Introduction

The 20th anniversary of Transformers (2004) (PS2) saw the release of the Transformers Randomizer. Using Exodus's capabilities to read and write the game's files, the Randomizer can change Minicon and Datacon placements, Minicon and Autobot stats, and more. The Randomizer includes user-tunable settings to adjust the difficulty to your taste.

Acknowledgements

Huge thanks to the Transformers (2004) (PS2) Discord mod team for brainstorming and helping to test the Randomizer during development. Additional thanks for mods Telephone and CokeMilk for their help with modified graphics, cut content curation, and other assets for the Randomizer.

Requirements

The Randomizer requires the following things to use:

Setup

To use the Randomizer, the game's files need to be readily available. Exodus has the option to unpack an ISO under the "Build" menu to accommodate this.

Screenshot of the Build menu.

Select the "Unpack ISO" option and choose a safe location to put the unpacked game. This can take some time to process.

If you plan to use this for the Randomizer, DO NOT manually edit or rearrange these files. Doing so can make unusable ISO files when the Randomizer processes. If you're doing any kind of modding (including the Randomizer), I recommend keeping a "clean" extract of the game.

Usage

When selecting "Load Randomizer" on Exodus for the first time, you will be prompted to provide the extracted game's directory. Set this to wherever you saved your files in the Setup section. This location will be saved, so as long as the unpacked files stay safe at that location this will never need to be done again.

Screenshot of the Randomizer setup prompt for finding the unpacked game.

Once the files load, the Randomizer screen will appear. From here, you can select the various options (described below) that you want to enable.

Screenshot of the entire Exodus Randomizer screen.

If you want to use a specific seed for the run, put it in the textbox next to the "Randomize" button. Otherwise, hit the "Randomize" button and the Randomizer will generate a seed on its own.

If this is your first time using the Randomizer, you will be prompted to provide a directory to build the Randomized data in. Please do not make this the same location as your extracted game. The randomized files will overwrite your clean game files, meaning you will have to extract the game again if you want to

If playing with others, you can export or import settings* to synchronize the run. The person setting up the Randomizer can input all the settings that have been agreed on. Then, they can hit the "Export Settings" button. This will generate a set of numbers in the text box next to it that can be sent to the other players. Enter that set of numbers into the settings textbox, then click "Import Settings"**.

Gif showing the process described above.

*NOTE: For now, this will only export the "main" settings (Difficulties, Datacon placement, stat randomization) and will NOT select mods or file replacements. Since these two are driven by external files, there is no way to set those with the current system.

**NOTE: When importing settings, they will not visually update. On one hand, you could see this as a bug. On the other, "surprise" randomizers are fun in the right setting.

Randomizer Options

Generate Datacons

Overall Difficulty

Screenshot of the three difficulty sliders - Overall, Slipstream, and Highjump.

The Overall Difficulty will determine where Rangefinder and Shepherd are located.

  1. Rangefinder will be before Mid Atlantic, Shepherd will be before Alaska, and a random weapon will be available in the Amazon Basin
  2. Rangefinder will be before Mid Atlantic, Shepherd will be before Alaska
  3. Rangefinder will be before Mid Atlantic, Shepherd can be anywhere
  4. Rangefinder can be anywhere, Shepherd will be in Pacific Island
  5. Rangefinder can be anywhere, Shepherd will be in a Pacific Island bunker.

Slipstream Difficulty

  1. Slipstream will be before Mid Atlantic, excluding specific locations
  2. Slipstream will be before Mid Atlantic, excluding specific difficult to reach locations
  3. Slipstream will be before Mid Atlantic, excluding specific very difficult to reach locations
  4. Slipstream will be before Alaska's caves. Shieldwall, Hailstorm, and Comeback will be available before Mid Atlantic to allow for the gliderless launch.
  5. Slipstream can be anywhere except the Distant Island in Mid Atlantic, the only unreachable location.

Highjump Difficulty

  1. Highjump will be before Alaska's caves, excluding specific locations
  2. Highjump will be before Alaska's caves, excluding difficult to reach locations
  3. Highjump will be before Alaska's caves, excluding difficult to reach locations
  4. Highjump will be before Alaska's caves
  5. Highjump can be anywhere

With the higher difficulties of Slipstream and Highjump logic, at least one of them will be available before Starship because of the invisible walls requiring Highjump. Starship can then be traversed normally with Highjump or with Starship Skip using Slipstream.

Mods

Screenshot of the Mod selection pane of Exodus's Randomizer page.

There is a section that allows for mods to be added to the randomized game. Checking off any of these boxes will apply the mod when the "Randomize" button is pressed. This will put the modified ELF file in the Randomizer folder alongside the other modified files.
The mods packaged with Exodus are:

  • Glide Always/Highjump Always
  • Skip Intro FMVs
  • Slipstream Cutscene Fix

File Replacements

Screenshot of the File Replacement selection pane of Exodus's Randomizer page.

This section contains options for files that can be randomly replaced if checked. The system is designed to easily add community-made replacements, but Exodus comes packaged with a few audio files and textures that were cut from the release version of the game:

Automatically Build

Turning on the autobuild option will make the Randomizer copy the needed files from the unpacked directory and combine them with the randomized files into a full ISO. This process will automatically run 7zip and ImgBurn with the correct settings to make a playable version of the game. Below is what the ImgBurn popup should show on autobuild.

ImgBurn settings image.

Known Issues

  • Leaving Starship and immediately returning can cause a crash. Changing characters or going to a different level first will force the game to do a slow reload of the level and avoids the crash.
  • Slipstream's cutscene will only work in Mid-Atlantic before beating Tidal Wave. If you find Slipstream and want to equip it, you'll have to head back to HQ. There is a mod to fix this.

Troubleshooting

FAQ

Q: Why is the first loading screen so slow?

A: The original .ZIP files used for the game were custom-built and optimized to be loaded by the PS2. The custom nature of these ZIP files is also why 7zip is required. Unfortunately, while 7zip is able to read these archives, it isn't able to build them in the same way. This results in a much slower initial load on the rebuilt game. Note that if you're playing on emulator, you can speed up this loading screen by disabling the framerate limit (default key should be Tab).

Q: Will you be adding enemy randomization?

A: This has been considered, and should be possible in theory. It introduces some problems that we weren't able to solve in time to release the Randomizer in time for the 20th anniversary.

Q: Are there plans to add custom textures/models (similar to other randomizers, like Super Metroid or Ocarina of Time)?

A: Not at this time, though personally I'm not writing off the possibility. Right now the focus is on the function of the randomizer. The systems in place that re-introduce cut content could be re-used for custom content if the time comes for that.