Using the SMB3 Randomizer, it is possible to generate a vanilla rom with the only difference being autoscrollers have their autoscrolling removed (all levels (except 5-9), airships, and military stages). The easiest way to do this is to enter the flags 2WA!. The seed does not matter, but for consistency I would recommend setting it to 0 to keep the hash on the title screen the same: Flower, 1000, Mushroom, Note Block, 1UP, Star.

I think these two main categories would see the most potential with this change and would make for great category extensions, since runs would be faster in general and it'd be interesting to see what new strategies people can come up with on the disabled autoscrollers.

Edit: An IPS patch was created by narfman0 so using the randomizer is no longer needed. You can get it here: https://github.com/narfman0/romhacks/raw/master/Super%20Mario%20Bros%203%20noauto.ips

I don't think that's allowed when doing runs.

I think you misunderstood. These would be new category extensions I'm proposing. Obviously it isn't allowed in any of the current categories.

Oh, that would be a pretty cool ce category then. SeemsGood

IMO this is a great idea for 100%! I'm noting this to look into for a later date 🙂. We need the rom first, then we can have a few runs, and if there are enough runs we can ask category extensions mods to make it a category formally.

The rom can be generated with the Randomizer using the flags above. You have to supply your own vanilla one first of course.

Cool, I just made a patch myself too: https://github.com/narfman0/romhacks/raw/master/Super%20Mario%20Bros%203%20noauto.ips

I haven't tested it at all... I wonder what "some" autoscrollers are and why some can't. I'm guessing some break the game. I'll have to see the difference

I gave the patch a try and looks like it's the exact same one generated with the randomizer (even the hash on the title screen matches). I'm open to using it over the randomizer since the process will be easier and more familiar to people. Thanks narfman!

The only autoscroller in the vanilla game that is unaffected is 5-9, since it is a bit more unique than the other levels. Not sure about the technical details, but maybe one day it can be removed as well (even if it required a p-wing to finish).

Cool - after testing, I did replace my patch with one I made from randomizer. I'd like to revisit 5-9 (though it is a weird one as you say) and maybe patch title screen differently, but it's 95% there IMO.

It's been a while, but I recently got with fcoughlin (the creator of the SMB3 Randomizer) and I was able to convert his changes to the autoscrollers into its own patch without modifying the title screen/messages. I also disabled the autoscrolling on 5-9 by default, making a tail or P-wing required to beat it.

(RHDN)/hacks/4811/

Since it is technically considered a hack at this point though, I think a new leaderboard would need to be made instead of making it a category extension.

Ping me if you get a board up, I'd probably submit a run. I did a couple with a patch and it was so much faster

Naively, I'd initially route like hundo but pwing from 7-9 on 5-9 :shrug:

It's been a while, but I finally have a long awaited update. Over the past few months I've expanded this concept even more to improve the speedrunning experience of vanilla SMB3 and now I am happy to announce my new hack, SMB3 Speedrunner's Edition, has its own leaderboard: https://www.speedrun.com/smb3se

You can read more info about it here: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5050/, but to summarize:
-All autoscrolling has been disabled.
-Hand traps can now be countered through the use of items (a star or music box)
-Bad hammer bro RNG is essentially eliminated by modifying their movement and making minor tweaks to the maps as needed.

It's been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from many vanilla runners (including mitchflowerpower), so I encourage everyone to give it a try and let me know what you think.