Hi guys, had a couple questions re: emulators.

I know the fastest way to play is a slim PS2 because of fast disk load speed but for several reasons this isn't an option for me right now.. hence the emulator.

When I first started learning I ran on epsxe 2.0.5, but it just felt sooo slow (screen/battle transitions and random stuttering). So I tried psxfin 1.13 and it felt noticeably faster so I stuck with it, my problem with psxfin is ff9 will randomly crash, preventing me from completing a game in one sitting (despite numerous frustrating attempts).

Questions are as follows: 

First are there any rules re: certain emulators not being allowed?

Second, what is the fastest emulator/video plugin/video settings for ff9.

Third, for when I do pick up a ps2, I need a recommendation for a capture card. Cheap but reliable.

And finally, if no one knows or this isn't the appropriate forum to get answers to the emulator questions, if I could be pointed in the right direction, that'd be awesome.

Thanks so much

Any PS emulator is allowed, but the key thing by using them is that you should expect your run to be slower, which is why they're allowed. I recommend just accepting that your runs will be slower than console, and count them as practice for when you do get a console. By hunting for the fastest possible settings, you creep towards making the emulator faster than console, which would exempt your run. For fixing crashing/stuttering you should be able to google FF9 emulator settings and fiddle around with anything you find to see what works for you, it's a popular game so there should be plenty of help for it.

I think EZCap and Dazzle are both fairly popular cheap-ish reliable capture cards (dazzle being more expensive but more reliable), but I don't have much advice in that regard

Yeah, if it's faster it'd be its own category most likely. If it's proven to be the same speed or slower, it should be fine to be on the normal PSX board

This is without any discussion on the matter so it isn't concrete, though. There isn't any current stance on PSP because nobody has done it yet and asked to be on the leaderboard (to my knowledge)

I have a question. Can I submit a time from the PS Vita and/or PS4 version of the game? I have yet to do it but I wanted to ask before I tried it so I didn't waste my time.

It would need some discussion with the community, but I think Vita would be its own category, and PS4 might get thrown in with PC (I think they're essentially the same?), if they're different then that'd also be its own category.

It's not a waste of time to do a speedrun on them at any rate. Speedrunning is supposed to be for fun, not just to put a time on a leaderboard. You can still get your own PBs and do your own thing. It's a bad mindset to think you ¤have¤ to stream, record or submit speedruns.

Make a post somewhere when you've completed a run and we'll open a discussion on where it goes on the leaderboard.