United StatesThere aren't any rules specific to what controller can be used. Just no turbo or impossible input bindings like Left+Right. For general NES running information, this link contains details as to recommended emulators. (The link is also posted in the rules for each category).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1apP69VDIzUx-iVO_sj5YjTxBAE2ukHPa6kl33AOW9hA/edit
Right now the categories are complete mountains 1-32 or 1-16 (either single player or coop). So I would recommend focusing on those until there is a general consensus of adding additional misc. categories.
I notice quite a few high score runs getting accepted but they don't show the whole attempt; they just show the end result. The rules state no screenshot but without seeing the whole attempt, you miss a lot of how it got to that point - even if it's just the gnome floating in the space. I think VODs/records should show the whole attempt.
I would assume this is widely known by now but I never intentionally tested it. Yes, you can wrap the tongue to the other side and it will be effective to eat/attack.
Unfortunately on the final foot, even though you can wrap the tongue from the left side to the right side, the foot doesn't take damage until it's engaged.
In stage 8 it could help a little bit in some of the pools (I tested a few positions for eating) but nothing consistent or extremely useful.
So far I haven't found any major timesaves but I figured I'd put it out there in case anyone has ideas for stages outside of Any%.
I'm also fairly sure, if I have a run in both NTSC and PAL, that even with region obsoleting, the filter will still show both of my runs accordingly.
This would solve the issue with discouraging either NTSC or PAL runs. Of course users have to filter to see it, but it still keeps the data cleaner.
Just an example, right now, the PAL board looks like this:
I'm against it purely based on how SRC works now. You can now easily filter the boards AND history will reflect that filter. This streamlines where runners need to submit to for Any% and cuts down on the category bloat.
I like this idea - especially to make the game more accessible for new runners - advanced runners wouldn't need it anyway.
Welcome! We all started with much slower times than what you see now - many of the speedrun strats evolved only within the last couple of years (though we still remember the days we saw a battlefield, and miss them).
Focusing on defections, we already knew certain characters won't defect, ever - and we already knew the ones more likely to defect (as was noted in GameFAQ forum/previous research, the characters asylum seeking messages would indicate how loyal they were to the family along with the actual value of 0 - 3).
However there is still a randomness factor that's calculated every 3 frames for the defection succeeding or not. There were certain pairings that yielded more likely results (example Gweyn defecting Hubert) but unfortunately the charm and ruler stats were never a guarantee for any defection.
So what you see in just one WR video is the outcome of hundreds of failed attempts where RNG yielded no defects. Luck manipulation was a major factor in ShesChardcore's TAS to get the best possible outcome; even then, it was difficult to map out all the randomness.
Updating this post - the practice patch has been updated to include support for the J version of Actraiser. Latest release for the JP and US releases are here:
Wow, I wonder how long it's been on gamefaqs - I never checked.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587228-die-hard/cheats
If it's disallowed it should be mentioned in the rules but I'm indifferent for allowing it in Any% - it is nicer than running on glass and up/down steps though.
SRC made the layout impossible to find the discord link - now it's just a little icon at the top of the page that even I forget exists sometimes.
Circling back to this now that strats have changed, the JP version no longer has a significant time save over the US version. The Smiley Navel fight time is the same in both versions now, although the strat for the US version is slightly harder to execute than JP version.
Right now, the US version is slightly faster because of the bonus text skip and the one enemy in Memory Cave that can be defeated with one hit. However, being forced into the crab before the 2nd auto-scroller is not guaranteed in the US version.
Congratulations; this is just a test of the SRC comment system. Tests have revealed the comment system is not good. Maybe one day this comment can actually be removed permanently.
Awesome, it's always great to have new runners and new tech finds!
That very well may put NA back in the running as fastest just because of that bonus game menu text.
There is also the one enemy in the top of the memory cave that takes one less hit in NA version..
Since running the game I've only seen Any% but have been considering the idea of a Warpless category. If anyone else is interested and/or has already completed a run without using warps, let us know here.
As of 5/17/21, rules have been updated to include timing for runs.
The starting frame is on control of Bonk after the crying animation. This should be ~21 seconds after pressing start at the title screen. Note; there is a brief window where inputs do register before that animation so you could inadvertently delay the start.
The ending frame is when the Drool-mobile explodes (screen will stop scrolling and there is a visible explosion). Previous runs have been grandfathered in as there were slight differences in the end frame (Bluebomberino's WR of 25:35 would still be accurate regardless).
You could just have a JP/US region variable and make it a sub-category (similar to what I did for ActRaiser 2) this way it doesn't clutter the page with all the categories at the top.
It seems like the new misc category that makes the most sense is keeping the glitch, but stop the timer the moment the last wet bandit gets frozen. Which becomes a bit of an RNG race - but could have competition now and maybe lead to different strats.
