Hi guys
I was contacted by several runners and other members of the community in regards to the current timing method of GTA:Online because of the load times. It was raised to me that the load times regarding runs has seriously effected times and people where unhappy with it. However due the nature and complications with timing a run 'without loads' i and a few others have agreed on a middle ground solution to add a new timing method
Going forth, there will be a new timing method is referd to 'In Heist Time' or 'in game time' as per speedrun.com limitations of not being able to add a custom time column.
What is 'In Heist Time' (IHT)?
'In Heist Time' refers to the total accumulation of time from when you first gain control of the character, to when you lose control of the character per setup/heist/setup or setups (Doomsday heists).
Why is it called 'In Heist Time' and not just stick to 'In Game Time'
Calling it in game time doesn't really fit with what we are going for. In game time refers to the total accumulation of time you spent 'in game' which includes load screens and traversing lobbies. Why its called In Hest Time instead of something else is because people run heists more often to notice the load issue. The name doesn't really fit the other categories but the same logic still applies
Is IHT mandatory?
No
Will IHT replace the existing timing method?
No, IHT will be an alternative for people to sort the leaderboard by and rank the runs themselves. IHT is not mandatory but might become a popular timing method in the future.
How is IHT timed?
IHT is timed from the moment you (the host) gains control of a character, to the moment you lose control of your character per setup/final setup/setups of setups. Think of each setup as a IL and add the times up. Thats IHT.
Does that mean IHT removes time between heists?
Yes, IHT removes the time between setting up heists. Since RTA is still the standard, you still need to think about routing between heists and the strats involved. But the time in lobbies and in the mission setup screen is not taken into account.
What happens to the current 'Loadless Time' column?
The current loadless time column will remain for the time being, until we are satisfied at the amount of runs that will start using IHT. If you wish to retime your runs that exist and submit a IHT you are more than welcome to do so, we will re accept it. We currently added a new verifier to the leaderboard who has opted to retime the runs and migrate old runs to this new timing method.
Why will you not make IHT the standard?
For two main reasons,
- RTA being the standard in GTA games
- Cutting the portion between heists would be cutting to much of the 'run' that makes it a 'all heists run' or heist run
Why not make loadless the standard?
Besides the listed reasons above, what constitutes as a load in GTA:Online is a massive grey area that cant be decided on. Load times can also very between person to person and as such people can have different load times. As well as the massive amount of effort required by both the runnner and verifier to make sure that the load time is correct. There is simply too many variables and issues surrounding it
How does IHT apply to other catagories such as 'all lamar missions' 'all casino missions' or 'all survivals'
Same rules apply, the name just wont fit those other categories
Who's IHT will you take, the host or the client?
The host, since the host loads in first and can have control first it makes sense to time it like a single player run. The one problem we may see here is if a issue arises that can delay a run because other clients are slowly getting in. However that problem should be minor compared to the grand scheme of things, if the problem persist which it shouldn't we may consider to move it to the last person loading in.
I hope that those questions should answer any questions you may have, if not please post them in this section and will try my best to get at them.
Quick Edit:
As a small addition to the leaderboards as well, we've added a varible that specifies which update the run was 'run' on. As of now the current update is 1.47 but going forth we'll be changing that per update of gta online
Added after it was brought up to me.
What happens if i crash mid way through a setup.
You take the previous attempts time and add it to the new attempts time.
