Did we ever decide this? I'm doing first ending NG runs and I use the phantom cigar in some places to speed my real time up quite a bit (mostly waiting for choppers). But it screws up my IGT. I know IL runs are IGT, but wondering what the stance is on full game?

We should go with RT if it's for full runs.

I think I agree Pewable. Having run NG first ending about 7-8 times now, you gain significant time in Missions 1, 6 and 29 from using the cigar, about 90 seconds real time. Yet, it adds about 30 minutes to your IGT. I'm regularly finishing runs now with my IGT about 25 minutes longer than the real time, which makes no sense.

I know the concern here is about load times and how they will be different between people. But I've now done runs with the graphics set really high with a high resolution and the graphics settings on the absolute lowest with a low resolution and I notice almost no difference in load times. My guess is that the difference in load times between computers and platforms is likely a matter of seconds across a 3 hour run. Not enough to justify changing how we measure a category. Execution is a much, much, much bigger factor over the course of a three hour run.

The other factor here is reflex mode. I have now done full runs with it both on and with it off and I strongly think players should be rewarded for turning it off. With it on, when an enemy spots you, it's an instant 5-6 seconds lost, which over the course of a 3 hour run, can add up to be 2-3 minutes real-time. If we use IGT then you're not penalized at all for using reflex mode. In fact, you're encouraged to use it because it allows for easy headshots without actually hurting your IGT. This slows the game down and removes a lot of skill from it.

So what I'm saying is this:
- Using real-time encourages use of phantom cigar which means you can skip about 2 minutes worth of "wait for the chopper" sequences.
- Using real-time encourages people to turn reflex mode OFF which requires more skill and requires you to be strategic about when you will allow enemies to spot you and when you will not. It also punishes you for mistakes, whereas reflex mode saves you from your own mistakes.
- Using IGT makes it in the player's interest to be spotted so they can get easy headshots, thus slowing the game way down and making good routing and high skill less important.
- Loading times, in my experience so far, are not much of an issue. They seem to be about the same length regardless of settings (lower settings helps framerates, not loading times, imo).

Off topic sorry but just in case you didn't know it / didn't see my videos: don't call for something (weapons, chopper, etc.) then smoke. Start the use of the cigar then quickly go to your iDroid then quickly to the right and select what you want. The chopper is here AS SOON AS it starts, it's really fast.

You have a link to a video explaining that? I haven't seen it.

So why not keep track of both RTA and IGT for full-game runs? Since there's a huge time gap. It will encourage us - the player - to approach the game differently and decide whether we want to improve IGT or RTA.

Its unfortunate that Reflex and Phantom Cigar is becoming an issue, and adding no reflex categories would make the leaderboards flooded with categories. We have to be careful what categories we add and remove.

@Entropy4
I don't understand how your IGT is longer than your RTA. But i can tell you it doesn't come from the phantom cig.
ref:

You're right breezer. I just remembered that I paused my run for like 30 minutes last time. It happened to be the first time I used the cigar.

Did a run yesterday with no pauses and IGT is fine. Submitting both times today.

Oh nice ! Send it fast ! i want to watch that while i eat Kappa

@Entropy
I did a quick video explaining those tricks that Pewable was talking about:

All credits goes to him for discovering all those tricks:
https://www.youtube.com/user/PewableShift

bre3zeR, in your first video for phantom cig... it shows mission time upon completion at 23mins+ when really it took less than 3 WITH pausing i think thats where people are gathering their concerns.

Oops sorry, losing intererest with the game so I didn't come here early. Thanks a lot for doing the video bre3zeR, it's well made!

By the way, it also gives infinite cigar when you buffer it.

@Pewable Oh nice i didn't notice that thanks you !

@paleethelegend Probably but i still wanted to point that out. The name of the video is "Phantom Cig doesn't mess up your total time played" Not your ILs IGT 😛

@bre3zeR, juste assez mon ami...juste assez 😛