7 ms·

Ocarina of Time Randomizer

163 points by nickswalker 1y ago

pimeys 1y ago
One of my favorite things to watch on Twitch are the Dark Souls randomizer runs. E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8R0JWQdeo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8R0JWQdeo
- Panziewanzer 1y ago
  Wow! I never expected to see Barb talked about on hacker News.
  - vga805 1y ago
    There are a lot of us bald programmers..
    - pimeys 1y ago
      Or balding!
  - pimeys 1y ago
    He's always on in the background when I work. Love him to bits, and I've been a paying customer for almost six years already. He's the only subscription I pay for rather than Netflix et.al. Like the variety of games and of course mawio! The only thing I don't like is barb insisting on doing those fake sneezes all the time...
- hbn 1y ago
  Randomizers are a fantastic innovation of the past decade. They can breathe so much new life into a game you've gotten comfortable with, where subsequent playthroughs are becoming stale. I played through a Dark Souls randomizer a few years ago and it really made me explore a lot more like I haven't really done since my first playthrough, since I eventually learned where to get all the equipment I like and which areas aren't worth going to.
  - da_chicken 1y ago
    I'm just glad we're getting to a point where they're at least a little more mainstream. For quite awhile there, a lot of randomizers would include potential requirements like knowing how to do some arbitrary wrong warp, or some highly technical unintended interaction. They felt like toys only for the speedrunning community.
2OEH8eoCRo0 1y ago
Good Old Days Gaming is great and does a ton of randomizer runs. https://www.youtube.com/@GoodOldDaysGaming https://www.youtube.com/@GoodOldDaysGaming
lbourdages 1y ago
I love playing OOT randos. Not only is it a new puzzle every time, there are a lot of quality-of-life improvements (e.g. pushing blocks is faster, cutscenes are skipped) that make it much more enjoyable for someone who already knows the game well.
- echelon 1y ago
  What platform or emulator do you play them on? I suppose these will work on Analogue 3D when it gets released?
  - zamadatix 1y ago
    If you're just playing it for fun the PC port has randomizer seed support as well as a ton of other QoL improvements. If you're doing things as part of a group race there might be a requirement to use only certain emulators or real hardware though, depending how much the group cares. In general, if you can play the game on the system you can probably get the randomized ROM to play on it.
  - comebhack 1y ago
    It should do, it can run on original hardware (e.g. via an Everdrive). I play on a MiSTer FPGA [0] and it's great. [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiSTer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiSTer
  - kesslern 1y ago
    Ship of Harkanian, the PC port of OoT created from the decompilation project, has the randomizer built in. It's the best way and probably easiest on PC. You can also build an actual N64 rom and play in an emulator or on a real N64 using a flashcart. RetroArch N64 cores will work fine with it.
  - lbourdages 1y ago
    I use OpenEmu on my Mac, so I guess Mupen64 as the emulator core. However as someone else mentioned the ROM should run on native hardware.
proteal 1y ago
How does one ensure that every seed can be completed without glitches? The website says this is the case, so I wonder how they do it because it seems nontrivial to generate valid seeds efficiently.
- skyyler 1y ago
  This is referred to by OoT runners as "Logic" and you can get an overview here: https://wiki.ootrandomizer.com/index.php?title=Logic https://wiki.ootrandomizer.com/index.php?title=Logic There are people that do "No Logic" randomizers. That's a very different kind of game than the original base game.
- shhsshs 1y ago
  The project has data about every location (doors, chests, etc.) and the conditions that must be met to allow access to those locations - for example [1]. From there the randomizer shuffles various entrances/exits and item locations around using rules that are mostly guaranteed to keep the game beatable. [1] https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/blob/d1bb6c27e2c54aaef74aa102a34361fa4b8721a9/data/World/Deku%20Tree.json#L33 https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/blob/d1bb6c2...
- yuriks 1y ago
  The rules for what locations/checks can be reached in what situations and with what items are painstakingly encoded in a machine readable format: https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/tree/Dev/data/World https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/tree/Dev/dat... I don't know the specifics of the OoTR algorithm but in general they work by considering a set of items which are currently "available", and then progressively picking a random item to place only in locations which are reachable with that current set of available items (which is expanded with each placement).
- Graziano_M 1y ago
  Think of every location in the game as accessible only after certain events or items are acquired. You can create a directed acyclic graph (how build systems figure out dependencies!). You can randomize all the locations of items, as long there is still a way to get from the starting node to the ending node.
bevr1337 1y ago
I couldn't find an easy answer on the wiki or site, but I am using my phone instead of a desktop. Do users still need to obtain (an obviously legal, Nintendo approved) ROM of classic OOT to use the randomizer?
- whaleofatw2022 1y ago
  Yes. Typically randomizers take the input rom (or data from a CD in the case of something like SOTN) and use that as a starting point.
squigz 1y ago
What timing - I just started playing Wind Waker HD randomizer runs. It really adds a lot to the experience, especially after having played through the vanilla game several times. It manages to re-capture some of the feeling of exploring the world for the first time.
- favorited 1y ago
  I'm glad to hear that Wind Waker HD has fan support like this. It was always a bummer to me that the best versions of Wind Waker and Skyward Sword were trapped on the Wii U, given the incredible preservation that Dolphin provides for their original versions. Edit: I own a Wii U, I'm not trying to be a hater. For years, it really was the ultimate Zelda box.
  - delecti 1y ago
    I slightly disagree, but only because Skyward Sword HD on the Switch is a pretty big improvement. The Wii U was indeed a fantastic Zelda box though.
  - MBlume 1y ago
    > given the incredible preservation that Dolphin provides for their original versions. Does cemu not provide comparable preservation for the HD versions? I played through both WW:HD and TP:HD on my Steam Deck using cemu and found it a great experience.
  - tessierashpool 1y ago
    I found the Wii U joystick too springy to win OOT or even play much of Twilight Princess. I was able to compensate for the springiness until the penultimate fight with Ganondorf at the top of the castle in OOT, at which point it got too annoying and I just gave up, but with Twilight Princess, I hit that threshold in the fire temple's boss fight. Possibly even just a miniboss. It's possible I just had a Wii U with an unusually tight joystick or something.
- tinco 1y ago
  I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to play the Wind Waker. It's so amazing that only one generation after OoT they released a Zelda that not only is arguably as good or even better than OoT, but it holds up over 20 years later. You can play Wind Waker today and not realize it's not a new game, the graphics and the gameplay are just perfect.
sylens 1y ago
Maybe it's because I love Ocarina of Time but this is one randomizer I really enjoy playing/watching. I think it's because there is already a little bit of sequence breaking built into the game (you can swap the orders of the Spirit and Shadow Temples if you want - in fact, their medallions are already swapped in the Quest Status screen) but there's also a ton of items available to you to solve the same puzzle in different ways. As Adult Link, the hookshot/longshot or hover boots can often be used to solve the same puzzles; ditto for bombs and the hammer.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
GardenLetter27 1y ago
Is it not easier to do this directly in Ship of Harkinian nowadays? And then it runs perfectly on the Steam Deck for example.
- minimaxir 1y ago
  The Ship of Harkinian randomizer isn't strictly feature comparable to the original randomizer, but it's pretty close.
minimaxir 1y ago
For Twitch streamers who play OoT randomizer, I strongly recommend Zfg's stream (one of the best OoT players out there), who is coincidentally streaming it now: https://www.twitch.tv/zfg1 https://www.twitch.tv/zfg1 An example No Logic run he did at Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 (which required shenanigans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-lBi4_g6HQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-lBi4_g6HQ
- cheeze 1y ago
  Not randomizer but I miss the days of Clint vs Zfg so much. Happy to see Clint streaming a bit again.
maxvu 1y ago
There's another that combines Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask into one game, joined by a portal connecting the Happy Mask Shop and Clock Town. It's possible to scatter every bush and box and pot from both games across both worlds. What I like most about it is the "Container Appearance Matches Content" option, which specifically colors every randomizable element and makes the run-throughs feel very dynamic. The last time I tried Ship of Harkanian, I was disappointed to see it missing. https://ootmm.com/ https://ootmm.com/
LelouBil 1y ago
Here's a related software that I like : https://archipelago.gg/ https://archipelago.gg/ This is a multi-game randomizer, where items will be scattered accross all games in the multiworld, and so players will have to find items in their own games, but for eachother. It's really fun, and I am just amazed by the fact that it works so well for a ton of games.
- GardenLetter27 1y ago
  It's so awesome! I want to finish adding the Ultima 6 one sometime - https://arya-iwakura.github.io/Ultima6Randomizer/ https://arya-iwakura.github.io/Ultima6Randomizer/
orthoxerox 1y ago
There's a ROM that combines Super Metroid and A Link to the Past into a single randomized game. It's a crazy experience, especially if you don't remember every powerup/pot location by heart.

163 points by nickswalker 1y ago

One of my favorite things to watch on Twitch are the Dark Souls randomizer runs. E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8R0JWQdeo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8R0JWQdeo

Panziewanzer 1y ago
Wow! I never expected to see Barb talked about on hacker News.
- vga805 1y ago
  There are a lot of us bald programmers..
  - pimeys 1y ago
    Or balding!
- pimeys 1y ago
  He's always on in the background when I work. Love him to bits, and I've been a paying customer for almost six years already. He's the only subscription I pay for rather than Netflix et.al. Like the variety of games and of course mawio! The only thing I don't like is barb insisting on doing those fake sneezes all the time...
hbn 1y ago
Randomizers are a fantastic innovation of the past decade. They can breathe so much new life into a game you've gotten comfortable with, where subsequent playthroughs are becoming stale. I played through a Dark Souls randomizer a few years ago and it really made me explore a lot more like I haven't really done since my first playthrough, since I eventually learned where to get all the equipment I like and which areas aren't worth going to.
- da_chicken 1y ago
  I'm just glad we're getting to a point where they're at least a little more mainstream. For quite awhile there, a lot of randomizers would include potential requirements like knowing how to do some arbitrary wrong warp, or some highly technical unintended interaction. They felt like toys only for the speedrunning community.

2OEH8eoCRo0 1y ago

Good Old Days Gaming is great and does a ton of randomizer runs. https://www.youtube.com/@GoodOldDaysGaming https://www.youtube.com/@GoodOldDaysGaming

lbourdages 1y ago

I love playing OOT randos. Not only is it a new puzzle every time, there are a lot of quality-of-life improvements (e.g. pushing blocks is faster, cutscenes are skipped) that make it much more enjoyable for someone who already knows the game well.

echelon 1y ago
What platform or emulator do you play them on? I suppose these will work on Analogue 3D when it gets released?
- zamadatix 1y ago
  If you're just playing it for fun the PC port has randomizer seed support as well as a ton of other QoL improvements. If you're doing things as part of a group race there might be a requirement to use only certain emulators or real hardware though, depending how much the group cares. In general, if you can play the game on the system you can probably get the randomized ROM to play on it.
- comebhack 1y ago
  It should do, it can run on original hardware (e.g. via an Everdrive). I play on a MiSTer FPGA [0] and it's great. [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiSTer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiSTer
- kesslern 1y ago
  Ship of Harkanian, the PC port of OoT created from the decompilation project, has the randomizer built in. It's the best way and probably easiest on PC. You can also build an actual N64 rom and play in an emulator or on a real N64 using a flashcart. RetroArch N64 cores will work fine with it.
- lbourdages 1y ago
  I use OpenEmu on my Mac, so I guess Mupen64 as the emulator core. However as someone else mentioned the ROM should run on native hardware.

proteal 1y ago

How does one ensure that every seed can be completed without glitches? The website says this is the case, so I wonder how they do it because it seems nontrivial to generate valid seeds efficiently.

skyyler 1y ago
This is referred to by OoT runners as "Logic" and you can get an overview here: https://wiki.ootrandomizer.com/index.php?title=Logic https://wiki.ootrandomizer.com/index.php?title=Logic There are people that do "No Logic" randomizers. That's a very different kind of game than the original base game.
shhsshs 1y ago
The project has data about every location (doors, chests, etc.) and the conditions that must be met to allow access to those locations - for example [1]. From there the randomizer shuffles various entrances/exits and item locations around using rules that are mostly guaranteed to keep the game beatable. [1] https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/blob/d1bb6c27e2c54aaef74aa102a34361fa4b8721a9/data/World/Deku%20Tree.json#L33 https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/blob/d1bb6c2...
yuriks 1y ago
The rules for what locations/checks can be reached in what situations and with what items are painstakingly encoded in a machine readable format: https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/tree/Dev/data/World https://github.com/OoTRandomizer/OoT-Randomizer/tree/Dev/dat... I don't know the specifics of the OoTR algorithm but in general they work by considering a set of items which are currently "available", and then progressively picking a random item to place only in locations which are reachable with that current set of available items (which is expanded with each placement).
Graziano_M 1y ago
Think of every location in the game as accessible only after certain events or items are acquired. You can create a directed acyclic graph (how build systems figure out dependencies!). You can randomize all the locations of items, as long there is still a way to get from the starting node to the ending node.

bevr1337 1y ago

I couldn't find an easy answer on the wiki or site, but I am using my phone instead of a desktop. Do users still need to obtain (an obviously legal, Nintendo approved) ROM of classic OOT to use the randomizer?

whaleofatw2022 1y ago
Yes. Typically randomizers take the input rom (or data from a CD in the case of something like SOTN) and use that as a starting point.

squigz 1y ago

What timing - I just started playing Wind Waker HD randomizer runs. It really adds a lot to the experience, especially after having played through the vanilla game several times. It manages to re-capture some of the feeling of exploring the world for the first time.

favorited 1y ago
I'm glad to hear that Wind Waker HD has fan support like this. It was always a bummer to me that the best versions of Wind Waker and Skyward Sword were trapped on the Wii U, given the incredible preservation that Dolphin provides for their original versions. Edit: I own a Wii U, I'm not trying to be a hater. For years, it really was the ultimate Zelda box.
- delecti 1y ago
  I slightly disagree, but only because Skyward Sword HD on the Switch is a pretty big improvement. The Wii U was indeed a fantastic Zelda box though.
- MBlume 1y ago
  > given the incredible preservation that Dolphin provides for their original versions. Does cemu not provide comparable preservation for the HD versions? I played through both WW:HD and TP:HD on my Steam Deck using cemu and found it a great experience.
- tessierashpool 1y ago
  I found the Wii U joystick too springy to win OOT or even play much of Twilight Princess. I was able to compensate for the springiness until the penultimate fight with Ganondorf at the top of the castle in OOT, at which point it got too annoying and I just gave up, but with Twilight Princess, I hit that threshold in the fire temple's boss fight. Possibly even just a miniboss. It's possible I just had a Wii U with an unusually tight joystick or something.
tinco 1y ago
I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to play the Wind Waker. It's so amazing that only one generation after OoT they released a Zelda that not only is arguably as good or even better than OoT, but it holds up over 20 years later. You can play Wind Waker today and not realize it's not a new game, the graphics and the gameplay are just perfect.

sylens 1y ago

Maybe it's because I love Ocarina of Time but this is one randomizer I really enjoy playing/watching. I think it's because there is already a little bit of sequence breaking built into the game (you can swap the orders of the Spirit and Shadow Temples if you want - in fact, their medallions are already swapped in the Quest Status screen) but there's also a ton of items available to you to solve the same puzzle in different ways. As Adult Link, the hookshot/longshot or hover boots can often be used to solve the same puzzles; ditto for bombs and the hammer.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

GardenLetter27 1y ago

Is it not easier to do this directly in Ship of Harkinian nowadays? And then it runs perfectly on the Steam Deck for example.

minimaxir 1y ago
The Ship of Harkinian randomizer isn't strictly feature comparable to the original randomizer, but it's pretty close.

minimaxir 1y ago

For Twitch streamers who play OoT randomizer, I strongly recommend Zfg's stream (one of the best OoT players out there), who is coincidentally streaming it now: https://www.twitch.tv/zfg1 https://www.twitch.tv/zfg1 An example No Logic run he did at Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 (which required shenanigans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-lBi4_g6HQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-lBi4_g6HQ

cheeze 1y ago
Not randomizer but I miss the days of Clint vs Zfg so much. Happy to see Clint streaming a bit again.

maxvu 1y ago

There's another that combines Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask into one game, joined by a portal connecting the Happy Mask Shop and Clock Town. It's possible to scatter every bush and box and pot from both games across both worlds. What I like most about it is the "Container Appearance Matches Content" option, which specifically colors every randomizable element and makes the run-throughs feel very dynamic. The last time I tried Ship of Harkanian, I was disappointed to see it missing. https://ootmm.com/ https://ootmm.com/

LelouBil 1y ago

Here's a related software that I like : https://archipelago.gg/ https://archipelago.gg/ This is a multi-game randomizer, where items will be scattered accross all games in the multiworld, and so players will have to find items in their own games, but for eachother. It's really fun, and I am just amazed by the fact that it works so well for a ton of games.

GardenLetter27 1y ago
It's so awesome! I want to finish adding the Ultima 6 one sometime - https://arya-iwakura.github.io/Ultima6Randomizer/ https://arya-iwakura.github.io/Ultima6Randomizer/

orthoxerox 1y ago

There's a ROM that combines Super Metroid and A Link to the Past into a single randomized game. It's a crazy experience, especially if you don't remember every powerup/pot location by heart.