Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Pointercrate Rules and Guidelines: Part A: Level Management Criteria for a Level to be on the Demon List - A.1: A level must be rated Demon in-game in order to be placed on the list. Unrated levels will never be added, regardless of their difficulty. At no point will there be a list dedicated to these levels, as it would be highly variable and difficult to maintain. - A.2: A rated level must be considered more difficult than the level at the bottom of the Extended List in order to be considered for placement. This guideline emphasizes that the Legacy List will only contain levels that previously held a placement within the Top 150. - A.3: If a level is unrated for any reason, it will immediately be moved to the bottom of the Legacy List to ensure that it will never re-enter the Extended List while it remains in that state. - A.4: A level that has a hacked verification or update may still be placed on the list as long as it is still rated in-game and it has at least one legitimate victor. The victor must also complete the level without modifying the gameplay in any way, and while complying with our bugfix and LDM guidelines. - A.4.1: If a level was published in two-player mode, it will only be added to the list if it was legitimately verified via a solo completion. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Determining When to Place a New Level - A.5: A level will not be placed within one week of getting rated unless it has at least three reliable victors and their placement opinions are consistent. A victor is defined as a player other than the verifier that legitimately completes the level. - A.5.1: If the level is widely regarded to be the hardest demon in the game, it will serve as an exception to this guideline. - A.6: After one week has passed, the opinions for the level will be closely monitored. If a general consensus is found within the opinion list (i.e. a clear average with little variation), the level will be placed. - A.7: Occasionally, a level may have an opinion list with few victors or high variability, but it may become clear that no new victors will emerge in the near future. In these cases, the level may be placed to encourage additional players to complete it, but these placements are likely to be changed as the level receives new victors. - A.8: A level will be placed no more than one month after it was rated. Levels with little to no victors at this point are notably subject to change after they are placed. - A.8.1: This final guideline does not apply to levels with a hacked verification. The timeframe for adding a hacked level to the list begins after it receives its first legitimate victor. - A.9: These placement guidelines also apply to any current list demon if it changes in difficulty following an update. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Creator Lists and Verifiers (New) - A.10: Each level page on the website features a list of creators, which consists of those considered to have made a significant contribution to the gameplay and/or decoration in one or more parts of the level. These parts must be reasonably considered as “standalone” such that the contribution does not merely append to the work of another creator. - A.10.1: In addition to the guideline regarding gameplay and decoration, a qualifying part for the creator list must also serve as a reasonable route to complete the level in question. In general, the verification route will be the one considered “official” in regard to generating a creator list. - - A.10.2: In some cases, other individuals that played a major role in the level’s development may also be credited on the creator list. This guideline includes level hosts and optimization teams, but does not include playtesters. Other “edge cases” in which the contribution may or may not be significant enough to qualify will be handled by the list team on a case-by-case basis. A.11: Some list demons are “megacollabs” with a designated host. If the original verifier of a list demon megacollab is removed from the stats viewer, the host of the collab has the right to change the verifier as if the level had not been released yet. A corresponding legitimate completion will be counted as a verification on the level's webpage. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Gathering an Opinion List for New Levels - A.12: In general, the opinion of every victor will be taken into consideration when determining the placement of a new level. However, other factors such as outliers, previous experience of the players, and general reliability can influence how much each opinion is weighted. - A.12.1: Opinions are generally gathered as ranges of possible placements according to each player’s past completions. - A.13: A verifier’s opinion will almost always be omitted from the general opinion list, especially if the level underwent difficulty adjustments during the verification process or if the verifier created any of the gameplay. These opinions are often skewed and can misrepresent what any other player will experience in terms of difficulty. Analyzing an Opinion List - A.14: When a list of placement opinions has low variation and several victors (i.e. at least three), the average value of the list has proven to be a fair representation of the difficulty of the level. For instance, if an opinion list of three victors has placements of #75, #77, and #82, it would be reasonable to place the level at #78 (the average). - A.15: In general, the median of an opinion list is not suitable for determining a possible placement, since the median depends not as much on the exact value of each opinion as it does on the distribution of opinions. As such, each individual opinion would carry less weight. - A.15.1: As an example, in the list in A.15, the median value ignores the asymmetrical distribution of opinions. The median in this case would be #77, which does not account for the “skewed” distribution towards higher values. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - A.16: One or more values on an opinion list may be significantly higher or lower than the others. These outliers can skew the data past an otherwise clear average. For example, if a level has five opinions of #67, #68, #67, #68, and #92, it is reasonable to omit the latter value since it is significantly lower than the other opinions. Therefore, #67 or #68 would both be considered reasonable places to add the level. - A.17: When an opinion list has high variation, the reliability of each individual opinion will be considered in an attempt to find a more apparent consensus. For instance, players that have provided outlier opinions on previous levels may not be weighted as heavily if they further contribute to high variation. In addition, players that have completed several levels in the same difficulty range will be considered more strongly, as they will be able to provide a narrower range of possible placements without losing accuracy. - A.18: After analyzing the opinion list, there may be more than one reasonable placement for a list-worthy level. In these cases, it is often helpful to consider the levels currently in those positions and whether they may be moved up or down in the near future. For instance, if two possible placements for a level are #103 and #104, and the level currently at #103 is generally thought to be underrated, #104 would be a better placement for the new level. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Moving Levels - A.19: When a level gets added to the list, it is likely that it will receive more victors as players attempt to beat it. As such, several of the new victors may say that the level should be either raised or lowered from its initial position. This can be brought to the attention of the Pointercrate team either if multiple victors suggest its reevaluation or if a staff member beats it and proposes such a suggestion to the rest of the team. - A.20: When a level is considered for reevaluation, a new opinion list is generated that includes the new victors’ opinions in addition to the initial list. The possible new placement is calculated in the same way as for the level’s initial placement, but greater caution is exercised in cases of high variation. If a placed level has split opinions (i.e. several people find it underrated, while several others find it overrated), it is unlikely that the level will be moved unless a stronger consensus appears. - A.21: If the level in question has been on the list for a long time, it is possible that the opinions from the earlier victors would no longer be valid due to new levels getting added over time. As such, when a new opinion list is generated, emphasis is placed on the opinions of the more recent victors. - A.22: The process of moving levels also applies to levels that are updated with a legitimate verification. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Part B: Record Management Submitting Records - B.1: The progress for a submitted record on a level must be greater than or equal to the minimum progress requirement for the level. This value can be found on the level’s information screen on the website. - B.2: The acceptable forms of proof for a submitted record are videos from YouTube, Twitch highlights, Vimeo, Everyplay, and Bilibili. The videos may be public or unlisted. - B.2.1: Since Twitch archives are automatically removed after two weeks, they are not an acceptable form of video proof. Players are encouraged to create highlights for any records streamed on Twitch. - B.2.2: Submitting records for other players is strongly discouraged. Each submitter has an anonymous ID number, so we are able to detect any discrepancies. Any user that submits a record as a joke will be immediately banned from submitting any additional records. This is not the same as a player ban from the stats viewer on Pointercrate. - B.2.3: It is advised to exercise caution when privatising or removing a video from your channel; if a list team member asks for additional proof for your completion and you do not have these videos available for sharing, it may be considered a refusal to provide evidence and could get all your standing records removed (see B.8). Order of Adding Records - B.3: When a player submits a record on Pointercrate, it is automatically assigned an ID number based on when it was submitted. Records are checked in ascending order of ID to ensure the records submitted less recently are checked first. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.4: Occasionally, some records may be manually added to the list. These additions are entirely separate from the normal process of checking records, so seeing another player’s record getting added before yours does not necessarily mean your record was rejected. Players can check the status of their record by re-submitting it on the website. - B.4.1: If the team is not immediately sure whether a record is acceptable, it may be marked as ‘under consideration,’ and a team member may request additional information according to B.9. - B.4.2: A player has three days to respond to a list team member requesting additional information before their record will be automatically rejected. However, a player may still reach out to a team member after this deadline for their record to be reconsidered. Criteria for Record Legitimacy - B.5: A record may only be added to the list if it is accompanied by a legitimate, uncut video of the run. For instance, a video corresponding to a record of 89% must display the player making a continuous run from the beginning of the level (0%) to 89%. Under no circumstances will a video with cuts be accepted as a record. - B.5.1: If a player mistakenly exits the level midway through an attempt, the player is eligible to submit a record as if they had died at the percentage they reached. In the above example, pausing and exiting the level at 89% constitutes a continuous run as long as the record is otherwise legitimate. - B.5.2: For the purposes of evaluating records, a continuous run in Practice Mode from 0% to 100% is considered an eligible completion for the list. However, players should exercise caution when playing in Practice Mode, as there are no orb pulses and thus an FPS counter is required. This guideline applies to progress records as well. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.6: Removal of auto sections is not permitted unless no inputs are required after them. For instance, removing the end screen of a level to reduce lag is allowed only if no gameplay exists during or after it. - B.6.1: Although end screen removal is allowed, the length of the level should never be adjusted, for this would artificially increase any progress obtained. This problem can be avoided by adding an object out of the player’s reach to adjust the length to its original state. - B.7: A record may contain one or more skips throughout the level, and the record may be accepted or rejected based on the “severity” of the skip. The following sub-guidelines address the three types of skips in this regard, but players are highly encouraged to check with the List Team before submitting a record that uses a skip. - B.7.1: A Type I skip either barely deviates from the intended route in regard to difficulty or makes the level harder than intended. These skips will always be accepted, even after they are patched in the level on the servers. An example of a Type I skip is 3% in Sakupen Hell. - B.7.2: A Type II skip is notably more significant; for example, it may bypass a section of a level longer than just a click or two. However, they are not egregious enough to warrant rejection of a record. Type II skips will be accepted unless they are patched in the level on the servers; an example is 67-68% in Zaphkiel. Note that records previously accepted with a Type II skip will remain unless its classification changes (see B.7.4). - B.7.3: A Type III skip is significant enough to warrant an immediate rejection, with no exception. It includes but is not limited to taking a secret way or bypassing the hardest part(s) of the level. An example of a Type III skip is 83% in Devil Vortex. - B.7.4: Although this is uncommon, the List Team may change the classification of a skip due to a variety of possible circumstances. Records will only be removed if the corresponding skip is now considered a Type III, instead of II or I. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.8: A player may not submit a record obtained using hacks designed to alter or bypass the gameplay in any way. This guideline includes but is not limited to Noclip, GDBot/XBot, Macros, and Speedhacks. Changing the gameplay of the level in any fashion is also prohibited, unless it qualifies as a bug fix, as explained in B.23. - B.8.1: Any attempt to post an illegitimate (hacked) record while passing it off as not hacked will cause the player to be banned from the stats viewer on the website. The length of the ban is dependent on the severity of the infraction, as well as the player’s ban history. - B.8.2: Software that increases the framerate of the game may be used, but the framerate must remain at or below 300FPS. Any record with a higher framerate will be considered hacked, and any player that lies about their framerate will be banned from the list. - B.8.3: Players that can prove their possession of a 360Hz monitor may use a framerate up to 360FPS for their submissions. Only players that own the monitor may use 360FPS due to significant level LDMs that would be necessary otherwise. - B.8.4: If a list demon uses two-player mode, only solo completions are permitted for records on the level. - B.8.5: A player publicly encouraging the use of these hacking methods will be treated as if the player submitted a record that used them, and the player will be banned accordingly. - B.8.6: Although many hacking methods are banned, some hacks such as the FPS Bypass are allowed for records on the list. A list of allowed hacking methods is located at the end of this document. - B.8.7: Changing the gameplay of the level may also be classified as a nerf, which could pertain to either an illegal bugfix or a significant alteration of the level’s decoration. The latter case includes strong LDMs and significant changes to a level’s color palette. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - - B.9: In many cases, a player may submit a record with a video of considerably low quality, to the point in which a hacked completion is indistinguishable from a normal run of the level. A record may be rejected due to high suspicion of a hacked completion (see B.8), but the player will not be banned unless conclusive evidence for illegitimacy is found. - B.9.1: As such, players are encouraged, but not required, to include strong indicators of a legitimate completion, such as a microphone, moderate to high video quality, streams, and/or progress videos. We may also request raw footage of a completion if we become suspicious of a hacked record. Please refer to the Raw Footage section of this document for more details. - B.9.2: A player that refuses to provide evidence to support their legitimacy will be assumed to have hacked one or more completions and will be consequently banned. - B.9.3: A completion video that does not show the endscreen of the level will not be eligible for a record on the list, unless the player provides raw footage of the completion that includes the endscreen. However, if the game crashes before the endscreen is displayed, it will serve as an exception to this rule. B.10: If multiple players are caught submitting records for a single account on the list, the group account will be banned permanently and the individual players recording the records will be banned according to B.8.1. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Raw Footage - B.11: The submission form on Pointercrate includes a Notes section in which players may include additional information regarding their records. Players are encouraged and in some cases required to provide raw footage in this section to support their legitimacy. Raw footage is defined as an unedited recording of the game session, which can be either an uploaded file from a recording software or a stream link from YouTube or Twitch. - B.11.1: Although any form of raw footage may be acceptable for list records, stream links are preferred, as most methods of hacking are significantly harder on stream. This guideline does not guarantee that records with stream links will be accepted! - B.12: Players must include raw footage whenever they submit a record without clicks to the list. The only exception to this guideline is for Everyplay recordings on iOS- no raw footage is required in only this case. Players are also strongly encouraged to provide raw footage for their first submission, and are required to do so whenever any list team member requests it. If a player is unable to provide valid raw footage for a record when requested, the record will be rejected. - B.13: If raw footage contains any cuts or splices in the video or audio, it will be rendered invalid and will not be considered when evaluating the corresponding record. However, minor edits such as censoring or blurring offensive language or personal information are permitted. - B.14: Although never required, raw footage may also contain a handcam. A handcam for this purpose is defined as a clear, continuous view of the player’s input device (e.g. a mouse) during the majority of the session. Raw footage with a handcam will greatly support the player’s legitimacy because they are considerably difficult to fake in a hacked record. - B.15: Similarly, raw footage may include a liveplay, in which an external camera records the computer screen for the entire session. Liveplays will be considered only if the input device is visible during the majority of the recording. Similarly to a handcam, including a liveplay as raw footage will also support the legitimacy of a record. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Raw Footage With or Without Clicks - B.16: For records without clicks, it is strongly recommended to include raw footage with a handcam or liveplay of the session. Failure to follow this guideline significantly increases the likelihood of a rejected record due to high suspicion. Please note, however, that a player will not be banned from the list unless conclusive evidence for hacking is discovered. - B.16.1: This guideline also applies to records with clicks that are barely audible to the viewer. Players that use a controller as their input device are advised to use a handcam or liveplay, as audible clicks are very difficult to detect from a controller. - B.16.2: Due to the ability of players to fake raw footage without clicks, any record without clicks that also does not include a handcam or livestream has a very high likelihood of getting rejected. - B.17: For records with clicks, players are still encouraged to provide raw footage whenever possible to avoid cases of suspicion. However, based on factors such as the player’s ban history or the number of records under their name, raw footage may not always be necessary for an accepted record with clicks. Players are still required to provide raw footage when requested. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Raw Footage on Mobile Devices - B.18: Players using a mobile device do not have access to as many methods of proof as a PC player, so the submissions guidelines for mobile players are notably different. A player must be able to prove that a mobile device is in use for these guidelines to be applicable. Common methods of proof for mobile devices include showing a mobile recording software (e.g. Everyplay, Mobizen, etc.) or showing “circle taps” on an Android device. - B.19: In addition to the normal restrictions of a mobile device, the iOS operating system is notorious for imposing even stricter limitations. However, the Everyplay service only functions properly on iOS, so an Everyplay recording is sufficient for all iOS records. Players may also opt to use a separate screen recorder or stream to YouTube or Twitch, but please note that raw footage may be requested in these cases. - B.19.1: Although Everyplay is known to not work correctly on Android devices, players can still access Everyplay footage using more unconventional methods. As such, players must be able to prove that they use an iOS device in order for an Everyplay record to get accepted without raw footage. The recommended method of proof is displaying an iOS menu in the video without any cuts. - B.20: Everyplay is not available for Geometry Dash on Android, and Android users have greater accessibility to hacking methods compared to iOS users. As such, players with Android devices should be sure to prove their legitimacy with methods such as tapping the screen audibly, streaming, or filming the screen with an external camera. - B.21: A stream link for a record on any mobile device will always be accepted as valid raw footage as long as it can be shown to not be pre-recorded. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! Manual Record Removal - B.22: Any player who has records on the list may request for them to be removed at any time and for any reason. To prevent abuse of this system, records may not be re-added to the list for two weeks after their removal, and records may not be removed again for two weeks after they are re-added. - B.22.1: To maintain accuracy on the page for each level, if the player requesting a record removal is a verifier of one or more list demons, they will still be listed as such on the level page. However, they will still be invisible on the stats viewer. Fixing Bugs - B.23: In Geometry Dash, gameplay features such as jump rings and ramps behave differently on higher refresh rates. As such, a level on the list may occasionally contain gameplay that is impossible on certain monitors. Fixing this gameplay does not affect the eligibility of a record as long as the intended difficulty is maintained as accurately as possible. - B.23.1: This guideline also applies to gameplay made unreasonably more difficult compared to the verifier’s refresh rate. However, players should be aware of the difference between buggy gameplay and inconsistency; just like with LDMs and skips, all bug fixes should be cleared with the List Team if they have not been accepted previously. - B.23.2: Although not necessarily considered a “bug”, certain conditions may cause a level to desynchronize with the song. Players are allowed to add speed changes at transitions to adjust the sync of the level if and only if all difficulty remains unchanged. Any player that adds speed changes should clear it with the List Team before submitting a record. - B.23.3: Submitting an illegal bug fix alone is not grounds for a player ban; however, repeatedly submitting prohibited bug fixes prior to clearing them with the team may result in a short ban. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.24: In updates 2.1 and 2.11, certain changes of the in-game physics could make pre-existing levels impossible or unreasonably difficult to complete. One example is the trajectory of the UFO gamemode after activating a red orb. These bugs are generally fixable, although they are handled by the list team on a case-by-case basis. Using Custom Low Detail Modes and Texture Packs - B.25: Completing a level in a Low Detail Mode (LDM) that is already built into the rated version on the servers will always be eligible for a record on the list, without exception. - B.26: The list team has uploaded LDMs of several list levels on the Geometry Dash account “Pointercrate.” Records on any level published on the Pointercrate account will always be eligible for addition to the list. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.27: Players may choose to create their own LDMs in a copy of the level that target specific parts that do not run well for them. Although it is not required to have these custom LDMs approved by the list team, it is strongly recommended, especially if an LDM of the level already exists (strong LDMs may be considered nerfs, which falls under B.8). Certain guidelines exist that players should note when creating LDMs of list levels: - B.27.1: A custom LDM may not delete or otherwise alter any object that obstructs the player’s vision. Such objects include but are not limited to fading transitions, screen flashes, and foreground decoration. - B.27.2: Although no fixed limit for the amount of required detail exists, one must be careful to not allow a custom LDM to resemble a layout of the level. Background deletions are allowed if their removal does not impact the gameplay. In general, some details should be left in the block design to avoid over-reducing the level’s decoration. - B.27.3: An LDM that was published by the level’s creator will always remain acceptable for records, provided that it continues to match the gameplay of the rated level on the servers (along with allowed bug fixes). - B.27.4: Occasionally, players may encounter color combinations or flashes that cause problems to their eyesight. Although significant changes to a level’s color scheme are not allowed, minor color changes are permitted as long as the difficulty of the level remains the same. These situations are evaluated on a case by case basis, so be sure to take any color change requests to a list team member! Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.28: Although the “Smooth Fix” graphics setting allows players to run an otherwise unstable level smoothly, this process often involves slowing the level down in compensation. A completion of a level significantly slowed by the Smooth Fix option is considered equivalent to a speed hacked completion and therefore would not be eligible for a record on the list. - B.28.1: Although players will not be banned for submitting a record with the Smooth Fix, they are encouraged to seek out acceptable LDMs as opposed to turning on the setting. - B.29: Any texture packs that make the gameplay of the level easier by altering decoration are prohibited for records on the list. Texture packs that visibly alter hitboxes (e.g. spikes, but not player icons) to make them perceptively easier to avoid are also disallowed. Records after Level Updates - B.30: An update to a level that alters its difficulty will cause all existing records for the level to be removed if and only if the level is harder enough to be raised on the list. All records will be maintained if the level maintains a similar difficulty or is nerfed to an easier state (e.g. Polish Alphabet). - B.30.1: Although updates that remove skips utilized during verification can be considered a buffdate in this regard, existing records will still be maintained provided that the skip did not significantly alter the gameplay (see B.7). - B.30.2: If an update does not increase the difficulty of the level enough for it to be raised on the list, all previous versions will still be accepted. In other words, if there exists a record on the list from a previous version of the level, that version is still valid for future completions. The only exceptions to this are the cases of Type II skips getting patched (see B.7.2) or LDMs on the Pointercrate account getting removed from the servers. - B.30.3: Updates that increase the difficulty on the current hardest demon will be handled on a case-by-case basis in regard to keeping or removing existing records. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! - B.31: A level may be updated to include a strong LDM or Ultra LDM that would not normally be accepted. Records that were rejected for a strong LDM before such an update will be re-considered for addition to the list in accordance to the new LDM on the rated level. Loopholes and Exceptions - B.32: Any player attempting to evade these guidelines via a loophole in the wording of any given rule will be subject to the same punishment as if that rule was broken. - B.33: Whenever a new guideline is released, players may mistakenly overlook new policies in regard to record submission. On a case-by-case basis, the list team may decide to grant a one-time exception for these scenarios while explicitly telling the player the necessary procedures to follow in the future. Asking the team for an exception does not increase your likelihood of receiving one! Using the Nationality Feature - B.34: The Stats Viewer on the Pointercrate web site includes a nationality feature, in which players may request a nationality to be associated with their name. Any abuse of this system will result in permanent exclusion from the feature. Have a question about anything here? Ask a list team member! List of Hacks Allowed for List Records I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. FPS Bypass (up to 300FPS) Accurate Percentage Hack 4GB Patch Editor Hack (for fixing approved bugs only, not LDMs) No Pulse/Wave Pulse Hack (with an FPS counter) No Particles Hack No Transition No Glow Trail Always Off/On Inversed Trail Percentage Only Hide Pause Button Ignore ESC Random Icons Hide Attempt Hack (ONLY with full raw footage or a stream)
