD) Order = 3 X Colour Rotation (FB)(RL) Order = 2 Z Colour Rotation (FRBL) Order = 4 | Cube Reflection by the (LR) plane \ Cube Reflection by the centre point % Find the index of position in M (sets cube to standard orientation) ? Instructions (This listing) q Exit the program