While doing some research for my upcoming runs I came across this site https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/932086-cars/cheats.
I tested it out and they all seem to work aswell as changing your name to cheater. There is currently no rule against them in any category while the unlock all characters cheat makes all previous runs obsolete thanks to the speed of chick. I would suggest either allowing the cheats and making a no cheat code category or only allowing it in a new cheat code category.
The other interesting cheat code is the one for a secret radiator cap circuit which would be an interesting addition to the all races%
I did a any% run with cheat codes as a proof of concept and I got just over 29 minutes (I still have to retime it and my video of it is really bad but I will still post the video) This doesn't just destroy the current WR it is also a lot faster than your TAS proving it should be a completely seperate category.
Now the main point of discussion should be whether the main any% category will be the one with or without cheats. The main difference will be whether you play the game as lightning or chick with both handling quite differently. The unlocking of races can also make a minor change to the run.
This is why I want to ask the opinion of others on what they think should be the main any% category (I will also try to get into contact with people who are already on the leaderboard.) Eventho I know that it will be the mods who will probably have a final say in this.
And the situation with the secret cup is very similar. Currently there is no category including this race which is a shame and also makes a strong case for a new all races% which could be called secret% or we could rename the current all races% to something different.
I think the code to unlock Chick should be allowed for any%. Do you have to complete races in a certain time to unlock new ones? I forgot. If so then I would ban unlock all races from any%.
I think All Races% and 100% should be updated to include the secret cup, and then you could archive the existing runs on there or add a reasonable penalty onto them.
Thanks for the feedback. I just did a bit of testing by doing only the piston cup races but it doesn't give me the credits. Further testing will have to be done however to see if it actually lets you skip any races in any% or just change the order in which you do them.
After looking into how other community's handle cheat codes it seems like the most common soluction is to ban cheat codes in any% and making a cheat% for runs using cheat codes. I think all cheat codes should be allowed as long as they do all the races that would be done in a regular any% run. ( I am still not sure if there is any way to skip a race with the unlock all races cheat.
The next possible issue is that you if you enter the cheats and start a new game the cheats will be deactivated and you have to go back to the start menu and enter codes and than go back to your game and actually start your run. I would suggest only starting the timer once you press continue to bring it more in line with other speedruns and remove that bit of weird menuing from the actual run.
For all races% I would make the current version ban all cheats and the new all races% Allow them all. I am really not sure sure which one should get the name all races% and what name the other should get.
The case of 100% is really similar to the one of all races%
And here is the link to my Any% run with cheat codes if anybody wants to watch it to get an idea about the run.
I think in other games cheat codes get a separate category because they alter the game and gameplay more drastically. Like inifinite lives, super speed etc. This cheat just gives you access to a character earlier on. I'm sure we would all want to play as chick from the get-go as it would save time on attempts and optimisation would happen faster [playing with one character. Some might like playing as lightning but idk. Plus there aren't many players for this game, imo it wouldn't be a good idea to splinter off the competiton into more categories. We should hone in one main chart, it would be more appealing to potential new players looking to run this game too. It's up to the mods in the end i guess ive said all Ive got (And I have been wanting to play this game again, just not got round to buying a cartridge/running other games)
I found out its impossible to get the credits if you use the unlock all levels cheat code making it unviable in any% but it will make 100% and all races a lot easier to get into since you don't have to memorise the order of tracks but can instead just do the tracks right to left or left to right.
And after some more attempts with Chick I am going to have to agree with Quar. While it is clear that most tracks weren't made with him in mind and it seemed near impossible to do sharp turns during my first few races with him I quickly figured out techniques to make any corner with just a bit of slowdown. This only takes a little bit of practise and makes the game way more fun and challenging to optimise. It feels like not spinning out and going fast trough corners is now the focus of the run while learning the positions of boost pads becomes less important than it is with lightning.
Piston cups are also way better with Chick which is clear by just looking at the amount of levels run here with him versus the amount without him since he doesn't rely as much on getting boosts from other cars whose position is decided by RNG aswell as relying more and good driving around the corners.
So to sumarise my recomandations after a lot of ranting:
any%: -Allow use of cheat codes -Make the timer start when the first race starts to cut out as much menu-ing and allow inputting cheat codes without time loss while still keeping all of the actual gameplay
any% no cheat: -Basically the current any%
all races% -Allow cheat codes -Includes the secret track
100% -Allow cheat codes -Includes the secret track
all races%legacy - Current version of all races
100%legacy - Current version of 100%
So to sumarise my recomandations after a lot of ranting:
any%: -Allow use of cheat codes -Make the timer start when the first race starts to cut out as much menu-ing and allow inputting cheat codes without time loss while still keeping all of the actual gameplay
any% no cheat: -Basically the current any%
all races% -Allow cheat codes -Includes the secret track
100% -Allow cheat codes -Includes the secret track
all races%legacy - Current version of all races
100%legacy - Current version of 100%
I already contacted Seppe on twitter giving some thoughts but here they are for everyone:
While I agree on: any%:
- Unlock all cars cheat allowed
- Becomes new main category
- Figure out new timing solution
any% legacy:
- No cheats allowed
I'm not so sure about the rest, I don't think it would be beneficial to spawn 2 more categories for newAllRaces and new100%, I think we should just decide whether or not we should allow cheats and modify the existing categories, to avoid having a bunch of categories that nobody wants to run anyway once we decide on the new standard.
