The Gold Split - Week #49: Playing Catch-Up
Week #49 (July 31): English Restreams; Mario Kart; AI Pokémon; Super Mario Party; New Video Releases; Event News; New Records: OoT, Super Metroid, Wind Waker HD, Skyrim, Fallout 4
Happy Week #49!
I went to northern Norway last week for the first time and I had an absolute blast. The timing of the trip and an impromptu trip home to my family means the writing schedule for this week is pretty tight again, but after that I don’t have any plans to go away for at least six weeks, which I’m very much also looking forward to.
Therefore, this week’s theme is all about quickly catching up on two weeks worth of stuff. There are some very cool headlines I wish I could devote more time and space to, but I figured it’s more important to get them out now, even if it means cutting them short. Let’s get to it!
Contents
I encourage you to think about what happened recently in the communities you are a part of. If there are any stories, articles, glitches, events, or other topics I should cover, go ahead and submit them here or in the Gold Split Discord! 📨
Up to Speed ⚡️
📢 English Speedrun Restreams Launches International Event Localization (BlueSky Profile)
English Speedrun Restreams has established itself as a dedicated group providing English commentary for non-English speedrunning events. Their first major project will be the comprehensive coverage of RTA in Japan Summer 2025 and the group is currently looking for commentators and other volunteers that can help with covering the event. Knowledge of the Japanese language is not required. Their plan is torestream approximately one international speedrunning event per month.
⚙️ Mario Kart World Update Changes Physics (1-minute read)
Mario Kart World's version 1.2.0 has altered jump, ramp, and glider physics while introducing a No COM option that removes all CPU opponents from VS mode races. The physics changes are expected to make speedruns significantly faster, while the new No COM mode provides players with solo track racing using only 1st place item boxes. The moderation team is preparing separate subcategory leaderboards.
✨ The PokéAgent Challenge Features a Competitive AI Speedrunning Competition (Website)
The challenge introduces two distinct “tracks” testing AI decision-making through Pokémon gameplay: Track 1 focuses on competitive battling, while Track 2 challenges agents to speedrun Pokémon Emerald and requires them to complete game milestones as quickly as possible. Progress to at least the third gym is expected, with sophisticated solutions potentially reaching the fourth or fifth gym. The competition offers a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000. Comprehensive baseline code is provided and submissions require full reproducibility through provided emulator configurations and video evidence of speedrun attempts. If you know anybody who’s actually attempting this, let me know!
⚖️ Super Mario Party Moderators Debate Leaderboard Separation (2-minute read)
Testing revealed that the Switch 2 provides substantial advantages, with differences ranging from ten seconds in Superstars All Boards to five minutes in Jamboree All Boards, while some categories like Party-Planner Trek show one-minute improvements on the newer console. The community is weighing fairness concerns against leaderboard visibility, with discussions primarily happening on Discord before any formal implementation across all Switch Mario Party games.
🏎️ Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Leaderboards Update Proof Requirements and Ban Twitch Highlights (1-minute read)
The game’s moderators have implemented new rules eliminating Twitch Highlights as acceptable video proof due to platform storage limitations and requiring system home menu footage for all submissions. The team is also requesting runners avoid submitting inaccurate millisecond times to reduce verification workload.
🎥 Video Corner 🎥
I know for a fact that these are all worth your time, but at the present moment I have not managed to find enough myself to watch them and to then provide a short paragraph of context. Make sure to like and subscribe to the individual creator(s)!
🏰 pannenkoek2012: How We Conquered the Whomp’s Fortress Tower (41-minute video)
💡 GamesDoneQuick: Glitch Hunting Panel at SGDQ 2025 (89-minute video)
⏳ DoctorSwellman: Final Fantasy X’s Ridiculous 41-Hour Speedrun (28-minute video)
⚠️ Briefly ⚠️
🍄 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels mod team proposes major ruleset revision (1-minute read)
The team is seeking community feedback on the rule changes. A link to a full document is included in the post.🇬🇧 A new speedrunning event in the UK is looking for support (BlueSky Post)
The group is potentially collaborating with an existing convention in the UK.🗡️ STELLAR BLADE leaderboards mandate load-time-removal (2-minute read)
All PC full game submission will be required to use the autosplitter tool and display Load Time Removed during the speedrun.💣 Bomb Rush Cyberfunk legalizes cutscene skipping (1-minute read)
Moderators have approved automatic cutscene skipping through the SpeedrunUtilsV2 mod, eliminating roughly five minutes of cutscenes from each speedrun.🎮 Metroid Dread leaderboards implement new controller input rules (1-minute rules)
These rules were created following a community vote and address specifics about allowed controllers and functions.🏎️ Forza Motorsport 7 leaderboards receive massive overhaul (2-minute read)
Every rule has been rewritten and all track variants have been added as individual levels. The moderator team is confident to call this state “essentially feature complete”.🕵️♂️ Hitman: World of Assassination leaderboards transition to millisecond timing for top runs (1-minute read)
The top 10 runs for every individual level leaderboard will be converted to milliseconds. Full-game categories remain untouched for now.🏔️ Peaks of Yore mod update adds wind removal for speedruns (1-minute read)
The Fast Reset mod now includes a community-voted option to eliminate wind effects on Wuthering Crest for 24 seconds after each fast reset.🎲 Slice & Dice leaderboards receive comprehensive update (1-minute read)
The restructuring added a new theme, Steam Deck support, version tracking and expanded the category selection.
Event News 📅
🏁 Finished
ASM 2025 raised $51,000 for Cure Cancer
⏱️ Running
Until August 2nd: Really Really Civil Rights (Schedule), benefiting ACLU
Until August 3rd: Summer SM64 ROM Hacks Marathon 2025 (Schedule)
🔜 Upcoming
Starts August 1st: Running 4 Reels 2025 (Schedule), benefiting the Reel Hope Project
Starts August 2nd: Gamers Against Suicide 2025 (Schedule), benefiting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
This Week’s Top Times 🏆
🥇 First Place
The Henry Stickmin Collection (Any%: No PU) in 00:09:53.533 by Octo
Video • YouTubeSuper Mario 64 (1 Star: EMU) in 00:07:04.000 by ZUMMI (He/Him)
Video • TwitchThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (MST) in 01:39:06.000 by Amateseru
Video • Twitch • YouTubeSuper Metroid (GT Code: Classic) in 00:32:15.400 by ShinyZeni
Video • Twitch • YouTubeThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Any%: Unrestricted) in 00:44:38.000 by mralberto23 (He/Him)
Video • Twitch • YouTubeThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Main Quest: PC) in 00:21:02.421 by DankSlushie (He/Him)
Video • Twitch • YouTubeStar Wars: Battlefront II (RotE Any%: Bonus) in 00:44:41.130 by Starfy_99 (She/Her)
VideoPokémon Ruby/Sapphire (Any% Glitchless: ENG, Console) in 01:56:29.000 by AmoebaUK (He/Him)
Video • Twitch • YouTubeFallout 4 (Any%: Full-game) in 00:34:02.339 by tomatoanus (He/Him, They/Them)
Video • Twitch • YouTubeThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Any%: PC) in 00:04:45.949 by EmpressValla (She/Her)
Video
🥈 Second Place
Titanfall 2 (Any%: Standard) in 01:13:03.000 by Darkwin
Video • Twitch • YouTubeMetroid Fusion (Any%: Normal) in 01:10:50.000 by monkeysmb (He/Him)
Video • Twitch • YouTubeGet to Work. (Top Grabs) in 00:08:06.000 by IvyCide (She/Her)
Video
🥉 Third Place
Crash Team Racing (Any% (No Major Glitches): Disc) in 00:49:18.000 by Lornoveo
Video • Twitch • YouTubeThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Any%: GameCube) in 02:49:22.000 by rodner
Video • TwitchWhite Knuckle (Campaign: Normal, Standard) in 00:08:29.740 by PanduhCx (They/Them)
Video • YouTube
Social Choice 🔝
The r/speedrun choice of the week is… this thread about the community’s most entertaining but also disastrous marathon showcases.
👋🏻 And that’s it for this week! See you next Thursday, August 7th 2025. 👋🏻
The Gold Split is free and I have no plans to add a paywall. If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to receive the new issue each Thursday directly to your inbox.
If you are already subscribed and would like to support my work further, you may share this publication with people near to you or even pledge a paid subscription. 50% of all revenue will be donated to charity events within the speedrunning community.
Knock Knock.
Who’s there?
Thanks for reading.