Hey there, everyone!
We originally planned to have this progress report out for March, but needed to postpone it to focus more on development and personal responsibilities. Fortunately, that's given us the time to get even more stuff done, which we'll discuss in today's devlog!
That being said, we recommend following us on Twitter, where we'll generally announce our plans for progress reports.
Let's go ahead and start!
Brief Catch-Up!
In case you missed our February 2022 devlog, here's a quick recap!
In terms of that month's general updates:
Writing -- We made significant progress with major writing for Koffin Keep, other major writing, and miscellaneous things for Stardust Woods.
Artwork -- Many needed overworld, environment, and battle assets were made for Stardust Woods, Koffin Keep, and Starstruck Village.
Soundtrack -- 21/29 tracks complete, with 4 nearing completion and 4 others ranging from early concepts to not yet started.
Programming -- Various writing, assets, and sequences were implemented in-game.
Spep Mode -- Small progress was made. No spoilers!
As for everything else covered:
Run, Run, Run! -- We added the ability for players to run! After acquiring the Running Boots in The City of Old (or Stardust Woods for Demo 1.0 SAVE files), players can hold [X] while walking to run.
In case you haven't been keeping up with us on Twitter, here's a few things we posted:
We hit over 262,000 downloads for the TS!UNDERSWAP demo on March 7th
We celebrated our project's (previously unknown) month-late birthday
We commemorated our 6th Twitter Anniversary with something beautiful
Here's some preview screenshots of the Dogi for convenience!
Progress Updates
As we mentioned in our last devlog, our primary focus has been on getting Koffin Keep functionally complete. We're happy to report that all rooms are functional and all major objectives are completed, with the area nearing functional completion!
In addition to this, we're almost finished with most major content for Stardust Woods. After both of these, we'll begin focusing on Starstruck Village, whilst making refinements to Stardust Woods and Koffin Keep. Then, work on Crystal Springs will begin...
In terms of our general progress since last month:
Writing -- We've made further progress with major writing for Koffin Keep, as well as miscellaneous needed NPC and flavor text!
Currently, a majority of Koffin Keep's major writing is complete--there's only three key major scenes which need finished writing, with other rooms needing small refinements and additions.
Two entirely new route-specific sequences for Stardust Woods have been written, with most major writing for the area now complete!
We've changed plans for a certain character interaction sequence, in order to make it less of a fetch quest and keep it within the area's scope.
Artwork -- We've gotten more needed overworld, environment, and battle assets made!
Most major sprites for important NPCs and overworld interactables for Koffin Keep have been completed, with some minor stuff to be made.
Various attack assets have been made for Koffin-K (4 unique attacks), Crossbones (2 unique attacks), and other enemies.
Concept art has been created for attacks still needed for random encounter enemies, and later minibosses/bosses.
All assets for a new route-specific sequence in Stardust Woods have been created, as well as those needed for an unfinished interactive room.
We're slowly starting to further refine the rough layout map for Starstruck Village, and should hopefully develop something more concrete soon. We currently have the major points of interest mapped out.
Soundtrack -- We currently have 23 tracks completed out of a planned 30!
There's also 5 tracks nearing completion, and 2 others ranging from early concepts to not yet started.
Programming -- Various new Koffin Keep sequences have been implemented, with further developments and refinements made to existing in-game scenes and interactions.
Nearly all attacks for Greater Dog, the Dogi, and some others have been implemented in-game with special variants! Some still need some adjusting and further refinements, though.
Ruined Home -- Small changes have been made to Ruined Home based on player feedback, and to further polish certain Demo 1.0 content. This includes:
Asgore's final attack in Genocide now uses scripted RNG to be less annoying and more predictable.
Rebalances / bug fixes to Mad Dummy's chase to be more fair (particularly for those looking to do a no hit run)
Visual adjustment to Mettacrit's intro cutscene.
Speaking of which, here's a preview video of the updated Mettacrit intro cutscene! We changed his animation for grabbing Chara to be less awkward, and feel more natural.
New Music!
"Shop Flavored" by TRéZZY is the brand new shop theme! We currently plan to use it for the shopkeeper in Starstruck Village, but who's to say we won't reuse it for more?
Fun Fact: This track was almost called "Shop But It Tastes Tropical," but the current name was less of a mouthful. The other option was "What Else Am I Supposed To Name A Shop Track, Purchase?"
Community Spotlight
It's time for this month's Community Spotlight!
We started these back in June 2021 to highlight community fanworks, and fellow fan-projects.
First, some shout-outs for fellow fan projects!
Just recently, we were surprised by the release of Undertoad: Mission Luigi -- an entirely playable adaptation of Chapters 16-18 of the Undertoad comic, made "unofficially" by Blackerman, but under the direction of the official team.
According to the GameJolt description:
Explore the town of Sherborough and chat with the townsfolks. To leave town, you must conquer Luigi's gauntlet, a set of trials that will push even the most prestigious jumpers to their limit. Make sure to prepare yourself because there is no going back. Now get Movin', Butterball!
Major thanks to the Undertoad team for helping out with this. It might be a bit short, but we tried to pack as much content as we can. (The chase music will get replaced in the future...maybe)
We highly recommend giving this game a go, and checking out the official comic! It's a complete reimagining of Undertale within the Mario universe--not just a simple character-insert AU--with so much love and dedication put into it.
Around a month ago, both Inverted Fate: Wavering Spirit REMASTERED and Inverted Fate: Rise, Mettaton SPIRAL! -- two playable adaptations of battles from the Inverted Fate comic -- received updates which brought bug fixes, optimizations, and more! Go and check them out!
As for two final shout-outs for fellow projects:
RIBBIT - The Deltarune Mod by TheMaximus received some updates! While these mainly include some bug fixes and adjustments, v1.0.3 included a croak button! Definitely check this out.
Undertale: Bits and Pieces recently had some brand new, completely original content showcased -- the new antagonist for the Hotterland sub area, Meyde Forman! (That links to a video, for your viewing pleasure!)
BHBalam1 drew some fanart of miscellaneous Ruined Home characters! We really liked the varied expressions in this piece, as well as the style.
Warri made a cover for a Crossbones comic book! We really liked the pose and style of this piece, as well as the inspiration it drew from our own.
KopfSalat doodled various characters and environment elements of Starlight Isles! We really liked the variety of what's depicted, especially Chara wearing the Torn Apron we sneakily showcased in a previous progress report.
123a created a funny GIF of Chara! If you recognize this dance, you get a cookie.
Drama Josh, whose lyrical covers of the TS!UNDERSWAP soundtrack we've showcased previously, is currently seeking auditions for "TS!UNDERSWAP With Lyrics" -- an entire fanmade collection of lyrical covers for the soundtrack!
If you're interested, go and check it out here!
And finally, pixcelation posted a video showcasing various UNDERTALE fan-games, including TS!UNDERSWAP -- to commemorate a similar video posted nearly five years ago, and to display how UNDERTALE (and now DELTARUNE) fan-games have evolved over time.
That's everything for now!
We hope you guys enjoyed this month's progress report -- stay tuned for next time!
- Beethovenus and Team Switched
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