Hello, I'm completely new to speedrunning outside of watching some streams on YouTube. I've never submitted a speedrun before.

I'm very solid on Wave Race 64 and was looking at trying to speedrunning some levels and see where I stack up to the best. I reviewed the rules and see that "unofficial" emulators cannot be used. Are there any emulators that are considered "official"? I was reading that Project 64 v1.7 is recommended, but Im not sure if I can use that.

Also, how do you recommend recording your screen to ensure to anyone watching that it is legitimate?

Thanks so much for the help. Would like to do this the correct way from the beginning. -Chris

Looking at Wave Race 64's leaderboard rules, as you've stated they've banned unofficial (third-party) emulators from the board. Because of this, you cannot submit a run using Project64 v1.7; what you might have read elsewhere likely doesn't reflect Wave Race 64. Official emulators are the ones used in virtual console rereleases, in this case Wii / Wii U Virtual Console, and thus have a sense of legitimacy despite potential emulation inaccuracies (though they're often in a separate subcategory if this is the case).

Each leaderboard has its own policy on emulation, usually determined by how accurately emulators play the game. It's likely that the Wave Race 64 community has decided to ban emulators due to emulation inaccuracy, though you could always ask community members in their Discord server.

The most common and flexible way to record one's computer screen and/or programs is OBS Studio. There's plenty of tutorials for it on YouTube.

Thanks very much Quivico for your response and clarifying the rules.

It sounds like I need to get a real physical Nintendo 64 and Wave Race 64 cartridge (or Wii virtual console) if I decide to officially speedrun the game and submit runs.

I'll check out the OBS studio you recommended. Thanks again!

if you end up getting playing on console you should also buy a capture card to record it (you can optionally just point a camera at the tv too)