Hello my fellow magical brozers !! 🧙‍♂️✨

A few days ago, the player Slack discovered a way to edit the game's save files. Then with the other player Coinfull, they explored how these save files work and identified several ways they could be used to modify the game, including changing the three starting contracts, the shop, the player's gold, the quota requirements, and more...

After discussing the implications and carefully considering the pros and cons, I am pleased to announce that we've decided to allow the technique of editing your save files to grant yourself 3 favorable contracts, in both Glitchless and Any% categories. 🧙‍♂️

Of course, this comes with some very strict rules.

The goal is not to allow people to modify the game or make runs easier. The only purpose is to remove the annyoying RNG-based search phase that happens before the run even starts.

Currently, using the Saving Lobby State tech is already allowed to avoid having to repeat the search phase, and losing your save. This new method follows roughly the same logic : it lets you obtain a valid contract combination instantly instead of spending hours resetting for it.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this decision. On one hand, I'm really glad that neither I, nor any of you guys, will have to spend hours searching for good contracts anymore. On the other hand, I'm fully aware that this is still technically cheating. That said, if the community is on board with it, and we enforce strict rules, why not.

✅ Allowed

• Editing your save file to obtain exactly 3 contracts.
• Those 3 contracts must be legitimate, meaning they must be a combination that can naturally occur in-game.
• All 3 contracts must be different (no duplicates).

❌ Not Allowed

The following modifications remain strictly forbidden :

• Editing the amount of Chaos required to complete the quota.
• Editing your amount of gold.
• Giving yourself items or wands.
• Having more than 3 contracts.
• Having duplicate contracts.
• Editing the shop. We may reconsider this in the future if it proves worthwhile (for example, guaranteeing that one of the three available wands is a Grotesque or Illusion wand), but for now, editing the shop is still not allowed.
• Any other modification that gives you an advantage that could not normally be obtained through regular gameplay.

To put it simply:

If your save file contains anything that couldn't naturally exist in a normal game, or which isn't accepted under the rules and moderation policies, your run will be rejected.

Verification

We know it's impossible to verify every single modification with absolute certainty.

However, the most significant abuses are very easy to detect (duplicate contracts, edited quota, abnormal gold, extra items, etc.).

If there's ever any doubt, the moderation team may ask the runner to provide additional proof, such as a recording of the save setup process or at least the last few minutes before starting the run.

This recording does not need to be included in the submitted run. It can simply be sent privately to the moderators if requested.

Why are we doing this?

Our goal is to remove a setup phase that doesn't require any skill, only patience and good RNG.

At the same time, we don't want to open the door to modifications that would actually change the gameplay or compromise the fairness of the competition.

That's why this permission is intentionally limited to one very specific use case.

📁 Official Speedrun Save Files (Future)

As Slack suggested, we're also considering providing official speedrun save files for each category in the future.

The idea is to give every runner the exact same starting point, removing the need to edit save files manually or having people doing whatever they want when handling files.

All official save files will still be reviewed and approved by the moderation team before being released.

If this goes ahead, the save files will be available to everyone through the Speedrun.com Resources section, alongside a Guide explaining how to use them safely.

Since I personally know almost nothing about coding, and because Slack discovered this technique and seem to be much more familiar with how it works, he would most likely be the one creating these standard save files, as well as the guide for using them, if he agree's to take on that role, of course.

This should make the setup process much simpler while ensuring that every runner starts on the exact same playing field.

🔨 Rules evolution and ongoing updates

The Yapyap speedrun rules for each category have been due for an update for some time now, but making these adjustements (and find the time in my personal life) has been very difficult lately.

Radical changes occur extremely quickly with every major discoveries we made, and there are also earlier findings that still need to be verified and debated.

Adapting takes time, but we're committed to keeping rules fair and current.

If you have any questions or if anything is unclear, feel free to ask.

Happy running, my fellow wizard brozers !! 🧙‍♂️✨

Pétasse Ekip.