I feel like I need to raise the question of whether or not runners should be allowed to submit a ripped from disc, unpatched US version run of MGS3 HD to the boards. The specific setup is this: an unpatched on-disc copy of the MGS HD Collection or MGS Legacy Collection is ripped to an SSD, and is then played from SSD. Because the HD Collection disc is version 1.0 (unpatched), the runner just chooses to never install the update. Version 1.0 loads faster than any patched version of the game. This setup requires some sort of custom firmware loaded on your PS3. If we compare this setup to the digital version of MGS3 HD available on the PlayStation Store, the PSN US digital version always comes patched, so it loads slower. The Japanese digital version of MGS3 HD available on the Japanese PlayStation Store always comes unpatched, so you get the faster loads, however the Japanese dialogue loses 9 seconds in Ocelot's call due to the dialogue simply being longer. The dialogue during torture and The Boss' unskippable cutscene are all identical in length, and therefore have no time save or loss on any version. All said and done, playing a US copy of the game that is unpatched and ripped to SSD loads as fast as JP digital SSD, but doesn't lose time in Ocelot's call.

Should runs done under these conditions be allowed on the board? Considering this 9 second time save is only available to people who are running custom firmware on their console, opposition to allowing these runs is understandable. Not allowing these runs would affect me and at least one other runner. If these conditions are determined to be not allowed, I'd rather it be determined now and only remove one run from the board, as opposed to this being decided later and having to remove more runs from the board.

I make the argument that this should be allowed because a 9 second time save does not have any substantial effect on runners' ability to compete with one another. Additionally, considering the fact that playing on version 1.0 saves far more than 9 seconds (about 40 seconds on LT, and about 1:40 on non-LT), allowing runs like this makes competitive runs more accessible to people who cannot or do not want to obtain a JP digital copy, such as myself. If these runs were to be disallowed, the only way to be competitive on the high end would be to play on JP digital, which may be totally inaccessible to some players.

Input from runners is appreciated.

It's unofficial hardware so the default answer should always be no. BUT I'm fine with discussing this on its own merits. Needing a JP copy is annoying. Needing CFW is just as annoying if not more. If loading times were truly identical perhaps the option wouldn't be an issue. I'm just not sure it is so cut and dry. How thoroughly have load times been tested? If we properly and thoroughly test and times are equal within margin of error, the next step would be another question. How can we be sure that different and advancing CFW over time doesn't give someone an unfair advantage? The loading times of today may not be the loading times of tomorrow. And finally, with the PS3 cracked and open for manipulation, more tools will be available for the cheaters of the world. Ultimately we'd probably catch them, but that is an additional annoyance to consider. If we can meet the above considerations with strong evidence from testing it would go a long way towards the confidence we'd need to allow this. Essentially, if performance equality is well proven I wouldn't have a problem.