With the way the rules are now, it is somewhat clunky to have to open different ROMs for each switch during a run. As far as I know, the only reason the rules are the way they are now is because that is what TsucnenT did in his runs, which were the first ever runs of this game. So, since no one even runs this game anymore anyway, I think the rules should be changed to make the run better.
Since having to open ROMs in the middle of the run is annoying and it takes some (small) amount of time for the ROMs to load, that can be some variability in the timing that would make things inconsistent based on load times of the ROMs. So because of that, I think that the switches should all be pressed before the run starts. So, for before the run starts, the runner can just make a save file with 0 stars and all 3 switches pressed. That way, there is no need to open ROMs during the run, and this will make the run itself smoother as well since there is no need to switch out ROMs during the run (which forces a reset of the game).
However, since doing this without any restrictions on the uses of the switch blocks would effectively remove the mechanics of the cap switches in the first place, I also propose that one must read the corresponding the sign before they ever use any of the blocks of that color (so in order to use shell boxes, the player must first read the yellow sign, etc.). This way the cap switch mechanic is still in the game, and there is no need to switch out ROMs during a run.
Other people might want to have a different variation of these rules, those being remove the sign restrictions, but have a blank save file at the beginning of the run (which would lead to the beginning of the run being them opening each ROM in turn and pressing each switch right away and then playing the game with complete access to switch blocks from there). Their reasoning for this seems to be something along the lines of 'the passwords for the ROMs are known before the run starts, so there is no need to use the signs to restrict the opening of the ROMs'. The problem with this is that it completely removes the mechanic of the cap switches in the game. It is the same as having to spend the first 3 or so minutes of the run doing nothing and then playing the game from there as if the cap switches never existed and the blocks were always accessible. But at that point, there is no reason to require a blank save file other than to keep the rules consistent with other ROMhacks. But that is somewhat the same philosophy that led to BLJ being banned in any% ISC categories of games that didn't even have a skip for the final star door that used a BLJ.
I think it makes the most sense to use a save file with the switches already pressed, and then prohibit the use of colored boxes (any interaction with the boxes, including standing on top of the boxes, etc.) until the corresponding sign has been read. It may seem weird when these rules are compared to other games, but I don't see why we have to make the rules of this game pragmatically stupid based on what the rules are for other games.
I would hope that a decision about the rules regarding this is made before RHDQ happens, since I will have to be running a 97 star in it, and would like to have the rules I proposed for it, since those rules would make the game less awkward to run while keeping the spirit of the cap switches intact. Until I get a response on this I will run the game with the current rules (must read the sign before opening the ROM containing the switch).
