So I was looking through the leaderboards when I thought of a couple of questions:

1. I know Dolphin is allowed and must be stated if used. Obviously cheats and savestates during the run are not allowed, but are savestates prior to gaining control during countdown allowed in time trial runs (i.e. in the opening camera to the track)? All this would do is cut out the restart time but would make no difference during the countdown and time trial itself.

2. Is there any sort of indication as to if unintended shortcuts and ultras are allowed. As a member of the Track Breakers, we found at least 70 tracks have ultras in this pack, and I don't know if doing any of them are allowed, as some are very very easy.

Any clarification/answer would be appreciated, thanks!

One thing that seems strange to me is the definition of an ultra shortcut in this game. According to the rules, if the shortcut saves over 20 seconds, it is considered an ultra. However, the amount of track cut off doesn't seem to be a factor in deciding category.

The reason I bring this up is because 20 seconds is a different amount depending on the track. Astral Babylon is so short that lap 4 is regularly under 20 seconds.

The shortcut linked below saves about 8 seconds due to set-up time and skips well over 50% of the level but is not considered an ultra. The Crimson Crater shortcut saves about 9 seconds and skips about 17% of the track but is not considered an ultra. The Aquatic Capital Shortcut linked below saves around 11 seconds and skips about 20% of the level, but I am not sure if it is considered an ultra. All of these shortcuts are under 20 seconds.

Basically, my question is: how is an ultra truly defined? Is it by percentage of track cut off, and if so, what percentage? Is it by how much time it saves, and if so, how much time does it need to save? Would one method be better than the other?

Astral Babylon Shortcut: Crimson Crater Shortcut: Aquatic Capital Shortcut: