I was wondering recently, if since we have Act1 Any%, would Act2 and 3 any% categories possible? I don't really have a clear thought for how these would work and when the run will end and etc but, I just want to know if it would be possible?
If you could press a button and start on Act 2 (or 3), absolutely. Act 3 in particular would be great, it's the shortest and most inherently fast-paced. But there's no clean way of doing so. How would you start such a run? No matter what, it would have to be from loading a savefile, which nobody's particularly fond of.
If we ever got mission select patched in (which I sincerely doubt), I'd be all for it. But there's just no way to make it work. Do you start the timer at the end of Shadow of a Samurai (which is very much thematically where Act 1 ends)? If you do, that means you have to do Shadow of a Samurai to set it up, which I don't think anyone's gonna be for. Do you start when "Act 2 - Retake Castle Shimura" appears on the screen? That's at a random-ass time in the middle of your ride from Castle Kaneda to the next objective. And you'd still have to do Shadow of a Samurai beforehand. All same goes for the end of Act 2 and From the Darkness (Jin imprisoned).
I'm not opposed to this at all, but it's a logistical clusterfuck.
I don't Dislike the Idea but im not going to spend 20 hours grinding act 1 to mob out act 2 and etc.. cause that would be how you would do it. If (and that is a huge IF) Emerald we went with one of your proposed start times Id say start of Act 2 would be Load a Save right before you finish talking to Nirio and start timer as soon as you finish your chat with him. So the file would require a save right after lighting the light house and timer starts either right after or even as soon as you talk to Norio. BUUUUUUUTTTTTTT i dont know for sure but i think you can leave the camp prior to talking to Norio so do you require the save to be right before lighting the light house. I can see how it would be hard to control and set/uphold standards. I agree with both sides it would be nice but not logical at this time.
@EmeraldAly Well I would say the starting point may be the end of Shadow of a Samurai or load a save but, I would say loading a save would be better.
An Act II / Act III Only speedrun board would have serious flaws unless everyone spends their points the same way; has the same map progress; has the same save file(?): something like that - etc. etc. this sort of category with inherently unequal has no appeal to me
Well, the rule would be you're allowed to set your savefile up however you want. But that sort of indirectly leads to the issues you mention (and is what I meant by "no one's gonna be up for that"). No one (or at least not enough people to make it worth pursuing) will be up for maxing out every square inch of Act 1 to have a savefile for Act 2, and both Act 1 and 2 for Act 3. It's been mentioned directly on the Discord that members of our community are not up for stuff like that.
