Ultima IX Speedrunning

Overview
Ultima IX currently has speedruns in two categories, with a third as of yet unrouted category having been suggested.

Guides and Routes

 * Ultima IX - Any%
 * Ultima IX - No Debug Room
 * Ultima IX - All Shrines (Unrouted)

Jumping (Any %)
The fastest way to traverse Britannia in Ultima IX, is by jumping forwards while the Leggings of Sentri are equipped. As these can be obtained quickly through the Debug Room, the Any% category relies heavily on this type of movement. By holding down the space bar, the Avatar will perform each jump on the first possible frame after the landing lag from the previous jump is over. Landing lag varies depending on how the jump is performed. If the jump is aimed too high off the ground, the Avatar will get stuck in midair, and fall straight downwards with extra landing lag afterwards. Shorter landing lag can also be achieved by Ledge Cancelling the jump. This is performed by landing on a steep ledge that the Avatar then slides down. Upon touching the ground after such a slide, there is less lag, than when landing a normal jump. If the jump lands too far up a ledge, however, the time it takes to slide back down to the ground might be greater, than the time the saved by the shorter lag. As such an any% countless such opportunities to make small time saves.

Running Sideways (No Debug Room)
The second fastest movement option in the game is running sideways. As No Debug Room runs do not have early access to the Leggins of Sentri, this is the primary methode for getting around in this category. Moving in this way presents its own challenges, as the camera in Ultima IX remains oriented in the direction of a forwards run, when moving sideways. It can thus be challenging to see where you are going, when moving in this manner. One way to mitigate this is to zoom the camera out while traversing certain parts of Britannia, though this too has it's downsides, as the greater field of view can increase lag, and having to zoom the camera back in for areas that require more precision becomes another complicating factor, that might result in costly mistakes. Running sideways is also used in certain parts of Any% runs, where jumping might be less practical for various reasons.

Swimming
Swimming is very slow in Ultima IX. Hence any routing of the game will likely try to minimize time spent in the water. ways of doing this include getting as close to the water's edge as possible and inputting a jump from there, utilizing any small rock ledges to get in a quick jump on the way towards the shore and crossing where the continents are the closest to one another. Because of the slowness of swimming taking a longer route, that cuts down on swim distance can often end up saving time.