A "Native PS3 Timing" patch was created for God of War 1 and God of War 2 runs on the PS3 Emulator. This patch solves the long standing problem of inconsistent emulation speed in these games, making them both run approximately the same as on the PS3. The game's physics on emulator is also improved with this patch, making high jumps and other glitches work the same as on PS3.

This patch will now be required for runs on the PS3 emulator. To make the patch work properly, the VBlank NTSC Fixup option (on the Advanced tab) must be on. There is no need anymore to change the VBlank Frequency, which can be left at 60 Hz.

The IGT timer for GoW2 will now be retired. All runs will now be timed with RTA, with the same starting point as on other platforms. Existing PS3 emulator runs using the IGT plugin have been retimed to include the extra 15-16 seconds from the start of the game. With the switch to RTA, pausing runs is also not allowed anymore.

Credits to Dobrido for creating the patch.

The PS2 Emulator rules have updated. The changes are:

• On PCSX2, old versions (before 2.0) are now banned. • NetherSX2 (an alternative version of the AetherSX2 emulator for phones) is now allowed. • Showing FPS on screen is now required. (On PCSX2, turn on the the Graphics->OSD->Show FPS option.)

A new rule has been added to the PS3 emulator rules:

"If running with cutscenes on PS3 Emulator, you must add 2 minutes and 21 seconds to the final time of your run. This is to include the duration of the introduction and first cutscene in the final run time, since the IGT plugin only starts the clock at the end of the first cutscene."

GoW1/GoW2 PS2 Emulator and PS3 Emulator runs are now each divided into two subcategories—one with the original game, and another with cutscene skips allowed. In practice, this means you can now play on PS2 Emulator with cutscene skips, and on PS3 Emulator with cutscenes.

This change standardizes emulator rules and gives runners more liberty to choose their preferred mode to play. On GoW1 Any% and GoW2 Any% NG categories specifically, cutscene skips modify the run's route and so this change has extra importance as it effectively gives each emulator new ways to play the game. As the original games include cutscenes, the subcategories with cutscenes are simply called PS2 Emulator and PS3 Emulator. The subcategories with cutscene skips are called PS2 Emulator (Cutscene Skips) and PS2 Emulator (Cutscene Skips). GoW2 NG+ categories, which natively support cutscene skips, will remain unchanged. All current emulator runs have been placed in their correct categories.

This change also applies to the Category Extensions page. Due to technical limitations, all GoW1 and GoW2 categories in that page will receive the new subcategories. GoW2 NG+ runs made on emulator will be included in the default PS2/PS3 Emulator subcategories.

PS2 WR runs are now required to show a verification of whether they were played on disc or on OPL (Open PS2 Loader). This can be done by restarting the console at the end of the run and rebooting the game.

This is to prevent malicious runners from submitting a run to the wrong category and to add more credibility to the leaderboard. This rule will only apply to WR runs.

We have added in the rules that on PS3 Emulator, the Clocks Scale setting (under the Advanced tab) must be set to 100%. This is the default setting, so most runners will not need to change anything.

The Clocks Scale setting effectively changes the running speed of the game. However, since the recent change to time runs with IGT, it was possible for runners to play the game at a speed below 100%, but not lose any time by doing so. This is an obvious advantage, so now a 100% Clocks Scale speed will be enforced.

Runs made on PS3 Emulator now require the use of the In Game Timer (IGT) integrated into LiveSplit.

This timer reads the game's memory and directly outputs the internal game time (seen as "Total Playtime" in the game's Status menu) onto LiveSplit. This solves a longstanding issue with PS3 Emulator runs which is the variable game speed. We previously implemented the rule to play at 59 fps which seems to improve this problem, but some runners continued to have slightly sped up games, giving them an unfair advantage--around 10 to 20 seconds usually, but sometimes amounting to over one minute in the most extreme cases. Now, by timing runs with IGT, this problem is completely solved as the timer will match the game's speed exactly and will display the time that's actually been elapsed in the game's engine.

Once the plugin is enabled, the timer will automatically start running after the initial cutscene is skipped. This means the official starting point of the run on RPCS3 will now be 15 seconds later than it currently is. At the end of the run, we still need to manually end the timer when the final cutscene starts, as it does not stop automatically. Pausing runs is now allowed, as the IGT is automatically paused when entering the pause menu, with a limit of 5 minutes per pause.

To install the IGT, edit your splits with LiveSplit, select God of War II as the game, and the "IGT for RPCS3" option will automatically appear to be installed. Make sure to change your timing method to Game Time. Visual guide on installation.

The previous rules for playing on RPCS3 are still valid. They include activating the performance overlay, playing at 59 fps, and showing the settings at the end of the run. Runs currently on the leaderboards will not be affected, and the new rule will only be required for future runs.

We want to thank Dobrido for creating the IGT plugin.

AetherSX2, a PS2 emulator for Android devices, is now allowed in speedruns. Runs made with it will be included in the PS2 Emulator categories. Similar to other emulators, to have your run accepted you will need to show the emulator's settings after the run is finished.

Recently a game patch for God of War 1 and 2 has been released on the PS3 Emulator (RPCS3), allowing to skip any pre-rendered cutscene by pressing X (even without bonus play). After some discussion, there is unanimous consensus in favor of allowing this patch to be used in runs. Since PS3 emulator runs already have their own category, no changes to the leaderboard have to be made. You can simply submit your runs made with the patch on the existing PS3 emulator category.

To install the patch, you first need to update the game to version 1.01. Then, on RPCS3, simply go to "Manage Game Patches" and activate the patch to skip cutscenes. We may create a guide or tutorial on how to configure RPCS3 soon.

Timing rules are the same, and there is no need to correct the final time of the run (ie to add a fixed amount of time to the run to account for the fact that cutscenes were skipped). This is primarily because we don't want to directly compare old runs to runs made with the new patch, as it's now much easier to get a good run as you can reset more often. However, if you really want to make the comparison, we calculate that there are 48min13s of skippable cutscenes on glitchless runs. Runs made with bonus play (NG+ categories) are unchanged, and the patch offers no advantage there; cutscenes are not skipped faster with the patch.

For now, the patch will be banned for runs made on Category Extensions, as there is no division of platforms there.

Agora é permitido skipar cutscenes no Emulador de PS3.

Recentemente um patch para God of War 1 e 2 foi lançado no Emulador de PS3 (RPCS3), permitindo skipar qualquer cutscene pré-renderizada apertando X (mesmo sem bonus play). Após algumas discussões, existe consenso unânime para permitir que esse patch seja usado nas runs. Como as runs de emulador de PS3 já têm sua categoria própria, nenhuma mudança para o leaderboard será feita. Você pode simplesmente enviar suas runs feitas com o patch na categoria existente de emulador de PS3.

Para instalar o patch, você deve primeiro atualizar o jogo para a versão 1.01. Então, no RPCS3, é só ir em "Manage Game Patches" e ativar o patch para skipar cutscenes. Talvez um tutorial de como configurar o RPCS3 para runs será criado em breve.

As regras de tempo serão as mesmas, e não será preciso corrigir o tempo final da run (ou seja, adicionar um tempo fixo no final da run para compensar o fato de as cutscenes terem sido skipadas). Isso é principalmente porque nós não queremos comparar diretamente runs antigas com runs feitas com o patch novo, porque é muito mais fácil conseguir uma run boa agora que é possível resetar com mais frequência. Mas, se você realmente quiser fazer a comparação, nós calculamos que existem 48min13s de cenas skipáveis no glitchless agora. As runs com bonus play (categorias NG+) estão inalteradas, e o patch não traz vantagens nesses casos; cutscenes não são skipadas mais rapidamente com o patch.

Por enquanto, o patch será banido em runs das categorias do Category Extensions, já que não existe divisão de plataformas lá.