Hey there!
Today is the 2nd Anniversary of the TS!UNDERSWAP Demo v1.0 release. To celebrate, we've decided to do a Dev Update (see our September 2022 Progress Report for context) -- giving not just a brief update on our current progress and priorities, but also some sneak previews and a short Community Spotlight!
Originally, we planned to have Starlight Isles functionally complete by the end of 2022, and then move forward with in-depth work on Crystal Springs. Unfortunately, however, we weren't able to meet this goal due to a variety of factors (e.g. personal responsibilities, underestimating development time, lacking required assets, etc.).
Considering this has been our first major area after finally escaping the initial development hell stage of our project -- then finishing and releasing Ruined Home -- there's been a lot of lessons learned along the way we'll be taking into consideration for 2023, and further development on Crystal Springs.
With that being said, though, we estimate that Starlight Isles is somewhere along 80-90% functionally complete (likely closer to ~83%). Along with that, TS!UNDERSWAP as a whole is potentially 26% functionally complete!
Let's talk more about it!
Progress Updates
As discussed in our September and November progress reports, our development priorities for Starlight Isles have shifted towards focusing on the major content of Starstruck Village. We're currently:
Focusing on the script for the final major boss, and implementing everything in-game.
Implementing attacks based on concept art with finished assets.
Creating overworld, environment, and battle assets as-needed for cutscenes and sequences.
Finalizing the second to final major boss fight in-game, including post-fight sequences.
In terms of our general progress since November:
Writing -- We're nearing completion of the final major boss's Pacifist / Neutral fight script!
All pre-fight cutscenes, and most post-fight cutscenes, for these are finished.
Other route-based pre-fight cutscenes are finished (excluding reset variations), while their post-fight cutscenes are still needed.
Other route-based fight scripts are a work-in-progress mostly composed of notes and concepts, and will be further developed into a concrete outline/table.
Artwork -- Various overworld, environment, battle, and concept art assets have been made as needed.
Soundtrack -- We currently have 29/35 planned tracks for Starlight Isles completed!
There's also 4 tracks nearing completion, and 2 others not yet started.
We still have 1 song for Crystal Springs finished, and 2 others nearing completion.
Programming -- There's been a lot done here!
The second to final major boss fight (incl. pre-fight and post-fight cutscenes) has been implemented in-game -- though requires a lot of playtesting, balancing, and general refinements/polish work.
The final major boss fight of the area (for Pacifist / Neutral) is being implemented alongside script completion, including attacks.
Most pre-fight and post-fight cutscenes for the final major boss are implemented in-game with either finished writing and assets, or placeholders.
Various bug fixes, technical changes, and polish work.
Sneak Peeks
We're really excited for what's to come, and think there's a lot of moments that will blow people away -- as such, we've really been wanting to hold off on spoiling things.
For this devlog, though, we've decided to preview two things!
"The Queen" is a new theme associated with Queen Toriel, made by Devilredd and colinator27.
Second, we have a screenshot of something to come in Demo v2.0 -- unique designs for each Temmie! This is something we've been planning for a while, but never got entirely around to until just recently. Devilredd designed and created brand new sprites, which we've gone back and added to Ruined Home.
We're looking forward to seeing what people think of these when the time comes! For now, we're not going to reveal too much about them -- though we still thought it'd be neat to tease this.
Community Spotlight
As part of today's celebration, we're including a Community Spotlight for this devlog!
We started these back in June 2021 to highlight community fanworks, and fellow fan-projects. Counting today, we've had a total of 12 Community Spotlight segments!
If you'd like to check out the fanworks featured in each of these, explore the links below:
July 2021 | Aug 2021 | Sept 2021 | Nov 2021 | Dec 2021
Jan 2022 | Feb 2022 | April 2022 | May 2022 | June 2022 | Aug 2022
TS!UNDERSWAP Fanworks
We'd like to begin by showcasing some creations by our own fans!
Here's some fanart of Crossbones by Bluelejo, answering the call and springing into action! Apparently getting this pose to look just right took them a while, and they did a great job!
PAPYRUSART98 drew both Papyrus and Chara after their first playthrough! What a wholesome piece.
Pizza Tony did a resprite of our Asgore! ... And didn't post it for several months! It's here now.
Megabito has been working on remaking the entrance to Ruined Home! It's currently unfinished, but looking absolutely beautiful so far! Make sure to check the link for a comparison between theirs, and our own.
It's_Connor created a sprite of Aaxel! It's part of his own event, "Spritecember," which is an art challenge where he tries making a sprite every day of this month. Check them out!
KOFFIN-K MINION MAYHEM
Back in October, we had Koffin-K take over the Twitter account -- which was primarily just an excuse to do in-character goofs and rampant, impulsive shitposting.
During this, we held an event called "KOFFIN-K MINION MAYHEM," where people submitted their own characters to become minions for Koffin-K! We also held a popularity vote, with four distinct winners...!
This piece by kopfsalat depicts the four winners! They are (from left to right):
Make sure to check each link for their original submissions, and everyone else's minions!
We then encouraged everyone to draw their minions completing various tasks for Koffin-K, as part of several drawing prompts (check the link to see them all!) Prior to this, though, we asked the winners to draw their minions wearing Koffin-K mascot costumes!
(THE GREAT REAPER by vide0gamer1)
I'm also including this by kopfsalat because it's hilarious.
Fellow Fanworks
We're ending this Community Spotlight by going through some recent updates and announcements for several UNDERTALE-related fan projects!
A few days ago, UNDEREVENT 2022 premiered! Just like last year, this was an unofficial presentation of UNDERTALE and DELTARUNE fanworks -- showcasing teasers, trailers, and information about each project -- similar to a Nintendo Direct!
Various projects featured are those whose creators we're friendly with, and some whose teams include members from our own! Without taking too long, we'd like to shout out a few projects who have uploaded their trailers individually -- though we still highly recommend watching the entire UNDEREVENT stream to check out everything showcased!
Hey, we're a part of this one! Since Section 5 of DELTATRAVELER features our very own Starlight Isles, we've worked directly with Sarah to port over gameplay mechanics (speed goo and bouncy mushrooms) -- and this teaser includes a small snippet of a special room!
It's been another year since we released the TS!UNDERSWAP Demo!
Since then, we've received (as of writing) 353,710 downloads -- or approximately 6.24 Greenlands! It's still amazing to see how much people have enjoyed our little project, and the excitement there's been for what's to come.
For me, it's always exciting whenever we come up with something really cool and finally implement it in-game -- not just for the satisfaction of finally having an idea fully-realized, but also to imagine how people will eventually react when they get the chance to experience it. This project is incredibly dear to us, and while at times it's taken longer than we'd anticipated to finish certain aspects, we're still committed and looking forward to seeing how people react once it's finally out there.
With Starlight Isles being our very first major area after finishing Ruined Home, there's been a lot more we've learned when it comes to game development as a whole -- and in the process, it's allowed us to take into consideration various factors and make changes to how we approach certain things.
It seems that almost every week, there's a brand new idea someone comes up with that's met with unanimous praise and excitement among our team members -- continuing to forge our own unique identity for this project, and cultivate brand new experiences to entertain fans of UNDERTALE and DELTARUNE.
Thank you all again for sticking with us through thick and thin, and taking the time of day to give our project the attention it's received. Let's hope that 2023 will be even better for development!
Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year!
- Beethovenus and Team Switched
Jan 2021 | Feb 2021 | March 2021 | May 2021 | June 2021 | July 2021 | Aug 2021 | Sept 2021 | Oct 2021 | Dec 2021
Jan 2022 | Feb 2022 | April 2022 | May 2022 | June 2022 | Aug 2022 | Sept 2022 | Nov 2022 | Dec 2022
(That's not in the game. It's just funny.)
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