Max Payne 3 Arcade Mode(2012)

Minigame/Gamemode

Max Payne 3 glitches & skips guide (By AKheon)

Updated 2 years ago by DanielTheAssassin

Over the recent years there have emerged a good number of skips and other glitchy timesaves in Max Payne 3, so some explanation might be in order!

List of all known skips & tricks

Here's a spreadsheet that lists all the known tricks & skips so far, complete with video links, if you just want a quick overview.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hdlc7L_yifFZhYnnMEWSzxzFj2Mingh-tpd3CZay0SU/edit?usp=sharing

Trick explanation

Future Data - Part 1 (a brief explanation)

Future data is a glitch that allows the player to trigger the next cutscene that is loaded in the memory earlier than intended.

Future Data - Part 2 (a less brief explanation)

A few words about the structure of Max Payne 3. You could imagine it to be like a long path of Rooms (or Checkpoints) that often have a cutscene in between them. Max needs to hit invisible "progression triggers" to move forward on this path. Progression triggers activate when certain conditions are fulfilled, for instance when all enemies in the room are killed or Max walks near an exit door. Two progression triggers are needed each time to fully enter a new Checkpoint.

In terms of game structure, future data is an exploit that lets Max take one step (and ONLY one step) forward on this path at any moment the player chooses. Max will appear at the next cutscene all of a sudden, even before the game might be ready for it. But since you only move one step forward instead of the required two, most uses of future data result in a softlock.

If you know how the triggers of the game work, you can sometimes set up a situation where Max gets to move the full two steps with future data. For instance, you can make Max first teleport to the next cutscene and from there directly to next Checkpoint because you ALSO fulfilled the normal requirements for making progress for that Checkpoint. You hit two progression triggers early for the price of one.

Instances like this where you actually make progress can come in handy during a speedrun, helping Max skip navigation between areas, some small combat sections - and most importantly - long stretches of unskippable cutscene.

As for why this glitch is possible at all, this is my theory: Max Payne 3 appears to have two types of different Pause-menu, the regular Pause-menu and a cinematic Pause-menu. The latter has a flag to it that tells the game to "pause or resume currently playing cutscene" whenever the game is paused or unpaused. So, what future data does is that it allows the player to toggle this flag at an arbitrary time during normal gameplay, forcing the game to resume playing a cinematic even if no cinematic is currently playing. As a result, the game plays a cinematic that is only loaded in memory so far and sends Max to its coordinates. Along with a myriad of side effects... and the rest is chaos.

Future Data - Part 3 (How to set up the glitch)

So how to do this elusive "future data"? It's basically a two-part glitch - first part is setting it up and second part using it.

Step 1: enter a skippable in-game cutscene.
Step 2: on PC / kb+m press Esc and Enter simultaneously.
Step 3: if you get the timing right, you should see the text "Pause" appear on the screen at the same time as the screen begins fading out. Now, it's important that you unpause the game before the fade-out is complete or the game will almost certainly crash afterwards.
Step 4: after unpausing, the future data is now set up and it remains in the background until you choose to use it.

Future Data - Part 4 (Troubleshooting)

having VSync on / off or what frame rate you have may influence how easy it is to do this glitch. Different runners seem to have different preferences regarding this, though.
don't try to press Esc and Enter while the cutscene is already Paused. This doesn't work. Only attempt to start this glitch while the cutscene is running.
on console there is some extra lag when Pausing game, so you must first "skip" and shortly afterwards attempt to Pause the game. I think it's easier to do this trick on PC than on console because the timing is far more predictable on PC.
if you see the regular Pause-menu instead of the cinematic Pause-menu while the fade-out is happening, then you don't get a future data buffer. It's a rare timing related thing, but in my experience it's not too big a problem on PC. It tends to happen more frequently on console because of the more unstable timing.

Future Data - Part 5 (Using the glitch)

To use future data, just Pause the game whenever you want during gameplay. If the next cutscene is loaded in memory, Max suddenly teleports to it, although the specifics of when and how the game loads things varies a lot between areas. If nothing happens, try using the glitch again elsewhere.

If something obviously glitchy happens and you suddenly see Max doing some cutscene actions from in-game camera, then you have successfully used future data. However, in case you hadn't fulfilled all secondary conditions for reaching next Checkpoint, Max only gets stuck at the end of the combined cutscene. So figuring out how to successfully use future data in a given Checkpoint can be something of a puzzle in itself...

Future data is a one-time use glitch. Once you've created some sort of a glitchy result with it, the future data buffer disappears. You then have to go and set it up again to use it once more.

An example of a future data skip (Chapter 2-6):

Future Data - Part 6 (Misc notes)

It goes without saying, but you can't use any variation of future data that requires Max to be in Last Man Standing on Old School-mode, where it is disabled.

Sometimes the outcome of future data changes drastically depending on Max's state when you activate the glitch. If you start future data while shootdodging or prone, Max's movement is restricted during the combined cutscene. Starting future data during bullet time cam or in-game cutscenes can also change some factors, for instance if Max is vulnerable or immortal during the combined cutscene.

One thing you generally shouldn't try to do is try to activate future data during another cinematic / skippable cutscene. This almost certainly makes the future data buffer vanish harmlessly.

There is an alternative way to start future data, and that is to retry while running into certain cutscenes while doing a so-called "glitched Pause-menu" at the same time. But this is pretty much a specialized console-only tactic because glitched Pause-menu is very difficult to do on PC.

Future Data - Part 7 (Restarting future data?)

A buffered future data is persistent and won't disappear even if you quit current game session and go to another level via level select. So it can occasionally be a viable tactic in Story-mode runs to quit the campaign and use Chapter Select to go elsewhere to set up future data again for a new skip that is coming up.

As for where to go to restart future data? A good place for doing this has two requirements: 1, you have to have a quick access to a skippable cutscene. And 2, there are no new loading triggers around that would make the player lose future data upon opening Pause-menu to quit back to main menu.

Here are the currently known best locations to restart future data:

Chapter 1-7

Info: waiting for a few seconds activates a failure cutscene which is skippable. Don't attempt to skip the cutscene until the fade-in is complete, though - Pause-menu won't open during the fade-in.
Pros 1: fairly fast to set up. The location also makes it easy to retry if you don't get a future data the first try, which is useful if you don't have a full grasp on starting the glitch consistently yet.
Pros 2: this level is extremely easy to reach through the level select, it's just a few presses away.

Chapter 2-7

Info: shoot the enemies in the area. Skip the cutscene that starts afterwards.
Pros: this could be one of the fastest places where to restart future data if you're good at this set piece.
Cons: some RNG from enemy behavior.

Chapter 11-8

Info: play the piano. The piano has a skippable cutscene you can use to restart future data.
Pros: this is the fastest known method to restart future data at the moment. Might save 4-5 seconds over the above locations. It's also easy to try again if you don't get it at once.
Cons: to reach Chapter 11-8, you have to do some extra menuing in the main menu, which is tricky to do fast.

Sky jump

This is a pretty old trick by findlestick that has several different setups. However, a few of them have been patched, so we'll focus on the one use of the trick that still works and actually comes in handy during a speedrun.

In simplest terms:

Step 1: climb a medium-sized height with Max and try to pick up a gun during the climb.
Step 2: buffer a shootdodge to some direction before the climb is over.
Step 3: after shootdodging, Max will slide to the weapon that he tried to pick up, and if there are any sharp angles of collision on his path, he may gain unexpected, large bouts of height.

Example of a sky jump in Chapter 5:

Explosion High Jump

If you shootdodge into explosions, Max may get launched surprisingly high. This is easy to do yourself with a rocket launcher. Grenade launcher works, but is very finicky to use. This tactic could have a theoretical use in the Chapters where Max has access to grenade or rocket launchers.

Findlestick's demonstration:

Chapter 1

This part of the guide offers more context and reasoning behind how the skips in the game work. For video links and a complete list of skips, see the Google Docs guide above.

Future data is hereafter referred to as "FD".
Some skips have two Chapter numbers to them. This is because unpatched console and PC actually have a different number of Checkpoints in some levels. The latter number refers to the PC version.

Chapter 1-4 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 10 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after the last thug kicks open the double doors. Don't bother shooting the thug, as this is slower. Max is sent to Chapter 1-5 early. You are able to kill three of the four enemies from the next fight during the combined cutscene if you stay in cover and use bullet time.
Side effect 1: if you leave cover during the combined cutscene, Max will most likely fall through the ground. This is harmless, but it does prevent you from multi-tasking and fighting the enemies during the combined cutscene.
Side effect 2: if you only wound but not kill some of the thugs during the combined cutscene, they may appear behind the closed gate as combat begins. You sometimes also have to re-kill the thugs standing in t-pose or else the Checkpoint won't progress. Worst case scenario is that you have to retry from last Checkpoint, but this should be pretty rare.

Chapter 1-8 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 80 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of shooting the last thug. This makes the game skip a part of the Chapter 1 outro.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2-6 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: around 80 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data after running a few seconds inside the restaurant while in Last Man Standing. This sends Max to Chapter 2-7 early, skipping a long unskippable cutscene. Max dies of Last Man Standing shortly thereafter, but game continues normally after you choose to retry.
Note: the reason why you're recommended to be in Last Man Standing when activating future data is because the combined cutscene continues during Chapter 2-7 and the level is impossible to beat until you retry. Waiting for the thugs to kill Giovanna is an option, but it's not as fast as just using Last Man Standing.

Chapter 2-14 (Other)

Total timesave: around 20 seconds.
Instructions: this is a little parkour skip that uses shootdodge to skip most of the fighting in the level.

Simply put, your objective is to get to the connecting ceiling and from there run to the level exit. First, shoot the two thugs while running down the stairs. Then turn right to climb the ventilation boxes that are right next to the railing. After climbing, take a step forward and walk right to go next to the railing. Crouch. Aim over Max's right shoulder so that the reticle points at the right edge of the green pipe that runs at an angle downwards. You have to offset your aim a little depending on Max's position - if you did a long step forward, it help to aim slightly more to the right than usual. When you think your positioning is perfect, do a shootdodge forward. With a bit of luck Max lands on top of the railling and from there you can run and shootdodge to get on top of the roof.

Chapter 2-14 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 55 seconds.
Instructions: activate future data when reaching the amulet at the last part of the level. This makes the game skip a part of the Chapter 2 outro.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3-2 (FD skip) (Retry optional)

Total timesave: around 120 seconds (minus setup).
Instructions: activate future data at the last corner before reaching the doors that lead to Chapter 3-3. This sends Max to Chapter 3-3 early, skipping a long unskippable cutscene.
Side effect 1: Chapter 3-3 cannot begin normally until the combined cutscene is over. Fastest way to end it is to retry, and the fastest way to force a retry is to kill Passos during the combined cutscene.

Note: you don't have a future data buffer to do this skip if you already did the Chapter 2-14 skip. In a Story-mode run, it's probably necessary to exit game and go set up future data elsewhere using Chapter Select before resuming Story-mode.

Chapter 3-3 (FD skip) (Retry optional)

Total timesave: 15 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after dealing with all enemies in the area. This sends Max to Chapter 3-4 early.
Side effect 1: unless you were shootdodging or lying prone when activating future data, Max will fall through the floor when exiting the elevator.
Side effect 2: Chapter 3-4 cannot begin properly until the combined cutscene is over. Once again, the fastest way to end the combined cutscene is to force a retry, and the fastest way to force a retry is to shoot Passos while falling through the ground. But succeeding in this seems entirely luck-based... this is not a particularly easy or fun skip to pull off.

Note: you don't have a future data buffer to do this skip if you're playing on Story-mode and did the previous skip. So in that category it's best to not use this skip altogether.

Chapter 3-5 (FD skip) (Only for console)

Total timesave: 120 seconds
Instructions: activate future data at any time while in the staircase area. This sends Max to Chapter 3-6 early.
Side effect 1: you can't continue playing the game until the combined cutscene is over. Shooting Passos during the few seconds you have control of Max after starting the glitch is the easiest way to accomplish this.

Note: this skip is not useful on PC because the cutscene it would skip is already naturally skippable on PC.

Chapter 3-6 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: 15 seconds
Instructions: activate future data while shootdodging or lying prone after gameplay resumes after the fight. This sends Max to Chapter 3-7 early, skipping the flac jacket cutscene.
Side effect 1: you can't continue playing the game until the combined cutscene is over. So once the combined cutscene begins, press Q to cover and quickly shoot Passos. After retry, gameplay continues as normal from Chapter 3-7.
Side effect 2: it's necessary to shootdodge or lie prone while activating future data or else Max falls through the ground during the combined cutscene. This prevents you from retrying early and wastes some time.

Chapter 3-11 / 3-12 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 7 seconds
Instructions: activate future data while shootdodging or lying prone during the bullet time cam of shooting last enemy. This sends Max to Chapter 3-12 / 3-13 early, skipping a short unskippable cutscene.
Side effect 1: it's necessary to shootdodge or lie prone while activating future data or else Max falls through ground during the combined cutscene, ruining the sniper section in a rather epic fashion and wasting a lot of time.

Chapter 3-15 / 3-16 (FD skip) (Only for console)

Total timesave: 35 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of shooting the last enemy. This skips a part of the Chapter 3 outro.

Note: this skip is not useful on PC because the cutscene it would skip is already naturally skippable on PC.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4-4 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 12 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after fighting all enemies AND the bullet time cam has ended. This sends Max to Chapter 4-5 early, skipping some navigation and a part of an unskippable cutscene.
Side effect 1: it's necessary to wait until the bullet time cam has ended before activating future data. If you don't, you get a special game over scene where Passos gets shot by a non-existing enemy and that ruins the whole skip.
Side effect 2: upon reaching Chapter 4-5, it's recommended to fight the first wave of enemies and then reload your gun while staying in cover because otherwise Max's weapon may mysteriously act up and stop firing. The broken weaponry can be fixed by entering Last Man Standing or doing a melee attack, but both options are slower than just staying in cover.

Chapter 4-6 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 7 - 15 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of shooting the last enemy while in Last Man Standing. It helps to count the enemies while doing this to make sure you don't activate future data too early. This skips the relatively short Chapter 4-6 outro.
Side effect 1: it's necessary to be in Last Man Standing while activating future data or else you get a game over scene where Passos gets killed by non-existing enemies and the skip is ruined.
Side effect 2: Rarely - possibly depending on which type of bullet time camera you get when shooting the last thug? - Passos will get killed regardless, even if you performed the skip correctly. In other words, this skip may have an element of RNG to it, and having it fail is a big time loss.
Note: another thing that adds to the strangeness is that on rare occasions the cutscene preceding Chapter 4-6 where you'd normally activate future data may be non-skippable for some reason. It's unknown if this rare effect is related to using future data in Chapter 4-4.

Chapter 4-13 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: 0 - 30 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data after fighting all enemies AND the bullet time cam has ended. This sends Max to Chpater 4-14 early.
Side effect 1: the next Checkpoint cannot begin until the combined cutscene is over. The fastest way to end it is to have 0 painkillers and hope the thugs hit Max from afar and kill him during the cutscene. On Easy-difficulty that doesn't necessarily happen at all, making this skip effectively not save any time at all. Gameplay should continue like normal afterwards, even if Max survives the combined cutscene, though.
Side effect 2: if the thugs kill Max way late during the cutscene, retrying from the Game Over-screen may cause an endless loading screen. In cases like this it's probably safer to quit to main menu and Continue from there instead of simply retrying.

Note: you don't have enough future data buffer opportunities to use this skip as well as Chapter 4-14 skip in a Story-mode run. So, this skip is probably not worth it unless you play on Score Attack. Maybe not even then because of the RNG.

Chapter 4-14 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 28 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of shooting the last enemy. This skips a part of the Chapter 4 outro.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5-3 Sky Jump (Continue required?)

Total timesave: around 90 seconds if you get it first try?
Instructions - Part 1: the Checkpoint begins with Max covering near a bunch of thugs that are near a vehicle. Attempt to shoot the two thugs so that at least one of them drops their weapon in the corner behind the vehicle. If this doesn't happen like intended (it's quite random), you can also move the guns dropped by the thugs by picking them up repeatedly. Also, don't shoot the thug on the vehicle too fast or else he won't take out his own gun before dying.
Instructions - Part 2: do a sky jump using a correctly positioned weapon pick-up. Depending on the height you get, Max may land on any of the three layers of roofs of the building ahead that you have to cross over. Even if you get the worst possible height and land on the lowest roof, it's still possible to complete the skip by climbing on top of the remaining roofs using backwards shootdodge. The mid-tier roof is invisible most of the time, making it a bit hard to navigate sometimes. The highest roof has some odd collision to it, and Max can even fall off or through it sometimes. After reaching the other side, get safely on ground level one way or another and run all the way to the Chapter 5-9 switch.
Instructions - Part 3: after pulling the switch, at least on console it's necessary to quit game and "Continue" back into your Story-mode file or else the rest of the level doesn't load properly (it might even crash). On PC, just a retry might be enough, but I'd "Continue" for now, just to be safe. (credits to Findlestick)

Chapter 5-6 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 15 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data at any point during normal gameplay. This sends Max to Chapter 5-7 early.

Note: this FD skip is obsolete in any category where the Sky Jump is used instead.

Chapter 5-10 / 5-11 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 20 - 30 seconds?
Instructions: after reaching the final crossroads on the pier, turn right and activate future data after passing by the boxes there. This skips a bit of navigation and fighting and sends Max to the pre-rendered level transition cutscene almost immediately.

Chapter 5-12 / 5-13 (FD skip) (Only for console)

Total timesave: 39 seconds
Instructions: activate future data soon after the Checkpoint has started. This starts the next cutscene early and allows you to watch it during the autoscrolling boat section.
Side effect 1: Max will be stuck in cutscene motions during this entire time and can't defend the boat. It's not a big deal on easier difficulties, though.

Note: this skip is not useful on PC because the cutscene it would skip is already naturally skippable on PC.

Chapter 5-13 / 5-14 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 15 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data towards the end of the set piece, when the boat is approaching the final curve. This starts the next cutscene early and allows you to watch it during the autoscrolling boat section.
Side effect 1: Max will be stuck in cutscene motions during this entire time and can't defend the boat. It's not a big deal on easier difficulties, though.

Chapter 5-15 / 5-16 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 27 seconds
Instructions: activate future data soon after Max's boat has passed third palm tree. This starts the next cutscene early and allows you to watch it during the autoscrolling boat section.
Side effect 1: Max will be stuck in cutscene motions during this entire time and can't defend the boat. It's not a big deal on easier difficulties, though.

Chapter 5-16 / 5-17 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 20 seconds
Instructions: activate future data when the short in-game cutscene begins at the end of the set piece. This starts Chapter 5-17 / 5-18 early and Max spends the next Checkpoint bobbing in the water doing nothing.
Side effect 1: Max is away from the boat and can't defend it. However, there's a chance the boat doesn't even take damage during this time. Maybe this would be a beneficial side effect on harder difficulties?

Note: the opportunities to start future data at this point are scarce, so this skip probably won't be used in most categories unless they want to add some speed / entertainment trade-offs because this particular future data looks very silly.

Chapter 5-17 / 5-18 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 11 seconds
Instructions: activate future data a few seconds into the set piece. This starts the next cutscene early and allows you to watch it during the autoscrolling boat section.
Side effect 1: Max will be stuck in cutscene motions during this entire time and can't defend the boat. It's not a big deal on easier difficulties, though.

Note: the opportunities to start future data at this point are scarce, so this skip won't be used in most categories.

Chapter 5-18 / 5-19 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 30 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of shooting the last enemy. This skips a part of the Chapter 5 outro.

Note: this skip is not useful on PC because the cutscene it would skip is already naturally skippable on PC.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6-0 (alt. FD skip) (PC-only) (Retry required)

Total timesave: 4 minutes (!)
Instructions: you should start future data so that you do NOT unpause once the fade-out begins during the Chapter 5 outro. Yes, doing this is extremely inadvisable in most other contexts and often crashes the game. Not here, though. Once the pre-rendered scene at Max's apartment begins, press Pause again. This should make the game automatically skip to Chapter 6-2 in just a moment, bypassing almost 4 minutes of story cutscene in the process. (credits to Qulic)
Side effect 1: the fight that starts in Chapter 6-2 is unwinnable at first because one of the enemies spawns behind a door. To fix this, you should retry as the first thing as gameplay begins from Chapter 6-2.

Chapter 6-2 (FD skip)

Total timesave: maybe 4-5 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after defeating all the enemies and gameplay resumes. This sends Max to Chapter 6-3 early, skipping a little bit of running.
Side effect 1: enemies start the Checkpoint in a little bit different position than normal after doing this skip.

Chapter 6-6 (FD skip)

Total timesave: maybe 4-5 seconds
Instructions: activate future data right from the start of the Checkpoint. This sends Max to the end of the next cutscene early, skipping a bit of running.
Side effect 1: this skip works perfectly if you set up future data elsewhere and then enter Chapter 6-6 via level select. However, in a Story-mode run it seems that this skip just doesn't work for some reason. It seems some loading triggers work a bit differently in a continuous Story-mode playthrough, further adding to the complexity of future data. But yeah... this means that so far this skip is not useable in most categories.

Chapter 6-12 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 10 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data after running a few steps into the corridor. This sends max to Chapter 6-13 early, accompanied by some glitchy visuals.
Side effect 1: the aiming reticle is disabled during the next fight, making aiming slightly more difficult.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7-3 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 40 - 45 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data whenever from the start of the Checkpoint. This sends Max to the end of the walking simulator early and skips a part of its outro cutscene as well.

Chapter 7-6 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 5 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after leaving bar and turning to the right. This sends Max to next Checkpoint early, skipping a very small bit of running.

Chapter 7-9 (Shootdodge skip)

Total timesave: around 30-40 seconds?
Instructions - Part 1: after the chain set piece in Chapter 7-9, there's a box that Max can climb on before you go down the stairs. From on top of the box, it's possible to get past the upcoming combat sections with three semi-precise shootdodges. For the first jump, look over Max's right shoulder and move targeting reticle around the center of the hut on the lower floor. There's a "plank" on the roof that lies there at a diagonal angle that I've used as a visual aid so far - I've aimed a little to the left of the left end of the plank - but I'm sure there are other possible visual cues as well. The first jump should land Max on top of the roof of the hut.
Instructions - Part 2: from on top of the hut, you have to do a shootdodge on top of a small piece of machinery on ground floor to the right. I don't have a 100% precise setup for this jump yet. Just make sure to avoid the "pole" at the corner of hut that Max can slam headfirst to if you jump at a bad angle. The floor kills Max instantly if you hit it, but retry takes you to Chpater 7-10, so it isn't too big a deal to try again.
Instructions - Part 3: once you land on the machinery, just aim for the stairs ahead and shootdodge there. Then try to survive past the enemies in the area... That's pretty much it for the skip. (credits to Mattmatt10111)

Chapter 7-10 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 5 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after leaving the warehouse and running past the first pillar. This sends Max to Chapter 7-11 early, skipping a small bit of running.

Chapter 7-14 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 8 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of killing all enemies or after it has ended. This sends Max direct to Chapter 7-15 and skips around 6 seconds of unskippable cutscene (and a bit of running).
Side effect 1: the audio is out of sync during the Chapter 7-15 intro, looking strange.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with the Chapter 7-15 skip because of the lack of FD buffering opportunities.

Chapter 7-15 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 15 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of killing all enemies or after it has ended. This sends Max direct to Chapter 7-16 without having to watch the short bit of unskippable cutscene first.
Side effect 1: Max's weaponry appears to glitch up after doing this skip. You can't reload your one-handed weapon and you can't shoot at all if you try to switch to 2-handed weapons. These restrictions are in place until you enter Last Man Standing, do a melee attack to an opponent or start the rocket set piece. Might be bad on higher difficulties.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with the Chapter 7-14 skip because of the lack of FD buffering opportunities.

Chapter 7-18 (FD skip)

Total timesave: under 10 seconds.
Instructions: activate future data after shooting the rocket and Max is running up some stairs leading to the exit. This ends the level early. However, note that this skip ONLY works on Arcade-categories like NYMHC. In Story-mode it just results in Max getting stuck. (credits to DanielTheAssassin1)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8-3 (FD skip) (Continue required)

Total timesave: around 5 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data late during the short in-game cutscene after bullet time cam has ended. This sends Max to Chapter 8-4 early.
Side effect 1: the next Checkpoint cannot begin properly until the combined cutscene is over. The fastest way to force a game over is to shoot Passos soon after starting the glitch. Note that you can only move freely with Max if you activated future data with a somewhat late timing. A simple retry won't end the combined cutscene so you're forced to quit game and Continue back into your Story-mode file to complete doing the skip.

Note: you don't have enough future data buffers to do both this and Chapter 8-4 skip, so it's better to ignore this skip and do the Chapter 8-4 instead.

Chapter 8-4 (FD skip) (Continue recommended)

Total timesave: 5-10 seconds (without Continue), 40+ seconds (with Continue)
Instructions: activate future data after the fight AND after the short in-game cutscene of Passos walking is over. This sends Max to Chapter 8-5 early.
Side effect 1: Chapter 8-5 can't begin properly until the combined cutscene is over. Fastest way to force a game over is to not do anything at the start of the combined cutscene so that Passos gets killed by the thugs. A simple retry won't end the combined cutscene, so quit + Continue instead.
Side effect 2: in other categories where you can't use Continue it's possible to use a less powerful version of the skip where you simply wait out the combined cutscene. In this case it's recommended to activate future data earlier, already during the bullet time cam of shooting the last enemy. You then need to run near the gate to the next area to hit the level's natural progression trigger and start Chapter 8-5. Afterwards, you have to watch the combined cutscene through in-game camera while Max is vulnerable to damage. It's recommended to keep Max alive by keeping bullet time on and eating painkillers - letting him die is something of a bad idea because this duplicates all the actors in the scene, making the battlefield a complete mess afterwards. But yeah, if you survive all this, the gameplay continues afterwards like normal, although the enemy placement is a little different than usual because the enemies have been alarmed to Max's presence for a full minute already.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9-2 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: around 45 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after reaching the house with the body in it. This sends Max to Chapter 9-3 early, skipping the unskippable cutscene you'd normally have to watch, as well as some running.
Side effect 1: the game will crash at the next cutscene unless you retry from last Checkpoint. So remember to do that.

Chapter 9-6 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 10 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after passing the corner while running down the stairs. This sends Max to Chapter 9-7 early, skipping a small enemy encounter and some running.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 9 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 9-8 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 40 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after running a few steps from the start of the Checkpoint. This sends Max to Chapter 9-8 early, skipping a small enemy encounter and some running.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 9 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 9-9 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 20 seconds
Instructions: activate future data right from the start of the Checkpoint. This sends Max to the shimmy early, skipping some running and a short cutscene.
Side effect 1: the people getting arrested down the street lack animations and just stand idly if you do this skip.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 9 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 9-10 (FD skip) (Continue recommended)

Total timesave: around 180 seconds (!)
Instructions: activate future data while running downstairs. This sends Max to the machete fight in Chapter 9-11 early and also wins it automatically while some glitchy looking imagery fills the screen.
Side effect 1: you're sent to level outro automatically after doing this skip, unless you get Max killed during the combined cutscene by being in Last Man Standing while activating future data. Getting Max killed can be helpful if you want to use the Chapter 9-11 skip as well.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 9 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 9-11 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 120 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after reaching the third prompt in the QTE fight OR during any prompt if you previously got a game over in this set piece. Doing this wins the (rest of the) machete fight automatically and also skips the lengthy level outro.
Side effect 1: be very careful with the timing here. If you activate future data too late into a prompt, you will combine victory cutscene and the failure cutscene of Max getting killed and you'll incur a massive time loss as you start a combined cutscene which ends with Max getting stuck. If you want to play it safe, get Max killed at first and then immediately activate future data after the set piece starts anew.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10-4 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: around 75 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of killing last enemy. This sends Max to a glitchy version of Chapter 10-5 early. After waiting a short while, the combined cutscene comes to a halt prematurely with Max standing in place idly. After reaching this point, retry to continue playing from Chapter 10-5 like normal.

Chapter 10-5 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 10 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data after watching the small in-game cutscene with Giovanna. This sends Max to Chapter 10-6 early, skipping some navigation.

Chapter 10-8 (FD skip) (PC-only?)

Total timesave: around 68 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data after gameplay resumes after watching the short in-game scene with Giovanna. This sends Max to Chapter 10-9 early, skipping a lengthy unskippable cutscene.
Side effect 1: trying to do this on console results in a crash after winning the fight. So far I haven't noticed negative side effects like this on PC, though?

Chapter 10-9 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 5 seconds
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of killing the last enemy in the control room. Then press the "use console" prompt as it flashes on the screen to start Chapter 10-10 early.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 10 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 10-10 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 50 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of killing the last enemy. This starts the next set piece way earlier than normal and skipping an unskippable cutscene.
Side effect 1: Max is stuck in combined cutscene motions during the first half of the bus ride, so you're unable to defend the bus... but that shouldn't be an issue (on easier difficulties at least).
Side effect 2: the rest of the bus set piece lacks dialogue after doing this skip.
Side effect 3: some graphics and models load very slow at the end of Chapter 12 after doing this skip, for instance Da Silva is invisible for several seconds. But this seems to be harmless.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 10 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 10-11 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 45 seconds?
Instructions: start future data after the bus has crashed at the very last moments before the fade-out. This sends Max to Chapter 10-12 early.
Side effect 1: Max spends the set piece outside the bus and his pose is also a bit glitchy looking. This might make the set piece slightly harder to complete as you're not in cover? Regardless, things work out normally if you do beat the set piece.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 10 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11-12 (Sky jump)

Total timesave: 10 - 20 seconds (depends on difficulty).
Instructions: the basic idea of this sky jump is to get Max to the top of the roof of the building with a sky jump. From there you can run to the level end trigger from the opposite direction and skip all the fighting. Detailed instructions coming later...

Chapter 12

Chapter 12-2 (FD skip)

Total timesave: around 38 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data after gameplay resumes after watching the furnace cutscene. This sends Max to Chapter 12-3 early.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 12 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 12-5 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: around 5 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data at any point during the Checkpoint. This sends Max to Chapter 12-6 early, but...
Side effect 1: Chapter 12-6 cannot begin properly until the combined cutscene is over. Since there's no way to force a retry during it, you have no choice but to wait it out. In the end this trick skips nothing but the 7 seconds of running leading up to the cutscene.
Side effect 2: you have to retry after doing this skip because otherwise the new fight that starts is unwinnable. The game doesn't progress for some reason even after fighting all the enemies.

Note: this skip is mutually exclusive with some other skips in Chapter 12 because future data opportunities are so scarce.

Chapter 12-10 (FD skip) (Retry required)

Total timesave: around 20 seconds
Instructions: when placing explosives, leave the pillar closest to the outside as the last one. Then, activate future data after setting all but the last explosive and also use the "set explosive" prompt that flashes on the screen. This sends Max to Chapter 12-11 early. However, he falls through the floor and dies, but after retry the set piece begins like normal.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13-4 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 30-40 seconds?
Instructions: activate future data during the small in-game cutscene after pushing the button. You are free to control Max during the combined cutscene, but I recommend you don't move Max at all during this time - careless movement can sometimes get Max killed by the turret outside, ruining the skip. After the combined cutscene is over, Max starts at Chapter 13-5.
Side effect 1: if you did this skip right, Max becomes invulnerable for the rest of the Checkpoint for no particular reason, allowing you to skip the turret cycles as well as the next group of enemies without a care in the world. He becomes vulnerable again after climbing up the stairs leading up to next Checkpoint.

Chapter 13-6 (Wall clip skip)

Total timesave: 20 - 30 seconds?
Instructions: if you breach the wall at the top of the stairs before entering the PD maze, you are able to skip it as well as all the fights inside. One way to do this seems to be doing a sideways shootdodge at the corner of the mesh fence before going down the stairs. However, there is no known reliable setup for doing this trick. There's also a chance it's console-only, since the unpatched console version allows going prone and doing shootdodges closer to walls than the patched PC version. (credits to Findlestick)

Chapter 13-19 (Phase 2 Bachmeyer Rooftop skip)

Total Timesave: 5-10 seconds?
Instructions: If you stay on the right of the room and out of cover then shoot down the rooftop like you'd normally would in the 1st Phase (or stay under the 1st Phase rooftop that you need to shoot), the Phase 2 rooftop that you need to shoot falls down and leaves the elevator exposed (guaranteed) and sometimes damaged (depending on Bachmeyer this time), thus saving bullets and time into getting through the 2nd Phase. (credits to DanielTheAssassin1)

Here's 2 examples on how to do this skip:

Chapter 14

Chapter 14-2 (FD skip)

Total timesave: 20+ seconds
Instructions: activate future data as gameplay starts at the start of the Checkpoint. This makes Max enter Chapter 14-3 early.
Side effect 1: leaving cover during the combined cutscene will drop Max under the floor. This actually unloads the entire level, potentially dropping all enemies from Chapter 14-3 down as well. So you can basically skip both 14-2 and 14-3 fights with some luck! However, without any enemies to fight, Max cannot get a rifle until the terminal fight. Unloading the level can sometimes also backfire spectacularly and the collisions can fling Max extremely far out of bounds. Retry fixes things and returns Max to Chapter 14-3 like intended, but it's still a pointless time loss.
Side effect 2: if you did retry at this Checkpoint, there will be some soldiers standing in t-pose in the upcoming terminal fight. They aren't a big issue but can distract from fighting the actual enemies.

Chapter 14-7 (FD skip) (Continue required)

Total timesave: 2-3 seconds? Pretty negligible
Instructions: activate future data during the bullet time cam of shooting the last enemy. This starts Chapter 14-8 early but Max dies mysteriously. If you now quit + Continue, the game continues as normal from Chapter 14-8 afterwards.
Side effect 1: if you don't quit + Continue, the level cannot progress and instead gets stuck at the bullet time cam of killing the last enemy. Yes, even a normal retry at the start of the Checkpoint isn't enough to fix this: you MUST quit + Continue.
Side effect 2: while this skip is almost pointless by itself, quitting and continuing around this time seems to be a prerequisite for the upcoming Chapter 14-9 skip to work, so that makes this skip worthwhile to include in your route in most cases.

Chapter 14-9 (FD skip) (Continue required)

Total timesave: around 60 seconds
Instructions: activate future data after the train is stopped and the doors are opening. This sends Max to Chapter 14-10 early, where he gets mysteriously killed by Becker. If you then quit + Continue, the game will continue like normal from Chapter 14-10.
Note: Max should be wielding a one-handed weapon when you use future data or else you may get a bad future data variation that doesn't send you to Chapter 14-10 and instead wastes a big amount of time. The reason for this is unknown, but may be related to the properties of the cutscene itself.
Side effect 1: do NOT choose to retry after Becker kills Max or else you will get a softlock. Always remember to quit + Continue.

Potential skip ideas?

Chapter 1-4 idea

On one rare occasion I got a future data result in Chapter 1-4 where Chapter 1-5 started like normal EXCEPT the gate was left open by the enemies, allowing Max to completely skip fighting them. If that could be done consistently, it would potentially save even more time in Chapter 1-4.

Credits

AKheon = writing this guide & researching future data. DanielTheAssassin1 = Writing to the guide aswell (Added Chapter 13-19 Phase 2 Skip) (Add your own name here if you write to the guide)

Thanks for reading!

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