Let's fight to computer!
Tetris Grand Master is awesome. Unfortunately, for various reasons emulating it has always been tricky. Luckily there's Texmaster, described by the Tetris Wiki as "the most accurate TGM clone available." Texmaster is, admittedly, not new, but it's apparently not well-known outside the Tetris Concept forums, so it's new to me and hopefully it'll be new to you as well.
TGM should be a natural for you speedrunning types because not only is it the most hardcore of hardcore games, it's also basically designed to be speedrun: Once you get good enough to clear the game (usually by reaching level 999) it becomes a competition to see who can reach Grandmaster rank the fastest.
The Tetris Wiki describes all of the game modes (as well as having pretty much all of the other Tetris info you could ever hope for) but here's a quick rundown:
NOVICE - Normal mode from TGM2+. Ends at level 300 and never reaches 20G speed during normal gameplay.
NORMAL - Master mode from TGM1. Ends at level 999. More or less normal Tetris gameplay, except faster. A lot faster.
ADVANCE - TGM+ mode from TGM2+. Adds some new features to Normal, most notably the "Sonic Drop", which allows you to instantly drop the piece while still retaining the normal lock delay once it lands. Also periodically adds garbage lines at the bottom of the stack.
SPECIAL - Master mode from TGM2+. The same feature set as Advance, minus the garbage lines. Speeds are even more hair-raising.
SUDDEN - TA Death mode from TGM2+, AKA 20G mode. Pieces drop instantly. Various delays become shorter as you progress.
DOUBLES - Doubles mode from TGM2+. Ends at 300. 2P co-op mode with various options.
SPECIAL TI - Master mode from TGM3. Similar to Special, but it previews three pieces instead of one and adds a "hold piece" feature. Also goes even faster.
SUDDEN TI - The notorious Shirase mode from TGM3. Ends at level 1300. Pieces drop instantly, like in Sudden, but the lock delay has been drastically shortened (and will get even shorter as you progress.) For masters and masochists only.
A very nice graphics/music pack called "Termino Velocity" is available here. Also visit the Tetris Concept forums for more info and high score boards. There are some crazy good players there.
Supposedly there is a soundpack somewhere that adds the TGM sounds but I haven't been able to find it yet.
Anyway, I know we have some hardcore Tetris players so I hope you'll have some fun with this.
TGM should be a natural for you speedrunning types because not only is it the most hardcore of hardcore games, it's also basically designed to be speedrun: Once you get good enough to clear the game (usually by reaching level 999) it becomes a competition to see who can reach Grandmaster rank the fastest.
The Tetris Wiki describes all of the game modes (as well as having pretty much all of the other Tetris info you could ever hope for) but here's a quick rundown:
NOVICE - Normal mode from TGM2+. Ends at level 300 and never reaches 20G speed during normal gameplay.
NORMAL - Master mode from TGM1. Ends at level 999. More or less normal Tetris gameplay, except faster. A lot faster.
ADVANCE - TGM+ mode from TGM2+. Adds some new features to Normal, most notably the "Sonic Drop", which allows you to instantly drop the piece while still retaining the normal lock delay once it lands. Also periodically adds garbage lines at the bottom of the stack.
SPECIAL - Master mode from TGM2+. The same feature set as Advance, minus the garbage lines. Speeds are even more hair-raising.
SUDDEN - TA Death mode from TGM2+, AKA 20G mode. Pieces drop instantly. Various delays become shorter as you progress.
DOUBLES - Doubles mode from TGM2+. Ends at 300. 2P co-op mode with various options.
SPECIAL TI - Master mode from TGM3. Similar to Special, but it previews three pieces instead of one and adds a "hold piece" feature. Also goes even faster.
SUDDEN TI - The notorious Shirase mode from TGM3. Ends at level 1300. Pieces drop instantly, like in Sudden, but the lock delay has been drastically shortened (and will get even shorter as you progress.) For masters and masochists only.
A very nice graphics/music pack called "Termino Velocity" is available here. Also visit the Tetris Concept forums for more info and high score boards. There are some crazy good players there.
Supposedly there is a soundpack somewhere that adds the TGM sounds but I haven't been able to find it yet.
Anyway, I know we have some hardcore Tetris players so I hope you'll have some fun with this.
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