I picked up All Mushrooms again recently and I realized that I had been doing Mouser skip even though it's banned in All Levels on the main boards. Which got me thinking whether it should be allowed in this category or not.

Stewie and I talked about it a bit and I think the goal of the category should be 1) collect all the mushrooms and 2) beat the game. Not necessarily clearing every level or beating all the bosses. Currently, Mouser skip is the only thing in question here (and I'm not even sure it's faster, I've just been doing it because it's fun, haha). But I think with some more research there may be other bosses/levels that can be skipped (Fryguy is almost possible to skip but it doesn't quite work out).

This also brings up the question about whether mushrooms collected before a game over need to be collected again. If you game over and have to replay a level, the mushrooms respawn and are able to be obtained again. I propose that you don't have to recollect them, mainly because in the case of Mouser skip and co., a game over is part of the skip, but you shouldn't have to go collect the mushrooms throughout world 1 again.

Continuing on, this also brings up the question about save+quit in the All-Stars version. SMAS has always been an accepted version for the category (and this board in general I believe). However, not requiring levels to actually be cleared in conjunction with not having to recollect mushrooms means that save+quit is incredibly beneficial and can shave minutes off of the run (from not having to fight any bosses basically). I've done a run of this, and both versions of the run are fun and interesting, but they are very different.

So, all in all, my proposal:

• Clarify the rules that you only need to collect each of the 38 mushrooms once at any point in the run, and to beat the game. Game overs and level skips are fine.
• Split the board or add a variable or something for save+quit.

The goal of this document is to provide information for runners who submit their runs to the leaderboards, and as a reference for new and old leaderboard moderators to look at when verifying submissions.

#Submit with the correct information

This includes everything about the run other than the time. Submitting to the correct category is very important--you don’t want your run listed on the wrong leaderboards. The other information; run type (e.g. Cloud, Orb, Glitchless 11 Exit), region, and platform; aren’t nearly as important, but it helps organize the leaderboard. There are options on speedrun.com to filter runs by this information, and if your run information is incorrect it will show up incorrectly under filtered results. While submitting faulty info won’t result in your submission being rejected, it does reduce the workload on the moderators who would have to figure out the correct info and change it before verifying the run.

#Submit with the correct time

This is the most important part of your submission. Speedrunning is all about trying to get to quickest time, so measuring this time accurately is key. The timing rules for each category are specified in the rules on the leaderboard page. If you need more help regarding timing, please visit the SMW Wiki page on timing here. The moderators are not retimers: you should retime your runs yourself before submitting. For the 99% of people who don’t use autosplitters, starting and stopping the timer is done manually, and there is a margin of error when it comes to measuring the length of the speedrun while performing it. You should never be more than a second off when submitting your time, and that accuracy requirement tightens as you climb up the leaderboard. If a moderator finds that your submitted time majorly differs from the actual time of the run, it may be rejected. In the case of runs near the top of the leaderboard, moderators may take it to themselves to retime your submissions yet another time to ensure the necessary accuracy.

#Run on permitted platforms

Please refer to this thread on speedrun.com regarding permitted and forbidden platforms here. In short: console, virtual console, SNES Classic, Nintendo Switch Online (not the "SP" version), SuperNT, and most emulators are allowed. SNES9x v1.4x and lower is banned from all categories. ZSNES, no$sns, & bSNES Performance core are banned for only 11 Exit Cloud and 0 Exit. If an emulator you use isn’t listed, it probably just uses a core that is on the list (e.g. Bizhawk, higan, retroarch). Otherwise, feel free to ask on the forums. Additionally, make sure if you are running on emulator to check the emulator box when submitting your run. Virtual console, SNES Classic, and Nintendo Switch Online are not considered emulator, unless they have been hacked to run a different core. SuperNT should be marked as emulator. Additionally, versions of the game meant to be run on PAL or NTSC systems must be run on the corresponding hardware.

#Abide by the rules of the category

The rules for each category are specified in the rules on the leaderboard page. Failure to abide to the category rules will result in your run being rejected. Simple really. If you need clarification on the rules, feel free to ask on the forums or the Discord server.

#Provide a proper video/splits

A video and/or splits are not required, but are very heavily suggested. Runs without any sort of proof are up to the moderators’ discretion on whether they are verified or rejected. However, if a video is provided, it must be concise. That is, the video should only contain the run being submitted, and not an entire night’s broadcast for example. The run should start within 30 seconds of the beginning of the video, and the video should end after the credits or after resetting and file checking for the number of exits completed. The video should also contain the game audio. If the video supplied doesn’t meet this criteria your run may be rejected. If you do not have the capability to record video of your speedrun, consider recording your splits and submitting those.

#Be patient

Super Mario World is one of the most active games on speedrun.com, so there are pretty much always submissions sitting in the queue waiting to be verified. The moderator team tries their best to have runs sit in the queue for no longer than a week. However, if your run takes longer than that, please don’t harass the moderators. It’s not that everyone forgot about your run, but more likely that one of the moderators have found something weird or abnormal about your submission, and is waiting for other moderators’ opinions before verifying or rejecting your submission.

For detailed information, visit these documents: ¤ Initial Proposal: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_zJWRsIoGZOPGgs4gtX0wKPyfYvYqdDEhgTZb-U7RZc/edit?usp=sharing ¤ Timing Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZwK0KEknOq_jQvh03ffABc0TQ3rg6xkNGBs-ZPOwGBQ/edit?usp=sharing

SUGGESTED EMULATORS: ¤ bSNES Compatibility Core (Bizhawk, Higan) ¤ SNES9x v1.5x and higher The bSNES core is quite resource intensive and might not run well on old machines. SNES9x is a good alternative (make sure you get the newest version).

Emulators & systems that are allowed for all categories: ¤ SNES Console ¤ All Virtual Console Releases (WiiVC, 3DSVC, WiiUVC) ¤ SNES Classic ¤ Nintendo Switch Online ¤ SNES9x v1.5x and higher ¤ bSNES Compatibility Core (Bizhawk, Higan, lsnes) ¤ Mesen-S ¤ SuperNT ¤ MiSTer

Emulators that are banned for all categories: ¤ SNES9x v1.4x and lower

Emulators that are allowed for all categories EXCEPT 0 Exit and 11 Exit Cloud: ¤ ZSNES ¤ no$sns ¤ bSNES Performance Core (Bizhawk, Higan) These emulators are not accurate enough to properly emulate open bus behavior, which is required for certain item swap glitches.

If an emulator or system that you would like to use is not on this list, comment here and I'll work with you to add it to the timing spreadsheet posted above.