So I'm awaiting the approval of a game request for a game called Falcon Age. I submitted it only four days ago, so it might be a little while before it gets approved, that's fine, that's not what this is about. Mainly what I'm wondering is how should I account for the fact that the game can be played both in VR and traditionally (controller and TV screen). I've seldom heard about games like that and I've certainly never run one before. Do the two modes compete against each other in the same leaderboard? The categories I'm thinking of are Platinum trophy and straight any% (the latter being the run I did for the game request). Is it a variable, an entirely separate category, or might it even be handled by an entirely separate leaderboard? The only game I know of that has a VR component that's actively run is handled by a separate leaderboard (https://www.speedrun.com/shvr - although is it not in actuality an entirely separate game?).
I don't expect this game to get a whole lot of attention from speedrunners (there are protracted stretches of just running around not doing much) but I'd like to set the board up in a way that makes sense (assuming I'm the one who gets the board, but I refer you back to the first sentence of this paragraph). I don't really have any way to compare the VR and non-VR experiences at all, let alone from a speed perspective. So any ideas?
This is something you will have to tackle on a game-by-game basis. In the aforementioned SHVR, yes .. it is a completely different game made from the ground up for VR.
For the most part in the VR Speedrunning community, if the game supports both VR and non-VR then it will at least be in separate categories .. in some cases separate boards altogether. But usually this has been mostly applied to first person shooters where having access to VR gives you a very wide range of gameplay abilities ranging from advantageous (accuracy in aiming) to downright game breaking (physically walking through walls) .. depending how the game is made. In those cases I don't feel its appropriate to have VR and non-VR in the same category.
Other things to consider: VR Movement, is it teleport? or smooth locomotion? .. how fast does the smooth locomotion go when compared to non-VR? in a lot of cases they make it deliberately slower for comfort reasons .. in some cases they give the option to the player to set movement speed to whatever they wish. If it is teleport, then most likely it should be separated since its essentially going to be like playing a different game .. at least as far as spacial movement is concerned.
So basically .. I would argue for VR and non-VR to be separate unless none of the above apply ... but more often than not, playing the game in VR changes the gameplay immensely. There may be some outliers to this, something like Redout comes to mind as something where they possibly could be on the same category.. maybe? I have yet to get around to try playing it in non-VR to compare though so I can't be too sure.
Also, apologies for the plug, but I recommend joining the VR-Speedrun Discord: https://discord.gg/7PKWZuW You might be able to build some interest or get some better feedback from a larger group of prospective VR runners there ... for the VR half of the game at least.
This look good? https://www.speedrun.com/Falcon_Age
I didn't see an option for PSVR in even the list of 'Obscure' platforms, so PS4 seems to be the only thing I can put for platform.
Looks fine to me. And yea .. there is still no PSVR platform option on speedrun.com. We've just been leaving it as PS4/PS4Pro.
