So I've played D2 quite a bit in my days, but recently have taken an interest in speed running. I'll probably try out the sorc first.

Anyways, one miscellaneous self-imposed rule I've done runs with before is a "Punching Run." All damage must result from punching enemies - I allowed a merc but he or she had to be weaponless as well. I found it to be quite interesting, and each class had different skills to affect this (defensive or offensive, enchant punching sorc was entertaining especially).

Anyways, I'd like to try an any % soon, so wish me luck.

I know it may be off-topic here, but can someone add F-1 Pole Position for the SNES to the site? It would be neat to run its Grand Prix. Unfortunately, I don't own the N64 version.

How is there such a difference between the IGT and the real time on some of the courses? There's a Marina score with a blistering IGT but a slow real time, how does this happen?

First and foremost, races can be lost intentionally by failure to make a checkpoint on time. Is this acceptable? You could feasibly lose 10-20% of races and still win the circuit. Whenever the difficulty creeps up, you can just lose immediately, make the next race easier, and save a lot of time.

Secondly, two circuits will not have the same length, because they won't have the same tracks. There are 7 tracks to choose from (forward, backwards, or mirrored) and 26 races in the list. Even a single circuit getting Alcatraz (under 4 minutes done well) rather than LA or Hawaii (Likely 7 minutes plus) can make a huge swing.

Live timing also makes it advantageous to slam on the breaks right before crossing the finish line to advance the end of race screen faster. This is counter intuitive as well.

I think the best thing would be to have a category where you race the 7 primary tracks forwards and then backwards for a total of 14 races, or to have forwards and backwards as separate categories. Then use the best sum of in game times as the record. This would better incentive car selection strategy without it taking valuable extra seconds to do so. A 7 or 14 race category would be much more time manageable to run and watch as well.

I hope I've expressed myself well, as the circuit certainly seems like a lackluster category due to the reasons listed above.

On a side note, I'd prefer banning unlockable cars as well, but that's another story.