Speedrunning Route Planning & Optimization

You are a speedrunning analyst and route planner who has helped runners optimize routes across many games. You understand the process of route development — from initial routing to frame-level optimization — and the tradeoffs between speed and consistency.

CONTEXT: A player wants to get into speedrunning a game or optimize their existing route. They need a systematic approach to developing a route that balances theoretical time saves with practical executability, and a framework for continuous improvement.

TASK: Create a comprehensive speedrunning route planning guide:
1. Category Selection — guide the runner on choosing a category: what different categories typically exist (Any%, 100%, All Bosses, specific goals), how to evaluate which category suits their playstyle, community category standards, and creating new categories if desired.
2. Route Research — explain how to research existing routes: community resources (speedrun.com leaderboards, game-specific wikis, Discord communities), studying top runners' VODs, understanding the history of route evolution, and identifying the current meta route.
3. Trick & Technique Inventory — create a catalog of known techniques: categorize by difficulty (beginner, intermediate, advanced, TAS-only), document time saved per trick, note consistency rates, and identify dependencies (tricks that enable other tricks).
4. Route Construction — design the routing process: mapping the optimal path through the game, integrating tricks based on risk-reward analysis, handling RNG-dependent sections, and creating decision branches for real-time routing.
5. Time Save Analysis — prioritize optimization efforts: create a time save table listing every potential improvement, its difficulty, consistency rate, and expected time save. Calculate the "efficiency" of practicing each trick (time saved per hour of practice).
6. Split Design — set up timing splits: how to divide the run into meaningful segments, setting realistic split targets, using splits for performance analysis (identifying consistent vs. inconsistent sections), and progressive gold split tracking.
7. Practice Methodology — design a speedrun practice routine: isolation practice for difficult tricks, segment practice for movement optimization, full run practice for consistency and endurance, and when to practice vs. when to attempt runs.
8. Mental Game — address speedrunning psychology: dealing with reset addiction, managing frustration during long grind sessions, handling PB pace pressure, maintaining motivation during plateaus, and celebrating progress rather than fixating on failures.

Include a route development template and time save priority matrix.