Presets are pre-configured savestates that are specific to a particular category.
Presets load a room but do not load enemies for that room by default,
so often a preset is named for the upcoming room or section, since enemies will load in the next room.
This is also why any blue doors are already open to allow easier entry to the next room,
except when Samus is facing forward as if she just arrived on the ship or is riding an elevator;
in those cases the assumption is Samus couldn't have opened the doors and you want to practice opening them.
In fact if Samus is actually riding an elevator at the start of a preset, simulating an entry into the room,
then enemies will also be loaded into the room. However since the enemies aren't loaded with the same timing as normal,
this can result in enemies being out of position compared to the vanilla game, so depending on what you want to practice,
you may want to select the preset before riding the elevator.
You're also welcome to create your own custom presets.
Some category presets support different routing options, or contain a Safeties and Strategies section
where you can toggle on/off various options. However with Super Metroid having a wealth of strats,
with seemingly each room having multiple viable strats for speedrunning, the built-in presets can only cover so much,
so making custom presets is also an option. When making custom presets, we recommend periodically backing up
your SaveRAM or .sram file (if practical) just in case it gets reset by accident (in particular microSD cards
are known to fail on occasion and could take your custom presets with it). We do strive for backwards compatibility,
so your custom presets should continue to work if you carry your SaveRAM/.sram file forward to a future update.
If you have interest in creating built-in category presets for a category we don't have presets for, it is possible with some effort.
You will need to download a specific version of snes9x emulator in order to record a playthrough of the category,
and then specific points during that playthrough can be chosen as the presets.
If you make a mistake during the playthrough and are able to farm back up or otherwise correct the mistake quickly,
that would be preferred, but it is also possible to make edits afterwards.
Once the playthrough movie is recorded, it needs to be given to a Practice Hack developer to continue the process.
You may need to be patient as this isn't something we do often.
The playthrough method will give us a basic, continuous set of presets.
If you want the category presets to have different routing options or a Safeties and Strategies section,
that would need to be added manually by a Practice Hack developer.
Click here for more information about creating category presets.
For categories with a Safeties and Strategies section, a description of what each option does is below.
Unless otherwise stated, ammo and energy pickups give their natural inventory boost.
For example, an option to collect a missile pack will give you an extra five missiles.
Collecting an energy tank gives you an extra 100 energy plus a refill effect
that lasts until you would normally be at or near full energy even without the energy tank pickup.
For beginner speedrunners not comfortable with the Zeb Skip at the end of the run. This is listed first since you want to start picking up extra ammo for the zebetites early on. This preset has the following pickups and changes:
Collecting Spazer provides another option for killing and farming enemies, so the following adjustments are made:
For beginner speedrunners not comfortable with the Kraid entrance walljump. It also uses missiles instead of a super on the red door to Hi-Jump Boots, so it has +1 super -5 missiles during Upper Norfair until the farm after Bat Cave Revisit.
Considered by many not as a safety, but as a timesave; it is difficult to actually save time skipping this energy tank. This option also applies -1 missile for killing the beetoms (reset after Bat Cave Revisit). The energy refill effect lasts until HJB E-Tank is collected (or until re-entering Upper Norfair if Hi-Jump First).
Often collected for 20/10 loadouts, with moat missiles being the other 20/10 option (or collect both for 25/10 MB1 ammo). This option comes with a -2 missile penalty after the Phantoon fight, which isn't cleared until after Draygon.
For beginner speedrunners not confortable crossing moat, or perhaps for the extra health. This option kills Croc, gives Grapple, Croc power bombs, and Croc E-Tank. There is no energy refill effect since Samus is already at full health entering frog speedway. Grapple does give a +38 energy buff for skipping moat spark and a +87 energy buff for skipping ocean spark, which when combined with Ocean Fly Skip and Healthsaver Spark allows Samus to keep all her energy. This energy buff is reduced by 80 energy after Phantoon under the assumption the fight will be more difficult.
Collect Ice Beam on the first visit to Upper Norfair instead on the return trip. It costs one super to open the green door. The super is recovered going up the Caterpillars room, but costs 20 energy due to farming a super from a cac instead of energy. This cost is cleared after the Phantoon fight (assumed more energy recovered during the fight).
Enable this option to gain 60 energy entering red tower (resets at next energy refill).
Enable this option to gain 1 power bomb by not opening the yellow door from Crateria Kihunters back to Red Brinstar. This is cleared upon returning to Red Brinstar.
Often collected for 20/10 loadouts, with HJB missiles being the other 20/10 option (or collect both for 25/10 MB1 ammo). This option comes with a -2 missile penalty after the Phantoon fight, which isn't cleared until after Draygon.
Enable this option to gain 15 energy starting at Ocean Spark (resets at next energy refill).
Enable this option to gain 35 energy entering Wrecked Ship (reduced to 15 energy after Phantoon and resets at next energy refill). Note that Healthsaver Spark requires Ocean Fly Skip, so effectively you get a +50 energy buff for Phantoon, dropping to +30 after Phantoon.
This option causes Spazer and Ice Beam to be unequipped prior to Phantoon, with Spazer never being re-equipped and Ice Beam being re-equipped when entering Lower Norfair. This option does nothing if neither Spazer or Ice Beam are collected.
This option also applies -1 super for opening the green door (reset after Botwoon). The energy refill effect lasts until the next energy tank collection (either Mama Turtle E-Tank or Botwoon E-Tank).
This option also applies -5 missiles for opening the red door (reset after Botwoon). The energy refill effect lasts until Botwoon E-Tank is collected.
Adds crab supers with no other adjustments.
This option causes Spazer and Ice Beam to be unequipped prior to Crab Shaft (during Mt. Everest spark), with Spazer never being re-equipped and Ice Beam being re-equipped when entering Lower Norfair. This option does nothing if neither Spazer or Ice Beam are collected.
Adds aqueduct missiles with no other adjustments.
Adds aqueduct supers with no other adjustments.
Enable this option to gain 70 energy in the Colosseum. The energy bonus drops to +64 energy after Plasma Beam, then drops to +34 energy after Metal Pirates, and resets at the next energy refill or after Tourian Metroids.
Enable this option to gain 40 energy after Draygon. The energy bonus resets after Metal Pirates.
Enable this option to gain 112 energy on the reverse trip through the Colosseum. The energy bonus drops to +106 energy after Plasma Beam, then drops to +76 energy after Metal Pirates, and resets at the next energy refill or after Tourian Metroids.
Enable this option to gain 43 energy entering Plasma Climb. The energy bonus resets at the next energy refill or after Tourian Metroids.
This option only controls whether Northern Route or Southern Route presets appear in the menu.
This option sets the acid as cleared, Golden Torizo defeated and gives Screw Attack. If a speedrunner really did this they might also collect the super pack (and possibly the missile pack). However by leaving those off, this option could also be used by speedrunners who intend to gate glitch just to get the Screw Attack.
Enable this option to gain 74 energy entering Worst Room In The Game. The energy bonus drops to +54 energy entering Amphitheatre and drops again to +14 energy entering Wasteland due to skipping farms, and resets at the next energy refill or after Tourian Metroids.
Enable this option to take a -2 power bombs penalty entering Worst Room In The Game. This penalty is reduced to -1 entering wasteland due to replacing a power bomb with bomb spread, and the penalty resets entering Ridley.
The energy refill effect lasts until Ridley E-Tank or after Tourian Metroids.
The energy refill effect lasts until after Tourian Metroids.
Costs one super to open the red door towards the reserve tank, which is not reset until after Phantoon. It also costs 20 energy for the extra damage boosting through the Early Supers room. This energy is replenished through farming in the Dachora room, along with +3 missiles and +5 energy added to reserves. The +3 missile buff is reset after Phantoon, but also +40 energy is added to reserves after Phantoon (+45 total). An additional 25 energy is added to reserves after Tourian Metroids, bringing the final total in reserves to 70 energy.
Adds the missile pack in Early Supers room with no other adjustments.
Adds the Wrecked Ship right-side supers with no other adjustments.
Routes Kraid before Ridley. Typically paired with the Kraid E-Tank to provide additional safety in Lower Norfair.
Upon entering Upper Norfair, in addition to having Kraid killed and collecting Varia,
Samus will have an extra 16 energy, 1 missile, 1 super, and 1 power bomb (also collecting Kraid E-Tank will give more energy and power bombs).
The energy adjustment resets after collecting HJB E-Tank.
The extra missile and super reset after Bat Cave Revisit.
The extra power bombs are reset after farming in Kronic Boost room.
Upon reaching Frog Speedway, PKRD assumes extra farming will be done and grants +60 energy, +6 missiles, +5 supers, and +1 power bomb.
However this isn't equivalent to what you get from doing Kraid after Ridley, which is +89 energy, +5 missiles, +5 supers, and +2 power bombs.
Thus upon revisiting the Maridia tube, the final adjustments are -29 energy, +1 missile, and -1 power bomb.
The missile buff is reset after Botwoon, and the energy and power bomb costs are reset after Tourian Metroids.
Adds the missile pack in Hi Jump Boots E-Tank room with no other adjustments.
Adds the missile pack in Double Chamber room with no other adjustments.
Enable this option to gain 60 energy after lava dive (resets after Ridley).
Enable this option to keep Ice and Spazer equipped when entering Lower Norfair. This option also assumes a power bomb farm was skipped so it enters Ridley with one fewer power bomb. Both conditions reset after Ridley.
Enable this option to take a -2 power bombs penalty entering Worst Room In The Game. This penalty is reduced to -1 entering wasteland due to replacing a power bomb with bomb spread, and the penalty resets entering Ridley. This options also gains 40 energy entering Worst Room In The Game assuming some energy saved by not shinesparking (resets after Ridley).
The energy refill effect lasts until after the Ridley fight.
The energy refill effect lasts until after Botwoon.
If PKRD is selected, collecting Kraid E-Tank also gives a +2 power bomb buff due to farming beetoms.
The energy refill effect lasts until HJB E-Tank is collected,
and the power bomb buff drops to +1 after pre-cathedral and is cleared after Kronic Boost farm.
This comes with a -80 energy penalty after Ridley with presumption some extra energy is used there,
with the penalty reduced to -40 energy after Botwoon (reset after Tourian Metroids).
If PKRD is not selected, there is no power bomb buff since power bombs are already full.
The energy refill effect lasts until Botwoon, and is then replaced by a +40 energy buff (reset after Tourian Metroids).
If Botwoon E-Tank is also selected,
then energy values between Botwoon E-Tank and Tourian Metroids may appear higher than expected.
Enable this option to gain 59 energy starting at Maridia Crab Shaft (reset after Tourian Metroids).
The energy refill effect lasts until Tourian Metroids. Selecting Botwoon E-Tank assumes an aggressive Draygon, and thus skipping Botwoon E-Tank will give +40 energy buff leaving Draygon. If Kraid E-Tank is also selected and PKRD is not selected, then energy values between Botwoon E-Tank and Tourian Metroids may appear higher than expected.
Enable this option to gain 70 energy in the Colosseum (reset after Tourian Metroids).
Space Jump gives a +45 energy buff for the return trip through Colosseum (reset after Tourian Metroids), which when combined with Reverse Spark Skip allows Samus to keep all her energy.
Enable this option to gain 67 energy on the reverse trip through the Colosseum (reset after Tourian Metroids).
Collect Spazer when visiting the room. This results in a pause during Forgotten Highway Elevator to unequip Spazer so that X-Factor strats may be used in Maridia. While unequipping Spazer, Varia is also unequipped to aid with Tourian and standup glitch later on.