Hong KongWhat do you peeps who set the fastest times use? I've been using an 8BitDo M30 controller on my emulator setup, and from watching other people's times, I just don't seem to be as "smooth". I feel that using the Arcade Racer, or another analogue controller, will be better for me, although I imagine the initial learning curve will be massive! What do you use?
All my speed runs so far have been with an emulator (Mac - OpenEmu - Mednafen), using an 8BitDo M30 bluetooth controller. I'm considering buying a physical Saturn, just to set times on Sega Rally (crazy, I know!) and be in the 'proper' Sega Saturn category on here, not just the emulation category.
During my browsing, I've realised that there are a lot of ODEs for the physical Saturn, such as the Satiator, Saroo, and Fenrir, which people tend to use due to the aging Saturn's CD drives breaking (amongst other reasons!)
My question is, would setting runs on a physical Saturn, albeit via the Saroo or another ODE, count as being on original hardware? In my opinion, yes, this counts as original hardware, as although the E in ODE stands for Emulator, it is emulating the optical drive only - the game is still being played on the Saturn's hardware. But I just wanted to check with the community, before going ahead and making my decision.
In my quest to make sure I'm playing the best version of the game, I've undertaken a bit of research. The general consensus seems to be, that in terms of gameplay, this is the order of which Sega Saturn version of Sega Rally is the best:
- Sega Rally Championship Plus NetLink Edition (US)
- Sega Rally Championship Plus (JPN)
- Sega Rally (PAL)
- Sega Rally (US)
- Sega Rally (JPN)
The reasoning for this seems to be that the JPN and US versions came out first, whereas the PAL version had a bit of extra time spent on it, which improved the game (as they had to optimise it for the PAL region). However, the Plus and then NetLink Editions then came out, with the latter being the pinnacle of the series. Do you agree with this? For what it's worth, as a PAL gamer who has just played the Plus NetLink Edition for the first time, the Plus NetLink Edition is much smoother.
But for speed running, I've seen people discussing how the PAL version is the best, as it runs faster. Is this true? Something to do with 60Hz vs 50Hz? From playing 30 minutes on the PAL version last night, and then 30 minutes on the Plus NetLink Edition, this does seem to be true, as I couldn't match my PAL time. Also, when I start a race, I hold the accelerator down until a certain part of the, "3, 2, 1, GO!" countdown, let go of the accelerator, and then slam it back down...but the timing is slightly different between the versions. It's noticeable.
So, which is the best Sega Saturn version of the game overall, and which is the best for speed running? And why? Do your experiences and research match mine?
