I like that idea. It seems like everyone but me has softmodded their console (blame my ethos). I don't even know if Wii-U would be more efficient than Wii for these kinds of things, so it's good to be able to experiment. I'm as surprised as anybody else that the game doesn't seem to run adversely faster through Wii (via GCN disc) or Dolphin.

Inb4 Nintendo has the last laugh and releases the game for Switch VC with 960p60 visuals and near-zero load times.

Once again, I'm glad the community is largely supportive of the expanded support with verification decision. It is this last part that will help maintain some sanctity. Between three active mods, the verification should be fairly smooth.

EDIT: I remember 360Chrism speedrunning the game through Homebrew Channel. Load times did seem slightly reduced, but it's hard to tell.

That is an excellent point you bring up. I'm honestly not that knowledgeable about softmodding because I don't practice it myself. I assumed the game would play virtually the same as it would through Dolphin, which I have seen as viable. I'm a diehard console player because it is the authentic experience. Maybe not optimal, but nonetheless the original experience that plays the games as they were meant to be played (I'm down with hard mods that improve the AV output of the console). If I'm not mistaken, the only way to use a USB loader to play GameCube games would be through the Wii-U; in the case of the Wii, games are generally written onto an SD card.

I would need to see if USB loaders/SD cards are significantly faster with loading and transitions between holes, because that could add up significantly (one second per hole is almost two minutes for any%). I had thought if anything Dolphin would speed up the game, but it apparently does not (kudos to the Dolphin team for accurate emulation). I don't think loading the disc speeds the loading up, but don't quote me on that.

It was difficult for me to decide to allow for emulators, but I have seen multiple cases were they prove a viable alternative. I, perhaps more than most, would like to honor the sanctity of the game. It would not be fair to send a message that a semi-legal means of playing the game is superior to doing the right thing and paying for the console, game, controller and capture card, if even solely due to speed. Plus, having variable speeds of the game would make competitive times difficult to compare.

It might seem weird, but I might have to draw a line. Until I have proof that USB loading would not adversely speed up the game, I will have to reject submissions with those modifications. This is why I have added a catch while allowing non-native gameplay - the verification process. It gives one of us mods who is familiar with the pacing of the game to scrutinize the submission. If it turns out the run seems legitimate and was USB, then so much the better. I'll throw this out to the Discord as well to spur further discussion.

TL;DR: Not sure if USB or SD loading adversely speeds up the loading of the game. Either way, we have the verification process for such occasions.

ANOTHER BUMP!

DOLPHIN IS NOW ACCEPTABLE FOR SPEEDRUNS!

Please use 5.0-1709 or later, which fixes every known graphical issue with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Do note that your submission may be subject to more scrutiny than a console submission. If everything seems consistent, then your submission will most likely be accepted.

Do note that Dolphin is a highly demanding program and MGTT is a heavily resource-intensive game since a lot of textured objects are simultaneously rendered. You will need a VERY powerful PC to stream and speedrun this game via Dolphin at a consistent 60fps. If your system can handle it, then go for it!

I hope this offers an alternative to players who don't have capture cards and/or have PAL consoles since MGTT does NOT offer native 60Hz PAL support.

Similarly, forcing 60Hz using Nintendont (or similar softmod methods) on your Wii or Wii U console is fine, but will be treated with the same scrutiny as Dolphin.

It was great fun. Audio issues were a bit disappointing, but I think some of that was exacerbated by flaws in my rig. I'm glad I had the opportunity to share the game I love most. I can't wait for the VODs to be released. I forgot I still had StreamLab alerts still on, but I think that helped more than not. Those were funny moments.

Hello everyone! I was referred to this event through Likeanoob100. I am a leader in the Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour community and I am expressing my gratitude to those that are trying this underrated Mario sports game. I am here because I have been informed that Likeanoob100 has a schedule conflict with the posted timeslot for the run on Monday the 5th at 2:17pm EST. He messaged me on Discord and I have agreed to accept the honor of representing the game for pre-NASA since I will be free that day.

I just thought I'd let the moderators know in case there are any changes that need to be made. If there is anything I need to do on my end, please feel free to contact me. I'll be on the lookout for updates to these forums regarding stream setup since I'm still fairly new to the online-marathon concept (this will be my 2nd).

Regards, MetalYoshi

Twitch: metalyoshi_progamer Twitter: MetalYoshiGamer Discord: MetalYoshi ProGamer (user# 6358)

BUMP!

Dolphin 5.0 is out now, which is a HUGE update to previous stable versions of the emulator. I can't confirm if there are any improvements to the emulation of Toadstool Tour, but I just thought I would let you know. You should upgrade to Dolphin 5.0 if you plan on using Dolphin for research purposes or TAS recordings (unless you've already started and need to use your current Dolphin build).

BUMP!

I might as well mention that I have updated the submission page. You should also enter the region that your speedrun pertains to (NTSC, PAL, Japan, etc.). The leaderboards allow for rankings with region as a filter. This means you could compete for the best PAL time, but it wouldn't be the fastest worldwide time.

That's all I wanted to say about that.

It's a challenge, but it should be possible for PAL players to mod their systems to run NTSC games. If you are a European player and would prefer a third party service, these guys are capable of whatever modification you can afford that may improve your consoles. It might be worth a shot.

http://www.videogameperfection.com/product-cat/console-modsrepairs/nintendo-gamecube-modsrepairs/

BUMP!

Here's another idea that's been percolating in my brain. I am interested in figuring out ball velocity and how we can research this to discover cup/pin tolerances, the effects of Spin, and ultimately optimize shots to save time.

It has occurred to me that we can obtain a much stronger quantitative understanding of this game if we are able to decipher some numbers regarding ball movement. Short of creating a script in Dolphin that would be able to overlay useful data, which would be a great technical challenge, the only way to go about this would be to brute-force it with a local video recorder capable of 60fps (most HD recorders such as Hauppauge HD PVR 2, BlackMagic, Avermedia, ElGato, etc. should be able to do it. Don't know yet if "drop-frame" rendering matters. Let me know if it does). By going through the distances displayed frame-by-frame in a video editor, it should be possible to come up with a yd (or feet) per frame (which could be extrapolated to yd/ft per second for convenience). This information may help us derive "thresholds" for maximum putting distance without overshooting, or the tolerance of the flagstick for off-Green putting or Chip-Ins. Better still, it can help us understand what type of shots are the fastest for myriad situations, and what effects Spin (especially Backspin) has on ball velocity and time savings.

Please feel free to investigate with any tools at your disposal. I would appreciate any facilitation with metagame research.

Also, I recently put this comparison video together. Daisy, DK, and Bowser are also strong contenders for a Ring Attack speedrun, and I outlined their strengths and weaknesses as best as I could. I would likely still recommend Mario since he's the easiest to use and the most adaptable (and best at Lakitu Valley and Cheep Cheep Falls), but DK excels at Shifting Sands and Blooper Bay while Bowser and Daisy excel at Peach's Castle and Bowser Badlands.

Update: I now have strats for every combination with Bowser, as detailed in this Guide: http://www.speedrun.com/mgtt/guide/gf7mt

Some of these are tricky, almost to the point of contrivance, unfortunately. If you happen to agree with these sentiments, I invite you to discover simpler methods for achieving the same Aces. In particular, I would be most grateful for alternatives to my strats for Lakitu 3 139y Clear, both Pin locations (157y and 166y) in Clear weather for Lakitu 12, and maybe the 112y Pin strats on Lakitu 16 to see if there is a way to do those without the need to adjust aim (particular the Clear weather strat).

I am grinding my way through Ace strats with Bowser. The thought has occurred to me. What if Lefty Bowser is actually even better, still? I say this because Lefty Bowser has a natural fade that can be turned into a draw that's stronger than normal Bowser's. This would likely make the Par 5 5th hole even easier to Eagle, and some Ace strats (such as on the dreaded Hole 12) would be easier with a Fade (while others may be harder such as Hole 3).

On another note, Lefty-DK might have merits as well, but he just comes off as a slightly weaker and lower-hitting Bowser, which might not be a bad thing. Let me know if you find anything useful with them.

Thanks for all of your support!

Just an update: I am working on Ace strats for Bowser at Lakitu Valley. I am beginning to suspect that Bowser could potentially save time at Lakitu Valley despite the extra half-second to select him in the Character Selection. Bowser can reach the 5th Green in two shots if the Lie on the second shot is good (after a straightened and boosted drive), while Mario cannot do the same. He also has a higher probability of reaching the 9th Green in two shots (since Mario requires a perfect Lie and good distance control).

I have four out of 16 possibilities for Ace strats (4 Par 3s; two Pin locations each; Calm and Rain) and will compile all of them in a new Guide when that project is done. If you wish to help me out and tackle the other possibilities (I have both Hole 7 Calm strats, the Hole 12 166y Pin Calm strat, and the Hole 16 112y Pin Calm strat so far), please let me know and provide as many details as possible so I can replicate them.

Donkey Kong is also a viable option since he can reach the 5th Green in two shots by straightening his Fade and aiming slightly left to the Fairway area 230 yards from the Green, and his Fade wouldn't be a hindrance on any other hole. Feel free to explore Ace strats and other options with him, too.

It has occurred to me more and more that I should talk about emulators. Long story short, Dolphin is the current most robust emulator for GameCube and Wii games, and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour falls in that category. The most recent updates (from 4.0-5XXX onward) have turned MGTT into a very playable game with only a few minimal graphical goofups. As far as I can tell, aside from those and the inherently faster loadtimes, playing using an ISO is essentially identical.

EDIT: Dolphin is now legal for RTA speedruns of this game. See the most recent post. However, while I barely condone the use of emulators and especially downloaded ROMs or ISOs from dubious sources (legalities aside, that's your own decision to make), I can understand the value in using Dolphin.

Should you decide to use it, it should work very well as a research tool. It works best if you're the kind of person capable of deciphering code and writing scripts to help break the game down further. It is also great in that you can create save-states so that you don't have to retry so often if you miss the mark you're trying to hit. These could be especially useful in teasing out Ace strats, dunks, and other optimal speedrunning strategies. If you would prefer to use Dolphin for these purposes, I have no qualms. In fact, I have used Dolphin to capture HD screenshots for the icons in my splits (You can make wallpapers if you play around with the camera in Free Mode and hold Start during your shot).

TL;DR: DOLPHIN IS LEGAL! It is also very useful for research.

I WANT YOU! To enlist in the MGTT strat-finding tech-dissecting squadron!

In short, there are many things we still don't know about this game.

• It would be fantastic to have empirical data on how the game runs fastest. It could be pre-2004 GameCube, newer GameCube, white Wii console or other Wii console (not Mini since that has no GameCube support), but it's hard to know for sure.

• It would be excellent to figure out if using top-ball Impact Points is really faster than normal shots and what empirical effects Spin has on time.

• I would appreciate any support in searching for Ace strategies on the Par 3s. I define this as any repeatable strategy involving no change of aiming (though if you have a strategy involving a simple reference such as the gridlines, that will work but it'll cost some time), no wind (rain and no rain separately) and precise marks hit with 0% RNG that yields a Hole-in-One. We have these largely down for Mario at Lakitu Valley, and that's about it. Any other combination of character (un-Star for any% and Star Boo for Peach's Castle and Bowser Badlands) and hole is up in the air. Of course, there is no guarantee past Lakitu Valley that you'd be able to carry these strategies out because of Wind and other RNG, but it's always worth keeping an extra strat in your pocket. There is always the possibility of finding the exact correct club/power/impact combination to dunk the ball directly, but unless you know that strat exactly and there's no wind, it would not be worth the time investment.

If you have any questions or helpful information that enhances our understanding of the game, please leave a Reply! A sub-Hour run is potentially achievable if we can break this game down to its most nuanced elements, and that would be a huge milestone.

Hello, and welcome to the Forums for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on Speedrun.com

This thread is dedicated to discussing strategies and metagames used to take down the Tournaments from a New-Game file. This primarily describes "Any%", but it can also pertain to "Unlock Characters" to unlock Boo after 50 Badges and "100%".

Feel free to discuss such things as character selection (e.g. the merits of using DK or Bowser over Mario or vice versa), hole strategy (Ace strats for Lakitu Valley, quickest/safest ways to Birdie tough holes, etc), risk/reward theory, whether it's worth the time to attempt a Chip-In or dunk versus just shooting as quickly as possible, Give-Up spreads (skipping a hole after duffing the drive in exchange for triple Par, saving time but adding strokes), the potential time-save of shooting low with added Backspin (or not?), or anything else that comes to mind.

This game has become deeper than any of us have ever realized and we have yet to fully exploit everything to create what we would consider "optimal" runs. Not even close. I would appreciate any input to expand this thread as much as possible. Thanks for reading!

Hello, and welcome to the Forums for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on Speedrun.com!

This is the thread for discussing optimal strategies for speedrunning Ring Attack (especially 1-player Ring Attack, but multiplayer is open for discussion as well). This game mode is featured in the "Ring Attack", "Unlock Characters", "100% Ring Attack", and "100%" categories, and it can offer significant time-save if you can practice and execute effective strategies.

Please feel free to discuss and ask about anything from the easy to the difficult. Your input on holes such as "Donuts, No Ponds!", "Hunkering Bunkers", "Phunky Pharoah", "Dolphin Dreams", "Chain-Chomp Caution!", "Mushroom Doom", "Star Light, Star Bright", "Bowser Jr's Breath", and "This is a Volcano!" are especially welcome, as those can prove to be tricky to do quickly and consistently.

This video compiles my best strats in one "Theory Run", so hopefully it gets things started.

Hello, and welcome to the Forums for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on Speedrun.com

I am probably the most maniacally devoted player of this game on the planet and I want to share this passion with others. I have already crafted several guides on the strange art of speedrunning Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and I hope you have browsed some of these already. I know that some of these are still a work-in-progress and require some expansion with supporting videos.

Are there topics/techniques/metagames/etc. that you think should merit a guide? I'd be happy to answer questions in the most comprehensive matter possible. Also, if you have video to share on something interesting, I'd be happy to embed it for you.

Go, and learn! And most of all, have fun!

Welcome to the Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour forums on Speedrun.com

While I was watching a player who goes by "TheJackster1676" on Twitch, I noticed that he was playing the PAL version of the game which felt noticeably slower. It felt like he was playing better than what his final time would suggest, as there were several impressive chip-ins scattered throughout that potentially saved 30+ seconds over a typical any% speedrun.

I have done some research about European GameCubes, Wiis, and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. What I am finding is that there isn't an in-game/system way to force 60Hz speeds while playing MGTT on a PAL system. When I asked TheJackster1676 why MGTT felt slower and Double-Dash (another game he plays) felt normal, it was because Double-Dash supports 60Hz PAL, but Toadstool Tour doesn't. This is a shame.

I have a dilemma. I am noticing that Europeans are interested in the game in addition to the typical American and Japanese audience based on viewer commentaries on YouTube and Twitch. However, their version of the game is slower by default. I know some gamers get around this by playing the NTSC versions (DeathBasket is a UK player who uses NTSC and/or NTSC-J games). But not everyone does. How should we as a community support these players?

Should I create a separate column for PAL times? Is there a conversion ratio (60:50?) that is applicable to convert times in this situation? Or would it be necessary to only solely accept times from NTSC versions of the game? I am not familiar with speedrunning conventions and have no precedent to go on.

Another point to consider is that the PAL version of the game came out significantly later and looks and feels different to the previous NTSC version, especially in regards to the camera. I don't know if this affects speedrunning, so I would like to see discussion in this matter as well (Yet another tidbit: If a 100% speedrun is performed on the PAL version, another dialog would appear at the end of the Star Bowser Championship indicating the unlock of the Ace CPU difficulty).

TL;DR: MGTT in PAL form is slower. What should we do about it?