Now, I'm sure that this isn't a problem for the veterans among you, but I just had a quick question about a game over during a 96 exit.

Obviously, the "perfect run" will have no deaths, let alone a "game over". However, I'm still in the early stages of learning, and will get Game Overs about 25% of the time by the end of World 2.

Up until this point, if this happens, I've just been resetting, but not because of losing time. I've been resetting because I just thought getting a game over seemed like breaking the rules by not completing the run in one shot. However, there's nothing mentioned about this in the official rules.

So, I know that I'll need to improve a lot if game overs are a problem for me, but my question is - Does the run become void if you get a game over during it? IE, Would it be disqualified if it were submitted? Or am I allowed to continue the run if I want?

Thanks for any help in advance!

Hello SMW folks. New to the community, but I've been lurking around the speedrun scene for quite a while now. Nice to meet you all!

A while back, I actually began learning the run(s) for the 96 exit category in SMW. (It's also worth mentioning that this is my first ever serious attempt at speedrunning.) It's a long one, but I really enjoy the feeling of learning different strats on so many different levels.

And now to my point. This category requires so many different techniques and skills to master, and I don't have an issue with any of them - except one...

The duplication glitch - mostly when used to obtain wings in levels where they don't exist normally.

To me, the spawning of wings where they should not be...it just feels extremely out of place in a run that focuses on "clearing" (as the rules say) every "intended" exit of the game. (Truly, this has nothing to do with the level of difficulty of the trick. Just the outcome of the glitch.) Getting the wings in VD1 just doesn't feel right to me, because they aren't even supposed to be there. What I mean is...they don't seem like an "intended exit" to me, not at all.

Here's my thought process. The orb/cloud glitch isn't allowed. Why is that? (And I honestly don't know the real answer for sure. I just have been assuming it's because it defeats the purpose of 96 exit by skipping entire levels.) By no means am I opposed to EVERY glitch, it's just dependent on what the glitch does. For example, in VD2, the Yoshi Clip is definitely a glitch, but I've got no issue with it at all. Why? Because you are still completing the stage as intended at the end of the day, i.e. by travelling through the gate/keyhole/etc. Duplicating blocks doesn't always seem like a terrible thing, but when you can use it to skip levels (and not like the cape skips levels), it just feels like cheating the game, not beating it.

So, I just wanted to ask you guys a few things.

1. Why is this glitch allowed when the orb is not? Was there ever a formal decision made, or discussion had on the fundamental differences between them?

(This next question is the main reason I wrote this up.)

2. Is it possible that a glitch-less 96 exit category could be considered? I'm not sure if this has ever been discussed before, or if there's a good reason not to have one, but I would much prefer to do my runs without the wings.

Now, what I'm expecting someone to say is, "You don't have to get the wings if you don't want to. You'll lose time, but you can run the category however you want." And yeah, that's true. But the reason for wanting a category without them has nothing to do with saving time for me - it's just that this specific glitch does not make me feel like I beat the level, or even had a legitimate run at all.

3. What is the definition of "clearing every intended exit"? I'm not being sarcastic, or rude here - I genuinely want to know. I just can't wrap my head around the difference between spawning orbs to complete stages, or spawning wings, or why one is allowed and one isn't.

I hope I was clear enough in all of that. Drawing lines on what is allowed and what isn't is a slippery slope, it always is. None of it is meant to be taken as a complaint, but a new runner looking for deeper understanding of this game. Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or information you have for me.