I am unclear on some of the rules, and it doesn't help that most of the rule descriptions appear to be blank :P

My main questions are: -When does time start? -When does time end? -What is included in DLC Pack 1?

As far as timing goes, I've been timing my runs like every other game in the series is timed (time starts when you start moving on first level, ends when you hit the door on the last level). If N+ is timed differently, then my runs will need to be re-timed.

In addition, I'm having trouble getting the hang of some of the physics quirks, so if anybody wants to hop into the N community discord and explain some of the subtler details of this game to me, that would be much appreciated :D

To answer your questions about timing, timing starts and ends as you describe it. The last input you do to start the level begins timing, and once you hit the exit on the last level, time is stopped. The DLC Pack 1 category refers to a level pack available for purchase on xbox live, that includes 3 level packs. This specific category is the first of the 3. Each pack has 30 episodes (0-29, each episode includes 5 levels).

I'd like to hear some of the specific physics quirks that you're having trouble with so i can see if i can help explain some of them. :)

Thank you for the answers :D

The biggest problem I was having with the physics was that sometimes the ninja would jump very low, like it would only get about half of the height of a normal jump. This seemed to happen at random times (jumping while running full speed, jumping from standing still, and all speeds in between). These low jumps killed more than a few runs.

The other major issue I was having is a little harder to describe. Bounce-blocks seem to have a variable amount of tension to them. By that I mean, in some runs, I will land on a bounce-block and the block will lower the amount I expect it to from my experience in the other games in the series, but in other runs I will land on the same block from roughly the same height, the block will hardly lower at all, and I can't make any kind of a useful jump from it.

If that doesn't make any sense, I can try to find a clip of what I'm describing and link it here. I appreciate the help. :)

I'm very familiar with both of those glitch/quirks of the game. I don't have any definitive evidence of why they both happen though.

"Low jumps" are a mystery. All I can say is that I find that "low jumps" only happen in certain levels (in my experience), levels such as the fifth level of column 00, which I find it happens the most, but still I can't find a real reason to why it happens. My first theory about low jumps was that it was possible the game didn't register that you're on flat ground, so you jump off of the ground at the same height as if you were to jump straight off of a slope. By this I mean you jump as high as the ninja would gain height horizontally if he were to jump off a slope facing down on it. This theory, however, is easily debunked because as shown in your column 00 run, the ninja does a "low jump", then does a regular jump, then another "low jump". Meaning the game does actually register him on flat ground.

As for jump blocks, I've found that if you jump late after the block has reached its maximum height, the game subtracts a substantial amount of height from your jump, this can occur even if the jump is a frame late. I also think that there are certain times in between when the block is at its normal position and when it's at maximum height (the time when you would jump off of the block to get extra height) that you won't get as much height if the physics were correct. What I mean is that if you jump off the block at a certain time, you should go a certain height, but for some reason, jump blocks are programmed weirdly and they have certain times where you can't jump as high if they were programmed correctly.

Anyways these are all just some theories, I'm going to try to look into low jumps more because I have no idea why they happen. I know I have no actual answers but I hope this helps out a little!