For starters, I want to apologize for posting something on this game that hasn't been ran or talked about in years. I bet the last thing you guys expected to see today was a notification from the Zoop community (If we can even call it that). So yeah, sorry for like annoying you guys but I just have some questions. I also want to clarify that I'm not a bot. I have been like stalking and practicing Zoop since around October 2023 but I never made an account so according to Speedrun.com I have been playing for a whole day. Now that all of that is out of the way, I have some questions to ask.

I've been playing Zoop (GEN) for a while and I was going to get serious about it but I just lost touch with the game for some reason. I've been slowly getting back into it and I think I've reached a point where I want to be serious about this. So here's my first question, is there anyway to record things on the Genesis? I know I could always just face my camera towards my T.V, but I want something more professional. I don't know if there are like capture cards or something among those lines that I could buy or not. When I searched I didn't get many results. If you know of any product that was fairly affordable that does this than just comment under this with like a link or company name. I don't know if this will changed anything but I play with a Genesis Model 2.

The here's the next question, what counts as a modified controller? I'm obviously not going to pull out a GameShark and GameGenie and destroy the game in 5 seconds. The reason that I'm asking is because I, as mentioned, use original hardware. As you may know, the Genesis Controllers had the WORST D-Pads ever made. I've had this controller for a bit over a year and it's the only one I own. My controller has a problem caused by just age but it makes playing this game, especially at fast speeds, and it makes the later stages absolutely miserable. My controller has the LOOSEST D-Pad ever. The D-Pad literally shuffles around when I try to use it and messes up so many things. It makes some inputs get ready wrong, and the D-Pad struggles with the same issue that the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller has where it'll be over-sensitive and register extra inputs. The D-Pad can also have snap-back sometimes like the some of the older GameCube Controller's joysticks. All of this combined is just a nightmare in any level past 6. The game is still manageable, but it is just barely under the line of torture. I'm sure that there's a super easy fix to this that I could do with tape, but I don't know if that'd count as a controller modification or not. It's a dumb question, but I wouldn't want to accidentally break a rule or something.

Those are all the questions I had. Once again, sorry for bringing you back to this game you cared about and dropped three years ago, but you guys are probably the only people who would know the answer to those. If you know the answer to any of these questions, just comment the answers with a little explanation and it would be greatly appreciated. Like it would truly mean a lot. I might have more questions later on, but as of now I'm done. Thank you and bye bye

I don't speak for the other players, but I welcome the interest, questions and competition. As you can see, Zoop isn't a very actively played speedrun category.

I think your 2 questions are basically:

1. How do I record my gameplay/hardware?
2. Can I play with a worn/broken controller?

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1. Yes, I would recommend taking a few seconds at the start of your video to show your Sega Genesis console, and power it on with the cartridge and controller already connected. Then move the camera back to show the TV screen/gameplay. There are capture cards and devices that allow you to connect the yellow/red/white RCA composite video cables to a computer to record gameplay. Their quality varies widely. I think according to the rules, you would still need video of the console hardware and the TV.

RetroTINK is a well respected upscaler (converter from multiple inputs to HDMI). Most capture cards accept HDMI, but you could look for a cheaper capture card that accepts RCA composite inputs.

2. Short answer: yes. Now if you start breaking all of the records and the d-pad movement seems suspect, then I might get generous and send you a controller. :D