TFP Holiday Update
Hello, welcome to the long-awaited update for Transformers: Prime. We’ve been working around the clock to get this out for you, a present from the developers to all of you! The key features of this update consist Six New Characters , an all new map , an array of balance changes, new music and a variety of bug fixes and optimisations! This update was a super crazy joint effort, we spent hours in call screaming and laughing together trying to get it done, This map was started all the way back in March and now after so much trial and error, it’s finished! We hope you have as much fun with it as we had putting it together. So first, here’s the credits
LEAD DEVELOPER: MarkForge
CODING, ANIMATION, LIGHTING, MODELLING: RoboTRONFan
ENVIRONMENT ARTIST, TEXTURE ARTIST, RENDERING BLENDER MODELLING: AshCr4ft
MODELLING, TEXTURE ARTIST, ENVIRONMENT DESIGN: Blackout
ICON: PrimeFIRE94
R&D, LEVEL & ENVIRO DESIGN: Beef
TESTING: All of you 
Specific Credits
Mark is the lead, so if it’s not on here, he did it.
Blackout
Optimus alt mode
Optimus gun
Swoop sword
Hardshell's wing textures
Skyclaw
Rumble's Piledrivers
Environment Design
Ambience sourcing
RoboTRONFan
War Machine Legs, Animation
Swoop flying animation
Map lighting
Hardshell
Weapon System Improvements
"A lot of code"
Conveyor Belt & Animation
Portrait Renders
Jetwing Optimus Animation
Decepticon Drills
Thumbnail Work
AshCr4ft
Map assets, anything that looks like a pretty mesh from Blender
Environment design (he placed like 100 different walls and is the reason the spawn looks so good!)
Texture Art for Floor / Ceiling / Walls
Replacing over 80 trusses with a ladder, by hand.
Thumbnail Render
Pretty 4K screenshots
PrimeFIRE94
Icon
Beef
Level Design
Autobot Machines (Bonus points if you figure out which toy this references!)
War Machine Top
Scaffolding
Pistons
Protoform
Environment Design on Middle Interiors & Bridge Room
Surveys / R&D
Music Selection
Now, let’s address one of the most awaited features of any update - the additions! CHARACTERS This update brings a total of six new characters to the game, with three skins each. Four of these belong to the all new Commander Class! . The remaining two complete the roster’s symmetry. These characters have all been highly requested in some form or another and we’re excited to finally have them in the game! The Commander Class is a large, tanking class with flight capabilities, perfect for leading the charge of any team, anchoring your offensive and defensive with consistent damage output. Each Commander brings with them a version of the all-mighty Fusion Cannon , a powerful seven shot projectile weapon, firing a massive beam in an arc similar to the Riot Cannon, but with even more punch! Their secondary weapon is the Gatling Gun , a mighty heavy machine gun with a limited amount of rounds, but is able to quickly clean up your fights. By switching between these two weapons, the Commander is able to handle each situation with unmatched versatility. Now, let’s introduce them!
BEAST HUNTERS OPTIMUS PRIME Leading the charge through all Decepticon tyranny, the promised warrior against the blight of vicious evil, Optimus Prime returns to the battlefield, with an all-new super mode! Aside from the Commander’s usual weapons, he sports the mighty Star Saber, an ancient relic of unyielding power, originally wielded by Prima himself, dealing increased damage! Possibly the most requested character for the game, he’s ready to join your Autobot crusade once you reach 400 kills. A strong frontline leader, he sports 90% health, putting him just behind the Heavy for the most amount of health in the game. Whilst his walk speed is a measly 64%, his running speed is tied with Jetfire and Cliffjumper, able to quickly outpace any retreating Decepticons, further aided by his jetpack! This frontlining nature is supported by his Star Saber, which packs an extra punch compared to all other melees in the game!
SWOOP Many have called out, asking for the Dinobots. Similarly, many have asked for a Fall of Cybertron skin. Now, Swoop kills two birds with one stone, with his stunning Dual Energon Blades! An adventurous flier with a quip ready at every moment, Swoop is a prideful member of the former Lightning Strike Coalition, now transformed into a monstrous Dinobot! The most fond of his new form, the lean warrior quickly adapted to his new aerial form, ready to lay waste to the scientist that impounded him. The most nimble of the Commanders, Swoop trades his health for a much quicker alternate mode, having mastered his dinosaur self so quickly. This allows him to play similar hit-and-run tactics to that of a Bombardier or Scout, but on a far bigger scale, easily diving in and out of action to disrupt the opponents and maintain a team’s tempo and aggression, or quickly fallback to recuperate.
COSMOS Finally joining since his teaser long ago, Cosmos rounds out the Autobot’s symmetrical roster - arriving straight from hyperspace to do so! A friend to all, he unfortunately spends most of his time stuck in space, able to traverse the moons of Cybertron freely, passing messages, cargo and intelligence, all whilst keeping a watchful eye on his enemies. Don’t let his soft-spoken demeanor fool you, his piloting skills are among the best in the Autobots, he’s able to land himself out of any of the various predicaments he finds himself in. Cosmos belongs to the Demolitions class, finally giving the Autobots their statistical equivalent to Dreadwing. 75% Health, 56% Walk Speed. 69% Run Speed and 65% Transform Speed! This otherworldly nature is exemplified by his melee weapon, the Gravity Hammer! The Demolitions has always been one of the strongest class in the game, for good reason. Now, this aloof spacefarer gives the Autobots the assistance they greatly needed, able to make terrifying usage of a map’s vertical nature, slinging grenades from every roof, tower and building imaginable through his Double Burst Grenades . His mastery of the stars and the skies gives him excellent map control uses, zoning away enemies from key areas like health packs and choke points through the threat of his splash damage, supplemented by his SMG to use when threatened.
RUMBLE Similarly teased, Rumble and Frenzy were constantly requested, due to being a fan favourite from the toyline. Now, based on that very design, the Spy Patrol has joined the game! With their special abilities, Frenzy and Rumble were able to always force the Autobots away into submission, perfect for defending vital Decepticon points as Soundwave elected. Similarly, Rumble is a Pyro, the Decepticon equivalent to Tailgate, with 85% Health, 80% Walk Speed, 90% Run Speed and 74% Transform Speed. Perfect for map control and keeping tight spots in your favor, this blue menace is armed with an Incinerator , a deadly flamethrower. To quickly start or end these chaotic fights, Rumble also carries a Grenade Launcher to close the gap between him and his enemies. Rounding all of this off, his mighty Piledrivers are his melee weapon of choice!
HARDSHELL He who wreckers the wreckers, Hardshell is straight to one point - death of those who defy him. The most infamous of Insecticons, he believes in the strength of his brethren, rivaling Bulkhead throughout the relic hunting saga. A deadly, flying Rhinocerous Beetle, Hardshell controls the skies with his constant presence, bolstered by 98% Health, the second highest in the game! This allows him to negate threats like Splash Damage and soak low-damage weapons, ensuring a team is able to push into an area, or keep one out. This heavy chassis is weighed down by his mighty Beast Claws, rendering his Walk Speed a sluggish 56%. However, his insect nature allows him to savagely crash through the terrain, with a 69% Run Speed and a 65% Transform Speed.
UNICRON MEGATRON Resurrected by Unicron, Megatron has come to cast judgment upon the Autobots, powered by the vicious energy of the Dark Star Saber, wielding the infinite strength of his malice (matching that of the original). The final character to arrive in this patch, he acts as a rough equivalent to Optimus Prime, with 90% Health and 64% Walk Speed. However, his new form is far slower, than that of Optimus. To account for this, his alternate form is much faster, almost as fast as Swoop! His aerodynamic nature lets him rapidly deploy to mow down the waves of Autobots who would dare challenge him, advancing quickly to take new ground. This lets him also compete against characters like Jetfire much easier, ensuring no fool is left without the burden of their defeat.
NEW MAP - FACILITY
The second biggest addition in this update is the new map! Replacing City until further notice, the Cybertron Facility acts as the new stage in the great war! This map has a bunch of fantastic features to explore, with an all-new look that brings fresh air and geometry to the game, with gameplay based around defending team bases and various routes to utilise. An energon processing facility that borders Iacon, it provides vital resources to the Autobot’s campaign. Thus, it was the most tactical site for the Decepticons to siege! Launching their vile War Machine, the Decepticons have occupied one half of the facility, completely destroying buildings and converting the raw energon to their hexed dark energon! I won’t say much else here, come and see it for yourself! There’s a lot of fun references hidden in this map and update, see if you can find them all!
BALANCE CHANGES - GLOBAL
No update is good without a meta shake up, this one is no exception! We’ve looked carefully at the responses in tfp-meta and our various surveys, we hope that the following list provides a more fresh experience to the game. There’s a lot, so get some popcorn!
FLIGHT The map change brings flight changes to accommodate it, as City wasn’t designed for flight - Facility is, and thus flight is far more balanced and accommodated for. Fly till your hearts content!
Global increase in flight time (now 3x current TFP v510)
Slight global increase in flight speed
Drastic increase to refuel rate
If fuel drops to 0, need to refuel quite a lot more before flying again
This refuel change encourages more resourceful and thoughtful play.
SECONDARY WEAPONS Aiming to give more diversity to how match-ups are played out, secondary weapons have received a large buff, increasing their viability as an option. This also has a ripple effect on various mirror matches. This new focus on weapon switching, calling and selection gives a more tactical approach to the game, one that is most welcome and should provide an edge against those who wish to stay in the legions of spammers!
All secondary shotguns buffed (less spread, more damage, less cooldown) - Heavy, Bombardier
All SMGs buffed (damage, ammo capacity) - Demolition, Leader
All Auto Pistols buffed (damage, ammo capacity, shot cooldown) - Scout, Sniper
Further notes are detailed with each classes’s balance changes. (edited)
SPEED Following the flight chances, speed has been re-adjusted for various characters, giving more variety of options within the class and character, whilst also helping cross the lengths of the new map.
Slightly increased vehicle speed for Cliffjumper and Dead End
Slightly increased vehicle speed for Jetfire and Megatron
Slightly Increased flight speed for Windblade/Starscream
Slightly increased flight speed for Blades/Soundwave
Slightly decreased flight speed for Airachnid/Air Raid
Long Haul/Smokescreen walkspeed slightly increased
Increased Triple Vehicle speed (run speed) for Springer and Beast Hunters Optimus
Increased Bulkhead/Breakdown walk speed, run speed, and transform speed
All medic walkspeeds have increased
Further notes are detailed with each classes’s balance changes. (edited)
BALANCE CHANGES - CLASSES
Information that is repeated from global will be indicated as such.
HEAVY - Bulkhead, Breakdown, Springer, Skyquake Heavy has remained the biggest straggler in the prior metagame, ranking low in tier lists consistently, with the ground heavies particularly being unfavoured by the more competitive audience. Hence, any kids that attempt to play their dear Bulkhead, often lack any success. The issues with Heavy have been identified as so Too slow to begin making strong plays Invalidated by bad match-ups Has no good position or usage, is simply better replaced by another character Too fair - has been powercrept Only sees consistent, strong, meta play in a Medic Duo Thus, the following changes have been implemented.
All secondary shotguns buffed (less spread, more damage, less cooldown) - REPEAT
Skyquake and Springer flight speed increase - REPEAT
Increased Triple Vehicle speed (run speed) for Springer - REPEAT
Increased Springer/Skyquake max health
Bulkhead and Breakdown H.M.G. speed increased, greatly increased damage
Introduced the Explosive Shotgun for Bulkhead and Breakdown
Increased Bulkhead/Breakdown max health, walk speed, run speed, and transform speed - REPEAT
Springer and Skyquake were on the verge of viability, being stronger in prior metagames and didn’t need large changes, due to their flight being incredibly strong. This advantage has been increased, giving more opportunities to Flying! Heavy players to quickly reposition and threaten opponents. This nature is also enhanced by the health increase, giving a proper “tanky” feel, especially against the wide secondary weapon buff. Bulkhead and Breakdown, simply are some of the weakest characters in the game. They have an overwhelming lack of ability to make strong plays by themselves, only finding value when cushioned by a medic and other classes to enable them. By increasing their speed overall, the characters are able to actually position themselves into the situations they want - being tight chokeholds or open spaces that gain maximum value from their primary. Said primary has been buffed in accommodation with this, giving them more of a presence in their match-ups. This works in conjunction with the introduction of the Explosive Shotgun, which aims to give more options against those who try to counter you. By making the class less linear, it is able to do more and do it more consistently by itself. This search for consistency is accounted by the health increase.
PYRO - Long Haul, Smokescreen, Tailgate, Rumble Pyro we believe is currently fine, especially due to how unfair the character has felt when at full power. Instead, we hope the new map brings more interesting level design for the Pyro to utilise, through the various interiors and side-routes that accommodate the class. Pyro is always at its strongest when you’re thinking tactically, making reads and meta-calls!
Rumble and Tailgate damage slight increase
Long Haul/Smokescreen walkspeed slightly increased - REPEAT
Rumble and Tailgate’s increase seeks to put the class back into consistent viability, able to punish poor positioning on this map. This also allows it to confirm kills quicker, making sure players who are punished for making an incorrect play don’t get off scott-free.
MEDIC - Soundwave, Blades, Knockout, Ratchet Medic to us internally is in the spot we like the class - strong in a duo, poor in a solo. This is due to a historic metagame where Medic was tier one. It was awful . However, we are aware that people really like playing these characters and always want to see a buff. We hope these changes help you explore new teamplay options with the Commander and Heavy, in addition to making mirror matches more interesting.
All Medic damage slightly increased, ammo capacity significantly increased
Ratchet/Knock Out TP cooldown significantly decreased, range decreased
Soundwave/Blades TP cooldown slightly decreased
All medics no longer have recoil on their healgun
All medic walkspeeds have increased - REPEAT
Slightly increased flight speed for Blades/Soundwave - REPEAT
Teleport is an incredibly difficult ability to balance, as it’s always incredibly close to being gamebreaking again. However, we wanted to give Medic players more options overall, ones that don’t feel oppressive and unfair to face. The speed increases allow more versatile playstyles, accommodating for those who enjoy the combat medic whilst still giving longevity to the support medic. The cooldown decrease is incredibly strong, allowing for the medic to disengage and re-enter fights at a whim. However the range decrease keeps this capability in check. Lastly, the damage increase addresses concerns about solo medic’s viability, whilst also giving a duo medic more things to do past standing still and looking cool. The recoil change is more or less throwing a bone, it’s a QOL buff.
DEMOLITIONS - Dreadwing, Cosmos, Wheeljack, Bludgeon “I think it’s cool if you buff Demolitions Mark, they’re fun characters that everyone seems to like” “Yeah, I think it’s fine” - Famous last words between Mark and I, X amount of months ago in a big testing call. Demolitions is one of the strongest characters in the game, and incredibly consistent at quick kills - the issue? It does this with little to no effort, has an incredibly dull mirror match and overall, is unfun and oppressive to play against. Their existence also greatly intrudes on level design and invalidates many characters.
Wheeljack and Bludgeon do less damage, blast damage and have a smaller blast radius
Dreadwing and Cosmos do more damage on direct hit, less from splash damage, in addition to a smaller blast radius
All SMGs buffed (damage, ammo capacity) - REPEAT
We hope to kill this Demolitions metagame. The class will always be a solid pick, but these changes bring it back in line with the rest of the roster, giving it more of a fair feeling. A primary issue we found was the inconsistent feeling of the radius and its damage, which these decreases address. If you’re looking for new ways to play the class out of this patch, I recommend medic duos and playing more conservatively, aiming for consistent chip damage and getting value to clean up kills when you can. In addition, the SMG buff gives more options past “Spam grenades” when dealing with match ups, and implements a more fair and fun way to fight close quarters chracters.
LEADER - Optimus, Jetfire, Megatron, Sentinel Prime Leader is fine, metagame wise. It’s a class that we like to keep in rotation as a good, versatile character you can maximise as much as you wish, or just play it casually. Mark once described it as our Ryu, or Mario.
All Leaders do half the knockback with their primary
Slightly increased vehicle speed for Jetfire and Megatron - REPEAT
The class needed to changes other than fixing the gamebreaking knockback issues. This halved knockback also makes the various new environmental hazards feel less cheap. (edited)
SNIPER - Arcee, Air Raid, Airachnid, Shadow Striker Sniper has been tested thoroughly on the new map, with many positions in mind. We design around two playstyles - camping Snipers and aggressive Snipers (who focus on grapple and quickscopes). In general, the latter is favoured and incredibly strong, whilst the latter is a solid pick. It’s also important to note that Sniper will always “seem” unfair against IOS users and due to the fact that City is not balanced around their sightlines.
Air Raid's sniper rifle does the same amount of damage as Airachnid
Arcee decreased health
Grapple has a nerfed cast time, duration and cooldown. Reverted beta nerf to range
Slightly decreased flight speed for Airachnid/Air Raid - REPEAT
All Auto Pistols buffed (damage, ammo capacity, shot cooldown) - REPEAT
These issues aim to just bring consistency across characters. Arcee’s health now reflects her hitbox, Air Raid’s damage is equal again and the fliers are more fair in their repositioning. Largely, Snipers have been balanced by the level design of the new map - they have several predictable camping positions and sightlines have been accommodated for. They’re one of the more interesting characters to come into this new metagame, I hope you all enjoy exploring the new opportunities they have!
BOMBARDIER - Ironhide, Shockwave, Starscream, Windblade Bombardier is one of the strongest ways to counter a Demolitions, and has been oppressive in the past. With the nerf to Demolitions, Bombardier has been slightly brought back to not allow it to instantly overpower this meta.
Reduced Bombardier's bullet speed with Rocket Launcher
Starscream melee damage increase
Slightly Increased flight speed for Windblade/Starscream - REPEAT
All secondary shotguns buffed (less spread, more damage, less cooldown) - REPEAT
This bullet speed decrease should help make the class feel a bit more fair to fight against, without impeding on its viability. The shotgun buff works in conjunction with this, making the Bombardier a more interesting class to interact with.
SCOUT - Bumblebee, Barricade, Dead End, Cliffjumper Scout has the highest power ceiling in the game, with the highest skill ceiling to match. It didn’t need many changes, due to this dynamic.
Slightly increased vehicle speed for Cliffjumper and Dead End - REPEAT
All Auto Pistols buffed (damage, ammo capacity, shot cooldown) - REPEAT
Auto Pistol is now a more viable option for the Scout, giving more interaction and counterplay to a match-up. Scout is in a good spot right now, as it exists to counter and punish a variety of interesting positions on this new map. Make sure to explore everything your jumps can reach!
SOLDIER - Lockdown, Ultra Magnus, Vehicon, Prowl Soldier sees consistent play and needed no changes. It’s a fair class.
Ultra Magnus melee damage increase
Now his hammer does have an impact though, which is pretty cool.
COMMANDER - BH Optimus, Unicron Megatron, Swoop, Hardshell (Changed since beta) Commander saw a wealth of adjustments based on everyone’s feedback and has had the different stats implemented.
Decreased max health of commander class
Halved the ammo and reduced damage for Commander secondary
Increased Swoop's flight speed, decreased Swoop's max health
Greatly increased Hardshell's max health, decreased walk and run speed
Increased Unicron Megatron's flight speed
Increased Triple Vehicle speed for Beast Hunters Optimus
Beast Hunters Optimus, and Unicron Megatron Melee Damage increased
A big issue was how much Commander invalidated Heavy, which has been addressed by a nerf to its secondary weapon and health. We hope you have fun with these new characters!
BUG FIXES & OTHER CHANGES And of course, here’s the catch-all list of gameplay changes, optimisations, fixes and the like. This should address a lot of the major issues players have been having!
GAMEPLAY CHANGES
Admin commands and banlist implemented
New, more reliable team doors
Added more reliable leaderboard code, should be able to retain kill count without issue
Updated emotes, now there are 8 dance moves to choose from
Server size increased to 30
Crash Insurance added, when you hit a wall under a certain velocity you will automatically transform
REWORKED CAMERA
The shoulder camera code has been reworked, preventing jitters from animation overlaps and smoother double jumps.
The camera follow code follow no longer fights the weapon system.
Field of view decreased to 50
Flight camera moved slightly up, in between beta test and prepatch placement. Moved for better mobile experience
TRANSFORMATION & MOVEMENT CHANGES
Transformation speed now initiates immediately when T is pressed, this also means it can be used to assist air speed, like DOTM
Alternate double jump animation removed due to camera rework making it redundant
Added the ability to do a small hop in ground alt mode, like DOTM
Rocket jumper now has a massless handle, giving the weapon increased self-launching ability
New flight system and camera, much smoother and robust. Allows increased freedom of movement
Triple changing re-added, functions like transform now
Changed the animation priority of sprint to movement instead of action
Increased delay between double jumps so it is harder to mess this up
Commonized climb speed, sprint climbing removed
GENERAL BUG FIXES
Added standard startercharacter so TFP scaled morphs turn out the same no matter what
Moved morphs to server storage so they cannot be stolen from the client with an exploit
Airachnid's bones are massless, reducing her ability to be flung
Reset button code uses better practices
Can no longer clip through the map using flight
Teleport particles clean-up if you die while the weapon is active
You can no longer transform as a ragdoll
Ragdoll removes sounds on death
Projectiles no longer collide with team doors and skyboxes
Changed teleport code to have more reliable wall detection
Teammates no longer collide with each other
Made a few changes to attempt to prevent map clipping
Equalized and fixed teleport points for spawn
Playertilt no longer throws errors when you die
All melee weapons have collisions and query turned off. This reduces lag and allows characters like soundwave to climb while melee is equipped
GRAPHICS FIXES
Removed Shockwave's chain, replaced with RopeConstraint
Fixed Airachnid's idle, sprint, and climb animations
Terrorcons have the default fall animation so they can climb buildings more easily
Skins have alternate melee colors
Beast Hunter Bumblebees doors adjusted to match the other bumblebee skins
Menu button color changes with team
All UI buttons are partially transparent
Readded Airachnid abdomen visibility
Adjusted Cylas and Terrorcon Skyquake's colors for 2022 materials
Animation System completely redone, fixing the T-Pose glitch
MUSIC CHANGES
Ambient sound was added to the game
Default music volume is decreased
Added a new selection of music tracks
SUMMARY
6 new characters! New class!
All new map!
Leaderboard fix!
New flight system, more fuel, more speed!
BIG balance changes!
Server size increase!