The ASL timer doesn't stop on cutscenes, it prevents abusing them to save time, just like it can happen with ingame timer. So you have to skip the cutscenes everytime.
Long story short, the speedrun mode is the only option we had for PS5 so we used it, but for PC it's a lot more customizable and the current timer we are using like mentioned above doesn't pause the timer during cutscenes, this is the main reason for using LRT and not the speedrun mode as the speedrun mode pauses the timer during cutscenes which we do not want.
The game varies a bit when watching cutscenes fully and when skipping them. Also not skipping cutscenes kinda just goes against the nature of speedrunning.
Pausing the timer during the menu also goes against the nature of speedrunning. Using any timing method but RTA also goes against the nature of speedrunning.
I mean if you want to go down road of things that are “against the nature of speedrunning” then all the categories that aren’t Any% go against it since the point of speedrunning is to beat a game ASAP
"Using any timing method but RTA also goes against the nature of speedrunning" No, it is simply wrong here is an example; GTA 4 uses LRT because loading times depend on framerate, and people with better PC specs have a massive advantage. So it makes sense to use other timings.
We can argue about timing methods forever. I'm just gonna say that TLOU on PC benefits from LRT, loadings are usually inconsistent and game still tends to crash.
"all the categories that aren’t Any% go against it since the point of speedrunning is to beat a game ASAP" Can't agree. It's to beat game ASAP with selected rules/options. If the game offers multiple features/options and they majorly change the gameplay then it makes sense to create multiple categories.
What I wrote doesn't mean that I think this run should be timed by RTA btw. I fully understand that it's not possible to have fair competition with inconsistent load times when you time by RTA. It's just that IGT (or any similar timing method) makes the run longer in real-time, so you could say it goes against speedrunning nature. That's what I meant.
Everyone has opinions and people always love to complain about something, the timing method for PC isn't going to change and we will not be merging the boards as like I said, there's reasons behind both of these decisions. Just because one person decides to complain about something so minor doesn't mean we are going to make said change. I'm locking this thread as it seems to have derailed from the main point.