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This is the Work-in-Progress project for The Messenger Randomizer. Initial version of the mod currently in development.
If you haven't installed the mod yet, refer to the project's README file for installation instructions. Once installed you can continue to follow this wiki for instructions on how to use it.
Now that you are all installed and ready to play, lets take a look some of the functionality the mod provides.
Please note that the below instructions are intended to be used on the latest version of the mod. If you wish to use and earlier version you can take a look at the Legacy Instructions page.
Previously players had to download the rando save file and replace their own save file with it. After 3 seeds the player would have to perform this action again to get a fresh save. That was annoying so I finally got something built in to handle it for us. The new mod option in the main menu, "Reset Randomizer File Slot", will immediately replace your current save with a fresh rando save file ready for you to play.
PLEASE NOTE THAT BY PERFORMING THIS NEW FUNCTION THAT YOUR PREVIOUS SAVE FILE WILL IMMEDIATELY BE OVERWRITTEN. IF YOU WISH TO HOLD ON TO YOUR SAVE FILE MAKE SURE TO BACK IT UP BEFORE RUNNING THE NEW FUNCTION.
The early versions of the randomizer mod are not setup to do really nice and fun things for you like properly prepare the game to be in the state we intend to start a randomizer seed in. Currently you start:
- In the Tower of Time HQ (right after the Linear portion of the game completes and the Metroid-vania starts)
- You only have climbing claws
- Some of the initial Tower of Time HQ and map collection cutscenes have already been watched
- All of the portals are open
Until we get that working, you will need to set your game to be in this state to work well with the randomizer. If you are lazy like I am then I have a not-very-fun-but-still-more-fun-then-doing-it-yourself solution for you. Along with the zip file you grabbed for the randomizer mod there should also be a text file. This file is a properly configured game save file that contains three randomizer file slots ready to go for you. All you need to do is:
- Download the 'RandomizerSaveGame.txt' file from the github project.
- Find your Messenger game save file location.
- By default that is located at 'C:\Users\youruserhere\AppData\LocalLow\Sabotage Studio\The Messenger'.
- Backup your original 'SaveGame.txt' file if you wish to not lose it.
- Rename the randomizer save file to 'SaveGame.txt' and place it in the game save location.
You are all done! At this point you have the mod installed and the game in an appropriate state to begin running randomizer seeds.
Just note that once you have used all three file slots you will need to repeat the above steps to get a fresh save. Don't worry too much...I do intend to make this process better in the future.
As of v0.4 the seed generation logic was removed from the mod. This was mainly due to issues with the mod consistently generating the expected mappings for a particular seed. It was decided to centralize the generation logic in a public location to help combat this and make the mod code a little more easy to manage.
Introducing The Messenger Randomizer Seed Generation site!
This site will be used to generate mappings and will provide you with a seed mapping txt file. That file contains all the info the mod needs to know in order to run a seed. More information about this site and its uses can be found on The Messenger Randomizer Seed Generation wiki page.
Once you have the file from the generation site, you will need to place it into the mappings directory for the mod. This new directory will need to be created and the files placed there in order to load the seeds successfully. Navigate to the Mods directory where the rando mod is placed and create a folder named 'TheMessengerRandomizerMappings'.
The files themselves also have a strict naming convention. The way they are built is on a file slot basis, meaning you will have a file for each randomized file slot you are playing. The naming convention for the file is 'MessengerRandomizerMapping_{fileSlot}.txt' with fileSlot being the numbered file slot (1/2/3). So if you wish for your top(first) fileslot to have the mappings you generated from the site, you'll want to make sure the file name says 'MessengerRandomizerMapping_1.txt'. This can get slightly tricky for some folks who start downloading a bunch of rando files as Windows will start appending additional numbers to the file name if you have duplicates in your download folder. One tip would be to keep that folder clean by removing them once you move the mappings to the mod, otherwise just make sure to rename them properly before starting the game.
In the mod, the seed generation options have been replaced with a single option Load Randomizer File For File Slot. This option will ask for a fileslot to load and once you hit 'enter', based on the number you give it, will look for the appropriately named file. If nothing happens when you hit 'enter' then either the number you gave was invalid (a number other that 1/2/3), or a file was not found with the appropriate name. Just correct the number given or the filename and try again.
Once the file is successfully loaded you may back out to the main menu, select the file slot you want to play, and get started with your rando playthrough. :)
In v0.2, a new in-game mod option was added called Teleport to HQ that does exactly what you think it does. This was done for two reasons. First, I really liked it. It's honestly a function I kind of wish was in the vanilla game to help speed up luls in the metroidvania part of the game. Second, this kind of functionality really helps open up possibilities in randomizers as you can now be certain you can make it back to the ToT HQ no matter what items you have, preventing some soft locks.
As of v0.2.3, I have added checks to not allow users to teleport while already in the HQ or in a Shop. This will help prevent weird issues that require a game restart. <3
Also in v0.2.3 I have added the ability to teleport to Ninja Village from the mod options menu. This should significantly improve the experience of doing the old man quest chain. HOWEVER! You will not start with this ability! This option will become available once you have talked with the old man for the first time and picked up the seed. Afterwards, the ability should be available to use as you please.
It is important to note that this teleport functionality can really mess with the game if used at inappropriate times or places. I'll list the ones I know below.
- During Boss fights
- During Cutscenes
- After Courage Note collection (corrupted future chase)
- Currently this is an expected action in logic, meaning it is possible rope dart is locked behind it. The only way to survive the chase is to use the teleport action. This causes a weird state that may cause issues the next time you die after use.
- It is recommended that if you teleport from the chase, quit to title after the save from the teleport before continuing the seed. Starting the file back up again will reset the state appropriately.
In v0.2.3, the Windmill Shuriken was added to the list of items you could find in the wild. But...the chest isn't always accessible...so how do you switch between the two? The answer is a NEW MOD OPTION! Once you find the Windmill Shuriken it will automatically equip. If you wish to switch between them, a Mod Option will be available to change between regular shurikens and windmill shurikens. No more having to go back to the shop to change!
I have added quite a bit of logging into the mod to allow us to know things about the randomizer and the seed you are playing. For example, when you start the file and begin play or generate a new seed the spoiler log that shows what items are where gets printed to the games log. If you wish to view this log and see that information, you can find it in the game's install directory (the same place where the games .exe file is). The file is called 'log.txt'.
As an example, my install destination is 'drive_name:\Steam\steamapps\common\The Messenger'.
Jacksonbird has a tracker created that anyone can use to keep track of checks. It is set up for basic and advanced seeds and allows you to drill down to each stage and see where checks are located. Just download the latest tag and open the html file to use it!
Any feedback on the randomizer would be greatly appreciated as it will only serve to improve the mod. If you wish to provide feedback/comments/issues or just want to stay up to date on the discussions, join The Messenger Mods discord server! The #mod-discussion-general channel would be a good place to start.