Full Game Timing Rules

General Rules Which Apply to All Games

• Any kind of external mod, script or hack (such as FOV hack for Halo PC) is banned.
• 3rd party Keyboard and Mouse adapters for console (such as the XIM4 keyboard and mouse adapter) are not allowed.
• Skulls are allowed if they are collected and become active during the run. In any game where skulls are selected through the menu (such as MCC), they are banned in fullgame and IL runs.
• Definitions:
• RTA -- Real Time Attack. You start a timer when the run begins, and you stop the timer when the run ends. Most people use software timers such as LiveSplit. Note that RTA differs from "Single Segment" - in RTA you can save and quit, which saves time in some cases.
• RTA Minus Loads -- RTA timing, with loading screens subtracted from that time.
• Theater Time -- In games with Campaign Theater, adding up the times listed in the Theater Menu to get the final time for the run. (In MCC, you will have to load up each film and display the time bar.) Theater Time does not include loading screens. Theater Time is not the same as IGT.
• Loading Screens -- The first frame of full black after a level-ending cutscene, to the last frame before the next cutscene begins.
• IL -- A speedrun just of one Individual Level, as opposed to Full Game runs.
• IGT -- Using the in-game timer with Campaign Scoring enabled.

Halo CE - RTA Minus Loads on console, RTA on PC

• Time begins at first frame of fade-in on The Pillar of Autumn and ends at last frame of fade-out on The Maw, minus loading screens.
• If you're playing on console, you can manually subtract loading screens (defined above) from your final time.
• Halo Custom Edition is not allowed on HaloRuns due to ease of cheating.

Halo 2, Halo 2 MCC - RTA

• Time begins at first frame of fade-in on The Armory and ends at last frame of fade-out on The Great Journey. That frame can be determined by the very last frame of full white screen before the run starts and the very first frame of full white/black screen when a run ends.
• Skulls are allowed in original Halo 2, but not in Halo 2 MCC -- see rules for skulls above.
• MCC timing can subtract loads between levels. Cutscenes and in-level loads are still counted.

Halo 3, Halo: Reach - Theater Time

• Add up the total film times (not campaign scoring times) from the theater. All levels with a theater film must be included, except Lone Wolf (post-credits).
• You may want to include the Theater menu in the video of the run as proof.

Halo 3: ODST -- Theater Time on 360, RTA Minus Loads on MCC

• ODST runs must start on Prepare to Drop. You are allowed to have audio logs unlocked prior to the run.
• The Xbox 360 version of the game uses Theater Time, while the MCC version uses RTA Minus Loads (due to the lack of campaign theater).

Halo 4 - RTA minus Loads

• Begins at first frame of fade-in on Dawn and ends at last input (activate nuke). Timing can subtract loads between levels. Cutscenes and in-level loads are still counted.

Halo 5 - Sum of Individual Level Times

• Runners on the newest patch will be able to use the sum of in game times for full game runs. Individual level runs will allow in game time as well. The time that should be submitted is the time that is displayed on the score report after the missions. If you get the Post Carnage Report Glitch where you can't see the end time, you
  have to time the mission manually according to the Unpatched timing rules. You are also allowed to use the unpatched timing rules for any patched run.
• Runners on the patch before the In Game Timer will still use the sum of individual levels for full game. To keep consistent with the in game timer of later patches, old patch runners are allowed to subtract mid level cutscenes from the individual levels. In-game freeze times are also allowed to be removed to match the IGT.
• Time each individual level using the Individual Level Timing Rules for Halo 5 listed below, and add them up. As with any other fullgame run, the game must be played through in order from beginning to end, without excessive pausing or other timing manipulation.
• Meridian Station, Alliance, and Before the Storm are also counted in fullgame runs. Timing for the levels starts at the first frame of fade-in and end at the last frame of fade-out.
• As with other fullgame runs, the ending cutscene and credits sequence must be able to trigger for the game to be considered complete. Runs that softlock before the credits are not considered valid.
• Save and quit is allowed.

Individual Level Timing Rules

General IL Rules

• Carrying over weapons between levels is not allowed (a list of levels with weapon carry-over).
• Make sure to check if there is a specific rule clarification for the level you are trying to run (listed below).

Games without IGT -- Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 4

• RTA timing begins at gaining movement control and ends at last frame of fade-out, unless otherwise specified. (See specific IL rules below)
• Halo 4 ILs are officially timed via RTA. Halo 4 ILs are not timed via IGT. For questions about Halo 4's timer in MCC, please see the FAQ (second post in this thread).

Games with IGT -- Halo 3, ODST, Halo 2 MCC

• Timed by the in-game timer from the score screen. (Campaign Scoring must be ON)

Halo: Reach

• Timed via the time from the last frame the ingame timer is visible. (Campaign Scoring must be ON for this rule to take effect)
• Alternatively, if a WR or PB is beaten with scoring off, and the length of the resulting theater clip is still shorter than the PB/WR, the theater clip time can be used. In the case of Long Night of Solace, 4:18 may be subtracted from the theater clip time, to account for the unskippable cutscenes.

Halo 5

• Starts at first-frame of fade in, ends at last-frame of fade out, unless specified below

Clarification for Specific Levels

Halo CE

• The Pillar of Autumn: Timing starts at first frame of movement control after climbing out of the pod.
• Truth and Reconciliation: Timing begins at start of control.
• Assault on the Control Room: Timing starts when you hit the ground and gain control.

Halo 2

• Outskirts: Timing begins at start of control.

Halo 4

• Dawn: IL is timed from first frame of fade-in (in pod) to last frame of fade-out after the screen displays "Halo 4".
• Requiem: Timing begins at first frame of fade-in.
• Reclaimer: IL timing ends at last frame of fade-out after Master Chief walks away in the mini-cutscene.
• Shutdown: Timing ends on last frame of first-person control.
• Composer: Timing begins on first frame of fade-in.
• Midnight: Timing ends at last input (hitting nuke).

Halo 5

• Blue Team: You are allowed to remove the mid level cutscene time. 1 second needs to be added to match the IGT.
• Glassed: Start timing at first frame of fade-in and stop at last frame of fade-out. Add 2 seconds to the result to match the IGT.
• Unconfirmed: You are allowed to remove the mid level cutscene time. If you do so, you have to add 2 seconds afterwards to match the IGT.
• Reunion: You are allowed to remove the mid level cutscene time. If you do so, you have to add 2 seconds afterwards to match the IGT. Timing starts at the first frame of fade-in and stops at the first frame on which you lose movement control. If you don't get the instant ending cutscene skip in which only 1 frame of the cutscene is visible, the ending cutscene time has to be included in the timing to match the IGT. You can prevent getting the ending cutscene by keeping A and Y held before ending the mission. You have to keep the buttons held until the cutscene is skipped. The footage must include enough to verify whether the cutscene was successfully skipped such as the post game carnage or the loading screen that follows the end of the level.
• Guardians: Start timing at first frame of fade-in and stop at last frame of fade-out. Add 4 seconds to the result to match the IGT. The final cutscene and credits must be able to be triggered (i.e., no soft/hardlock).
• Evacuation and Genesis: The timing starts at the first frame of full white screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to submit a video? Does a picture of the score screen/leaderboard count?

Videos are only required for times close to the world record. If your run earns a trophy (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), or your run is worth 80 points or more (800 points for fullgame), video proof is required. This will lead to some levels requiring more videos than others. For example, Keyes Easy runs up to 44th place are worth 80 points or more. A picture or video of the leaderboard or score screen by itself does not count as video of the run.

Why does Halo 5 use Sum of ILs?

There are two main issues with Halo 5's timing:

• There is significant variance in load times which can add up to minutes over the course of a fullgame run. In such cases, we have precedent of subtracting load times.
• In addition, certain cutscene skips at the end of levels are either fully random or necessitate far slower strategies during the course of the run. There is precedent from other games in moving away from RTA in such cases -- Sonic, for example.

Given these issues, Sum of Individual Levels is the best timing method that keeps the game's competition on a relatively even playing field.

Can I use Master Chief Collection's in-game timer?

MCC IGT is only usable on the following categories:

• Halo 2 MCC
• Halo 3

Halo 4 ILs are officially timed by RTA. For runners' convenience, HaloRuns used to allow the MCC in-game timer to be adjusted (by adding or subtracting seconds for specific levels) to approximate the RTA time. This caused too much confusion, and therefore this alternate method of timing RTA has been abolished. To reiterate, use RTA for Halo 4 ILs.

Why is Halo 2 MCC its own category (but other games in MCC are not)?

Halo 2 Anniversary in the Master Chief Collection has a variety of gameplay differences from the original Xbox version (the fastest version). These differences include changes to sword flying/canceling, changed AI, changes to the way skulls are activated, etc. These changes make Halo 2 MCC a very different speedgame than either original Halo 2 or Vista, which both go under the "Halo 2" category.

What is theater timing for Halo 3, ODST and Reach fullgame runs?

Theater timing is an easy way to remove the variability of loading times. In the past, we have had runs that looked faster than the WR in real-time, but were actually slower when loading times were removed. Using theater time removes this random factor. You can find the theater time in the theater menu. In MCC, you will have to load up each film and display the time bar. You can add up these times with the Time Calculator on the Submit Times page.

What's up with Reach's timer?

Halo Reach campaign scoring boots you to the main menu at the end of a level. For this reason it should be turned off for full-game runs. The in-game timer is only used for IL runs.

Why is Halo CE timed differently on console and PC?

Halo PC saves about 5 minutes over console purely due to loading times, which are basically negligible on PC. For the purpose of comparing runs between console and PC, we allow console runners to manually subtract loading screens (defined above) from their RTA time.

Why are certain ILs not tracked on HaloRuns?

If a level is on a timer or otherwise physically cannot be sped up beyond a certain point, it is not a competitive IL for speedrunning, and so HaloRuns does not track it as an IL. So far, these levels include:

• Halo 2: Armory
• Halo 3 ODST: Mombasa Streets
• Halo 5: Meridian Station, Alliance, Before the Storm

These levels are not tracked as ILs, but they do count in full game runs! They're not optional, so make sure you include them in your fullgame time.

Changed it

so, for Halo 2, does the armory not count towards time? I ask because on the submit times list it doesn't have an Armory section? Thanks guys

KMac, Armory does count towards a full game run. The Heretic on the other hand is optional afaik.

Why was my time on my profile reset? I had submitted a run for Halo 4 Full Game Legendary run but now it's gone off my profile, can I ask why?

resolved

[see below]

[see below]

[rule change, edited]

Nope, that's not the new ruling. You're doing it right Proace.

[edit]

ODST rules have been updated. All runs must start on Prepare to Drop. We are allowing the usage of unlocked audio logs on an existing profile. (This is also known as "NG+ PtD")

For the vote that led to this ruling, please see: http://pastebin.com/LKJwFRPS

Sorry I am new to this, what does "Carrying over weapons" mean for IL runs? Also why cant I submit Individual level run times? Specifically for Sierra 117.

Hey there. Carrying over weapons means bringing weapons from the previous level to the next level in a full game run. This is not allowed for IL timing. Basically meaning that IL's must start with the weapons that you would start the level with if you loaded that level from the menu.

Also, you should be able to submit IL times using the time tables. For Sierra 117 you would click on Halo 3 Easy or Legendary (depending on which difficulty you played obviously) then type in your time into the boxes next to Sierra 117, link your video in the box next to it if you have one, then click submit. If you have any problems with it let me know and I'll try to go into more detail.

Are we allowed to pick up weapons in Sierra 117 if we are doing an IL run on that misson?

Yes, of course. Pick up any weapons you want during the mission. Carryover refers to weapons brought from previous missions. In Sierra 117's case, that is not an issue because it's the first mission of the game.

edit

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Guys what the ruling for console CE compared to PC CE aren't console runners allowed to -10:00 for load times or something along those lines?

Reed edit: On console you are allowed to subtract loading screens, as defined in the CE rules. You have to time each loading screen, add up that time, and subtract it from the RTA. There's no flat amount.

Hey when running halo 3 should I not use a timer for splits? Or can I still use the time on a timer? And if so when should I start and stop it?

The official timing is by theater time, so you add up the times of the theater films in game. If you also want to use an external timer for personal reference, it's up to you.

The time you submit to HaloRuns should be theater time

Ok thank you

For Halo 3, are there any skulls we can/cannot use? I assume IWHBYD is ok, but what about cowbell for easier launches or grenade jumps?

I think it needs to be a rule for reach that you must turn scoring off for full game runs, because it really makes a difference, and it pretty much ruins the whole single segment aspect as well, as it sends you back to the mission selection menu after each mission. Technically you can still go to theater and add up the films, and submit them, but having scoring and medals on really does make a difference. For example if you threw a plasma at the ground behind you and kept running, you wouldn't know if you'd killed anyone unless scoring was on. Its kind of been a "we suggest" thing in the past, but as this game gets more popular, we should implement it as a rule for all single segment runs.

Reed edit: added, see Reach rules

Madog24: In Halo 3 and after, no skulls period. In Halo 2, since you collect the skulls and they activate during the run, it's allowed in H2 only.

If i get a pb in an il during a full game run, do i have to use the full game time for that level or can i use il rules in a pb on a full game run?

If it's an IL PB, use IL rules, regardless of whether or not you got it during a full game run

I made a quick list of levels with weapon carry-over, in case anyone needs a reference (let me know if I missed anything) - http://pastebin.com/7WRKmsr2

Nice pastebin Nacho! Appending it to the topic

Topic update by based Reed, in regard to H2A

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What are the rules for doing a full game submission for h2a. I don't have a capture card so would just record using the twitch app?

If you stream via the Xbox One's inbuilt streaming, you can use the vods from Twitch.

Cheers for the quick reply. There isn't a full timer though is there? How do you work out the full time as you need to include loading screens too?

H2A full game runs are RTA, so use a timer application like LiveSplit.

I record with an HDPVR 2. So that means I have a 3 second delay while recording. In my Timer, I have it set to have a 3 second delay which means my timer will be accurate when starting and it will stop 3 seconds before the end of the level TO THE VIEWERS. But to me it is okay. Is that okay?

Damon, my timer usually appears to stat and stop about 2 seconds early when I'm streaming, because of stream lag. As long as you're starting it when you should be, and stopping it when you should be, it doesn't matter.

In how far can I trust the IGT for CE in MCC to submit times? Cause in Keyes there is an unskippable cutscene in which the IGT stops and continues when you can move again which means you need to use RTA. Does this mean I can use IGT for missions with skippable cutscenes to submit times?

I would use RTA to be safe. I don't know how the CE MCC timer works, but I will bet it's not the same as RTA, and we don't plan on changing the Halo 1 timing rules.

Ok, I will check if the times that I submitted are correct with a RTA. And will from now on use a RTA to time my next ILs.

So, I've seen people starting the timer on Halo: CE TnR when they gain movement control, about 1-2 second after they get out of the pelican. It's tecnically correct since you're starting when you gain movement control, but incorrect from the spscific rules set up for TnR.

"RTA timing begins at gaining movement control and ends at last frame of fade-out, unless otherwise specified. (See specific IL rules below)."

and

"The Truth and Reconciliation: Timing starts at getting out of the Pelican."

Which one is the correct one? I'm guessing the latter one, but it seems wrong to add 1-2 seconds onto every run.

Good catch, changed the IL-specific rules for CE to clarify. Movement control is the start point for T&R.

Nice Reed! Thank you!

On pillar of autumn the thread says timer begins @ fade in but halosplit starts at movement control instead. I've been told that using halosplit timings is correct, is this true? Can someone update the thread to reflect this?

Reed edit: I have edited the rules to clarify. IL timing on PoA starts at first frame of movement control.

When defining "last frame of fade-in" is it the last white frame before a cutscene starts and the screen goes black/whatever color the cutscene is, or is it the last frame where you can still see the background a bit/the screen isn't all white quite yet?

Also, if I get a time that is 2:22.900, does it still count's as a 2:22, and not a 2:23?

I'm guessing that you just ignore rounding up in those cases?

First frame of fade-in, and last frame of fade-out mean the first and last frame that are before total white screen, from my understanding.

There's no rounding, if the timer shows 2:22.99999999 It's still a 2:22.

Hope that helps.

Thank you Hockeyfan!

so if I am running POA on easy in halo 1 does the timer have to be going through the tutorial section

Reed edit: Yes, the timer begins immediately when you are able to move.