Breaks are now permitted for 200% and File Completion across the three DKCRs. This is in line with what many other communities have done by now; the delay here was down to low activity in these categories (one 200% run in 3D and nothing in HD as of writing :P), rather than actual opposition to the idea. A Timing label has been added to these categories, which does not affect the rankings in any way but merely shows whether breaks were taken (TA) or not (RTA).

For DKCR, 30 minutes of breaks have been allotted to these categories. For DKCR3D and DKCRHD, 200% has also been given a 30-minute break pool, while File Completion has been given 45 minutes in 3D and 60 minutes in HD, due to the extra levels in both and Turbo Attack in HD. This pool can be drawn from however and whenever you please, and as many or as few times as you want. A break is initiated by pressing the Home button and is ended the same way. All of this is also in the rules, of course :)

There is general consensus that this amount of breaks is fine right now, especially given that all runs currently submitted to these categories were done with no breaks, but if demand (and activity) increases in the future, the allotted break pool could be reviewed. For now, this is a necessary step to make these highly intimidating categories more accessible.

We now have a category extensions board for DKCR/3D/HD, shared with the Tropical Freeze community. This has boards for a bunch of category ideas we've had, as well as boards for running both games back to back. Relevant to DKCR is that the rather obscure Fun Patch category for DKCR Wii has been fully migrated to the CE board, as it ended up being really out of place with the other six categories and never got too much attention. Additionally, the categories on the main pages for the DKCRs have been reorganised, with Mirror Mode and 200% being swapped, and Mirror Mode and File Completion being promoted from miscellaneous categories to main categories.

In addition to this, there has been a significant rule change to Full Worlds. Previously, the All Stages/Puzzles categories required you to collect all KONG Letters and also start with the first level and end with the boss (though oddly you could do the other levels in any order). On the Any% side, you were also previously not allowed to use key paths outside of Ruins, Cave and Factory (where they're used in the full run). These restrictions have all been removed. Although these do render the existing runs rather obsolete, keep in mind that a significant rule change allowing for faster times also took place in 2022 (allowing runs from a completed file), and no runs have been submitted since then. One of the category extensions (All Stages NG+) plays into the AS/AP rule change; a run of this category effectively provides you with a full set of All Stages Full World times.

As some players may still want to do these world runs with KONG Letters included, the CE board has categories for RTA-Style Full Worlds, which replicate the conditions from a full-game RTA run. This should also make it easier than ever to submit to Full World boards and hopefully fill them up a bit :)

The missing full-game categories and level leaderboards have been added, so DKCR3D's boards are now in line with DKCR's. Note that there is no split between New Mode and Original Mode for Time Attacks and Full Worlds, as they play almost identically in shorter runs. Check the DKCR news post for more information: https://www.speedrun.com/dkcr/news/r659kl3v