Readme

The OoT Randomizer offers many different settings to customize your play experience. Here’s a fully detailed list!

Generation Options

Setting String

This is a variable length character string that specifies the totality of other gameplay relevant (non-cosmetic) settings used throughout the randomizer. This string can be shared between players and then the “Import Settings String” button can be pressed to automatically change all settings to match another player.

Seed

This is a string representing the particular configuration of items that will occur in your seed; the purpose is to combine a seed string with a specific settings string such that the randomizer will be able to generate the same game for multiple players. If this field is left blank, a random seed will be chosen.

Patch File

Patch files are used to send the patched data to other people without sending the ROM file.

ROM Options

Base Rom

Specify the input ROM that will be used by the randomizer. Please be sure it is OoT US v1.0. Japanese v1.0 roms will be supported in the future, though they will remain in English.

Output Directory

Specify where the output ROM will be written on your computer.

Generation Count

Specify how many ROMs in sequence you would like to generate.

Create Spoiler Log

Decide whether to output a text file detailing where every item can be found and the sequence of play that will lead to seed completion. Selecting this option will create a different item configuration than using otherwise identical settings without printing a log; this is intended to prevent cheating in race environments.

Create Cosmetics Log

Decide whether to output a text file detailing which cosmetic options were chosen, including which values were selected for Random Choice and Completely Random.

Output Type

Decide the format of the output ROM. Compressed is generally recommended for most users; this is necessary for injection into a .wad for use on the Virtual Console, and all known N64 emulators have significant crashing problems with uncompressed ROMs. Real N64 hardware doesn’t care so generation time can be improved by using the uncompressed option if you are playing on a real N64 with a flash cart. Patch files are used to send the patched data to other people without sending the ROM file. You can also choose not to output a ROM at all; this is useful if you just want to look at spoiler logs.

Multi-World Generation

This option allows for multiple worlds to be generated to be used in co-op play. Each player will get a different ROM designed to work in conjunction with another to allow two players to work together to complete the game. Synchronization can be achieved on Bizhawk via the following script:

https://github.com/TestRunnerSRL/bizhawk-co-op

Player Count

Use this to specify how many players will be participating in this co-op playthrough.

Player ID

Use this to specify which player number you are in particular. Each participant in the co-op should choose a different number starting with 1.

Settings Presets

Presets are settings that can be saved and loaded from. Loading a preset will overwrite all settings that affect the seed.

Main Rules

Open Forest

Mido does not need to see a sword and shield to reach the Deku Tree and the Kokiri boy blocking the exit to the forest is gone. If this flag is not set, it is guaranteed that the Deku Tree can be completed without leaving the forest. This means that the Kokiri Sword, slingshot, and deku shield for sale will all be available before you need to use them.

Open Kakariko Gate

The gate leading up to Death Mountain from Kakariko Village is open from the beginning of the game. Normally this requires Zelda’s Letter to open. This allows more diverse routing early in the game and prevents very long walks in seeds with the Weird Egg shuffled. Two things are important to note. Showing Zelda’s Letter to the guard is still required to begin the Happy Mask sidequest and to receive a discount on purchasing Hylian Shields. The gate is simply gone for an adult no matter what.

Open Door of Time

The Door of Time is open from the beginning of the game. The Song of Time is still potentially useful for moving Song of Time blocks, for playing to the frogs on Zora's River, or for other such uses. If this flag is not set, the Door of Time must be opened to become an adult as in the original game, but all that is needed to open the Door of Time is the Song of Time and any ocarina. The Ocarina of Time in particular, and the Spiritual Stones, have nothing to do with this cutscene.

Open Zora's Fountain

Kind Zora is moved to the side from the beginning of the game. The Letter in a Bottle is removed from the item pool and replaced with an Empty Bottle. King Zora is moved for both child and adult.

Gerudo Fortress

Default Behavior

Gerudo Fortress will work the same way it did in the original game. All four carpenters must be rescued in order for the Gerudo woman, who gives the Membership Card, to appear, and for the Gerudo to stop being hostile. Rescuing a carpenter requires having a Gerudo Fortress Small Key and defeating the corresponding guard.

Rescue One Carpenter

Only the bottom left carpenter must be rescued to complete Gerudo Fortress. Only one Gerudo Fortress Small Key will exist because of this.

Start with Gerudo Card

The player will start with the Gerudo Card from the beginning of the game. The carpenters will be pre-rescued, and the bridge to Gerudo Fortress as an adult will be repaired from the beginning. The Membership Card is the requirement for entering Gerudo Training Grounds, so the grounds will be an accessible area from the moment adulthood is available.

Rainbow Bridge Requirement

This determines the condition under which the rainbow bridge to Ganon’s Castle will spawn.

Open

The rainbow bridge is always present.

Vanilla

The rainbow bridge spawns under the same conditions it did in the original game: Link must possess the Light Arrows and view the Zelda cutscene, in the Temple of Time. This cutscene is triggered by the possession of the Shadow and Spirit Medallions.

All Medallions

All six of the medallions are required to open Ganon's Castle.

All Spiritual Stones

All three of the spiritual stones are required to open Ganon's Castle.

All Dungeons

The rainbow bridge requires all medallions and spiritual stones to be in the player’s possession to spawn.

100 Gold Skulltulas

All 100 of the gold skulltulas are required to open Ganon's Castle.

Random Number of Ganon’s Trials

A random number of trials within Ganon’s Castle from 0 to 6 will be chosen, and individual trials will be randomly disabled as necessary to match this number. Alternatively, a specific number of trials can be specified with the slider below. If a number of trials other than 0 or 6 is chosen and hints are enabled, hints will be added to the hint pool informing the player which trials are present (if 1 to 3 trials) or which are missing (if 4 or 5 trials).

Logic Rules

Glitchless

No knowledge of glitches is expected or required of the player to play the seed from beginning to end.

No Logic

Items are placed in the world completely randomly. Some knowledge of glitches may be required. Some generated seeds may be completely impossible to complete.

All Locations Reachable

This option will set the logic to try to ensure Link can reach every item location in the game with the exception of “key for key” item locations (a single item spot behind a locked door containing the key to open the door). If this option is not used, the logic will allow some items to be in impossible locations so long as the set of reachable items is sufficient to complete the game.

Bombchus Are Considered in Logic

This option fundamentally changes how the Bombchu items found around the world function. With this option on, Bombchus are a progression item and operate as a form of progressive item. The first Bombchu pack found will be worth 20 Bombchus and subsequent packs will be worth 10 or 5 Bombchus. Finding Bombchus will be considered as logical progression, and having found any Bombchus will be the condition to play Bombchu Bowling or buy Bombchu refills from shops. This flag will also add Bombchu (5) buyable items to the shops in Kokiri Forest, Castle Town Bazaar, and Kakariko Bazaar. With this option off, randomly found Bombchu items are not considered as logical progression, randomly found Bombchus will have specific denominations based on the values from the original game, and finding a Bomb Bag is what enables playing Bombchu Bowling and buying Bombchus from shops which will not have their inventories edited.

Dungeons Have One Major Item

This option places one “major item” and one only in each of the dungeons. For the purpose of the randomizer, the dungeons are defined as the eight dungeons that contain either Medallions or Spiritual Stones as well as Bottom of the Well, Ice Cavern, Gerudo Training Grounds, and Ganon’s Castle. The major items are any item usable with a c-button that is not simply a form of ammo (Bombchus are major only if “Bombchus are considered in logic” is on), songs, Mirror Shield, swords, tunics, boots, Double Defense, Magic Meter/Double Magic, Bullet Bags, Quivers, Bomb Bags, Strength Upgrades, Scales, Wallets, and the Stone of Agony. To be clear, this means that rupees, ammo, Deku Stick and Deku Nut ammo expansions, Pieces of Heart, Heart Containers, Gold Skulltula Tokens, Maps, Compasses, Small Keys, Boss Keys, Deku Shields, Hylian Shields, and Ice Traps are not considered major items. However, Small Keys and Boss Keys are considered major items if the appropriate “keysanity” settings are used. Note that unlike with the distribution of dungeon specific items like keys, this flag does consider the hands of the Desert Colossus as Spirit Temple locations, and to mirror the original game, Spirit Temple will get two items instead of just one.

Master Quest Dungeons

With this option you can select a number of Master Quest dungeons to be included in your game. A value of 0 leaves all dungeons in their vanilla form. A value of 12 swaps each for its Master Quest form. 6 is an even mix of both. You may also opt for a random number of dungeons.

Shuffle Kokiri Sword

This flag adds the Kokiri Sword to the shuffle. With it off, the Kokiri Sword will always be found in its original chest in the Kokiri Forest.

Shuffle Ocarinas

This flag adds both the Fairy Ocarina and the Ocarina of Time to the shuffle. The ocarinas are progressive items; the first found will always be the Fairy Ocarina, with the second being the Ocarina of Time, even though the two are functionally identical. Without this flag on, leaving the Kokiri Forest to the Lost Woods bridge as a child will always grant one Ocarina and the other is always available at the gate of Castle Town, as a child, when all three Spiritual Stones are in the player’s possession.

Shuffle Weird Egg

This flag adds the Weird Egg given by child Malon to the shuffle. With this flag on, child Malon will give a random item and the Weird Egg must be located to do the events at Hyrule Castle with Zelda and Impa. These events block interacting with Talon and Malon at Lon Lon Ranch as a child as well as Saria in Sacred Forest Meadow and the Happy Mask sidequest.

Shuffle Gerudo Card

This flag shuffles the Gerudo Card into the general item pool. In the randomizer, this is required to gain access to Gerudo Training Grounds, but it does not have any impact on the hostility of the Gerudo in Gerudo Fortress who still check for the carpenter rescue events. Without this flag, the Gerudo Card is always given by the Gerudo woman who spawns after the final carpenter is rescued. If Gerudo Fortress is cleared from the beginning of the game, the player starts the game with the Gerudo Card and this setting is voided.

Shuffle Songs with Items

This flag adds the 12 standard ocarina songs to the shuffle as normal items. With this flag on, the spots that contained songs in the original game will simply give Link a random item, and the songs can be found as items freely. Without this flag on, songs are still randomized but only between each other. In either case, the Scarecrow’s Song is not affected; it is still obtained by interacting with Bonooru at Lake Hylia first as a kid and then as an adult.

Shuffle Deku Salescrubs

This flag makes every Business scrub in the world sell a random item instead of only the three that sold permanent upgrades in the original game. Using this flag adds the various low tier items the other scrubs sold to the item pool for the most part; the potion refills are replaced with Recovery Hearts for Red Potions and blue rupees for Green Potions. For each Business Scrub that sold arrows/seeds depending on age, there will be a 75% chance of adding a 30 arrow item and a 25% chance of adding a 30 seed item to the pool. If this is set, once the item from a Business Scrub is bought, the scrub will disappear from the world forever. The individual settings in the dropdown can be used to set the price of each Business Scrub to 10 rupees, leave the prices as what they were in the original game, or set each price to a random value from 0 to 99 rupees. In all cases, the text for the Business Scrub will not update.

Shopsanity

This setting randomizes the items sold in shops. When it is used, all shop items are randomly re-arranged among all 8 of the original game’s shops. This setting causes the Bombchu Shop to be open from the very beginning of the game, and this setting considers the two shops in adult Kakariko Village to be distinct shops from the two similar shops in child Castle Town; however, the shops in Kokiri Forest, Goron City, and Zora Domain are the same shops as both ages. This setting overrides the “Bombchus considered in logic” editing of the shop item pool.

Off

This disables the Shopsanity feature.

Shuffled Shops (0 Items)

This causes all of the Shopsanity features described above.

Shuffled Shops (1-4 Items)

This not only causes all of the Shopsanity features described above, but it also adds 1-4 (depending on the exact setting) items from the general item pool into shops to buy for randomly chosen amounts of money. Lower value shop items are removed to make room for this, and low value junk items are added to the item pool to fill the extra empty chests this will implicitly create. Using this feature will also replace several of the rupee items found throughout the seed with higher value rupees and will add a third Wallet upgrade, the “Tycoon’s Wallet”, to the item pool which can hold up to 999 rupees. The items from the general item pool added to shops will always be on the far left of the shop inventories, and these items can always be bought if the player has enough rupees even if they are explosives without an appropriate container or a tunic as a child.

Shuffled Shops (Random Items)

This is similar to the 1-4 items variant but gives each shop a random number of new items from 0-4. Each shop can have a different amount of unique items with this setting.

Tokensanity

This setting shuffles the Gold Skulltula item drops into the general pool of locations. The player can choose only to include Gold skulltulas found in dungeons for a more mild version of this setting.

Shuffle Dungeon Items

This setting allows the player to decide the natural distribution of dungeon items. Dungeon items can be found confined to their original dungeons, spread freely throughout the world, or prevented from existing completely. Items that are prevented from existing completely will be replaced in the item pool with an assortment of various low tier junk items. This feature can be specified for Maps/Compasses, Small Keys, and Boss Keys independently. If Small Keys or Boss Keys are prevented from existing, this will also remove all locks those keys would be used for from existing as well. If Small Keys are left in their original dungeons and the Fire Temple is not in the form of Master Quest, the locked door in the first room that leads to the normal location of the Boss Key will be removed.

Maps and Compasses Give Information

This setting, only available if you start with Maps and Compasses or they are spread across the world, disables the pedestal in the Temple of Time from giving information about the location of the Medallions and Spiritual Stones. Instead, the Compass from each of the eight eligible dungeons will tell the player which dungeon has which reward. If Master Quest dungeons are to be mixed in, each of the ten Maps will tell the player whether any given dungeon is in the vanilla or Master Quest form. The Compasses from Bottom of the Well and Ice Cavern do not give any information.

Remove Ganon’s Door Boss Lock

This setting removes the Boss Key lock from Ganon’s Tower. This removes the need to locate the Ganon’s Tower Boss Key to finish the game.

Detailed Logic

Exclude Locations

This is a search box to select which locations you would like to never have major items required to finish a seed. Excluded locations will be displayed in a list box below the search box.

Enable Tricks

This is a search box to select which trick flags you want enabled. Enabled tricks will be displayed in a list box below the search box.

Adult Trade Sequence

This pair of settings can be used to specify the earliest and latest items that can be allowed to randomly show up in the general item pool. Only one item will be in the item pool regardless of this setting; this can merely be used to limit the range of possibilities.

Lens of Truth

This setting alters the expectations about interacting with invisible objects without the Lens of Truth.

Required Everywhere

This setting requires the Lens of Truth to interact with any invisible object except for whatever was required in the original game to obtain the Lens of Truth.

Wasteland and Chest Minigame

This setting expects the Lens of Truth to be used only to cross the Haunted Wasteland and to win the Treasure Chest Minigame in Castle Town at night.

Only Chest Minigame

This setting expects the Lens of Truth to be used only to win the Treasure Chest Minigame in Castle Town at night.

Other

Skip Tower Collapse Sequence

This setting causes defeating Ganondorf to skip directly to the Ganon fight without the need to do the collapsing Ganon’s Tower sequence.

Skip Child Stealth

This setting causes entering the crawlspace at Hyrule Castle to deposit the player directly into the Castle Courtyard, bypassing the guard evasion sequence.

Skip Epona Race

This setting causes Epona to be stolen from Ingo from the start of the game, only requiring Epona’s Song and an ocarina as an adult to summon.

Fast Chest Cutscenes

This setting causes all chests to open with a quick animation. If this setting is off, certain important items will trigger the slow opening animation.

Nighttime Skulltulas Expect Sun’s Song

This setting causes the logic to expect the player to have an ocarina and the Sun’s Song to get Gold Skulltula locations that are only found at nighttime.

Free Scarecrow’s Song

This flag causes Pierre the Scarecrow to be available to summon for the adult from the beginning of the game. All you have to do is pull the Ocarina out near a location where he can spawn.

Start With Fast Travel

Start the game with Prelude of Light, Serenade of Water, and Farore's Wind. Two song locations will give items instead of Prelude and Serenade.

Start With Max Rupees

Start the game with 99 rupees.

Start With Tycoon's Wallet

Start the game with the largest wallet which can hold 999 rupees.

Start With Deku Equipment

Start the game with 10 Deku sticks and 20 Deku nuts. If shopsanity is off, also start with Deku Shield.

Random Big Poe Target Count

This setting causes the number of Big Poes that must be turned into the vendor to obtain his item to be random from 1-10. Alternatively, the number of Big Poes requires can be selected manually with the slider below. Note that Big Poes can be found as pre-stocked Bottle contents, and the logic can expect using them if the required number is sufficiently low.

Randomize Ocarina Song Notes

This flag randomizes the particular notes in the 12 standard ocarina songs. This can predictably be pretty obnoxious. In general, the patterns chosen for the top row songs will be simpler than the patterns chosen for warp songs.

Chest Size Matches Contents

This flag causes keys, Ice Traps, and items flagged as progression items to appear in large treasure chests, Boss Keys in gold chests like in vanilla, and Small Keys in small gold chests while other items will be in small treasure chests. This means that players can choose to skip small treasure chests since they will only contain handy, not essential, items.

Clearer Hints

This flag changes the text of Gossip Stone hints to be overwhelmingly explicit. This is helpful for players who do not have English as their first language, but the hints will be less “fun” and less like the sorts of things that would be said in the original game.

Gossip Stones

This flag changes the behavior of Gossip Stones to give hints to players. The hints will be distributed as such:

- If the required number of trials is 1-3, a hint will be added for each trial that must be done. If the required number of trials is 4 or 5, a hint will be added for each trial that can be skipped.

- Hints will be added for every one of the “always” locations that is allowed to have a random possibly valuable item under the current settings. These hints will tell the player what item is at each of these locations. These locations are the rewards for 30, 40, and 50 Gold Skulltula Tokens, the item obtained from Biggoron by showing the Claim Check, the item obtained from the Big Poe vendor, both the song and the item slots at the Ocarina of Time, and the item obtained from showing the Mask of Truth at the Deku Theater.

- Some hints will be given for items at a randomly selected number of other locations that are generally somewhat inconvenient to check. The total number of these hints will be either 11 or 12 minus the number of always hints placed. -3 or 4 hints will be given naming a specific non-dungeon specific item that can be found in a randomly chosen dungeon.

- 1 to 4 hints will be given naming a specific item found in a specific overworld region. Which part of this range is used is determined in part by how many trial hints are given.

- 4 to 6 hints will be given naming what region specific progression items other than Gold Skulltula Tokens can be found.

- 3 or 4 hints will be given naming specific regions that are “on the way of the hero” and thus contain at least one required progression item.

- All remaining hints (33 total unique Gossip Stones exist) will be filled with non-information junk hints.

This setting allows the player to specify which item is required to interact with the Gossip Stones. The Stone of Agony is the default option as it gives a fairly purposeless vanilla item a use and allows both kid and adult to interact with the Gossip Stones. The default Mask of Truth can be used, but this has the downside that the Mask of Truth can only be obtained with all Spiritual Stones which tends to make the hints not useful, and using the Mask of Truth requires being a child which is another big downside. There is also an option for the information to just be free for those wanting an easier mode.

Text Shuffle

This setting allows all the text in the game to be shuffled. This is mostly for comedy and is not intended to be a serious gameplay option.

No Text Shuffled

Leave the text alone.

Shuffled except Hints and Keys

Shuffle all text other than the useful text giving the player information.

All Text Shuffled

Shuffle all text even to the player’s mechanical disadvantage.

Item Pool

This setting allows the player to tweak the item pool to make a somewhat harder or easier experience.

Plentiful

Some required items will be duplicated to make it easier to find them.

Balanced

Leave the item pool alone.

Scarce

Heart Containers, Double Defense, and the second Magic Upgrade are replaced with junk items. One each of the ammo expansions (Quiver, Bullet Bag, Bomb Bag Deku Stick Capacity, Deku Nut Capacity) will also be replaced with junk items, and all Bombchu pick-ups other than three will similarly be replaced with junk.

Minimal

In addition to the items from Hard, Pieces of Heart and Nayru’s Love are also replaced with junk items. One more of each ammo expansion is removed resulting in zero extra ammo capacity for those item types, and only one Bombchu pick-up can be found.

Damage Multiplier

This setting changes the amount of damage taken.

Half

Link takes half damage.

Normal

Link takes normal damage.

Double

Link takes double damage.

Quadruple

Link takes quadruple damage.

OHKO

Link dies in one hit and at least one Nayru’s Love is in the item pool.

Starting Time Of Day

Change up Link's sleep routine.

Cosmetics

Default Targeting Option

This option specifies whether Z-targeting will default to “Switch” or “Hold” style. Either way, this can still be changed in-game as per usual.

Navi Core Colors

These options can be used to set Navi’s inner core color in a variety of contexts. The lists of pre-set colors here is different, but the same types of options exist as for choosing tunic colors.

Kokiri Tunic Color

This determines the color of Link’s default Kokiri Tunic. This only affects the color when he’s wearing it, not the color of the icon in the menu.

Most Colors

Simply get the particular color selected. Available colors are Kokiri Green, Goron Red, Zora Blue, Black, White, Azure Blue, Vivid Cyan, Light Red, Fuchsia, Purple, MM Purple, Twitch Purple, Purple Heart, Persian Rose, Dirty Yellow, Blush Pink, Hot Pink, Rose Pink, Orange, Gray, Gold, Silver, Beige, Teal, Blood Red, Blood Orange, Royal Blue, Sonic Blue, NES Green, Dark Green, and Lumen.

Random Choice

Choose a random color from the set of pre-made colors.

Completely Random

Generate a random color with numerically random RGB values.

Custom Color

A special interface will pop up that will allow the user to choose any color from a diverse color wheel or input a desired RGB value.

Goron Tunic Color

This determines the color of Link’s Goron Tunic. This only affects the color when he’s wearing it, not the color of the icon in the menu or when holding it up after acquiring it. The options are identical to those for the Kokiri Tunic.

Zora Tunic Color

This determines the color of Link’s Zora Tunic. This only affects the color when he’s wearing it, not the color of the icon in the menu or when holding it up after acquiring it. The options are identical to those for the Kokiri Tunic.

Navi Outside Colors

These options can be used to set Navi’s outer glow color in a variety of contexts. The lists of pre-set colors here is different, but the same types of options exist as for choosing tunic colors.

SFX

Background Music

Normal

Do not alter the background music.

No Music

Disable background music. Sound effects will still play. This may be desired by players who like to listen to their own music.

Random

Background music is shuffled so that different tracks may play in different areas. This may be silly.

Low Health SFX

This determines which sound effect to play repeatedly when Link is very low on health. Several of these options are designed to be potentially more pleasant to listen to while a few are designed to be more amusing.

Particular Sounds

Set this particular sound for the heart beep. Available choices are Default, Softer Beep, Rupee, Timer, Tambourine, Recovery Heart, Carrot Refill, Navi - Hey!, Zelda - Gasp, Cluck, Mweep!, Iron Boots, Hammer, Sword Bounce, Bow, Gallop, Drawbridge, Switch, Bomb Bounce, Bark, Ribbit, Broken Pot, Business Scrub, Guay, and Bongo Bongo. Indeed, one of these is the sound a king might make when moving… very slowly.

Random Choice

Play a random SFX from the list of choices.

None

Disable low health heart beeps altogether.

Navi Overworld

This option sets the SFX that will play when Navi is ready to give a hint. The options are very similar to the Low Health SFX.

Navi Enemy

This option sets the SFX that will play when Navi targets an enemy. The options are very similar to the Low Health SFX.

Command Line Options

-h, --help

Show the help message and exit.

--gui

Launch the GUI

--loglevel [{error,info,warning,debug}]

Select level of logging for output. (default: info)

--settings_string SETTINGS_STRING

Enter a settings string that will encode and override most individual settings.

--convert_settings

Only convert the specified settings to a settings string. If a settings string is specified output the used settings instead.

--settings SETTINGS

Use the specified settings file to use for generation

--seed SEED

Define seed number to generate. (default: None)