Here's a bit of an update.

I have been in touch with Ruari O'Sullivan, the dev for this game. He was great and listened to a few of the concerns we mentioned above. He said that he has made an update for the game so that the Switch version will

1. not pause the timer when the game is paused, and
2. not re-split every time you aggro the same boss (like after dying and trying the same boss again).

He said the PC version updates would be coming eventually.

For now the game is pretty dormant so we will hold position here with the current set of rules, and once the PC update comes through we can re-evaluate. Hopefully we will be able to use IGT and the autosplitter will work just fine once we make the adjustments after the update.

The good news is that since you've done a lot, and you mean a LOT of runs in the past, then hopefully you'll be able to reproduce your success on new runs.

I dunno if you use Twitch, but.... One thing to note is that the Twitch default settings do not save past broadcasts. That's something you'll want to make sure you have checked.

No, it's not my personal classification. It's just English syntax.

Here are other examples that use the same kind of syntax.

Mobile Phone vs. Mobile Phone Number. One is a phone that is mobile. The other is a number for a mobile phone. On a site that tracks the coolest numbers, you won't see mobile phones but you might see mobile phone numbers.

Classic Literature vs. Classic Literature Podcast. One is literature that is considered classic . The other is a podcast on classic literature. On a site that lists the hottest podcasts, you won't see classic literature, but you might see classic literature podcasts.

Gold Nugget vs. Gold Nugget Potato. One is a nugget that is made of gold. The other is a potato variety known for resembling gold nuggets. On a site with potato rankings, you won't see gold nuggets, but you might see gold nugget potatoes.

This last one isn't even a real thing, but you can understand what it means based on the syntax, right? Even without context. "A gold nugget potato", you understand that it's a type of potato :P

You didn't even know it, but you already inherently understand the difference between a "Visual Novel" and a "Visual Novel Game". Or IMO you should.

I think there is a confusion of terms here. This confusion is widespread, so don't sweat it if you have gotten mixed up before. Let me clarify:

[big]VISUAL NOVEL GAMES[/big] are games with lots of story told through visual novel elements described above. They are similar to the Adventure game genre, and have in some respects replaced that genre. The big difference is that gameplay is a significant part of the experience, usually through puzzles or minigames. Examples: Zero Escape series, Phoenix Wright series, Danangamganromapa series. Note that these visual novel games are on the site! They do fit the submission guidelines!

Some games are pretty borderline and up for debate, like VA11-HALL-A for instance. The gameplay elements are there but they are arguably less consequential.

🍿

@Toad22484 ^Click the name. Select one of their social media links. Seems like you both have Twitch accounts, send a whisper there.

Or just use the game's forums. Same way you used this one. https://www.speedrun.com/Gradius_II/forum

Don't bother RottDawg about Gradius II he's not a mod for that game.

That's an okay workaround, even it's not ideal. Can't mouseover on mobile, however.

I haven't seen this suggestion before but it's quite possible I'm not the first to request it. ColoUrblind-friendly Mod and Super Mod icons.

The swords distinguished only by red vs. green hilts. Impossible to tell the difference for some, difficult for others.

Maybe with the site redesign there's an opportunity to make this little change.

That's all.

Fantastic, this kind of site-wide policy clarification is very welcome.

Some early feedback:

Under "Moderator Permissions" section, I think maybe a few permissions were left out. Not sure if intentional. Might be worth stating there that Supers and Mods can self-verify, and that they can edit runs. (Might as well also include that regular users can edit their own runs.)

It doesn't seem to say anywhere on the new rules pages that mods need to have updated social media site links. I think we should be very explicitly clear on that.

Also, the rules do not cover in any detail controversial topics of mods unfollowing their own games, self verification, video requirement, and verification requirement. The rules are probably deliberately vague on these issues, but I just wanted to point this out in the unlikely event that they were missed.

Sometimes we get new users who aren't sure whether to submit a PB as a new run or to edit their previous PB. This might be the place to write that down. It's hard to say whether it will help the absolute beginners by chucking more text at them to read, but I figure if there's one place to have it written down somewhere, the rules is a good one.

If you'll allow me to be nitpicky... Generally there are parts that could be proofread, with some missing words, and some typos; you can tell where the wording was reworked over and over in an effort to make it accurate, but in some sections this ended up ungrammatical. After the first wave of feedback, I hope you guys can spare the time to go over the rules again and use plain language and neutral connotations where possible.

Thank you :D

@suohu

[Quote=Suohu]"Toad22484"and "Rottdawg" are inactive for a month.[/quote] Took 15 seconds to check and see that they were both online today. Message them on social media before posting here. And do so only if your run has been pending for a full three weeks.

Pinned post on the Speedrun.com Discord, Nov 2018:

"notifications revamp happening this december / early january possibly dms also full mods will be the first to test changes etc and possibly some of the sm64 and oot community"

Also please don't ban Shiken, he means well

Couple hypothetical questions...

1. Is it possible to check authentication not on every login but just when a user tries to save database data?

2. If 2fa ends up being at least a bit inconvenient to use and is only enforced for game mods, is there a plan to deal with game mods who create alternate non-mod accounts for day-to-day use like forum posts and browsing?

3. If you force game mods to use 2fa, will that extend to verifiers?

In November, a few users with unsecured accounts indirectly caused widespread vandalism. There was damage to the integrity of the leaderboards and to the site's reputation. Staff had to scramble; the database was manually reverted. For months we were getting daily complaints of users who had to be directed to bother Pac personally to get their accounts emails reset. Everyone paid the price.

...Everyone except those who had their unsecured accounts broken into. They were allowed to continue as mods. Some of them thoughtlessly changed their passwords right back to what they were, according to site staff.

Users who have their accounts compromised for any reason (third party site hack, easy-to-guess passwords, improper log-out, etc. etc.) must be held accountable for what happens on their account.

Now here we are, the site is being forced to implement anti-stupidity measures for every user, because of the actions and neglect of a few bad apples. Staff is talking about removing moderator responsibilities for those who don't wish to comply. But there's been no mention of permanently removing the moderator responsibilities of those whose passwords caused all of this. What kind of message is this sending?

It is unbelievable that the same people can be allowed to remain a liability on a repeated basis.

I would suggest adding a leaderboard variable for control types.

Variable name: Control Type Values: Keyboard, Controller, Both

In single player runs, the user can submit whichever they used.

In coop runs, the runners can submit Keyboard for 2p1K, Controller for 2P1C (lol?) and Both for one player keyboard, one player controller.

All control types would appear on the leaderboard, they wouldn't be separated out. But site users could use the filters if they want to compare control types.

@ChrisPatrol Sorry to post here, I'm not a site mod and can't directly meet your request. Here's a few other things that you can try:

1. Join the ETS Discord: https://discord.gg/eJTJPrE and ask the mod on one of the channels, or DM them since you'll share a mutual server.

2. Submit a run! It's very rare that a leaderboard is managed by a non-runner.

3. Share your ideas on "getting the game up to scratch" with the community, either in the Discord or the game's forums.

I tried to DM you this on Discord to keep it off this channel, but it seems like your Discord info on your own site profile is out of date, ironically.

Make sure you guys mention how you contacted the mod to tell them about the pending run and/or ask them if you can help with verifying or modding. If you are able to.

It might be another week or so til staff checks the topic and you don't want to have missed a step and have to wait again :)

@acetrainereddie

Tbqh if someone on Twitter made a reply to a (auto-generated?) Tweet from APRIL 2018, and they asked me for mod out of the blue... I would probably ignore it too if I didn't just flat out miss it.

Imo: Try again with a direct tweet (or if you're replying, reply to something recent) and say that you have a pending run or something, give some context. I'm just suggesting this now so you don't have to wait until a full mod goes through the topic again.

Interested

Hey everyone! I just began running this game and I'm having a blast. I have a few suggestions, somewhat inspired by other boards I moderate.

Right now there are 5 categories.

Any% no OOB Any% All Bosses Any% No Major Glitches All Bosses No Major Glitches

The order seems somewhat arbitrary. I am suggesting we group them up under two categories, that being Any% and All Bosses. Then we use subcategories to divide Any% into No OOB, NMG, Any% and any other any% routes in the future. Likewise with All bosses.

This is what we did over on the Titan Souls leaderboard. http://www.speedrun.com/Titan_Souls You can click around here to see how it works. I made a mock-up of how it would look, kinda, for S&S. https://imgur.com/j8BGCSu

What this does is it fixes the arbitrary order, and establishes a bit of parallel format for any% and all bosses (we are currently "missing" the All Bosses No OOB category, it would fit well using subcategories if it's ever added).

In addition, I am suggesting we add sellsword runs. If you guys don't think co-op or 1player2controller runs belong in the main categories, they'd fit fine in Miscellaneous until there's some competition.

Lastly, if stone sellsword 1p2c strats are banned from the current categories, I think we should update the rules to say so.

Please let me know what you guys think!

Acefrog used to run one of the games I moderate, we've pleasantly chatted about strategy a few years back.

I tried to contact him 20 days ago to reconnect and to let him know that there were several communities trying to reach him, including the Styx community, and tried to direct him to this topic.

He did not reply.