THE POPULOUS BIBLE
C.67 Speedrunning a level
Speedrunning a level is a rather recent concept (2008'ish?), and basically means winning a level in the less time possible. You have to give a proof of your time, either by sending a screen shot of the ending game status screen, or even better, record it.
There are usually some rules when you are speedrunning:
- Do not cheat.
- Do not dismantle the enemy's building (this is actually a glitch, but im not sure why people care about it, since it takes time and effort to do it right).
- Speed increase in game is not allowed (this would make the game go faster, but the timer go in real time, so it's obviously not allowed).
- Do not save or pause (some people don't like this rule, but it's still a rule i guess).
- Changing scripts, or anything on the level is not allowed.
- Take a proof of the time, could be a print screen, but some people might think it's fake, so it would be better to record it.
Not everyone like (or can be bothered to) speedrun, but if you are competitive and like it, try it! Some of the most famous Populous speedrunners are "GrubbyHour", "SonOfGod", "Nici", "Eidgod", "RJG4242", "Kosjak", "ReCover", "Daroo", "T15C", "Aravinth", and some others.
If you want to share your timers, make sure to post it on one of the following sites (related to this topic):
Note that each forum might have their own rules, but generally, the rules above should be good. There are many campaigns to speedrun, but people usually focus on the "official singleplayer" levels, "undiscovered worlds" and "107D scripts".
Example of a proof regarding the time. This screen shot is from The unnoficial campaign mod.: "107D Scripts", where all levels are equal to the original, but with harder scripts. This print screen was taken by "SunOfGod", and he currently has the record of this level - [00:01:57].
Watch this SpeedRun Channel, from the player "SonOfGod", to see how it works: