If HITMAPS™ Roulette reports that both participants finished within the time period listed in the table below, based on when both players complete the spin, the decision of who wins will be held for manual review.
| Time Spin Completed | Photo Finish Window |
|---|---|
| Under 10 minutes | 30 seconds |
| 10 minutes - Under 20 minutes | 45 seconds |
| 20 minutes or longer | 60 seconds |
The Photo Finish rule applies to every single match, no matter the differences in platforms.
Here's a breakdown of some scenarios and whether or not they count as loading time:
| Scenario | Is this "loading time"? |
|---|---|
| Looking at the actual loading screen (objectives shown w/world map background) | ✅ Yes |
| Just clicked "Play", loading bar is fully shown on the bottom-right, but waiting for the actual loading screen to show | ✅ Yes |
| Just clicked "Restart Mission" in pause menu, loading bar is fully shown on the bottom-right, but waiting for the actual loading screen to show | ✅ Yes |
| Just clicked a gear slot when planning, but waiting for the server to return the list of items* | ❌ No |
* It was determined by admins that this scenario is extremely rare. As a result, it is classified as "bad luck" in order to ensure that the manual calculation efforts of Roulette Admins during a photo finish situation produce results that are as accurate as possible.
When a round ends in a photo finish, the match admin will indicate this to both players. Admins will carefully rewatch the map and calculate the loading time differences. This process may take some time, so players and viewers are encouraged to be patient. When a final result has been determind, the match admin will award points to the winning player.
"Loading time" is defined by as the time a participant is waiting for the game to load after pressing "Play" or "Restart Mission", which is determined by the "Loading..." indicator in the bottom-right being fully shown. Time spent planning or in the pause menu (but not waiting for the mission to restart) does not count as loading time.
Loading times will be calculated using an average of the first 3 loads - if a player did not preload the map, that player's average will be calculated using loads number 2 through 4. If the average makes the times too close such that a more detailed result is necessary, the match admin will count all of the loads to get an accurate time. Once these calculations are done, the loading times are subtracted from the participants' exit times to achieve their "adjusted exit time". Whoever has a lower adjusted exit time will win the map.
Example
Player 1 finished at 14:00:30 CET, and had loading time(s) of 15 seconds. Their official finishing time was 14:00:15.
Player 2 finished at 14:00:40 CET, and had loading time(s) of 28 seconds. Their official finishing time was 14:00:12.
If one player is on the losing end of a photo finish and believes that they cannot possibly retake the lead, they may choose to waive their right to having loading times calculated. This means that the match admin will not calculate loading times and issue the map win to their opponent.
When there is a 2 or less second calculated difference between the players, the map will be considered a tie.
If this happens during the final map of a match, a new spin will be issued on the same map to determine a winner.