Not to be nitpicky but the interaction between those two rules is very strange :
"Graphics Settings may only be changed at Boss fights to allow higher/consistent framerate." "The limit on pausing is 2 mins."
So you can pause the game at any moment (but no more than 2mins) for any reason EXCEPT if it's to change your graphical settings, then the run is instantly rejected... what ?
I think the 2mins rule just supersedes the first one, which isn't needed anymore
I think there shouldn't be any pausing at all to be honest other than to check times or to buffer load the door before Ada's segment for console. For some reason that door gets hung up. That's just my opinion though. Like, pausing to get your nerves together or look at notes aren't really challenging. The point of speedrunning to me is to take it all on at once.
Edit: But I understand having this option may be more inviting for runners who take it less serious.
My two cents on this is that a point of discussion should be to not have any pauses at all if a pause is not directly used to perform a certain mechanic or serve a purpose like changing the graphical options.
If a rule like this was enforced to aid streamers who want to take a "break" or to "read chat while streaming" than please be aware you are also directly pausing a single segment speedrun for no real reason which might end up to be really unnecessary since this is enforced without it having anything to do with the speedrun itself. Another argument could be that its also indirectly increasing the time moderators need to spent looking and timing these during reviewing submissions.
Us console players need to pause the game as the door just before the ada segment won't open but pausing the game for a few seconds then unpausing dosen't make you lose time
We shouldn't be losing the seconds anyways because on pc it dosen't happen so we kind of have to pause
I feel that memorizing the puzzles is a part of learning the run. So in my opinion your reason for using pause isn't a good one and it's more of an argument against pausing.
Yeah, the whole point of speedrunning is to memorize the puzzles so that you can do them in a fast manner. If you need to pause to look it up then maybe you should learn the puzzles by heart before attempting to do a run. The two minute rule is long enough. If you gotta use the bathroom or let your dog out or something, we understand. Just make sure it either fits in the two minutes or do it during a time that isnt a run that may be rejected if something happened.
Please allow me to explain the differences as there may be some misunderstanding. Also be aware I'm simply giving my opinion on how I see this rule here.
Situation 1: Pausing the game to perform a mechanic that benefits the speedrun you are doing: You are directly using the pause as a mechanic to help your speedrun. Such as changing the graphical options, use it to perform a glitch/skip, use it for anything related to the run you are currently performing. If you pause the game in the situation @CodyLoadee30 pointed it out you are directly using the pause as a mechanic for your speedrun. = good to use pauses this way.
Situation 2: Pausing the game for matters that are totally unrelated of your speedrun: You are pausing to take a break of your run, read chat, let out your dog, talk to your parents, look up strats even? Can a runner not learn strats before you speedrun like @TheLeviathan already pointed out = bad to use pauses this way.
Scenario 2 has absolutely nothing to do with completing a single segment speedrun. If a runner can purposefully pause a single segment speedrun without performing any mechanic, then this rule seems really silly and more of a luxury matter rather than the rule contributing to making a run faster. It directly affects the leaderboards as well because it makes submissions longer in which moderators that have to check those submissions need to spent more time looking for these pauses which in the end those pauses dont even contribute to the run in the first place.
If you want runners to choose between losing their run vs dealing with an emergency, then you're fucking crazy. Who gives a shit if a run is "clean" or not.
If video is done live and then clipped, splits are visable, time is visable. splits are submited. I really see no problem with a short pause to go to the bathroom or a quick emergency or something. if the pause is extensive (like over 5 minutes then i could see a problem) It personally bothers me more when people are pausing continously to change options
2 minutes is not enough, it should be at least 2 hours, shit happens. Any runner knows that pausing for long periods doesn't gain you any advantage, even if its to calm your nerves because the run's riddled with cutscenes anyway. Just because somebody paused for an hour doesn't mean it took any less execution or skill. Technicalities like "it should be single segment", or personal opinions like "runs should be clean" are not even arguments. OG RE2, RE3, and RE4 allows you to pause for any amount of time. It's only RE7 that doesn't allow you to pause except for "strategic" reasons and I'm guessing that's where this is coming from, it's a stupid rule and it should either be removed entirely or have the limit increased.
