Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

Transformers
Beast Wars: Transformers	1998
Transformers: The Game	2007
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	2009
Transformers: War for Cybertron	2010
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron	2012
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark	2014
Transformers: Devastation	2015
Transformers: Battlegrounds	2020
Transformers: Tactical Arena	2021
Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition	2023

Key points

Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS in Escalation co-op mode.^[2] see 60 FPS in Escalation.

Official Master server for multiplayer was shut down on April 17, 2020. Can be restored with a mod, see Multiplayer types

Lacks the improved lighting and reflectors from the PS4/Xbox One Versions.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Europe only. 1 DVD; some of the data needs to be downloaded via Steam directly.
Amazon.com		Keys only work in the US.
Steam (unavailable)

All versions require Steam DRM.

No longer available digitally, due to Activision losing the license for the IP, But Amazon is still selling it for unknown reasons.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Electro Bolter Weapon
Glass Gas Cannon Weapon
Skywarp Character
Stinger Character
Thundercracker Character

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files^{[citation needed]}
Go to `<path-to-game>\TransGame\Movies\` Delete or rename `EOR_TF_Logo.bik`, `Logo_Activision.bik`, `Logo_Hasbro.bik`, and `TF_InitialStartup.bik`.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\TransGame\Config\PC\Cooked^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\TransGame\Localization\PC\Cooked^{[Note 1]} HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Activision\Transformers - Rise of the Dark Spark
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/245760/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Use TF Games Configuration Utility to edit the file.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\TransformersRotDS\TransGame\SaveData\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/245760/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents* folder in OneDrive on all computers.*
Steam Cloud

Video

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		The game runs fine on 1440p and 1620p, but on 2160p the textures get bugged and load only low-res textures. Subtitles also scales poorly with resolutions larger than 1280 pixels wide, making them too small in very high resolutions.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Toggled in options menu, or by `Alt`+`↵ Enter`.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Default is 4 samples (MaxAnisotropy=4); set MaxAnisotropy=16 in `Coalesced.ini` for 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Extra Quality graphics setting uses unknown form of post process AA. Nvidia users can force SGSSAA with Nvidia Profile Inspector, using the compatibility bits `0x000012C1` alternatively you can turn on FXAA and/or set MaxMultisamples=x (MSAA) Coalesced.ini. Replace x with,2,4,6,or 8. in `Coalesced.ini`
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS		30 FPS for Escalation, ^[2] see 60 FPS in Escalation.
120+ FPS		Frame rate is capped at 60 FPS for single player, For single player, use the launch option `-silent FPS=118`.^[3] Breaks interaction with levers.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Use GeDoSaTo^{[citation needed]}
Install GeDoSaTo. Add TransGame to the user whitelist. Create new profile for the game with this setting: `forceBorderlessFullscreen 1` Set the game to run in fullscreen mode.

60 FPS in Escalation

Use the launch option `-silent FPS=60` command line argument.

Use another FPS program to cap the frame rate back to 60FPS.

Notes

Physics issues above 90 FPS.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Choice of presets
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts		The game always shows Xbox prompts even with no controller pugged in.
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		FX, Music and Dialog
Surround sound		5.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Russian				Official localization by Noviy Disk. A fan overhaul that corrects the translation errors is also available here.
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play
LAN play
Online play	4	Co-op See this website for restoring the Multiplayer: https://wiki.aiwarehouse.xyz/en/tfc-rotds-pc-guide

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking		You can only join game lobbies.
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		Use Helix Mod: Transformers - Rise of the Dark Spark.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9	A D3D10 setting exacts in the config file but nothing happens.

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	Vista, 7, 8
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz AMD Phenom X3 8750
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/245760/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (245760) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ Трансформеры: Битва за Темную Искру - last accessed on 2023-06-18
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Locked at 30FPS (Escalation only) :: TRANSFORMERS: Rise of the Dark Spark General Discussions
↑ Verified by User:Keith on 2021-12-26

[gamedir-3] 1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[Proton_path_note-4] 2.0 ^2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/245760/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (245760) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] Трансформеры: Битва за Темную Искру - last accessed on 2023-06-18

[FPS_cap-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Locked at 30FPS (Escalation only) :: TRANSFORMERS: Rise of the Dark Spark General Discussions

[5] Verified by User:Keith on 2021-12-26

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[3]

Developers

	Edge of Reality
Publishers
	Activision
Russia	Noviy Disk^[1]
Engines
	Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows	June 24, 2014
Reception
Metacritic	49
OpenCritic	45
IGDB	48
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Shooter
Vehicles	Automobile, Truck
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Sci-fi
Series	Transformers