Howdy, folks!

It's been a while since I last posted one of these, huh?

This update has been nearly 9 months in the making. A lot has happened in my personal life since the last update dropped. I've also been busy with many other things, such as the new DELTAENGINE I'm making for DF Story Mode, and of course my university assignments. It feels great to finally get the new DFC update out!

I wasn't able to get everything that I had originally planned into this update, so if you didn't already know, I plan on making a v3.0.0 to release sometime in June or July. It will add the new story quests, the new boss fights, the new endings, the Jevil vessel, and more. Think of it like this: v2.5.0 focuses on the new gameplay features, visuals and polishing, while v3.0.0 will focus on DFC's story content.

Here's the changelog for v2.5.0, it's the longest one so far:

- Added new overworld graphics to give the game a fresh new look! The Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, and New Home have all received a huge makeover!

- Added new UI designs. The visual presentation of the game has received a major upgrade. It still keeps the familiar traits of Undertale's design, but adds a lot of visual flair to make it a little more snazzy and clean. I hope you like it!

- Added a new PARTNER system! It is now possible to unlock characters to follow you in the overworld. All 53 vessels in the game can be unlocked as partners, so you can have your favorite characters join you on your adventure! Each partner has a "Friendship Level" that you can increase by using them in battles. Partners can provide you with bonus EXP, GOLD, or even deal extra damage depending on their certain trait! There are also partner bonuses if your vessel and your partner have a particular connection (for example, using the Kris vessel and having Susie as your partner will give you bonus EXP+G)! I hope you enjoy the new partners!

- Added new CORRUPTION BATTLES. These are very rare encounters that can occur after you defeat a regular enemy. A warning message will play as the "corruption approaches", and you'll enter a battle against one of the 53 vessels! If you defeat them, you'll unlock that vessel as a partner! This is the main way to unlock them, but you can also just "summon" a specific partner for 500000G, or you can make use of new "glitch tickets" that come out of your daily gift (more info on that below).

- Added new categories to the ITEM menu. The categories are "ITEM", your regular list of 8 item slots, "EQUIP", which shows all of the weapon and armor chests you've unlocked and allows you to switch equipment on the fly, and "KEY", which shows important collectibles that you have gotten.

- Added a new SKILLS option in battles. Similar to spells from Deltarune, these skills allow you to perform various actions that you can't do by simply fighting or acting. Skills include being able to debuff the enemy's stats, being able to buff your own stats, bribing the enemy to drop more G at the end of a fight, decreasing attack lengths, gaining movement speed, etc. To use Skills, you'll need to make use of a new stat called "EN".

- Added a new stat: ENERGY, or "EN" for short. This stat is earned similarly to TP in Deltarune, by getting close to bullets ("grazing" them) during enemy attacks. With enough EN, you can spend them on Skills to shift the tide of battle in your favor. Over time, you'll be able to upgrade your EN and Skills using a new BOOST system!

- Added a new BOOST system. Every time you "graze" a bullet during a battle and gain some EN, you also earn some boost points! With enough boost points, you'll achieve an EN BOOST and be given the option to either upgrade your maximum EN, or upgrade one of your nine skills!

- Added a new vessel menu! The old vessel menu has now been replaced with an upgraded design that organizes it much more clearly and makes selecting a vessel even faster than before, with a new grid-based selection system (kind of like a fighting game).

- Added borders! You can now toggle borders like in the console releases of Undertale! There's brand new artwork for all of them, so they look very pretty! If your monitor's aspect ratio is not 16:9, you might run into a problem with scaling, so there's a new "Border Scale" option in the Config menu so that you can adjust them to your liking!

- Added Harlow's new sprites! The default design for Harlow has now been updated to their DF STORY MODE design! Harlow's Dark World design has also been added as a costume! The classic Harlow design is still useable as a costume, bringing Harlow's total costume count to 5, the highest of any vessel!

- Redesigned the HUB ROOM with a completely new layout and upgraded sprites! There are also new signs with the rules and useful information about the game right at the entrance, so please give those a read!

- Redesigned the SAVE points. They now have a rainbow effect rather than being just yellow. The rainbow effect is a reference to the SAVE button during a certain boss battle in Undertale. The SAVE menu has also been changed with a new layout and aesthetic.

- Added new attacks for Tsunderplane and Vulkin to replace their old ones. Rudinn has also received a new attack as well!

- Added a new "Global PvP" option! When you open up the PvP list, you will notice that there are two tabs: "LOCAL PVP" and "GLOBAL PVP". Local PvP works as it did before, with you being able to invite someone in the same room as you. Global PvP allows you to invite someone from anywhere in the whole game! However, Global PvP is still experimental, and if it proves to not work consistently then it could be removed. But for now, let me know what you think!

- Added new features to Undernet! Undernet has received an upgraded design to create a more consistent aesthetic, and Undernet profiles now have two pages, with the first page being like it was before, and the new second page containing information about the player's current partner. The second page is also home to a new feature: CUSTOM ARTWORK!

- Added the ability to draw CUSTOM ARTWORK for your Undernet profile! You can now create custom pixel art within the game itself using Undernet's new "Draw" option on the homepage, which you can then display on your Undernet profile! However, keep in mind that we WILL take action if you misuse this feature for inappropriate artwork though, so keep it clean!

- Added a new "Safety Mode". This is recommended for younger players, as having it enabled will censor swear words in global and local chats, disable the direct message feature, and disable custom artwork.

- Added the ability to "block" other users. If someone is sending messages in global or local chat that bothers you or makes you uncomfortable, you can block them by going to your CELL menu, navigating to "BLOCKING", and then you can enter the user ID of whoever you wish to block. Blocking them will replace their messages with "(This user is blocked)". You can unblock them again at any time.

- Added a new minigame: DANCE DANCE SPAGHETTI. What started as a joke about Harlow being in Friday Night Funkin' has resulted in a new DDR-style minigame that allows you to create YOUR OWN CUSTOM CHARTS, complete with custom music, which you can share with other players! Making a custom chart is as easy as selecting a music file from your computer, and then tapping the arrow keys to the rhythm of the song! Your chart gets saved as a file, so you can upload the chart and music files somewhere and allow other players to download and play them! (Please be careful if you decide to download custom charts, the DF team is not responsible for user-generated content!) This minigame replaces "Spaghet Clicker", so you can play it by using the computer in Papyrus' room. If you liked Spaghet Clicker for some reason, then don't worry, you can still play it in the secret spaghetti room (if you know where that is).

- Added the ability to earn pogs and new "glitch tickets" from your Daily Gift. These "glitch tickets" can be spent at a Clam Goner NPC in Waterfall, who will summon a corruption battle for you in exchange for 5 glitch tickets.

- Added a "Master Volume" option in the game's settings menu, so that you can adjust the game's volume to your liking!

- Added the option to toggle your control scheme from ARROW KEYS to WASD from the Main Menu's Config screen. It was highly requested to have the ability to use WASD for movement, so it's finally been added!

- Added a new health meter to the battle system that shows the enemy's SOUL being cracked the more you hurt them.

- Added a new "Simplify VFX" option that allows you to toggle if you'd like special effects such as snowflakes in Snowdin, flowing water in Waterfall, Gasterbot's glitchy animations, or moving lights in Hotland to be enabled.

- Added a new first-time setup at the start of the game.

- Added the ability to toggle the Darkheart on and off after purchasing it.

- Added the ability to dash in Splat2D to make dodging enemies less tedious. Splat2D has also received new Atari-style sprites for the player, enemies, and the zapfish.

- Added new attacks to the Alpha Toriel fight to replace the old ones. Their name has also been officially changed to "Foul Monster".

- Added new attacks to the Bad Tom fight to replace the old ones. They have also been given a new battle sprite.

- Added new emotes for Gold Frisk, Chara, Sans, Papyrus, and Asriel to use in local chat.

- Added a table in the Snowdin Librarby so that there's a place to "sit" in there.

- Added a new command, "/save", which you can use when you're in the same room as a save point so that you can save from any point within that room.

- Added a door to the Free-For-All minigame in the Hub Room so that its more easily accessible.

- Added the ability to use Undernet in Offline Mode! This will allow you to make use of the DarknerNet, so you can revive bosses and get the Darkheart.

- Added new hurt sprites for Rudinn and Hathy.

- Added a new Credits sequence (currently only accessible via the Extras menu), complete with new music by Perpetrator.

- Added a new Game Over sequence to replace the old one, featuring voice clips of your favorite characters encouraging you to try again (or being amused by your death)!

- Added a new trophy for defeating all of the bonus bosses (Foul Monster, Bad Tom, and Gasterbot).

- Gave Grillby's a new layout so that it can seat more people.

- Shops have been improved. Items now have unique descriptions that will be displayed above them when they're selected.

- The old "Master Quest" worlds have been repurposed as new "Lost Worlds". Their locations have been moved, but there are hints in the overworld as to where they are.

- The Followers have been moved to the Lost Worlds, so their old rooms are no longer accessible.

- Redesigned the GUI for DF Mobile to make the buttons look nicer and have a cleaner presentation. The GUI now also starts at a lower opacity by default.

- Decreased the amount of spares/LV required to unlock the later weapons and armors in the game.

- Moved two weapons that were previously found in the retired Master Quest worlds to other locations in the main overworld. These weapons are the "RUSTY KNIFE" (ATK 4) which is now located in Snowdin, and the "WOODEN BAT" (previously known as "BLOODY BAT", ATK 6) which is now located in Waterfall.

- Nerfed the Master Sword and Epic Shades from 250 ATK/DEF to 125 ATK/DEF, nerfed the Tem Armor from 500 DEF to 200 DEF, and nerfed the True Knife and Broken Locket from 999 ATK/DEF to 250 ATK/DEF. Still powerful, but not ridiculously so.

- Removed the requirement to collect puzzle pieces to progress in Offline Mode. There is still the reward for collecting all of them, though!

- Pacifists are now able to get the "LV crowns" (the crown icons you get on the STAT menu for getting LV 20 and LV 99) based on how many spares they have gotten.

- It is no longer possible to get the failsafe win condition within the first 15 seconds of PvP, to help prevent an issue where players with a slower connection would win a fight immediately.

- Improved dialogue boxes so that Sans' text is better spaced out.

- Changed the default soul color to red instead of purple, to match with the updated lore coming in v3.0.0.

- The attack bar when FIGHTing now has its speed dictated by your weapon rather than the speed being random. The better your weapon is, the faster the bar will be.

- In DF Mobile, the "Quest" button has now been replaced with a "PvP" button. Pressing this will bring up the PvP list so that you no longer have to type out the command to access it.

- The bullet box now changes its color from white to green for battles in the Dark World, to match the color of the bullet box from Deltarune.

- The "Tem Key" is no longer a regular item. Instead, it is placed in the "KEY" category of your items menu and can only be purchased once, so you no longer have to waste an item slot to keep it. If you already own a tem key, it will be removed from your "ITEM" menu and put into your "KEY" menu automatically.

- The encounter transition has been sped up so that battles now start way quicker.

- You can now always see the name of your opponent in the top left during a PvP fight (useful for reporting if neccessary).

- Pacifists (LV 1) are no longer affected by the damage cap of each area, so they'll no longer have to take more than 1 DMG even with good armor like they did previously.

- Fixed a bug where your SOUL would still be considered "moving" in battle if you were pressing against the bullet board wall, allowing you to bypass orange attacks without actually moving.

- Fixed a bug where Woshua's soap would often get stuck on the sides of the box for a few frames.

- Fixed a visual error where the bullet box would awkwardly "snap" into position after moving during battle.

- Fixed a bug where players couldn't send stuff like "..." or "!!!" or "???" as messages in local chat.

- Fixed a bug where innocent phrases such as "good night" were unable to be sent.

- Fixed a bug where certain enemies would crash due to having no text for their speech bubble.

- Fixed a bug where mobile users could access FFA mode.

- Fixed a bug where you couldn't use [Z] to confirm a custom seed for the Starwalker minigame.

- Fixed a visual error where Foul Monster's boil line animation did not play.

- Fixed a visual error where the "Choco Diamond" item would have its name be too long in the item menu during battle. Its name now gets shortened to "C.Diamond" in-battle.

- Buffed Mandarina's HP a bit.

- Even though Mandarina's fight is getting touched up for v3.0.0, you can still play the Mandarina fight from previous versions by interacting with the lamp in her den.

- While the new subareas are getting worked on for v3.0.0's Story Quest, you will notice some paths being blocked by traffic cones. These will be removed in v3.0.0 when the new subareas are complete.

- Lowered the volume of "Rude Buster X" a bit, as it was quite loud compared to the other tracks in the game.

- Replaced Lonely Girl's PvP theme with "Be Brave!" from Dweller's Empty Path.

- Changed the "Max out PvP LV for each vessel" trophy to "Earn RANK X in PvP", so the trophy is no longer a monumental task.

- Removed the Gaster intro where he would tell you how many players there are, it was cool at first but lost its purpose and is no longer canon.

- You can no longer instakill an enemy that is a higher level than you via a betrayal kill.

- Rewrote some of the game's engine for improved efficiency.

- Removed the following nametag styles: "Box with LV", "Box with Rank", "Simple Box". This is because these nametags didn't look very good and cluttered the screen.

- Other minor tweaks and changes.

Special thanks to Prima for the new artwork made for this devlog! It's kind of interesting to see DF's old protagonist and DF's new protagonist together like this, they're never usually shown together!

On another note, tomorrow is the first anniversary of v2.0.0! I can't believe it's already been a whole year since the new DF Multiplayer came out. It's been a wild ride so far, and I look forward to the future of DF as a whole!

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you enjoy the update, and as always, stay determined!