This has been due for some time now since YaLTeR developed an in-game/without loads timer for Bunnymod XT.

The rules section has been adjusted to include the following:

¤ Standard competitive timing used is in-game time (without loads). This form is timing is acquired from Bunnymod XT which you can download in the 'Resources' section.

By all means this is a fairer method of timing and makes total sense for competitive purposes.

If you want your PB to stay relevant (i.e not get overtaken by a run that might not be as fast but includes in-game time), you'll need to provide the without loads time. The recommended method of doing this is by cutting out the loading screens in a video editor (download the VoD or make a video if you haven't already). Of course if you already have the time without loads you can just edit it into your submission straight away (I've already done this for some runs that provided it).

Note that you should not use BXT's timer to time demos, as this is significantly inaccurate due to the way that demos work.

Get Bunnymod XT here: http://www.speedrun.com/tools/BXT_01-04-15_vTYoz.zip

Since there is not currently a 'Request category' feature on the site, you may request them here for the time being.

Currently categories are defined by several factors, which are:

¤ Segments - SS vs RTA, in GMC's case SS currently means no saveglitches are allowed, RTA means they are.

¤ Version - WON vs Steam, similar to HL2's 'Old Engine' vs 'New Engine' concept, both versions contain many differences and therefore are categorically separated, note that this is more to do with the client and server DLL files (client.dll and hl.dll), not the client that the game runs on itself since those are often adjustable to match the versions' capabilities.

¤ Difficulty - Easy vs Hard, unfortunately there is not much difference between difficulties in Half-life, only through the amount of damage dealt by NPCs, how much health they have and how much medkits/batteries/chargers provide. This means that difficulty is often down to personal preference or tradition, but is categorically separated due to the minor time difference (on Hard you'll spend more time killing enemies and collecting health/armor, on Easy you'll perform more damage boosts/other riskier strats).

The current necessary requirements for requesting categories are:

• There must be an interesting difference compared to the already established category/s' routes.
• There must be more than one player running it.

There of course will be other factors that will be taken into account when deciding whether the category should be created, but these will vary depending on each one and will often be discussed between moderators/established community members.

There is a 'misc' section for arbitrary or 'joke' categories which will generally be added if there are a good number of players running them.