Hi everyone,
I just found a message in my inbox from BOP95 about a difference they discovered on the 6-Pak cartridge. The message has been sitting in my inbox for 2 months without me realizing so shame on me!
I have done some testing to verify and added screenshots here https://imgur.com/a/QicucFx
The left/right screen boundary is extended slightly on the 6-Pak cartridge on all thief camps. This makes it easier to hit a thief when they are off screen which can be very useful for pretty much every thief camp for all characters on beginner/arcade.
This is in addition to the RNG benefits InTheMug discovered where all RNG is fixed for the first 30 seconds of each stage.
I thought I would ask for thoughts from everyone here to see if this is a big enough difference to re-evaluate our stance on 6-Pak cartridge. Which is currently allowed in all categories as long as it is flagged in the run submission so it can be seen in the leader boards.
Damn, that really looks like something that could've make a difference! I can see that it may be a slight improvement if you throw the thief out of screen, since we can't hit it on it's first movement.
Ok, I think we need a new poll. I am thinking of the following options:-
- Leave the leader boards as they are (6-Pak allowed but must be flagged as such)
- Create new Categories for 6-Pak to separate runs
- Ban 6-Pak
For what it's worth, I think 6-Pak should remain on the leader boards. There are a lot of categories already and it could get really crowded by doubling what we already have. 6-Pak obviously gives you an advantage but it makes speed running the game more fun for me because the RNG is not a part of the game I enjoy. The new screen boundaries are only in effect on the thief camps so it's again only really assisting with the RNG related part of the game. Also the benefits to the runner are only going to be noticeable for people gunning for top spots on the board. In terms of accessibility it's easy for emulator users to get the ROM and for anyone playing original hardware like myself, the Mega Games 6 / 6-Pak carts are easier and cheaper to buy than an original cart. That's all just my opinion though.
Finally, I'm a bit worried about how to fairly identify 6-Pak submissions. I don't have a fool proof way of identifying which version is being played, so other than asking runners to come forwards I would only feel comfortable moving my own 6-Pak runs from the current leader boards if it came to it. And then for new submissions I would have to rely on honesty. I don't think there is a perfect solution but I will go with whatever the community decides.
I have made a new poll here https://www.strawpoll.me/45850057
I will leave it running for a month. I think the community is very quiet at the moment so I want to give everyone that might want to vote chance to check in. If anyone want to suggest different poll options feel free to make suggestions.
Ok, it's been a month and the poll has no votes. The community is too quiet to make a decision so I will leave the rules as they are. If the game becomes more active and people want to discuss this again we can do.
Yeah, I've voted twice and it isn't counting for some reason. But my vote was for having 6-Pak but letting know that the run was on that version!
Sounds like you would have voted to keep the rules as they are. It's a shame the poll didn't work, I am sorry about that. I can run another poll if anyone wants to request it.
Yeah sorry for the delayed response, I dont log on here much, but I also voted when this post was made, so yeah seems like the polling didnt work :(
Im fine with voting again if you create another poll!
Ok, let's try the poll again. I will leave it up for a month again to give people time to see it.
Hi everyone. It's been another month and we have had 9 votes total, 8 in favour of keeping 6-pak and 1 against. So for now I will leave the leader board rules the same, 6-Pak/Megagames 6 cartridges will be allowed as long as they are flagged as such.
Just for transparency I want to point out I have recently updated my beginner run to reflect it was played on 6-pak. It should have been flagged that way when I uploaded it so I'm sorry I missed it.
If I find there are any other differences between the game versions I will let you all know and we can re-discuss this if needed. Thanks to everyone who took part in the poll.
