would love to see this, but i think we should all start at level 0. (i even suggested it in my run's description)
I've honestly not paid a lot of attention to these boards, I apologize for the 1.5 year delay in getting back to you guys.
40 lines has sort of been the standard competitive time attack mode for this game since at least the late 90s, which is why I've sort of ignored all of the requests so far (and opted to let ZS45 add them if he so wished).
100 lines and 100 lines from level 0 both sound like valid additions (the latter more-so than the former, imo). In a lot of ways 100 lines is just 40 lines * 2.5. I'm curious what you guys think 100 lines provides in terms of value beyond the 40 line category.
Finally a point I think is worth addressing. The current representation of GB/GBC/GBA players amount to over a third (36.11%) of all players on the 40 line leaderboard, and I think it's safe to say that a lot of them don't have a good recording setup for their handheld console. There is (to my knowledge) not a way to display in-game time in Marathon mode, thus a picture will not suffice as proof anymore. This effectively bars many of these players from submitting to a 100 line leaderboard.
i think it adds lots of value, given how unique this game is compared to other GB/GBC Tetris games. and it's also somewhat of a standard for Tetris games, as it's present in GB and NES Tetris.
personally 40 lines is pretty short and i'd be interested in a longer category because i enjoy running this game.
separate from 100 lines but i think that an Ultra mode category could also be of interest
video proof should always be the golden standard for speedrunning. finding and recording a run on any of the very accurate GB/GBC emulators isn't hard and it should be encouraged if someone wants to submit a run. this board is honestly the first i've ever seen that allows runs, much less world records, to be submitted and verified with no video proof.
[quote=petracide]personally 40 lines is pretty short and i'd be interested in a longer category because i enjoy running this game.[/quote]
This is a valid argument, and I agree that 40 lines is rather short. Had there been a way to select a higher target in the 40 lines mode in-game, I would have added it with no issues whatsoever.
[quote=petracide]i think it adds lots of value, given how unique this game is compared to other GB/GBC Tetris games. and it's also somewhat of a standard for Tetris games, as it's present in GB and NES Tetris.[/quote]
The difference between 100 line category in GB and NES Tetris and the 40 line mode in Tetris DX is that the 100 line category is an (arguably) arbitrary number decided on by the speedrunning community, while Tetris DX' 40 line mode is an actual game mode. Some games alongside Tetris DX with a selectable 40 line mode include Tetris Deluxe, Tetris: New Century, Tetris Evolution, Tetris Zone, Tetris Splash, Tetris Party Deluxe, Tetris Online Japan, and Tetris Friends. The latter two being historically very important in the competitive Tetris scene as a whole also. I'd argue the 40 line mode is more of a standard if anything.
[quote=petracide]video proof should always be the golden standard for speedrunning. finding and recording a run on any of the very accurate GB/GBC emulators isn't hard and it should be encouraged if someone wants to submit a run. this board is honestly the first i've ever seen that allows runs, much less world records, to be submitted and verified with no video proof.[/quote]
I think it's entirely fair to aim for video proof. However, I don't think in this case it's necessary to require people who prefer to play on original hardware to aim a camera at the screen and hold the console still for optimal recording, perhaps even causing awkwardness compared to normal use. With the existence of the in-game timer I think it's acceptable to allow players to submit pictures of their console on a completed run.
I'll quote myself from a discussion with @Oh_DeeR about this.
[quote=cutenice]In this case it's not so much about strategies though. It's basically just press the buttons faster, and for that reason I think it should be up to the player to find a setup that is comfortable for optimal performance, without impacting validity. If that means shaking the handheld around to accommodate for swift movement, then that should be as valid as anything imo, and while that's a silly theoretical example, that player wouldn't be able to record their runs.[/quote]
[quote=petracide]separate from 100 lines but i think that an Ultra mode category could also be of interest[/quote] I'll look into this. If I recall correctly, there's not a really neat way to keep track of high scores beyond like.. using the timer to set high scores and specifying ascending timing. Maybe I'm wrong here?
taking everything you've said into consideration, i still think that there's really no reason to not add a 100 lines category. i never said that 100 lines isn't arbitrary, just that there is a precedent of some sort set.
multiple people have expressed interest in there being additional categories, specifically 100 lines, over the last year. i'm having a very hard time seeing why it shouldn't be added for that reason alone.
You're right. The only thing that held me back was the video proof thing, and after sleeping on it I realize that it is a flimsy argument in this context. Especially considering that I can keep the 40 line category as is (not requiring video proof, since I don't really have any reason not to believe people who take pictures of the 40 line mode results on their handhelds), while the 100 line categories can have that requirement. I guess I got a bit of tunnel vision!
I've added the two categories for now. I think I'll await adding any score attack category until it's officially supported by the site.
