Read the Twitter conversation. In terms of everything that has been stated, I see no big harm in having ILs. Good way to practice before running the game it doesn't take too much away from full game. Each level displays your IGT afterward so it makes for consistent timing. I do agree that each IL should begin from password select screen to make it consistent and not starting from a file that farmed for lives.
In terms of main categories, NTSC-U and PAL are the same in terms of how the puzzles are organized and only contain one difficulty. Those are both the main and can be separated when you submit your time. The reason Japanese is separated is because of the different difficulties that change up the way the puzzles are organized. None of the three separate levels on the Japanese version match other versions, thus why it is separate. I recently got rid of the 1 and 2 difficulties due to no times submitted, but I will just add a variable for it since it is reasonable and won't clutter.
In short, I'll look at all the ILs and make sure they follow those rules. But me personally and I know Blechy mentioned as well, I don't see a problem with ILs. If there was something I missed from the conversation or anything else you wanted to bring up, let me know. Always up for suggestions!
I haven't done runs of the game, so take my opinion for what it's worth, but I agree that an IL leaderboard seems reasonable in this case.
There are clear, distinct levels with beginnings and ends. In-game time is displayed at the end of each level. You can start any level on demand.
Edenal, I think your argument - "I'm against individual levels unless it's selectable from the menu without passwords" - is a bit pedantic. My main game requires a password to unlock the level select screen, and I consider the ILs to be the best part of running it.
There's the common strawman/complaint that runners just want more , but that should be an issue with those people, not the leaderboard. The leaderboard is just there to organize times.
Oh boy, did I trigger this? D: I just thought that particular run had a great start and submitted it.
