Mike Rotch's TetriNET Page

I have been a player of TetriNET for more than three years, and I have enough skill and experience to beat nearly all other players. Too bad I haven't played in about three months though. I have spent all three years playing cookies (with specials), about two years mastering pure (without specials), and only about three months working with TFast.

A beta form of  the new version of TetriNET has been released, and I have tried it out, and it is quite fun, with great music, a better interface, and tons of new features. However, I accidentally deleted the beta version off my computer, and I have seen that St0rmCat has requested that the TetriNET2 software is to not be uploaded on any websites at this time. Currently, TetriNET2 is a work in progress, and StormCat is open to suggestions. You just might find him at the Official TetriNET Message Board.

This page contains several TetriNET-related stuff, including one hell of a large list of tips, most likely the largest list on the net, all written by Mike Rotch. And remember, cheaters suck and the TetriNET .midi ain't THAT bad.

Around the World: 39.1 kb

TetriNET: 35.1 kb

Regulate: 45.5 kb

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COMMON SENSE AND PRACTICE! These two are the absolute best strategies for TetriNET. Always use the Upcoming Piece screen. Know where the current block and the next block is going to go before you drop the current block. Take frequent glances at your inventory row, and check your opponents' screens frequently for G's, N's, S's, O's, tetrinet attempts, and switch attempts. Take the time to read the TetriNET readme file, especially the "Inventory" section. You just might find out stuff about TetriNET that you didn't know. Pressing D will delete the next special block in your inventory. There are few cases where this feature comes in handy, but generally, there is no need to actually delete a special. One of these rare cases is when you have a B and O as your next blocks, and you only have one opponent. Your opponent gets an O on his/her field, so don't B him! Then your next special, the O, will be useless. Instead, delete, then Block Bomb. Don't attack the weak people or beginners. If you want to become an extraordinary player in the long run, attack the people that are good and win consistently. If the other weak people stay weak, then they're going to die, with or without your attacks. Besides, let the beginners and weak people work at their game. (It's not fun to play TetriNET and always win without a challenge.) As you get better in TetriNET, you'll have a tendancy to attack those who attack you. Remember, whoever you attack pretty badly will attack you back. When they attack back, they'll notice your field. So try not to go for a tetrinet, have an O on the field, or have any important specials on your field, while you unload your attacks on someone. It takes lots of skill to watch all 5 opponents at once, so try to be the one that doesn't get noticed. Attack early! Sure, people will call you a punk, but it works. Throughout the game, the most important part, in my opinion, is the beginning. It sets the pace and it'll probably be the only time that anyone could get many blocks. So ruin that chance for your opponents. A lot of people do not attack early; I have no idea why. It works! If you get one of the two weird blocks in the beginning (they are usually blue or red, and are in the shape of a Z), place it in a corner so that the missing space it exactly at the corner (you will be unable to slip anything it the hole). Do not stick anything above the hole other than the block that is already there. If you clear the second line, then all you need to do is to place something in the hole, rather than slowing down your game pieces and trying to slide a block in. Attacks generally come in waves. Between the long pause of attacks, try going for two lines at once. The many advantages of doing this include: It adds a line to everyone else, you get double the amount of specials in the two lines, it's quicker than clearing 2 lines one at a time, it isn't as hard or risky as going for 3/4 lines at once, and you get two lines cleared instead of one. Some blocks are more important than others. If you have easy access of getting a C, but if it'll take a while longer to get an S, go for the S. Even if you have to mess up your field a little. It'll be really worth it once you have the S. To eliminate any gaps or holes in your field, don't place anything on top of the hole until all the blocks that area already on top of it is gone. Sometimes this isn't worth it because it will cause you to have a good chance of bad block placement and it takes a while. But if you are able to do this, your field should get much lower. Get your real life friends to play tetrinet with you! It's a great way to chill at home with your computer, it's also a chat room so you can talk, and with these guys, you can teach each other how to play better, rather than asking strange people how to play, and the stranger will end up telling you to use your N on them.

COMMON SENSE AND PRACTICE! These two are the absolute best strategies for TetriNET. Try playing without looking directly at your field. Back your head up so that you have a view of your field, as well as the other five fields. With practice, you can stare directly at an opponent's field while dropping blocks nicely in your own field. Learn how to use specials and rotate/place regular blocks at the same time. This will give you an advantage because you are giving yourself more time. An early switch with an opponent gives that opponent a nearly guaranteed death. Don't do it often though. This'll piss the hell out of people. Watch out for fake switches! Very popular among advanced players! Always help your teamates. It is pretty hard for a good player to singlehandedly take out three average players, but a good and two bad players can easily take out three average players. To increase your speed in dropping blocks, play "Pure" mode in the Pure public server rooms. To increase your speed in attacking and looking at opponents screens, die and try to watch all of them while you wait for them to finish their game. Play in the server "tetrinet.org". Lots of skillful players play there, including Mike Rotch.

Another way to increase speed overall is to have a good hand format on your keyboard. Here is how my hands are set up: Right Hand: Arrow keys only. The three middle fingers rest on the left, up, and right buttons. Change your key configuration so that UP = Drop block. Left Hand: Left thumb rests on spacebar. Change your key configuration so that one of the rotation buttons = spacebar. The four fingers rest on the first four numbers, and your left index finger should be able to reach 5 and 6. I only use one rotation button. The highest amount of rotations needed to rotate one block is three, since I only use one rotation button. Some people use two rotation buttons, so the highest amount of rotations needed to rotate one block is two. Using both rotation buttons will save fractions of seconds of valuable game time. But I'm used to only using one of them and I don't want to get confused with another button. But if you find yourself just a couple seconds away from winning often, try two buttons. On your Windows Toolbar, click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel. Then select Keyboard. Move the repeat delay all the way to the "short" side (right side) and move the repeat rate all the way to the "fast" end (right side). Click on Apply, then OK. Restart TetriNET, and you will find that during gameplay, your blocks will move much more faster. I've been told that not using sounds or a midi with TetriNET will speed up your gameplay also. Although in my own experience I do not believe this theory, you should turn off the sounds and midi while playing the game, as they are absolutely annoying. Clear your mind and stretch your fingers and wrists before playing each game. Don't swear when your aiming gets bad. Your monitor should be at eye-level, and your face should be at least two feet away from the monitor. Sit up straight. Get up, stretch, and walk around the room after every fifth game.

Immediately go for a Tetris (4 lines at once) in the beginning of the game. Continue to go for Tetrises until you feel it is time to just stick to two lines at once. Remember, in tetrinet.org, the most popular Pure server, there are games where there are no blue sticks, thus causing no Tetrises. Everyone goes for a Tetris in the beginning, but keep in mind that these no-stick games can occur, and the first one to notice that and change their gameplay is usually the winner. Look for more Pure tips in the other tip sections. Just ignore all the tips involving special blocks.

There are several ways to find your IP number. If you have AIM, AOL's internet instant messaging service, download the latest version. Open an IM window, right click on the text box,  select Insert, then IP Address. Remember to not give your IP to anyone if you do not know and trust them. If you do not have AIM, click on Start on the Windows Toolbar, then Run. Type "winipcfg" (without the quotation marks) and click OK. Your IP number is the series of numbers in the box next to "IP Address."

To add style (bold, italics, and underline) to your text in the partyline, hold ctrl and press: b for bold, i for italics, and u for underline. Repeat this process to disable the style.

For adding color to your text in the partyline, or to add color or style your TetriNET name, please look at the Download section of this page.

You can find many themes in the Links section of http://zap.to/MikeRotch.