Hiya!  It’s been a while since we’ve had a heart-to-heart, huh?  Well, I’ve been busy with a few things.  Some life stuff, some other projects, but also, I’ve been doing DELTATRAVELER stuff quite a bit recently.  Not sure how long I’ll keep this streak going, but I suppose it’s worth writing a new devlog while I’m in the mood.

General Updates

Right now, we haven’t really started on Section 4 yet.  We’ve been crafting ideas, making some music, etc... but we haven’t really delved into the meat of it.  I’ve been wanting to do some other things that I’ve been neglecting for a while, like getting a new job (currently in the process, going well!!!!!), tending to my YouTube channel a bit more (not going well lmao), and overall relaxing a bit more after the grind of finishing college and Section 3.

What we HAVE done is release a new version of Castle Crashin’; a track from Section 4 that we released a while ago.  @gabbofunny , one of our music artists, experimented with making a more “Pandora Palace” take on the track, and ended up liking it a lot.  I initially didn’t want to replace it, but it really grew on me, so I opted to do so.

Have a listen!

Also, I’ve been working on an UNDERTALE Yellow fan animation off and on over the past couple months.  It’s similar to GG!UNDERFELL, in that it’s essentially footage of a game that doesn’t really exist.  But in this case, it has much less of a focus on gameplay and is more of one long cutscene; focusing a lot more on narrative and interesting animation rather than being a “what-if” video game.  I’ve shared a few screenshots of the animation on social media, though I wanna release a 5 minute teaser sometime soon.

DELTATRAVELER v3.1.0

Back in December, in the 2 year anniversary post, I talked a little bit about a major v3 update, and even teased a new gamemode related to it.  Well, why don’t I talk about what we plan to accomplish with it?  Stuff that we’re changing, some new stuff, and maybe revealing what the new gamemode is about...?

Engine Upgrade

Since the beginning of development, we’ve been using a 2018 version of Unity to develop the game, which was around the version of Unity the original UNDERTALE framework (MERCYENGINE) was built in when I started ATONEMENT.  We had a very minor upgrade to a newer 2018 version for Blender support for Section 7, but that’s it.

But it’s 2024 now and using this old version of the game has had its issues.  The input system we’re using is restricted to an old preview version, and modern MacOS support is completely off the table with this old version.

What we aim to do is upgrade to a 2023 version of Unity.  Something around the version that I’m using for Mario Bros. Mayhem.  This will give us access to the full version of the input system, as well as give us the opportunity to support modern MacOS systems with Apple silicon chipsets.

That being said, I’m anticipating that the upgrade will gate off support for older versions of the other OS’s.  Notably, I’m expecting some players using older versions of Android to be hit by this.  I guess we’ll see.

Better Universal SAVE Format

Y’know how there are values that are saved outside of just SAVE files?  Well, they’re meant to encompass the player experience as a whole, saving things like overall progress, unlocked features, etc.  Unfortunately, the way we handled isn’t ideal.  Currently, the game uses Unity’s PlayerPrefs construct to handle these values.  However, unlike having a file in the SAVE directory for these values like every other platform, the Windows versions opt to save these values to the Windows registry.  It makes transferring universal SAVE data between computers very difficult, and essentially impossible between other platforms.

This update will convert everything registered via the old method into a proper SAVE file, which will allow you to move universal SAVE files between devices, and even True Reset if so desired.

Expanded Inventory

I see that both UNDERTALE Yellow and TS!UNDERSWAP have really spoiled people with extra inventory space.  Though, if any game needs expanded inventory, it’s probably DELTATRAVELER.  What with it having three party members, and a measly 8 inventory spots and 10 box spots.

So we’re going to be taking BOTH approaches to inventory with DELTATRAVELER.

The main inventory is going to be split between two inventory types: ITEM and EQUIPMENT.  EQUIPMENT will contain just weapons and armors, while ITEM contains everything else.  You can carry 8 ITEMs and 8 EQUIPMENT.  Oh, and there’s also a KEY ITEMS category that has story items.  Very useful spot to put an Egg, too.

We’re also going to be increasing the size of the dimensional box.  You’ll be able to store up to 50 items in there, both ITEMs and EQUIPMENT.  I’m debating whether we should add dimensional boxes to Section 2 or not (still restricting Tough Glove to Section 3), but I feel the inventory upgrade might make that unnecessary.

Magic Menu Revamp

Currently, magic is handled terribly in DELTATRAVELER.  Like, it works, but it’s very vaguely held together within the mess that is the battle manager.  That makes it difficult to add new spells or change properties of pre-existing spells.  This update will change how they work internally so that it’s easier for us to do more cool magic stuff.

This revamp also allows us to let players view their spells in the STAT menu (NOT STATS!!!) in the overworld, like in DELTARUNE.  It’s handled like in Earthbound, where you push a button when looking at a party member’s stats.  The layout of it was inspired by something @sophiedeergirl made for another project, and I really wanted to use it here.  It’s very neat :)

There are a few cool things that I wanna do with magic in the future, both new spells on current party members and new ones with new party members, so this revamp is very necessary.

Improved Touch Controls

Over the past few years, we’ve heard lots of complaints about mobile.  Most notably: it sucks.  Among various complaints like controller support being lackluster and people not knowing it exists, have been complaints about the lacking touch controls.  We’ve heard them all: bad layout, buttons being too small, virtual d-pad not working well.

With the new version of the input system we’re getting from the engine upgrade, we’re gonna try to improve the touch controls.  Our current plan is to use more Unity-integrated control components, as well as introducing a completely new menu specifically for changing mobile-specific settings.  Notably, the ability for the user to change the layout.

Not sure how this will pan out, considering mobile has never been a priority for us.  Though with the amount of people I’ve seen playing the Android port, along with the amount of requests for an Android port (even though it already exists), we may as well put in a little more extra effort in.

New Extras Menu

I’m a big fan of making fun side content for this game.  It takes my mind off of the main objective, while also still providing something that is hopefully fun.  But I feel the current extras menu in the title screen won’t suffice, so this update will expand it into its own fun menu! (thanks @TheFamiliarScoot for doing this)

It’s akin to the one from TS!UNDERSWAP, but with more modes (and less settings) than that one.  A couple settings from the options menu will probably be moved over, like the Starting Flavor setting.

I have a few ideas for more extras in the future, like some possible bonus non-canon / what-if fights, and MAYBE an expanded hard mode.  That last one would be after Section 8 releases, though.  We’ll see where this goes...

Speaking of extras:

Arena Mode

This is the big thing I’ve been teasing about this update.  The new content.  ARENA MODE!!!

Arena is a gameplay mode where you refight enemies and bosses from the game in a certain order.  Think of it like an UNDERTALE take on Kirby Super Star’s Arena game.  You’ll get a certain score depending on how well you do and how far you go in the mode.  It unlocks after completing Section 2 and you can only fight enemies from sections that you’ve completed thus far.

Arena mode will have its own story, taking place before the events of DELTATRAVELER, starring a new set of faces.  You won’t be playing as Kris, Susie, or Noelle, but rather replicas of them created for this gamemode.  Why don’t we introduce them briefly?

This mode will consist of enemies and bosses fought in the main route of the game; everything from Sections 1-7.  Thus, this means the mode will be completed at the same time as Section 7.  We really hope you’ll like it :)

When will v3.1.0 release?????????

With everything we have planned laid out, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that this will take a while, especially with everyone on the team having other things to do.  Myself included, as I have other things that I need/want to do.  I’d wager Q3-Q4 2024 as an estimate release date range, though there’s a chance we could miss it.  We’ll see...

That’s it for now.  I’ve been sitting on this devlog for about two weeks because I needed to gather energy to draw the replica art for the profiles.  I might be depressed, but that’s neither here nor there.

Anyway, hope to see y’all soon!

- Sarah