Haha say that to Cipix, I've been trying to start running Tarentum for 4 days ! ^^

Wow nice one !

@Cipix, moving ahead please use the base game or Julius - for this mission (constructing houses) it doesn't seem that the mod makes a difference (not that I'm aware of) but for Augustus, there are too many game changes and modifications that may be made, that would make runs incomparable.

Congrats on the record otherwise !

Mod edit : I modified the date to match the original posting of the video, back in June 2019 (even though the run was submitted here in June 2024) as it's proof you've held the record for all this time.

Mod edit : I modified the date to match the original posting of the video, back in June 2019 (even though the run was submitted here in June 2024) as it's proof you've held the record for all this time.

Hey guys, so quick check on the method, yt-timer can show frame by frame either at a "frame" rate (with the "," and "." shortcuts), meaning that you get an image every 0.015s to 0.030s (depending on the FPS), or you can manually choose images every 0.001s.

This last method is thus the most precise and should be used to determine the times in my opinion. The way I would proceed moving forward, and to have the highest precision is :

• locate the last frame before starting the level and the first frame with the victory condition with the "frame-by-frame approach" as it's quicker : this will give a good estimate of the run time, with a reasonable precision in the range of +/- 0.10s
• narrow down the range by specifically searching the last frame before starting the level and the first frame with the victory condition, at a 0.001s rate.

Moderation requirements for times would then only need to be that the first frame is indeed "not the level" and the last frame is the "victory".

Let me know if this gives more consistent results on your end - in any case, it's only necessary for very closely timed runs (which may only be a thing on Level 1 at this point)

Reclocked at 07s:918ms, by going 0.001s by 0.001s with yt-timer - more precise than frame by frame (which could be up to 0.033s at 30 FPS) : https://yt-timer-1806.glitch.me/?v=0YREEOt0gLE&t=1.932&u=9.85

Good take @Cipix - I understand what you mean. In my opinion, the inaccuracy of the auto splitter is similar to the one for the yt-spliter - it depends on how the protocol is defined (researchers have the same issue in science ^^).

So I understand the auto splitter will take one « measurement » as a result of how it’s coded. For the yt-spliter, I’m curious to how you may have gotten several results, given that the frame by frame approach should only give one possibility (e.g either you have started the level or you haven’t + either you have the victory screen or you don’t). In the end, it’s especially a matter of making sure we do it in a manner that is repeatable, robust, and simple enough that all can do it. If the auto splitter route fulfils that sufficiently (especially the ease of use) that could eventually be a route to go with to avoid user errors.

The criteria we, as a community, choose (victory screen or fulfilled conditions) is also a factor to consider : on early levels where it’s only population it’s easy to « see » when you win, but I’d rather stick with the victory screen because later levels need metrics that aren’t necessarily visible on the screen (even if Julius solves that). It may include a « calculation » delay, but I’m not sure if that’s really an issue - maybe something the mod devs on the C3 Discord could help us with.

We’re at an early stage where records aren’t within 0.01s of each other so I guess it’s ok, but you’re right that we could try to improve things.

Congrats on that record in the meantime !

Just seeing this, congratulations !!!

Ahhh awesome, thanks for this - it definitely is annoying having to quit recordings to see if the time (down to 0.1s) is a run worth saving or not. What does it base itself on ? It starts automatically when the "mission page" disappears, and ends when the "Victory" pop-up comes on screen ?

VERY solid run

Congrats mate - nice run !

Retimed at 27.002 seconds https://yt-timer-1806.glitch.me/?v=DjdHlrsAdRE&t=22.562&u=49.564

In summary from the GamerZakh Discord exchanges with some notably active community members :

• most current players of the game play with Julius, rather than the base game. Purists could argue that speedrunning Julius is not legitimate - but this could be clarified by indicating two categories and will depends on community interest/following.
• Julius shouldn't affect anything that would modify run times, when compared to the base game. Only some bugs (e.g. immigration bug) would be fixed (and that requires chosing an option)
• Augustus definitely would be too complicated to set up what with various rules (e.g. global worker pool) as well as potentially game changing version updates (e.g. cart depot)
• the Peace rating would risk being the limiting factor in all missions and so runs would quickly be limited not by a "game skill" factor but by the arbitrary "Peace factor" limit
• it must be confirmed if 500% speed is the same on all computers, or if there is a hardware limitation that may influence runs ( ==> eventually test this by running 10 years on different systems)

Following up on some discusions with Gheekss :

• Julius has an option to "add information" on the right side of the screen, such as game speed and city ratings. It could be interesting to have a "Speedrun" option that could include game difficulty, and maybe even a "real time" timer, if that could be a credible tool (==> to be discussed with Julius mods)
• Would hotkeys be allowed ? Julius allows this, but it clearly marks a difference from the base game - so if it's included, Julius may have to be a separate category
• If Peace rating is such an issue, it could be possible to create a category that addresses all level requirements EXCEPT the Peace rating. Of course an interest/following would be necessary. The information provided by the Julius side bar could facilitate this, but base game could simply open the options to confirm it. In this scope, Favor could still be an issue (as it depends on imperial requests)
• Game difficulty on Hard seems like a good level to have now. Maybe if more runners come in the future and Very Hard becomes a new norm to test runners, that category can be established.

Sounds good for Julius !

For rules and settings though, to keep things consistent and verifiable, I guess it would be required to somehow be able to "show" those things.. I'm not sure of the approach on that.. Difficulty and God Effects are current requirements - God effects are easy to see, whereas the difficulty isn't necessarily obvious. I wonder if the Julius creators could include a "SpeedRun mode" where these indications would be highlighted - in a similar way to "Ironman" runs in Paradox games, that are required to allow (Steam) Achievements.

Julius actually does allow you to set hotkeys for buildings, which otherwise doesn't seem possible in the Base game (if I'm not mistaken), so that could be a key difference beyond the simple "screen resolution" changes. I think it could be ok (RTS games like Warcraft naturally use them) but maybe an interesting question for the community.

Quite odd to be setting rules as the only current runners ! ^^'

I'd have to dig into it a bit more (or ask on GamerZakh's Discord, where a lot of the Julius/Augustus discussions are held) but I felt as if it was simply a rescaled version of the original game : Julius requires to identify the original Ceasar III files to run (Julius is an executable, whereas Augustus contains modified game files that have to be put into the game folder). There are some options that may be modified - the most "changing" could be the "auto-cycling temple" button - but it's not things like adding actual roadblocks (Augustus). But in any case, yes, I guess it'll just depend on what people end up doing most :)

Spec, the current Caesar III mod, hasn't been on in 3 years it seems, so it may fall on new members to revive the runs around the game and get that pole going.. Current rules are to be in Hard, as well as have God Effects active - but there's no real check on that either.. Julius can have some game options visible on the right side bar (like game speed), so maybe there could be some discussion with Julius modders to include a "Speedrun mode" that would add rule relevant info in the side bar.

Also congrats on taking top time on Mission 1 - glad to see there's a bit of momentum going to bring runners in ;)

Hey there !

I noticed Caesar III doesn't get as much Speedrunning love as it could, so I decided to give a shot. The rules seem quite simple in terms of starting the game, but there have been great mods that came out, mainly Augustus and Julius. I think there's also an Full HD patch/mod out there as well.

Julius is essentially a UI overhaul but it doesn't affect any gameplay features, whereas Augustus builds on Julius and implements new aspects in the game (such as roadblocks).

I could see Augustus being a category of it's own, but would Julius be an acceptable mod to go with ? Or does it not matter because there are hardly any runners anyways ? ^^

Thanks to anyone who responds !

Oh I'll check him out ! Thanks LittleDuck !

Welcome ! What preferences do you have when you watch runs generally ?

Thanks ! I'll try my best to get some good runs out ! ;)