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 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.
Edited by Backflip on November 28 2018 at 5:37 AM EST