I've been putting off bringing this up for several years now due to laziness and negligence, but figured it'd have to be done eventually, since at the very least i owe it to a person i did few co-op attempts with said years ago.

As the title suggests, i have a few questions regarding the timing/rules of co-op (sub-)categories that would need clarification before those categories may be properly established:

1. General run timing. Granted that there's no sudden grounds to doubt IGT as the main timing method (when it comes to co-op runs at least) then i assume the final submitted time will be from whoever of the two players has the fastest total IGT time, rather than something like taking slowest time per race into account, right (unless we do the same but with taking the fastest RTA instead maybe)? Or do we mix the fastest finishing times (whoever finishes first between the two on each race) for the combined IGT result between the two? Or do we just take the IGT of the person who finished first on the final race of the level/game? Would srcom even allow something like time input from both players perhaps, or could there be a shoddy workaround like putting 2nd players time in RTA field, if there're any grounds to go for this approach? As a last note for this point, how would the timing sum get affected by any of the players failing to finish any of the races throughout level only/full game runs?

Personally, trying out co-op runs of this game made me have slight doubts towards IGT as a main timing method for this game, especially keeping in mind that you need to forbid pausing to prop up the legitimacy of the final result, but i doubt we're ready to seriously discuss, let alone make a full switch to RTA for eery category. However i feel like with as many options as there are regarding the co-op timings, it's likely better to make RTA a main timing method for them as it makes the most since, where you'd end the overall timing as soon as whoever's last of the two in the final race crosses the finish line (exactly how it's done in - https://www.speedrun.com/top_gear_2/runs/y45r5kkm). In comparison, so far i can't find any sensible solution/combination with IGT as a main timing method for co-op runs as well, (even if a more versatile autosplitter turn up i doubt it'd help solve this case) and the only problem i see with RTA co-existing with IGT is whether speedrun.com would even allow a timing method to be applied to a singular subcategory, or at least would track the runs properly if you leave IGT field empty and only fill out RTA field as a bandaid solution.

2. Either of the players getting busted/trashing their bikes during the run.

Since afaik the game allows you to progress further as long as either of the runners qualifies in top 3, it begs the question of what to do with the timing in case of getting busted/trashed. Of course it's unlikely that anyone will want to be set back on money/progress like that (especially in a full game run), but if someone decides to keep on going with their run in a scenario like this, then it effectively skips having to wait for 2nd player to finish, which is where things can get weird and potentially lead to some abuse when opportunities present themselves (would probably be at the odds with the idea of doing a co-op run at all if done intentionally imo).

Would something have to be done about this potentially, like enforced resets, for example, or maybe an addition of some arbitrary amount of time to the run's total IGT as a form of penalty for situations like this? Or maybe there's something else to be done altogether?

3. Full co-op run on emulator/original ROM.

When playing co-op there has been a problem when trying to switch from level 2 to 3, where both players fail to advance further, requiring the co-op session to be remade (seems like it's the only problematic level too, based on this - https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/10086/). The only idea at the time was a seriously inconvenient scenario of one or both players finishing the last race on their own, advancing to the next level, and then rejoining with a password on a new co-op session, but besides that taking more time it would probably put in question how the finances work for players, especially if both would finish first in their solo races, which would simply make no sense. It can possibly be considered a potential and likely the most legitimate solution out of all, but if it were to be picked i think it would have to not count towards either the submitted IGT or RTA, whichever the timing method ends up being.

Either way, i have no idea if it's also similarly busted on an actual console or not and if there's any solution to this problem at all without resorting to romhacks (somehow leaving only the level bug, leaving everything else out if possible), but something would need to be ironed out regarding the full co-op category. If there's no reasonable solution to this, then would it be better to just create another session after level 2 with the usual provided password for level 3 and keep going, or do you try and take the password of the first player from the current session instead if you can (not sure if there were any issues with that)? Also since we already disregard our progress once this way, why not just make the run a combination of all level runs in a row, starting from corresponding level passwords?

Speaking of passwords, just as a reminder, can i get a rundown on what's the logic behind the current ones - is it taking into account all wins and most optimal purchases on each level? I should probably also wonder if we'd need different ones for co-op, at least for this one level switch, since logically one player has to be on the lower end of things in terms of money, but i'd imagine trying to account for second player finishing second in every race is also quite illogical/overly optimistic.

4. Second player's POV.

Would second player even have to record their gameplay, since you basically see everything through the eyes of the first player anyway? Or does it need to be treated as more than just a nice bonus in case of second player providing a video on their own volition. If there're ever full co-op runs, for example, given the currently forced reconnection issue at hand, would that make a second player POV a requirement, as opposed to level only runs possibly not needing one?

5. Savestates before the run start.

Lastly, since savestates appear to be normalised (even for main categories, for better or worse), it should be fine to also use them for co-op runs to optimise resets (even if i'm not exactly certain it would work with the whole netplay thing), right?

Not sure how many replies i can realistically get these days, but rest assured that any voiced input towards shaping these frankly, long overdue (sub-)categories, would be greatly appreciated, especially keeping in mind that it should be just as relevant for Road Rash II, minus maybe the bugged level 2 bit (since i'm unaware of any similar issues in that game). If i may've been incorrect about some of my statements/assessments and/or missed some other important things that should be discussed then by all means feel free to bring it up.

Лично я пока готов "ответить" лишь за пароли и загрузку состояний.

1. Общая логика должна быть, наверное, "Путь спидрана" (одни победы, без фарма, с оптимальной тратой средств и на одной "временной линии" – гипотетически безупречная игра), и в какой-то степени я старался ей следовать, допустив некоторую вариативность.

• Уровень 2. На первом уровне возможно выиграть пять раз на дефолтном байке.
• Уровень 3. Предыдущий этап проходим на первые места и с Banzai 450, но Ratzo 500 открывает маршрут через DMG 1000.
• Уровень 4. Пять побед на Stiletto 600 и апгрейдом двигателя – вроде как минимально возможный сетап – получаем $24 650.
• Уровень 5. Должны, по идее, иметь $30 920, при Kamakazi 750 N + движке, но последнему уровню полагается быть самым безумным, самым быстрым. Десять баксов оставлены для субъективной красоты; да, можно было накинуть ещё средств, чтобы оплачивать ремонт и штрафы, но $920 "сдачи" на уровне 4 тоже не оставляют шанса на провал первого заезда.

2. Аргументы в пользу быстрой загрузки на эмуляторе. Сугубо личные наблюдения, основанные на опыте тысяч попыток.

• Хаотическое выделение пунктов главного меню (до старта забега) перетасовывает RNG, что исключает совпадение исходных условий заезда. И это не беря во внимание прогулки по магазину и перечню трасс.
• Даже если допустить умышленную генерацию начала гонки, дальнейшие события всё равно будут складываться в случайном ключе – прежде всего это касается произвольных объектов. Игра хранит в памяти лишь пару сотен метров, в равной степени поделённые на обзор перед и позади игрока; на всё, что ожидает нас далее, может повлиять любой условный чих.
• Гринд становится проще. Лично для меня он, пожалуй, вообще возможен. В игре не предусмотрен выход из гонки на главный экран (чаще всего приходится сбрасывать на первой же трассе); режима свободных заездов с настраиваемыми параметрами тоже нет, как и простой системы сохранений – всё ставшее стандартом в наше время. Грубо говоря, слёзы наворачиваются, от вида того, как ранеры Half-Life или StarCraft сохраняются по ходу дела... Полагаю, часть текущих рекордов и активность на прочих уровнях стала возможной лишь с такой поблажкой, хотя она и ставит в неравные условия с владельцами оригинального картриджа (которых, пока что, в таблице подавляющее меньшинство).