Hi, I'm thinking of running Paper Mario and I was wondering if using emulator is allowed as there are only platforms for consoles. I don't have a console I can play it on so this would be an easy option for me to use. Thanks
Emulators are not allowed for leaderboard runs but you can use emulator to learn the game and determine if it is a game you are interested in speedrunning before buying a consoles. If you're looking for the cheapest option, the best would probably be finding a used wii and then modding it to run a japanese version of the game which is very easy to do.
Is there a reason that emulator runs aren't just a seperate thing like the consoles? Is there just not enough people who would run to justify it? I have the Wii VC version, but I'm just curious as I can see why it would scare off runners who aren't well off financially.
It's a couple of things. I don't know the exact reasons stated when the decision was made, but for one thing, N64 in general emulates pretty poorly, and this game even more so, so there would be a lot of emulation inaccuracies compared to an official Nintendo release. Also, there's actually a really low barrier to entry to playing on console. Most people who'd be interested in running this game already have an N64, Wii, or Wii U. You can get the Japanese version of the game for Wii/Wii U for free, and a Japanese N64 cart usually goes for about $10, so cost really isn't an issue.
I want to bop this, because the game emulates pretty well on Project64, with glideN64 public release 3.0 plugin. I feel like emulators should be added to the leaderboards, that's what the platform tags are for right? Just say its on emulator and you get the emulator tag. Best way to test if emulator is actually faster or not is to allow it!
Let's have a vote for this!
The leaderboard is going to stay like that but there isn't nothing wrong with using it to learn the game, then later on down the line when you have the money together to get these things, you can finally submit your console/VC record.
In regards to this, Retroarch's new N64 core is supposed to render the games exactly as the n64 version and the plugins like Parallel emulate the lag from the console and other stuff that was impossible before, maybe a specific Emulator category could be added, I think it gates people that don't have a capture card or other means of capturing video.
"Emulator is banned, you can still run the game on it but it is currently banned on the leaderboards." I understand that, I just don't see why, there is no reason why it should be.
There are plenty of reasons for banning emulator. For one, it's much harder to moderate. First we'd have to be able to verify the emulator settings were correct. Even then, it's way easier to cheat with emulator with all the tools it has available, plus the mod tools that exist for this game, so we'd have to be able to verify none of that was being used. You mention using some kind of plugin to simulate lag, so that'd be another thing we'd have to ensure was on for the whole run.
But let's say we could do that. Let's even say that it runs exactly like it does on console with this new core (has been claimed before, has never panned out, but I digress). There's just not that much demand for the option, certainly not to warrant an entirely new tab. Every now and then someone says it should be added, but it's a ton of work for very little benefit. The barrier to entry isn't even high at all. I mentioned earlier how cheap/easy it is to get your hands on the game, and a phone recording of your screen is perfectly acceptable for video proof, so the gate argument doesn't really hold up.
So basically, unless you're able to prove that there's enough demand from people who have access to a computer powerful enough to emulate n64 and record it, but don't have an easy way to play on console and record with at least a phone, you're gonna have a hard time convincing us to put emulator on the leaderboard.
