Our understanding of the game has evolved over the years and, with that, we've been slowly moving toward redefining the ruleset for the modern era of GTA IV speedrunning. All of these rules MUST be followed by those submitting top 10 runs, not just for world record runs, in all categories. I want to reiterate that these updates were discussed by many prominent members of the community over many years. Much of this would have been set in the early days if only we had the knowledge that we have today. If you're wondering why there's no mention of banning save file loads before runs, benchmark use, etc., we will continue to discuss this in the coming weeks before making a final decision on that matter. With that being said, here is the updated ruleset of GTA IV in the modern era.

The in-game FPS limit is 120 frames per second <- Applies to Top 10 runs

Hold on, I thought the game only sped up when you went beyond 250 FPS?

We once believed this to be true, but it's simply not the case. Most of what you experience in this game will be ever so slightly faster as your FPS increases. In short, a person getting 240 FPS will travel from A to B in less time than a person with 120 FPS. The difference is even more extreme when comparing 60 FPS to 240-250 FPS. Over the course of a full Any% run, a person with a great computer could abuse this to such a degree that they likely would be saving more than a minute over a person with 60-120 FPS. Fortunately, top runners fully believe all of the current world record runs can be beaten with 120 FPS or less. For a comparison of 60 FPS vs 180 FPS, take a look at this video -

Wait a second, won't this change make it very difficult for me, a runner with a PB sitting somewhere around 3:30:00, to meet the in-game clock times that are required to complete the Any% world record route?

If you're one of the handful of runners who needed high (200+) FPS to meet in-game times in the Any% world record route, new information has been uncovered by Artacers that will benefit you greatly. Refer to his document - Link

• An FPS monitor must run while the speedrun is taking place and this same FPS monitor must be clearly visible at all times during the broadcast and submitted proof video.
• The FPS monitor must be of appropriate size and color.
• If you give your FPS monitor its own background (text background), make sure the font color contrasts well with this background.
• If the FPS monitor is not shown, even for a few seconds, at any point during the video, moderators will take a closer look to determine if measures should be taken in regards to the legitimacy of the proof video.
• As long as the FPS achieved does not go beyond the limit of 120, any and all tactics used to achieve a higher/lower frame rate are allowed to be used prior to the run beginning, as well as during the run (hotkey toggling on/off the following: overclocking, underclocking, frame limiting, resource intensive processes (example: toggling on the recording feature in your streaming software, which will record at an extremely high quality, thus reducing your FPS for the duration of the recording), etc.), as long as the game's files are not modified in the process.
• You are allowed to have multiple FPS limiting tools running at once (i.e., you can have a program like RivaTuner limiting the FPS to 120, while also having a program like Bandicam prepared to lock the FPS to a lesser value when needed)
• RivaTuner can be acquired here -> https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/rtss-rivatuner-statistics-server-download.html *Bandicam can be acquired here -> https://www.bandicam.com/downloads/

The run must begin on a Wednesday (in-game) <- Applies to Top 10 runs

• This is the day the game is designed to begin on when a player starts from a fresh install. If you clear your saved games folder, you'll always start on a Wednesday.
• Vehicle/pedestrian spawns are partially controlled by whether it's a weekday or the weekend, and some are controlled by specific day(s) of the week.
• The day of the current session will carry over when the player starts a new game from the pause menu (e.g., You’re halfway through an Any% attempt and decide to reset. The current day is Friday. You pause and select ‘New’ within the menu. When you gain control of Roman’s Taxi at the start of the new game, the current day will be Friday). This is not allowed. If the current day is Wednesday when the player decides to start a new attempt, the game will begin on Wednesday. This is allowed.

Time Without Loads (loadess timing) <- Applies to everyone

Runs use the “Time Without Loads” (loadless) timing convention, which means it measures the real time that has passed from start to finish, minus loading times. Acquiring this time is accomplished by using the load time removal tool which is integrated with LiveSplit. You will need to use this tool in order to have an accurate time for the “Time without loads” column on the leaderboard. You can find the “Alternate Timing Method” here - https://livesplit.org/components/. Once properly installed, it can be added to your layout just like any other component. It’s found under “Information” in the layout editor. This timer must be clearly visible at all times during the broadcast and submitted proof video.

• If the moderators cannot verify the run’s loadless time for whatever reason, the run’s RTA time will fill both “Time without loads” and “Time with loads” on the leaderboard.

The run will be considered invalid if <- Applies to everyone

• A save file from a previous speedrun/playthrough/instance of the game is loaded at any point during the attempt. ------The runner is permitted to create save files during the run through autosaving and/or saving at the various apartments. These save files can be loaded at any point during the run in which they were created
• There isn't adequate video/audio proof of the attempt ------The run must be contained in a single upload (no multipart uploads or missing sections) [LOCALLY RECORD!] ------In-game sound is audible throughout the video and isn't delayed ------Video resolution is at least 360p ------The video is not too dark or too bright to see the run clearly ------Video is in full color (no black and white, other than when killed/busted) ------Video file framerate is at least 25 FPS with no excessive stuttering or frame drops for extended periods of time ------The video begins prior to the first black frame and ends after the first frame of the final cutscene (Include at least a few frames of the first/final white splash screen and at least a few of the final cutscene) ------ The linked video in the submission to the leaderboard must be cut so the beginning of the run up for verification starts soon after the beginning of the video. Refer to this post for more info: https://www.speedrun.com/gtaiv/news/1845 ------Everything the runner was able to see in-game during the run must be visible in the submission video (no cropping of the game feed in post)
• A cheat is entered
• A banned memory monitoring tool was used ------Memory monitoring tools are outright banned (minus the exceptions). If you're using a tool which monitors the game's memory to provide you some sort of information, you're breaking the rules. EXCEPTIONS: Auto-splitters (splitting on mission start/end, objective complete only) and loadless timers
• The submission video has been tampered with (cuts, splices, sped-up, etc.).
• A modification is present in the game's files (Xliveless & downgrading the game/in-game radio is allowed).