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[[Image:Tfu cdrom.jpg|thumb|250px|Greetings Program!]]
[[File:Tfu cdrom.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Not decoed like a [[Golden Disk (disambiguation)|Golden Disk]]?  That just killed it for me!]]


The '''''Transformers: Universe'' CD-ROM''' was produced in 2003, and packaged with early waves of [[Universe (toyline)|''Transformers: Universe'']] toys. The CD-ROM was to be the ''first'' CD-ROM [[pack-in flyer|pack-in]], refreshed seasonally, which would tell the ''Transformers: Universe'' story to the general market. However, only one CD-ROM was ever produced.
The '''''Transformers: Universe'' CD-ROM''' was produced in 2003 and packaged with early waves of ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' and in non-US markets, later wave ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' toys. The CD-ROM was to be the ''first'' CD-ROM [[Pack-in material|pack-in]], refreshed seasonally, which would tell the ''Universe'' story to the general market. However, only one CD-ROM was ever produced.


The ''Universe'' CD-ROM features the ''Armada'' theme song, an ''Armada'' game, an ''Armada'' episode, and another non-''Universe'' game. The only ''Transformers: Universe'' content on the disk is an animated comic, which tells a version of the basic ''Universe'' story.
The CD-ROM features the ''Armada'' [[theme song]], an ''Armada'' game, an ''Armada'' episode, and another non-''Universe'' game. The only ''Universe'' content on the disk is an animated comic, which tells a version of the basic ''Universe'' story.


The disk navigation features an animated robot head guiding one through the contents, with an animated system called the "Cyerber-Transformer" <!--That's not a typo, that's how it's spelled--> unit. It uses the same library/archive color scheme as the librarian from the [[Generation 1]] episode "[[Surprise Party]]".  The navigation system uses plentiful sound effects from the [[Generation 1 (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], the rights of which were almost certainly not cleared with [[Sunbow]].
The disk navigation features an animated robot head guiding the user through the contents, with an animated system called the "Cyerber-Transformer" {{sic}} unit. The navigation system uses plentiful sound effects from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original ''The Transformers'' cartoon]].


==Disk Contents==
==Disk contents==
[[Image:Tfu cdrom interior.jpg|right|thumb|The Cyerber-Transformer [''sic'']<!--That's not a typo, that's how it's spelled--> Unit guides you though the disk's contents.]]
[[File:Tfu cdrom interior.jpg|right|thumb|The Cyber-Transformer Unit guides you though the disk's contents by staring at where your mouse goes.]]
 
The CD-ROM takes the form of a Cybertronian information archive (complete with library agent to guide you.) It contains 5 sections.


The CD-ROM takes the form of a Cybertronian information archive (complete with library agent to guide you.)  It contains 5 sections.
* Cybertron Factory - A Make-Your-Own-Transformer Game
* Cybertron Factory - A Make-Your-Own-Transformer Game
* ''[[The Energon Within]]'' - An ''Armada'' game
* ''[[Transformers Armada: The Energon Within]]'' - An ''Armada'' game
* Video Datafeeds - The ''[[Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' episode "[[Awakening]]"
* Video Data Feeds - The ''[[Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' episode "[[Awakening (Armada)|Awakening]]" in US markets while the European version of the disk contains "[[First Encounter]]".<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Ok spinning up my original disc that came with Hoist from Tesco in 03, I can confirm that a UK variant of the disc appears to have been specifically made within a subset of EU options and upon selecting that (I might try others) you get the first episode of Armada in the player.|link=https://twitter.com/Waspshot23/status/1321114556186431488|name=Ben Watson|site=Twitter|year=2020|month=10|day=27|(defunct=)}}</ref>
* Historical Data Link - A short animated ''Universe'' comic
* Historical Data Link - A short animated ''Universe'' comic
* Web Link - A link to Hasbro's Transformers site
* Web Link - A link to Hasbro's Transformers site
{{-}}
 
==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
[[Image:Optimusprimal-tfucdrom.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Optimus Primal went to the [[Rodimus Prime]] School of Surrender Acceptance.]]
[[File:Optimusprimal-tfucdrom.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Optimus Primal went to the Rodimus Prime School of Surrender Acceptance.]]


The Historical Data Link relates the story of a gigantic, mysterious space ship that, once a year, every year, travels to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], when the fighting there is at its peak. The ship arrives this time as Optimus Primal is beating the stuffing out of Reptillion; it kidnaps Reptillion and some other Decepticons, then silently returns to deep space.
The Historical Data Link relates the story of [[Acheron|a gigantic, mysterious spaceship]] that, once a year, every year, travels to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], when the fighting there is at its peak. The ship arrives this time as [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] is beating the stuffing out of [[Reptilion|Reptillion]]; it kidnaps Reptillion and some other [[Decepticon]]s, then silently returns to deep space.


The Autobots [[Wikipedia:Left Behind|left behind]] have no idea where the great ship goes, but viewers learn that the vessel returns to Unicron, where its Decepticon passengers are disgorged and ultimately stored in a giant [[Wikipedia:Series of tubes|series of tubes]] - a vast army awaiting the day it is unleashed to bring victory to Unicron!  Fortunately, a counter-power exists deep within Cybertron, and is recruiting an army of its own.  Will ''Primus'' be able to collect enough recruits to counter the threat of Unicron?
The [[Autobot]]s left behind have no idea where the great ship goes, but the truth is that the vessel returns to [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]], where its passengers are disgorged and ultimately stored in a giant series of tubes—a vast Decepticon army awaiting the day it is unleashed. Unicron plans to absorb the [[energon radiation]] emitted by the battling [[Transformer]]s, for collectively, this energy is powerful enough to control the universe and make its wielder unstoppable.
{{-}}
===Featured characters===
(''Numbers indicate order of appearance.)''
{|border=5 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=5 align=center style="border:#800000"


! style="background:#FFEEEE" | [[Autobot]]s
Fortunately, a counterpower exists deep within Cybertron and is recruiting an army of its own. Will ''[[Primus]]'' be able to gather enough Autobot recruits to counter the threat of Unicron?
! style="background:#EEEEFE" | [[Decepticon]]s
{{--}}
! style="background:antiquewhite" | Other
|-
| style="background:#FFEEEE" valign="top" |
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (2)
*[[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]] (3)
*[[Striker]] (4)


| style="background:#EEEEFE" valign="top" |
==Featured characters==
*[[Obsidian (Universe)|Obsidian]] (5)
{{featuredcharacters
*[[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]] (6)
|c1=
*[[Reptilion|Reptillion]] (7)
* [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Tankor (Universe)|Tankor]] (8)
* [[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]] (2)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (9)
* [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]] (3)
* [[Striker]] (4)
|c2=
* [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] (5)
* [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]] (6)
* [[Reptilion|Reptillion]] (7)
* [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] (8)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (9)
|c4=
* [[Unicron]] (10)
* [[Primus]] (11)
}}


| style="background:antiquewhite" valign="top" |
==Notes==
*[[Unicron]] (10)
[[File:Unicron tfu cdrom.jpg|right|upright=0.85|thumb|"Odd. I don't remember having purple paint applications yesterday..."]]
*[[Primus]] (11)
|}


==Items of Note==
*The CD-ROM comic shows no signs of being intended to fit with [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|the 3H ''Universe'' comic]], having many contradictions in the interest of presenting a simpler, self-contained story compared to the post-''Beast Machines'' story in the comic series.
[[Image:Unicron tfu cdrom.jpg|thumb|right|150px|"Odd. I don't remember having purple [[paint applications]] yesterday..."]]
* So... this bigass ship comes to town once a year, every year, and kidnaps a bunch of Cybertron's citizens. And ''nobody has bothered to investigate where it goes?'' Plus why is everybody still shocked at this point?
* How does the ship know it's the most intense day of fighting for the whole year? What if tomorrow turns out to be even ''more'' extreme?
* Unicron (parts of him, at least) is based on an unproduced 1998 [[Unicron/toys#Beast Wars Neo|''Beast Wars Neo'' Unicron toy]].
* Unicron's Decepticon storage chamber bears some conceptual resemblance to the human storage plant from {{w|The Matrix (franchise)|the ''Matrix'' movies}}.
*The European version of the CD-ROM renders the guide's name in English as "Cyber-Transformer Unit". It also contains its contents and the dub for "First Encounter" in Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French, and German.  
* If you navigate the disc without playing its Video Data Feed or "The Energon Within" for long enough it starts playing a medley/mash-up of Generation 1 and ''Armada'' music that ''absolutely rips.''


* The comic shows no signs of being intended to fit with other ''Universe'' fiction.  However, since ''Universe'' is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, this could still be a side-note to the [[Universe (comic)#Transformers Universe|main storyline]].  Even taking this view, though, there are still many factors that set this story apart:
==References==
**Unicron's abduction ship is unique; in the main ''Universe'' comic, he simply teleports victims out of their universes.  Also, here he seems to be merely building up a Decepticon army, not running multi-allegiance deathmatches.  And lastly, he is depicted as an intact robot, not a decimated planet.  These discrepancies could perhaps be accounted for by placing this story at a significantly different timeframe in the [[Universe war]] than the main comic series... though the spaceship is still just weird, no matter how you look at it.
{{reflist}}
**This Cybertron must be an alternate, as its combatants are described as "Autobots" and "Decepticons" despite their mainstream incarnations being [[Maximal|almost]] [[Predacon (BW)|everything]] [[Vehicon|but]].
**Nearly everyone is in post-[[Unicron virus|Unicron-exposure]] colors and forms, yet no one has any idea what's going on with the abductions.  This most definitely sets the Autobots and Blackarachnia apart as alternate incarnations, but it doesn't necessarily disqualify the other Decepticons.
**In fact, Blackarachnia isn't even colored like her ''Universe'' self at all.  This look has never been seen before or since.
**Reptillion must be another alternate, as his mainstream ''Universe'' incarnation was "snatched away from a routine exploratory mission" according to his bio.  Plus his name is spelled with only one "l" elsewhere, so there you go.
**Obsidian, Tankor, and Razorclaw are the least conflicted in terms of backstory.  In the main ''Universe'' storyline, all three came from alternate universes... so could this ''be'' where they came from?  Obsidian and Tankor hail from an alterna-''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', while Razorclaw originated in an alterna-''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' (and both Tankor and Razorclaw are said to have destroyed their Megatrons, so take that as you will).  This Cybertron, with its centuries of Autobot and Decepticon domination, doesn't particularly resemble either setting, but too little is known about it to declare an outright contradiction.  Perhaps the biggest conflict is that, if Unicron is as revitalized as he appears, then it's far too late in the game for these incarnations to be the ones seen in the main ''Universe'' comic.
* So... this bigass ship comes to town once a year, every year, and kidnaps a bunch of Cybertron's citizens.  And ''nobody has bothered to investigate where it goes?''  Plus why is everybody still shocked at this point?
* How does the ship know it's the most intense day of fighting for the whole year?  What if tomorrow turns out to be even ''more'' extreme?
*  Unicron (parts of him, at least) is based on an unproduced 1998 [[:Image:Neocron.jpg|''Beast Wars Neo'' Unicron toy]].
* Unicron's Decepticon storage chamber bears some conceptual resemblance to the human storage plant from the [[wikipedia:The Matrix|the ''Matrix'' movies]].


==External Links==
*[http://www.bwtf.com/universe/cdrom/ ''Universe'' CD-ROM on BWTF.com]
*[http://www.emopanda.com/tfu-cdrom/ ''Universe'' CD-ROM comic screengrabs]


[[Category: Stories]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Universe CD-ROM}}
[[Category: Universe (2003)| ]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>
[[Category:Pack-in material]]
[[Category:Stories]]
[[Category:Universe (2003)]]

Latest revision as of 14:20, 3 October 2023

Not decoed like a Golden Disk? That just killed it for me!

The Transformers: Universe CD-ROM was produced in 2003 and packaged with early waves of Universe and in non-US markets, later wave Armada toys. The CD-ROM was to be the first CD-ROM pack-in, refreshed seasonally, which would tell the Universe story to the general market. However, only one CD-ROM was ever produced.

The CD-ROM features the Armada theme song, an Armada game, an Armada episode, and another non-Universe game. The only Universe content on the disk is an animated comic, which tells a version of the basic Universe story.

The disk navigation features an animated robot head guiding the user through the contents, with an animated system called the "Cyerber-Transformer" [sic] unit. The navigation system uses plentiful sound effects from the original The Transformers cartoon.

Disk contents

[edit]
The Cyber-Transformer Unit guides you though the disk's contents by staring at where your mouse goes.

The CD-ROM takes the form of a Cybertronian information archive (complete with library agent to guide you.) It contains 5 sections.

Synopsis

[edit]
Optimus Primal went to the Rodimus Prime School of Surrender Acceptance.

The Historical Data Link relates the story of a gigantic, mysterious spaceship that, once a year, every year, travels to Cybertron, when the fighting there is at its peak. The ship arrives this time as Optimus Primal is beating the stuffing out of Reptillion; it kidnaps Reptillion and some other Decepticons, then silently returns to deep space.

The Autobots left behind have no idea where the great ship goes, but the truth is that the vessel returns to Unicron, where its passengers are disgorged and ultimately stored in a giant series of tubes—a vast Decepticon army awaiting the day it is unleashed. Unicron plans to absorb the energon radiation emitted by the battling Transformers, for collectively, this energy is powerful enough to control the universe and make its wielder unstoppable.

Fortunately, a counterpower exists deep within Cybertron and is recruiting an army of its own. Will Primus be able to gather enough Autobot recruits to counter the threat of Unicron?

[edit]

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Others

Notes

[edit]
"Odd. I don't remember having purple paint applications yesterday..."
  • The CD-ROM comic shows no signs of being intended to fit with the 3H Universe comic, having many contradictions in the interest of presenting a simpler, self-contained story compared to the post-Beast Machines story in the comic series.
  • So... this bigass ship comes to town once a year, every year, and kidnaps a bunch of Cybertron's citizens. And nobody has bothered to investigate where it goes? Plus why is everybody still shocked at this point?
  • How does the ship know it's the most intense day of fighting for the whole year? What if tomorrow turns out to be even more extreme?
  • Unicron (parts of him, at least) is based on an unproduced 1998 Beast Wars Neo Unicron toy.
  • Unicron's Decepticon storage chamber bears some conceptual resemblance to the human storage plant from the Matrix movies.
  • The European version of the CD-ROM renders the guide's name in English as "Cyber-Transformer Unit". It also contains its contents and the dub for "First Encounter" in Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French, and German.
  • If you navigate the disc without playing its Video Data Feed or "The Energon Within" for long enough it starts playing a medley/mash-up of Generation 1 and Armada music that absolutely rips.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Ok spinning up my original disc that came with Hoist from Tesco in 03, I can confirm that a UK variant of the disc appears to have been specifically made within a subset of EU options and upon selecting that (I might try others) you get the first episode of Armada in the player."—Ben Watson, Twitter, 2020/10/27
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