The pitch is simple: We have filters; one filter can have numerous variables. But the filters allow the site users only to filter all but one variable per filter at a time. This works exactly the same when using a filter as a subcategory, but the filter displays as a single-click filtering choice at the top of a category. What I like about using subcategories as filters is that the subcategory button is directly between the category tabs and the time tables and that they are single-click to apply. The limitations are the same as filtering in the drop-down menu -- we can only select one. Is it possible to allow subcategory filters to have multiple defaults (ON) and multiple selections (ON)? This would the site user to more easily and view and select the runs they want to view.
This picture simplifies what I'm asking. https://imgur.com/gallery/BAegp
Background for the request I moderate Zelda 1, and we would like to improve our category layout but we can't serve our speedrunning community as well as we could with the suggested feature.
One issue is that the NES cart version of the game has slightly more slowdown than the Famicom (JP) cart version, but our community has a predisposition to running on the NES version. So we set the software version as a subcategory with the most popular one as the default because we didn't want to force everyone to buy Famicom versions just to compete.
Another issue is that it became more popular to run the game without using death warps. For example, we have Any% and Any% No up+A. We didn't want to invalidate deathless runs by merging the categories, nor ignore the fastest completion category. The game also has two quests that are run individually.
Zelda1 basically has six speedrun categories: Any%, 100%, Low%, Swordless, ACE (2nd quest, FDS only) and Extreme rules (which is semi-pacifist, swordless, low%, 100% map completion). For five of those basic categories we have two quests: First Quest and Second Quest. Then we have three deathless versions of categories on top of that. Altogether, we have 14 categories and each category still has 3 subcategories for software version.
What I'd like to be doing is bringing that down to 6 categories. 5 of those categories would have a "Quest" subcategory, a software version category, and a single subcategory filter for deathless that could be turned on of off.
I know that someone will give the opinion that using the drop-down menu to sort filters is good enough. I agree that for certain defaults like Showing Obsoleted runs it is great, and for sorting to view specific Hardware platforms as well. However, the issue we're trying to solve has to do with evenly conveying what the community deems important in terms of gameplay and guiding new viewers of the board in a way that is not off-putting or bloated looking while also helping the veteran users sort through runs quickly.
It's a known shortcoming that the filters aren't multi-selectable. I think there are some issues in the back-end that need cleaned up to allow that. Additionally, I still find the filter display being in a dropdown to be awful. The filters are more intended for this purpose than the subcategories. Subcategories are more designed for things that are less comparable. Game should use them however works best for you, but that's the design intent. I agree that the current situation has substantial flaws.