Oblivion:Route Logic
The Oblivion 100% speedrun route has several large tasks that must be optimized, each resulting in huge time saves when improved. These are the main logic pieces that make up distinct, largely modular sections of the run.
Map Exploration
Full article: Map Exploration
One of the main challenges we need to tackle during the route is to max out the Places Found statistic in the Accomplishments Tab. There are 367 map markers to discover, several of which have logic requirements such as finding them before/after a certain stage of a quest. Since methods of acquiring massive speed boosts to explore the map require a long setup time and often cannot be done in tandem with quests and other objectives, the main focus of map exploration is to find as many locations as possible all at once rather than locating them as needed throughout the run. This portion of the route can also potentially include locating Wayshrines and Heaven Stones.
Currently we are investigating the potential of several variations of map exploration tech, which include things such as speed boosts on the horse vs. the player, traveling in vectors vs. traveling salesman paths to canvas the map as efficiently as possible, locating random Oblivion Gates during/after the main exploration circuit, etc. Map Exploration takes roughly 5.5 hours to complete in the current route logic, which now makes it almost a quarter of the total run time. It is for this reason that Map Exploration is being heavily focused on for V4.
The Nirnroute
Full article: The Nirnroute
Similar to the map exploration challenge, we need to find the best possible way to find all of the outdoor Nirnroot. Our current method uses a traveling salesman path without any additional player speed boosts aside from the perma enchants we will already have at that point in the route logic. Most improvements to the Nirnroute have been due to improving the route materials, such as compiling reference images for each Nirnroot location. We may end up finding that some combination of Map Exploration and the Nirnroute will result in the fastest overall method. The Nirnroute currently takes a little under 2 hours to complete.
The Great Skill Grind
Full article: The Great Skill Grind
Getting all 21 skills to level 100 has been one of the largest parts of the run in all route versions up to this point. This is a massively complex task, requiring optimizing each skill's farming method, the order skills are focused on, balancing training levels vs. manually farmed levels, etc. A sub-task of the skill grind is to optimize Attribute Allocation to maximize how many character level-ups and therefore training levels we can acquire using the Infinite Level-Up Glitch.
Recent new discoveries have further added to the complexity of the skill grind, such as the Class Reset Glitch and the Stat Underflow Glitch, which add significantly more routing options to consider.
Random Skill Books
Full article: Random Skill Books
We have to read every skill book in the game, and of the 109 skill books in the game, 13 of them can only be found in random loot. Although a few quests allow us to find a few of the random books, we are guaranteed to have to repeatedly enter a dungeon and reload until we find each book. This process has taken between 1.5 to 2 hours in past runs, making it a much higher priority now that the route is much shorter. We have found more ideal locations for checking dungeon loot that minimize travel distance per check, but the final frontier would be to discover a way to manipulate the RNG of skill book drops.
Passive Player Speed
Full article: Passive Player Speed
An obvious component of the route logic is to find ways to make the player move as fast as possible in a way that is low maintenance. In the past, active methods like Skooma have proven to be tedious to maintain throughout the run, potentially causing a time loss due to difficulties in managing/executing the speed boosts. Perma enchanting is the current meta of passive player speed boosts, with focus being placed on optimizing the ratio of Athletics/Speed, how to apply the perma enchants as fast as possible, etc. Alternative methods are also being investigated such as underflowing Athletics.
Gold Farming
Full article: Gold Farming
We have calculated that the 100% route requires approximately 425,000 Gold to be able to afford every necessary transaction in the run. Although this will change slightly each route revision, we need to determine the fastest way to acquire this much gold. In the past, gold farming has taken upwards of 20 minutes, with the time currently being under 4 minutes using an optimized variation of the Dorian Glitch. There may still be room to improve this, although given how short the farming process now is, this is no longer a high priority.