I've noticed that some players have different load times after pressing the play button. The typical deviation seems to be +- 1 second, likely depending on hardware.

What should we do about this?

Edit: It should be noted that the effect I'm seeing in the posted runs may be explainable by the players starting their timers at different times. I do think load times are a factor, though, because I've seen the game stop responding during the load, wasting 6ish seconds.

The solution is just to change the rules so the time starts when the character spawns or when the first input is made.

So does this mean that the mods will re-time the runs accounting for this or is it up to the runners to re-run

It still needs a bit more investigation to say if it's a significant factor in run times, or even one at all. I'm just bringing up the possibility.

load times are a bit weird. sometimes you start once you hear the Italian voice acting. And some when you press play. Honestly it should start once you press play. But I like the Italian voice acting start on regular runs. Failure% being probably the most common should have a more rigid/easy to use start method.

Why not just start timing on the first frame you can move (so the first frame after the black screen)? That'd eliminate any problems with load times

Starting timing on the first frame you can move could end up having similar or worse issues, because that frame often contains what feels like up to a second of delta time as well.

Still, I insist, more research is needed before we even really propose solutions

I was doing some more attempts earlier today, and I can confirm that there was about a 0.2 second timesave getting to the tutorial key when I closed all my other apps (including my several hundred Chrome tabs).

That is rather small, but in Failure%, it is worth noting. If I had to propose a solution, I'd say "wait until the lag from loading clears up, then time from the first input and add 22 seconds." But I'd imagine the mods should be better informed than I am on what would be good for the game.

I was doing some runs for Clarkson% (because it's my category why not) and noticed that I consistently gained control at around the 26 second mark. When watching Zekroming's run, he gained control around 21 second mark. I tried closing any extra tabs or applications I didn't need open, but there was little change. To my understanding this is a personal issue, but I couldn't think of any way to make my load time more efficient. This does mean, however, that I'm incapable of competing in any speedrun category if I'm always 5 seconds behind anyone I'm running against (assuming that most people gain control at the same 21 second load time).

My solution? Make timers begin when runners gain control, or when the first input is made. It would eliminate the inconsistency in load times, and allow any future or current runners with a similar issue to mine to not have a disadvantage in running Crypt.