Airtime Runs and speedruns
A run#
A run starts when you pass a start gate and ends when you pass a stop gate of the same route. The time in between is your run time. Timing details: tech/timing/.
- Route: a path through the map with its own start, finish and board. One map can have several (icyjumps5d has 4). Routes can share jumps and split at leets.
- Stage: a part of a route with its own start and end, timed alone and as part of the whole route (like surf stages).
- Bonus: a short side course in a map, with its own board.
- Checkpoints: gates along a route that record a split (your time at that point). They compare you with your best and with the race ghost.
Choosing a route#
Several routes can start at the same gate and finish at the same gate, and differ only in the checkpoints you must pass (left side vs right side, safe line vs leet line). You choose your route:
- before the start: pick it in the menu, cycle it with a key, or step on its route pad in the start area; the HUD shows the route and lights up its next checkpoint;
- or not at all: the game narrows it down from the checkpoints you pass, and at the finish your time counts for every route you completed.
Details: shared gates.
Timed vs practice#
Every run is either timed or practice, and you switch with one key. Practice means save /
load positions and the training tools; timed means the clock runs and the run can go on a
board. (Classic Urban Terror servers do the same with /ready.)
| Run type | Save / load | Board |
|---|---|---|
| Pro run | none | the main board |
| Practice run (KZ's "TP run") | allowed, counted | its own board, showing the number of loads |
| Stage run | none | per stage |
| Segment practice | rewind, slow motion, any tool | not timed for boards, but splits are shown |
Speedruns#
- A single route, start to stop. This is the classic jump run.
- Full map (any %): every route in a row, or "all leets", one timer over several routes, on maps that offer it.
- Marathon: a playlist of maps back to back, one total time (a campaign, the "map of the week" pack).
- Restart rules: a restart key resets to the start of the route you're running (instant, no load). A second key resets to the last checkpoint in practice runs.
The timetable (splits)#
Speedrunners run with a splits timer next to the game (LiveSplit is the standard). Airtime has the same timetable built in, and works with the runners' own tools.
The table: one row per segment (start to checkpoint 1, checkpoint 1 to 2, …, last checkpoint to the finish). For each row:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Split name | the checkpoint's name from the map ("Aqua Bowl", "Steel Slide"), or one the runner chose |
| Delta | ahead or behind the comparison at this point (−0.42 / +1.10) |
| Split time | the total time when you passed it |
| Segment time | the time for this segment alone |
Below the table: the running timer, the previous segment (time gained or lost on the last segment), the possible time save (current segment vs your best segment), the sum of best (all your best segments added up: your theoretical best run), and the attempt counter (attempts / finished runs).
Colours, the way speedrunners read them:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| green | ahead, and gaining on this segment |
| light green | ahead, but losing time on this segment |
| light red | behind, but gaining time on this segment |
| red | behind, and losing time on this segment |
| gold | a new best segment (faster than ever before, even in a run you reset) |
Comparisons (switchable): personal best, best segments, average segments, latest run, the route's record, any ghost from the board.
Custom splits: runners like to choose their own split points. Because a replay is the inputs, splits can be computed afterwards for any point: place a split marker on the route, and every saved replay, old ones too, gets a time for it.
Working with the runners' tools:
- Export / import splits in LiveSplit's format, so a runner can keep their history in one place.
- Live connection to LiveSplit (its server / auto-splitter interface): the game starts, splits and resets the runner's own timer at the exact moments, and sends the in-game time. No manual splitting.
- In-game time is the official time (the exact run clock, not real time on the wall), so the timetable and LiveSplit always agree with the board.
Routes and leets#
A good jump map is one shared line with exits graded by speed (leets): faster players take a harder, shorter exit. Leets are shown as goals:
- marked in the map (a gate, a light, a sound when you make it);
- counted per player ("3 / 5 leets on this map");
- optionally timed as their own route.
Secrets are the hidden cousins of leets: an area you only reach by doing a jump differently than intended (another line, a trick, a hidden walljump). They're not marked in the map, they're counted per player ("2 / 3 secrets"), and the ghosts of players who found them show the way to everyone else.
Rules every run is played with#
The map decides the rules:
- Its moves: every map has the full movement, and adds what it's built for: wall-run walls, fuel for a jetpack, gravity zones, bounce pads (mechanics).
- Its settings: the stamina mode and the number of walljumps.
- Styles (from bhop): W-only, sideways, no sprint, no walljumps, low gravity. You pick one before the run; the replay proves it.
Each board belongs to one route, its rules and a style. The game files your run on the right board by itself.