I've reverse engineered the game enough to the point where I could make a mod for Steam/Epic/GoG/etc. that attempts to reinvent the speedrunning scene. Some things such a mod could do:

• Provide a timer source which is agnostic to hardware differences (e.g. pause during load screens)

• End levels early when N-Star score is met, thus the run rewards players who earn points quickly and the leaderboard can diverge greatly based on runner skill/experience. This would also remove "downtime" where runners have nothing to do for the last few minutes of a stage

• Chain levels together without having to drive on the overworld (results screen -> load next level)

• Unlock NG+ stars on new save creation

• Remove chalkboards from the game

• Increase the server tickrate to reduce the advantage of co-op teams in the same room/city

• Fix bugs (e.g. sink bug, double serving bug, etc.)

• Skip needing to speak to Onion King

• Other Speedrunning quality of life?

Before I start work on such a project, some collaboration would need to be done between the (seemingly stagnant?) moderation team and myself. I would also want some honest consolation ahead of time if people are actually interested enough in this game to essentially learn the new hypothetical modded categories.

If you want some proof of my modding portfolio, here's a showcase of a different OC2 mod I made (randomizer) that already implements several of the bullet points listed above:

TLDR; Imagine how good the speedrun could be if every level behaved like 6-6

I would freaking love if all levels behaved like 6-6. Very, very interested in a category like this.

ToasterParty, please feel free to know if you end up making a mod like this, and if you need anyone to test it. Gladly volunteer as tribute.

I won't make it unless the mods give guidance on what they will/won't allow for this hypoethetical category.

toasterparty#9244 on discord, dms are open

Gotcha! I would definitely recommend reaching out to LudwigVonKoopa. They have been so active and responsive since they were added as a mod. 10/10, can recommend.

Hi there Heiker and I would be interested in this too , we love running this game and it would be cool to do a run with at least the "finish early" levels

Definitely a neat idea to add a Speed-Mode in addition to the existing Highscore-Mode.

I absolutely would love a speedrun mode focused around timeskip once a three-star performance is reached, along with bypassing driving/chalkboards/Onion. Not only do I think that'd make for a very competitive leaderboard, it'd make Overcooked! 2 a much more compelling submission for just about any speedrun marathon that it fits into.

I would also be so down for running this. :D

Also being able to get all 4 stars per level directly from a fresh file would be a cool challenge :)

I'd learn a 100% run with all 4 stars in all Levels + DLCs with such a mod. That'd be lots of fun.

The easiest way to make a significant bump in quality of life for runners (just straight from my head) would be to implement a button / menu command to instantly end the level (or just use the regular exit level command) and let it act as the timer just ran out. This way the player could decide for himself how many stars he needs to go with for any% and form a route to gather just enough stars to make it to the end.

If possible, it would then help alot if there was a little reminder display that shows you how much score you need for the next star e.g.

Having a setting the player could modify like "End Level on X star score" which makes the level end immediately would help for All Stars speedruns (or 3-Stars / 4-Stars since we could then create such a category if players are interested)