I have a
puzzle in my hands, how to solve it?
How much
moves will it take to solve my puzzle?
The
software does not work, what shall I do?
What
are the different functionalities of the software?
Can I
modify the angle of view of the puzzle?
What is the size of a puzzle?
What are the available geometrical forms?
How to paint myself the puzzle's facets?
How to run a
solving?
What is the
use of the sliders at the bottom?
What do
the numbers at the top mean during a solving?
How can I personalize the colors ?
Why do I have a message "Impossible to save the sets of colors" ?
I have a puzzle in my hands, how to solve it?
It is mainly to help solving a
real puzzle that this software was conceived. It knows how to solve among
others the classical Rubik's cube (cube of size 3), the junior cube (size 2),
the master cube (size 4), the professor cube (size 5), the pyraminx
(tetrahedron of size 3), the 6 colors or 12 colors megaminx (dodecahedron of
size 2), the skewb cube and the skewb ultimate.
Solving is done in three steps : first you have to select the right puzzle,
then enter in the software the actual configuration of the puzzle by painting
its facets, and finally ask to solve.
1.Selecting the right puzzle :
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- In the menu "More puzzles", select the
geometrical form you want and the size you want.
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2.Entering the puzzle configuration :
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Click on the "Paint facets" button represented by a brush and
colors :
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A facet is highlighted and waits for you to give it a color by clicking on
one of the colored buttons on the right side. If you can't find the color you need, you can change the colors by clicking on this button : (see also : how can I change the colors ?)
 It is possible to correct a mistake by clicking on "Back" at the top (arrow to the left) :
When you paint the last facet, the software automatically checks if the
entered configuration is solvable. |
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Click on the "Solve" button represented by a mixed up cube, an
arrow and a solved cube :
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You just have to click on the "Next" button (arrow to the right) as many times as needed so that the software shows you one by one the moves to do to solve your puzzle. You just have to reproduce these moves on your real puzzle and to let the software guide you :
It is possible to set the
rotation speed thanks to the slider at the bottom called "Speed".
Right is faster, left is slower. You can also set the enlargement factor
applied to each rotation (What are the sliders at the bottom useful to?). Finally, if you miss a move,
you can get back by pressing the "Back" button at the top (arrow to
the left) :
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Done! Your puzzle, which had
resisted you so much, is solved!!!
How much moves will it take to solve my puzzle?
You will find here statistics on
each puzzle implemented in the software, characterized by its geometrical
form and its size (size being understood with this meaning) :
-The number of colored facets this puzzle has ;
-The mean number of moves needed to solve this puzzle (statistics made
on 1000 puzzles on which were applied 10000 random rotations).
|
Geometrical form |
Size |
Also known as |
Facets number |
Solving (mean number of moves) |
|
Cube |
2 |
Junior cube |
24 |
11 |
|
Cube |
3 |
Classical Rubik's cube |
54 |
55 |
|
Cube |
4 |
Master cube |
96 |
213 |
|
Cube |
5 |
Professor cube |
150 |
387 |
|
Cube |
6 |
|
216 |
691 |
|
Tetrahedron |
3 |
Pyraminx |
36 |
12 |
|
Tetrahedron |
4 |
|
64 |
39 |
|
Tetrahedron |
5 |
|
100 |
124 |
|
Tetrahedron |
6 |
|
144 |
213 |
|
Dodecahedron |
2 |
Kilominx |
72 |
55 |
|
Dodecahedron |
3 |
Megaminx |
132 |
195 |
|
Dodecahedron |
4 |
Master kilominx |
252 |
676 |
|
Dodecahedron |
5 |
Gigaminx |
372 |
1200 |
|
Skewb Cube |
2 |
Skewb Cube |
30 |
14 |
|
Skewb Ultimate |
2 |
Skewb Ultimate |
48 |
16 |
|
Octahedron |
2 |
Skewb Diamond |
32 |
10 |
|
Octahedron |
3 |
|
72 |
107 |
The software does not work, what shall I do?
1. Check if Java is installed.
To check that, you can go in the program files and check if there is a folder named Java.
If Java is not on your computer, here is an Internet link to install the JRE
(Java Runtime Environment) : http://www.java.com/en/download/
2. Check if Java3D is properly installed. If you donwloaded the zip version of the software, you need to install Java3D. To check that, you can go in the Java folder and see if there is a Java3D sub-folder. If not, here is an Internet link to install the
latest version of Java3D, which adds new functionalities to Java enabling to
display 3d : https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/java-3d.html.
3. If it still does not work, do not hesitate to send us an
What are the different functionalities
of the software?
The software functionalities are
available in the menus "Actions" and "Solve".
-"Reinitialize" : takes back the puzzle in "solved"
state, with the default angle of view.
-"Randomly mix up" : mixes up the puzzle by applying 10 000
random rotations. You can also press this button :
-"Paint facets" : enables you to enter a precise state of the
puzzle, a precise colors configuration , in order mainly to make the software
solve a real puzzle you have in your hands (How to paint
myself the puzzle's facets?). You can also press this button :
-"Solve" : shows you the set of moves to do to solve the
actual colors configuration (obtained either by direct entry of a configuration
by the menu "Paint facets", or by a random mix up): How to run a solving?. You can also press this button :
-"Get to this pattern" : shows the set of moves to do from a
solved puzzle to get to the actual colors configuration (obtained either by
direct entry of a configuration by the menu "Paint facets", or by a
random mix up).
Can I modify the angle of view of the puzzle?
Yes, you just have to press the
mouse button and move it.
It is possible at anytime in the software, except when you are painting the
color facets.
The size of a puzzle is the number of pieces in which the ridges of this puzzle are divided. Some examples :
What are the
available geometrical forms?
The available geometrical forms are the cube (enabling to solve the rubik's cubes of all existing sizes : junior cube with size 2, classical cube with 3, master cube with 4, professor cube with 5), the tetrahedron (enabling to solve the pyraminx with size 3), the dodecahedron (enabling to find how to solve a kilominx with size 2, a megaminx with size 3, a master kilominx with size 4, and a gigaminx with size 5, with 6 or 12 colors), the skewb cube, the skewb ultimate and the octahedron (enabling to solve the skewb diamond with size 2). You can find more details here.
What is the use of the sliders at the bottom?
The top slider, called
"Speed", is useful to set the rotations speed during a solving. Right
is faster, left is slower.
The bottom slider, called "Enlargement" is used to set the
enlargement factor used during rotations. Indeed, during a rotation, the moving
slice size is multplied by this factor in order to well highlight it to the
user eyes.
What do the numbers at the top mean during a solving?
The first number is the number of
the running move. The second one is the total number of moves needed to get
where it was asked.
How can I personalize the colors ?
You can click on this button :
You can then click on the color you want to change :
A window opens and you can choose a new color :
The modified colors are saved independantly for each kind of puzzle : for example, the colors
saved for a size 3 cube can be different from those saved for a size 2 dodecahedron.
If you have several puzzles of a same kind (for example two size 3 cubes) which have different colors,
you can also, by using the "Modify colors" menu, create and save several sets of colors for each kind of puzzle :
Why do I have a message "Impossible to save the sets of colors" ?
When you modify the sets of colors, the software saves them into a file. If you get this error message, it means that Megasolver was installed into a folder where it is not possible to write files. It can happen for example if you have installed Megasolver in the "Program files" folder of Windows. Then, the software runs well, but you won't be able to keep, for next times, your personalized colors. If you want to keep them, you will need to delete Megasolver and install it again in another folder, for example into C:\Megasolver.
