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The Central Dynamo is a room in the Phazon Mines. It appears in Metroid Prime.

Description[]

The Central Dynamo is the location of the Cloaked Drone and Power Bomb upgrade in the Phazon Mines. Four Ice Troopers patrol the area after the drone is defeated.

Just after Samus defeats the Cloaked Drone and before she gets the Power Bomb upgrade, she has to enter a small hatch which leads underneath the floor. There, she has to move through a maze of electric streams, where she eventually gets the Power Bomb upgrade. The maze is made out of two types of "walls": white, stable streams of electricity, that deal damage to Samus and knock her back, and yellow currents. The latter are unstable and will not always function. Instead, they will flash on and off. This however does not decrease the damage taken, and seem to cause a bigger knockback.

Here and there, Samus will encounter a small puddle of some liquid (probably water). When laying a bomb in the liquid, the electrical currents surrounding it will deactivate and not come back.

Connecting rooms[]

Phazon mines dynamo

Samus enters the room.

Inhabitants[]

Scans[]

Dynamo Unit
"Multiple safety system malfunctions detected. Unit should be taken offline immediately."
Power Bomb
"Power Bomb. Press GC Y button/Wii D-pad down in Morph Ball mode to use a Power Bomb."
Bendezium debris
"Collapsed Bendezium wall section is structurally unsound."
Computer screen
"Phazon processing and security systems are taxing the Dynamo beyond safety tolerances.
Though the conversion to geothermal power is easing the drain on our systems, it is not enough. Further power use at current levels could lead to system failure."
Computer screen
"Dynamo maintenance team is not responding to service call. Rerouting request to Central Command."
Cloaked Drone Central Dynamo

Samus battles the Cloaked Drone.

Computer screen
"An entire shift of Dynamo workers have been transferred following bouts of Phazon madness.
Units have reported to Science Team for use in laboratory studies and the new Elite Pirate program. Their dementia will make them adequate training adversaries for the Elite team."
Computer screen
"The keeping of pets has been suspended until further notice.
Domestic beasts have been deemed highly susceptible to Phazon madness, and are thereby a hazard to personnel. All Gronkats and Olbaps must be disposed of immediately. Failure to comply will result in the loss of pay for a cycle and reduced rations."

Items[]

Power Bombs
At the end of the electrical maze under the Dynamo Unit.

Development notes[]

There are two unused layers in the Central Dynamo, which are empty but labelled "Irving" and "Amanda". These may be references to Prime engineer Irving Mah and designer Amanda Rubright, and may suggest that the two were involved in creating this room.

The maze is a byproduct of the scripting system designed by Zoid Kirsch and Frank Lafuente.[1] It is one of Kirsch's favorite parts of Prime, and allowed him to make use of a maze generator that he wrote when he first learned to code at the age of 13.[2] He also joked that speedrunners hate him because the maze is randomly generated in every playthrough.[3]

Trivia[]

  • The maze is selected at random from a large amount of preset configurations. The amount of different mazes that the algorithm can generate is 300. [4]
  • The Central Dynamo is mentioned in a scan in the Monitor Station room of the Magmoor Caverns. A computer screen in that room states that the Space Pirates have urged Energy Command to deactivate the dynamo and switch to geothermal power immediately.
  • The Energy Core theme plays in this room during the maze puzzle.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ^ Kiwi Talkz. "#121 - Zoid Interview (Metroid Prime, Cameras, Scripting, Sequence Breaking , Programming etc.)" YouTube. January 22, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022. (starts at 28:46)
  2. ^ Zoid Kirsch (ZoidCTF). "Metroid Prime Dev Stories #9: Central Dynamo’s Power Bomb Maze. When I first started programming and learning BASIC one of the first programs I wrote was a maze generation algorithm when I was 13. It could generate a maze of any size with a single solution. 1/5
    When designing the room for the power bomb upgrade, I suggested a randomly generated maze for the morphball that players would have to solve. I quickly wrote up the algorithm I remembered from my early days. 2/5
    I wanted to ensure that the maze was of sufficient length, so I wrote a tool that would generate and then solve the maze. I picked 300 random seeds that the solver indicated at least 75% of the maze was required to be traversed. 3/5
    This results in 300 different mazes that can be generated in the Central Dynamo room. The maze also features two obstacles along the route in the form of water puddles that must be bombed to short out the nearby nodes and open the path. 4/5
    The speedrunning community wrote up on how the maze works here, https://wiki.metroidprime.run/wiki/Central_Dynamo… There’s also a tool to determine which maze you have based on the starting positions. The community is amazing! 5/5" 11 November 2022 12:35 p.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/ZoidCTF/status/1591122506806882304
  3. ^ Old Game Plus. Metroid Prime, Dev Interview Special. February 8, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2022. https://oldgameplus.libsyn.com/metroid-prime-dev-interview-special (starts at 56:13)
  4. ^ [Metroid Prime :: Speed Run in 1:24:31 by Miles #AGDQ 2014] Sub-sub-sub-sub-hour run. Zoid. Retrieved on 2015-02-21.


Rooms in Metroid Prime
Frigate Orpheon Exterior Docking HangarMain Docking BayAir LockDeck Alpha Access HallEmergency Evacuation AreaDeck Alpha Umbilical HallMap FacilityConnection Elevator to Deck BetaDeck Beta Conduit HallBiotech Research Area 1Deck Beta Security HallBiohazard ContainmentDeck Beta Transit HallCargo Freight Lift to Deck GammaReactor Core Entrance
Save StationReactor Core

Deck Gamma Monitor HallConnection Elevator to Deck BetaSubventilation Shaft Section ASubventilation Shaft Section BMain Ventilation Shaft Section AMain Ventilation Shaft Section BMain Ventilation Shaft Section CMain Ventilation Shaft Section DMain Ventilation Shaft Section EMain Ventilation Shaft Section FBiotech Research Area 2Connection Elevator to Deck AlphaDeck Alpha Mech Shaft

Tallon Overworld Landing SiteCanyon CavernTallon CanyonTransport Tunnel ATransport to Chozo Ruins WestRoot TunnelRoot CaveArbor ChamberTransport Tunnel BTransport to Magmoor Caverns EastGullyAlcoveWaterfall Cavern

Temple HallTemple Security StationTemple LobbyArtifact Temple


Frigate Crash SiteOvergrown CavernTransport Tunnel CTransport to Chozo Ruins EastFrigate Access TunnelMain Ventilation Shaft Section CMain Ventilation Shaft Section BMain Ventilation Shaft Section AReactor CoreReactor AccessSave StationCargo Freight Lift to Deck GammaDeck Beta Transit HallBiohazard ContainmentDeck Beta Security HallBiotech Research Area 1Deck Beta Conduit HallConnection Elevator to Deck BetaHydro Access Tunnel


Great Tree HallGreat Tree ChamberTransport to Chozo Ruins SouthTransport Tunnel DTransport Tunnel ETransport to Phazon Mines EastLife Grove TunnelLife Grove

Chozo Ruins Transport to Tallon Overworld NorthRuins EntranceMain PlazaNursery AccessEyon TunnelRuined NurserySave Station 1North AtriumRuined GalleryMap StationTotem AccessHive TotemTransport Access NorthTransport to Magmoor Caverns NorthVault AccessVaultPlaza AccessRuined Shrine AccessRuined ShrineTower of Light AccessTower of LightTower ChamberRuined Fountain AccessRuined FountainMeditation FountainMagma PoolTraining Chamber AccessTraining ChamberPiston TunnelArboretum AccessSunchamber LobbySunchamber AccessSunchamberSun Tower AccessSun Tower

ArboretumGathering Hall AccessGathering HallSave Station 2Watery Hall AccessWatery HallDynamo AccessDynamoEast AtriumEnergy Core AccessEnergy CoreBurn Dome AccessBurn DomeWest Furnace Access


FurnaceEast Furnace AccessCrossway Access WestCrosswayCrossway Access SouthElder Hall AccessHall of the EldersElder ChamberReflecting Pool AccessReflecting PoolAntechamberSave Station 3Transport to Tallon Overworld EastTransport Access SouthTransport to Tallon Overworld South

Magmoor Caverns Transport to Chozo Ruins NorthBurning TrailSave Station Magmoor ALake TunnelLava LakePit TunnelTriclops PitStorage CavernMonitor TunnelMonitor StationTransport Tunnel ATransport to Phendrana Drifts NorthWarrior ShrineShore TunnelFiery ShoresTransport Tunnel BTransport to Tallon Overworld West

Twin Fires TunnelTwin FiresNorth Core TunnelGeothermal CorePlasma ProcessingSouth Core TunnelMagmoor WorkstationWorkstation TunnelTransport Tunnel CTransport to Phendrana Drifts SouthSave Station Magmoor BTransport to Phazon Mines West

Phendrana Drifts Transport to Magmoor Caverns WestShoreline EntrancePhendrana ShorelinesSave Station BIce Ruins AccessIce Ruins EastPlaza WalkwayRuins EntrywayIce Ruins WestCanyon EntrywayPhendrana CanyonTemple EntrywayChozo Ice TempleChapel TunnelChapel of the Elders

Courtyard EntrywayRuined CourtyardSave Station ASpecimen StorageResearch EntranceMap StationHydra Lab EntrywayResearch Lab HydraObservatory AccessObservatorySave Station DWest Tower EntranceWest TowerControl TowerEast TowerAether Lab EntrywayResearch Lab AetherResearch Core AccessResearch CoreQuarantine AccessNorth Quarantine TunnelQuarantine CaveQuarantine MonitorSouth Quarantine TunnelTransport to Magmoor Caverns South


Transport AccessFrozen PikePike AccessFrost Cave AccessFrost CaveSave Station CUpper Edge TunnelPhendrana's EdgeStorage CaveSecurity CaveLower Edge TunnelHunter CaveLake TunnelGravity ChamberChamber AccessHunter Cave Access

Phazon Mines Transport to Tallon Overworld SouthQuarry AccessMain QuarrySave Station Mines ASecurity Access AMine Security StationSecurity Access BStorage Depot AElite ResearchResearch AccessOre ProcessingElevator Access AElevator AStorage Depot BWaste Disposal

Elite Control AccessElite ControlMaintenance TunnelVentilation ShaftControl RoomOmega ResearchMap Station MinesDynamo AccessCentral DynamoSave Station Mines BQuarantine Access AMetroid Quarantine AElevator Access BElevator B


Fungal Hall AccessFungal Hall APhazon Mining TunnelFungal Hall BMissile Station MinesQuarantine Access BMetroid Quarantine BSave Station Mines CElite Quarters AccessElite QuartersProcessing Center AccessPhazon Processing CenterTransport AccessTransport to Magmoor Caverns South

Impact Crater Crater Entry PointCrater Tunnel APhazon CoreCrater Missile StationCrater Tunnel BPhazon Infusion ChamberSubchamber OneSubchamber TwoSubchamber ThreeSubchamber FourSubchamber FiveMetroid Prime Lair
Unused Engine RoomReactor Room
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