Two years ago, when we worked to make TheXTech IGT-viable, it was discovered that SMBX increases the Framerate from 65 to 100 during Keyhole exits, artificially inflating the counted time by ~1.685 seconds. Wohlstand added a fix for TheXTech immediately, but to maintain consistency with X2, the fix was disabled for Mode 2 + 3.

An X2 Dev did state that he wants to fix this issue on his side as well, but said he can't make any promises regarding when. In the meanwhile, TheXTech continued to mature, in some cases gaining better backwards-compatibility than X2. [#401] [#539]

The X-Tech Team made the following conclusions:

• We are obligated to maintain accuracy to 1.3. It's a top priority for us and we hold ourselves to the highest standards.

• We don't care about consistency with X2. That is beyond our scope.

• We have planned features in our roadmap that aim to make TXT the most attractive program for speedrunning SMBX64 episodes following version 1.3.7. We don't want unrelated projects to artificially hold back our progress.

For these reasons, we have decided to enable the fixed framerate in Mode 2 and 3 from 1.3.6.1 onward:

https://github.com/Wohlstand/TheXTech/pull/550

Additionally, Mode 2 will enable critical bugfixes like #50 and #284.

1.3.6 is the last version where Mode 2 aims to mimic X2. Mode 2 will continue to represent an authentic SMBX 1.3 experience with only the most essential bugfixes in place.

What does this imply for the SMBX Speedrunning Community?

The SMBX Speedrunning Community will have to decide where to go from here. Possible Options akin to what other Speedrun Communities do include:

1. Split Leaderboards between TXT, X2 and 1.3, giving each their own different set of rules.

2. Make 1.3.5.3 and 1.3.6 the only allowed TXT Versions on the Boards. (If X2 fixes the Keyhole Exit issue, this needs to be revisited.)

3. Don't adjust rules and accept that some versions are inherently advantageous over others. This would mean that:

• TXT is the best Version for Full Game runs, followed by X2, followed by 1.3.

• 1.3, if allowed, is the best Version for Level Runs as RTA doesn't track Frameskips. TXT and X2 stay equal.

If you have any questions or feedback, you can contact me or Wohlstand here, or join the Moondust Discord/Matrix:

https://discord.gg/qPBsvMy

https://matrix.to/#/#Moondust:matrix.org

2021-10: TheXTech 1.3.5.2 was released today. It is now the minimum version that's viable for Speedruns. For more details, see below. ————————————————————————————

Ubuntu:

Heyo. Can you add Android, Linux and MacOS to the list of platforms?

Also, can you add the SMB1 Remake by Sapphire Bullet Bill?

https://www.supermariobrosx.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17413

https://archive.wohlsoft.ru/SMBX%20Episodes/Super%20Mario%20Bros.%20SMBX%20Edition/

I'd suggest the following categories:

• Any%
• Warpless
• New Quest
• New Quest Warpless

EDIT: TheXTech 1.3.4 will adjust the framerate and introduce the same in-game timer that is used in SMBX2, as well as 3 Speedrunner Modes. Mode 2 simulates SMBX2 Physics, Mode 3 simulates SMBX 1.3 Physics. 1.3 will use RTA timing. —————————————————————————————————————

After I submitted my AllStars% Playthrough, concerns were raised about the viability of TheXTech for speedruns. Therefore, I'd like to start a discussion about new rules to ensure a fair, inclusive and comprehensive leaderboard.

The ideas I want to propose are:

1. Only allow whitelisted SMBX Versions and add a Filter for them in the Leaderboards.
2. Whitelist 1.3, Beta 4 (SR Edition), and TheXTech with FPS Limiter.
3. Display both, the Time without Loads and Time with Loads.
4. Ban leaving the episode through any means (including Game Overs).

The fourth point is important for both, SMBX2 (as it's In-Game Timer doesn't account for time spent in the menu) and TheXTech (as Players spawn at the entrance of the last level played when re-entering an Episode with Hubworld).

TheXTech, for those who haven't heard, is an open-source C++ Port of the Original SMBX Code, with Accuracy to 1.3 being a declared goal of the project. It can be used by MacOS users and Linux users with a non-AMD64 architecture who can't run SMBX or SMBX2. It has one downside: The Framerate is inconsistent, being about ~67 on Linux and ~66 when ran via Wine. As such, it runs faster than SMBX2:

https://video.ploud.fr/videos/watch/d42cd157-98fa-49c0-9310-38f6d137f524

This issue can be resolved with a Frame Limiter. According to Valtteri, SMBX has a framerate of "64.1025 641025 641025...". On Linux, I installed LibStrangle and ran TheXTech with the following command:

strangle 64.1025 /path/to/thextech -m -p

-m enables the FPS Counter, while -p prevents the game from freezing when losing focus. The result:

https://video.ploud.fr/videos/watch/7e8a964a-b208-4754-a8fc-6aa2621efb49

TheXTech Players can and should be required to use a Frame Limiter and display the FPS Counter.

Hopefully an approach like this will add clarity and make SMBX a more popular speedgame.

After I got the Relic in Dingo Canyon, this happened:

It happened at a later point again. I don't remember where, but I can look up if need be.