Hi everybody, after some discussion on the speedrunning Discord server, we have recently updated the rules for submitted runs. An overview of the changes:

1. All unseeded runs must display the random seed. The seed is primarily needed to verify that the run matches the expected rng.

2. You are now allowed to submit runs using any main branch version of the game starting with v1.0. If you own the game through Steam, you can change the version in the same way you would switch to the game's beta branch, using the betas tab in Slay the Spire's Properties dialog. In my personal opinion, the only categories which currently might benefit from a lower version are the Silent categories, due to a faster Grand Finale animation.

3. We have clarified the rules regarding beta branches, modifying the game, and the allowed save files. These were effectively already in place, but are now more explicit.

4. We added a rule explicitly banning macros and turbo buttons.

5. If the final boss is defeated using the smoke bomb glitch, we will end the timing when the proceed button is pressed.

6. We added a rule prohibiting modifying or changing the save file in the middle of a run. This is mostly only going to affect 4-character runs, probably, which will not be able to encounter optimal bosses on every character. It also severely restricts the use of a glitch that could inject arbitrary cards into any fight.

Based on a poll in the Discord server, we have also added a 4-character option to Any% and Any% 20 categories. The goal for this category is to finish the respective run with all four characters, as quickly as possible. I look forward to seeing runs!

The in-game timer starts upon choosing a character and stops when you die (in a speedrun, this corresponds to clicking "[Sleep]" in the Spire Heart event on floor 51). I think this timing makes sense, since floor 51 is basically an interactive cutscene, so you are still playing the game at that point.

In version 13, the in-game timer was also changed to not increase while loading, so on my machine, the in-game timer reports a time of about 4 seconds faster than the real time between choosing the character and clicking '[Sleep]'. In version 12, my timer and the game's time lined up exactly.

What do others think?