Metroid Prime 3: RTA vs IGT

Document regarding Metroid Prime 3 switching timing method from IGT to RTA

NOTE: This decision has zero impact on deciding what Prime 1 GC and Prime 2 GC do, as they are completely separate games.

Pros for switching to RTA:

1) Nova Beam Wallcrawl

In order to get Nova Beam early and skip the long autoscroller pirate fight, you must collect Nova Beam with the map on the wrong room and then die. This sets a checkpoint that respawns you in the room that the map was transitioned to before getting Nova Beam, while keeping it in your inventory. This obviously breaks the "Single Segment" ruling, but was allowed because it saved so much time. With the switch to RTA, this would no longer cause any discrepancies or problems, especially if this can be abused elsewhere.

2) Home Menu Buffering*

If optimizing by purely IGT, Home Menu Buffering to load rooms without wasting IGT would be the standard. This is currently banned as this would make the game unfun to run and would be done for every load. It would also contribute to a lower IGT without the run physically being faster (it loses a crazy amount of RTA), as there are no real changes and improvements to the actual gameplay itself, just a timer. It's be hard to justify banning a trick which "saves" IGT when the game is timed by IGT, as well it is arbitrary to decide which pauses can be allowed or not (dead wii remote, bad nunchuck connection, etc which function the same as pulling up the Home Menu), so RTA is the better option here.

*This point also applies to all 3 games in Metroid Prime Trilogy, and discussion about that could also happen.

3) Talking to NPCs/Using Green Ledges near doors

Eliminates the need to talk to NPCs as well as use the Green Ledges before a room (in Elysia before the Aurora Unit) to pause IGT during loading. This has the same effect as opening the Home Menu in that it allows for a much lower IGT without the gameplay actually being faster. The only difference is that these methods take place in game rather than "out of game" in the Home Menu.

4) Deaths no longer make a run invalid

Self-explanatory. Removes the Single Segment requirement for run submissions.

Cons for switching to RTA:

1) Rerouting

A switch to RTA could mean that reroutes might have to happen. This is already true for Norion where instead of flying to Main Docking Hub after Generator A, choosing to not fly is faster RTA. Might be others, but this would allow for potential rerouting and more optimization that would otherwise be slower for IGT.

2) Segmented Runs

Segmented runs would be in an interesting spot in this situation. Ideally, they would still be timed with IGT and anything goes. However, segmented runs, especially for Prime 3, are scarce nowadays, so I don't see this being much of a problem.