EDIT, August 12th: We've since this change allowed for watching cutscenes on different files and saving them to your starting file. It is also worth noting that all runs should start with 0 coins collected and 5 extra lives available.

The way the run has been timed until now, one would start the timer on new game, then load right away to skip the opening cutscene, which also resets all changes done to your file. This means that in order to change camera settings, one would have to waste time during the run by changing the settings while the timer is running.

Furthermore, the 'New game glitch' has been brought to our attention as a potential way to skip the opening cutscene. See Zen's video here, where he pokes the subject:

Our initial discussion was whether this should be allowed or disallowed, as it could prove to be useful and faster, but happens before starting a new game. Given timing definitions, the approach we deemed optimal is to begin timing on the initial 'Start' input to skip the game boot cinematic, as this sets up the glitch that would be used in the run.

This ultimately means starting the timer earlier than traditional means, which makes this method simply break even with skipping the cutscene by loading. However, the PSN version can't load to skip cutscenes, and this would easily save 40s there. This introduces two different ways of starting the timer, based on the strats used, as 'first input' would be defined differently between the strats.

Instead of introducing this inconsistent way of timing, why not find a solution that solves the issues regarding camera settings as well?

With inspiration from communities like Ratchet and Clank and Fallout, we want to introduce starting the timer on file load (saved past the opening cutscene). This allows changing settings as you please, while keeping the actual time difference to the current methods to a minimum. Runs may be adjusted by 2-3s.

Please keep in mind that your file should still have 0 coins collected and 5 extra lives available, to keep the file as close to a fresh file as possible.

Consider the New game glitch allowed (faster for PSN), then instantly obsoleted or walked around by the new timing rules. We are only able to change the timing rules this way since all versions can now skip the opening cutscene.

Thoughts?

Here is a video showcasing the new starting point. The timer is, of course, slightly desynced because HDMI on Elgato