Are emulator runs acceptable? Specifically the Dolphin emulator, which is the only Wii emulator I could find.
I've been thinking more and more about emulators vs console, and I think I should look into it more. Especially since the new WR uses emulator. I will check to see whether there are time differences between disc, USB loading, and emulator.
Times for both console and emulator will most likely stay grouped together, so don't worry.
I will post again later with my results.
If I may put in my two cents here, it really didn't seem like loading times were any faster or slower on either emulator run compared to the 2:07:07 run last summer. The only major difference that seems obvious is using a mouse as opposed to pointing at a sensor with the Wiimote, which would allow for considerable more accuracy and efficiency in navigating and using menus. Whether that hardware difference can account for the nearly 6 minutes of difference in the two times, I don't know, but I think it also worth thinking about.
I suppose one could just watch both runs side by side to see where time is gained and whether it's attributable to the emulator or not.
Actually, I'm going to give an opinion, although you may want to take it with a small grain of salt, since I'm the one in question that's using the emulator.
Based on what I can see, the loading times on the emulator ARE slightly faster than on the Wii, but nothing super significant. And, if you want to be super safe, it's possible to add a "time without loads" bar on the leaderboards, although this makes timing runs much more of a hassle.
I do agree that using a mouse instead of a Wiimote allows for more precise movement, but in many cases precise movement isn't too necessary; You just have to get your character going in the right direction and then sit on it for a while. Granted, though, that is not always the case, which is why I think this is the biggest issue on the emulator discussion.
However, I don't think that it necessarily makes menuing easier. You can use the Wiimote's D-pad to navigate menu options, which I actually do very often in my runs, particularly when cycling between the pulsar, multisensor, and "return to boat". Granted, I don't use the d-pad on the vertical menus, like the Island's shortcut menu, but that's primarily because those buttons have different uses; The "up" button is never used in menuing, and the "down" button is used to open the menu when swimming, so I have that mapped to a different key that's less helpful in menuing.
The only other difference I can think of is that I can speed-click faster than I can spam the "A" button on the Wiimote; however, because this game has a set time limit for each dialogue box, that doesn't cause very much of a difference.
Interesting. I never considered the timesave that comes from using a mouse over the Wii remote. However much time it saves, I doubt it would have resulted in the ~6 minute timesave over 2nd place.
A side-by-side comparison would be best for distinguishing a few differences, but not whole runs like this. There are too many factors like different movement, menuing speed, or any mistakes that runners made. Not to mention that I dont even know if GetASmileOnThatFace used USB loading of any kind, or if the console was a Wii or a WiiU. Hell, maybe the run is just better in some instances. There's a lot to consider here.
But, history says that emulators usually results in faster times. And though it could very much be the case that "more precise cursor movement" got the WR, it is probably the emulator altogether that netted you first place.
(Note: we aren't looking for just one ~6 minute difference. That would mean both runs would be equally paced without it.)
I think I'll do a run on an actual Wii tomorrow, to see how it compares. I don't have a way to easily record it, though, so hopefully you'll trust my word. It'll almost certainly be slightly worse because I'm not used to a Wiimote, but if there's a significant difference (say, if I get a 2:05 or higher), then that basically answers the question.
I only really used an emulator so that I could record it well without a capture card and easily record Livesplit alongside it.
Okay, I've attempted a run on the Wii, and have come to the conclusion that using an emulator is definitely an unfair advantage. I played up to the end of the Arctic, and I was already over 2 minutes behind by PB, and while a decent chunk of that can be chalked up to me being bad with the Wiimote and making stupid mis-menus, there's absolutely no way that that lost me 2 minutes; at most, maybe 30-50 seconds was from that. I can only assume that the rest is from load times.
I did record the run with my laptop's camera, so I can upload it if you need it, but I don't see a way that it'd be helpful.
I realize the quality is probably bad, but I would be interested to see the run to compare to the other runs as well as my own, if you don't mind. Btw, I apologize if my previous comment in this thread came across as accusatory and/or dismissive of your time. That wasn't my intention. Also, should the idea of a "time w/o loads" take form, I'd be more than willing to go through runs to subtract load times for such a leaderboard.
I'll upload the video tonight if I remember. I only finished up until the Arctic, because I must say, I truly hate using the Wiimote after being used to using a mouse.
