On the "running around to start the timer" issue, I have a guide on how to tie livesplit hotkeys to VR controllers. It's written for a different game, but the process should be universal as long as you are on SteamVR. (Standalone Quest or PSVR might be harder, but maybe it'll give you ideas and if you work something out, we can add it.)

https://www.speedrun.com/scannersombre/guides/lwj8v

If you're timing on a different computer or using something other than SteamVR, you might be able to use a usb foot pedal (I'm doing this for my cat's so-far unsuccessful gyromite run) or maybe one of those laser pointers for presentations that clips to a finger and has built-in page control buttons (untested but I have one if you want me to try it out before you go get one).

(I'll eventually get around to running this game, I promise. I should have my living room back in a couple months or so.)

Beginning to wonder if you think my cat is a crazy hypothetical I'm making up here, but I think we can wait to consider whether or not rat neurons are allowed in the category until you have rat neurons you're training for the run.

Anyway, I placed a hori arcade stick in front of her (because the buttons are a good size) and in half an hour of play, she got halfway through the first level once, so I'll be back in a few months once we've worked on holding down the buttons for a specific amount of time.

Maybe we should go with "domestic animal" for now.

If the rules continue to say "dog" and I can get my cat to complete a run, then we're just going to cheat a bit and submit it. Don't tell anyone.

As a serious request, can we get a "runner name" custom variable for that category so the dogs can get credit on the board?

Grey parrots are going to dominate that category.

Before I start spending several years working on her attention span, can a cat run the dog assistance category or is that against the rules?

Okay, I ended up combining good and bad ending leaderboards for full runs, since there doesn't seem to be a difference in how much game you have to play.

If you find a way to cut the game short, we'll add a category for that. If there's any interest in a perfect run category (one that would satisfy the "impress your boss" condition) we can also discuss that, or maybe make it an option in the ending field.

Just found out you still have to play the whole game even if you get Karla killed, so the Good Ending / Bad Ending split might not make that much sense. If there is a way to cut the game short (I haven't found one yet), maybe "Full run" and "Any%" might be better categories, with "good ending" and "bad ending" as a sub-category or annotation for Full run.

VR rules and new platforms are up. If I missed a VR platform, let me know. If it's PSVR or something else that doesn't work through SteamVR, bug me and we'll work it out together because I have no idea how other VR platforms work.

Thanks! I've moved my runs to the new category, and I'll work on the rules and platform changes when I get off work tonight.

Thanks for checking!

I'm talking to other potential VR runners to figure out what we want the rules to be for a VR Any% category so we can split it off.

In other news, I was able to get LiveSplit to work in VR with hotkeys and everything, and got a new run I'll be submitting in just a bit. I'm working on a document to explain my setup, and will probably record a tutorial video for the VR run next weekend. Your tutorial video was incredibly helpful to me.

Here are explanations and timestamps in longer videos where the tricks are.

Rubble skip (likely VR only) - Easiest in material scanner mode. Turn right as soon as you approach the first statue. Click through a series of gaps in the rubble near the floor.

Clean run: Details:

New river skip (likely VR only) - Do the first bend of the river blind without clipping out of the wall or despawning the water. Get to the first room with the lit ceiling and find the big beach on the right side. Find the spot on the double wall where it lets you clip through but still scan. Scan across to mark the last big lake room at the end of the river. Aim for just before this room. Clip out and make a run for it. It’s easier to see as you get closer, so adjust your heading as you approach. When you land, check your map to make sure the markers for the mine have loaded. If they have not, you missed the loading area for the mine, which is just before the big room. Walk backwards or forwards as needed until you hit it.

Clean run: Details: (the whole video with some timestamps in the description)

Gate clip (replaces the rock that shoots you up, takes about the same amount of time) - Approach the gate to the first button from the front. Climb up the gate until it lets you scan the other side, and then drop into the room. (If you cannot scan yet, the other side of the room is out of bounds and you will not be able to move to hit the button.) Alternately but less reliably, approach the sliding door from the side until it lets you slip through the crack.

Clean run: Details: Clean run of sliding door version:

Rock crack clip (replaces pipe skip, slightly faster) - Easiest in material mode so you can watch for the blue on the floor. When you go through the second gate, follow the pipe to the left. Approach the crack in the rock to the left of it. Clip through that and then keep turning left as you clip. You might need to crouch to keep in bounds. Once you are through, turn right to get to the button. Use the intended strat to leave.

Clean run: Details: (I saw “that’s the trick, you have to turn farther right” at one point and mean “farther left”.)

Cool! The ones I'm most curious about are the one near the beginning where I go right at the statue guy and then duck around the rubble, clipping through the gate for the first button (which I synced up to your trick and takes the same amount of time as of my previous 4th place run), rock crack skip instead of pipe skip, and of course, the big new river skip.

(I think I'm also going to remove the trick at the very end where I leave my VR area for future runs, to remove any small advantage from having a larger space when more people are running in VR.)

I found a big new skip in my newest run that might be VR only, not sure. If anyone who runs this in non-VR wants to work with me to figure out if that and other smaller ones I've found work there too, hit me up.

Do we want to keep these in any%? I'm fine with that but don't want to make assumptions, and I'd be fine if you decide it's a separate category. Alternatively, we could add VR as a platform option and leave PC for non-VR runs, but keep the mixed leaderboard.

Here's my cleanest run so far for comparison.