https://www.speedrun.com/swords_and_sandals_1_gladiator/forums/bqlun it was decided that the intro cannot be sped up as this would give an unfair advantage to non-steam users.
However, I did some testing on the version in our resources, and it turns out that you can use the sped-up version intro in any version of the game. You always get it on the second run, and this resets when you exit the game.
Should we amend the rules to allow for this, now that it is available for all?
Currently, the recommended version for running is v1.0.8 (as seen in the resources).
This was added 8 years ago, I propose that we now use the latest version available on Steam (FULL 1.1.0).
This gives the latest bug fixes and allows for the accelerated version of the intro to be used, which is definitely preferable for repeat attempts.