Loading save files created within a run (for Any%)
4 years ago
California, USA

Hi, I was just curious (for Any% runs), is it usually acceptable, while doing a run, to create a new save file, then immediately load that same save file? This would be to avoid cutscenes in a game, that otherwise are not skippable by pressing any key.

It basically would skip an npc animation.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Depend on game Community rule

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Well Any% Is Mostly Can Do anything to clear the games as Stupid as it is Except Cheat Code that Not In the game before it Not Allow Any% Not the Same as Hacking Game like Cheat Code or some Program help for PC game speedrun

Some Game even Had Cheat% but still had Strat

Edited by the author 4 years ago
ShadowFlare7799 likes this
Pennsylvania, USA

never heard of cheat% lol

witchakorn likes this
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Yeah Some Game had it....U use Cheat Code And Run The Whole Game as Fast as Possible

dripping likes this
Antarctica

Ask the mods of the game, but under most circumstances you can create additional save files during the course of a run to do whatever you need to do (Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess do this with the Back in Time Glitch). Using pre made files to do something is a more gray area and is handled differently depending on game and community.

In short, always check with the mods of the game. They’ll be able to tell you for sure.

Washington, USA
EmeraldAly
She/Her, They/Them
4 years ago

Shouldn't be any problem with loading savefiles made during a run, but there's no absolute, ironclad, across-the-board rules like this when it comes to speedrunning. Check with the game mods, or if you're establishing the game yourself, do whatever you think is best.

Imaproshaman and dripping like this
California, USA

Ok, well the supermod for the game I'm running made me a mod, since there aren't many runners for it and he doesn't run the game anymore. I found time saves by doing that method, but just wanted to be sure if it was generally acceptable in Any% runs. I made a poll in the game's forum, to see if any previous runners have an opinion on it. If no one responds by Friday, I'll add it to the rules as allowable. :)

Imaproshaman and witchakorn like this
Chiang Mai, Thailand

U R The King Now by The Way....(Take Care Your Kingdom lol)

North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Well, that just ruins the experience, my man.

witchakorn likes this
New York, USA

You run Cheat% for BfBB. You're not one to judge.

witchakorn likes this
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

That's literally the worst comeback I've ever seen.

Edited by the author 4 years ago
witchakorn likes this
Chiang Mai, Thailand

what is this! this is anime!

like those said before me in this thread, the ruling is usually based on the games community and whatever catagories they offer. specifically as long as they follow the official speedrun.com guidelines and any other terms that are provided.

some catagories allow new save files being loaded during a run and loading another run for rng sake or some other reason. it depends on the game, how it was programed, etc. my suggestion would be to ask the community and see what they think, and what the rules are for the basis of what youre trying to accomplish.

as for cheat%, thats a very rare occurrence and even so doesnt seem very coherent, as cheat% could be define or labeled just about anything. its too broad to really be described accuratly so many boards usually just dont dwell into that.

this is a speedrunning website, so having cheat codes defeat the purpose of beating the game as fast as possible using whatever the game can be abused arbitrarily and humanly capable of doing so.

just my thoughts on the subject at hand

  • senko
Quivico and Hako like this
Lorraine, France

I did exactly that for a game I run and mod. There is no difference between starting a new save and loading an auto save from a fresh start (other than skipping character creation which isn't timed), so it was ruled as an accetable practice. However the community was very small, and the use of copied savefiles turned out rather impractical as far as I could tell.

If it works for your game, makes little to no difference to the run, and saves everyone a constant wait at the start, then I'd say go ahead. I think the only concern it may raise would be it could be considered as a segmented run or an invalid one from a different perspective. But it's not uncommon to see savefiles use or manipulation in runs nowadays anyway.

And ultimately the community decides, if you're the only active runner and mod then you're the community for now. Don't forget that if more people show up and start running the game, they get to voice their opinion on that or anything else, and if someone makes a strong case for a change it should be seriously considered.

Edited by the author 4 years ago
SenkoChan, Hako and 2 others like this
California, USA

Thanks for your continued feedback! There was one dude, who ran the game almost 2 years ago and never submitted any more runs after that - he was very much against it, saying that it wasn't fair for the people who were already on the leaderboards. For me, it was just like finding a new strat, cuz honestly it didn't break the flow of the speedrun and it just saved time from having to sit through about 4 cutscenes. I still think it's fine to allow it in the game that I mod (Samorost 3), but I created a new category (Any% Cutscene Skips) anyway - mainly cuz of that one guy. He said he was gonna start running it again, but never submitted anything lol. Oh well.

Here's an example of what the skip looks like if anyone is curious: