Howdy, everyone!

Gosh, how long has it been since I last posted one of these? This update has been a long time in the making, so it's very surreal to finally be writing this!

Releasing v2.7.0 took a lot longer than expected. It originally started as a small quality-of-life patch, v2.6.2. However, I kept adding onto it, and eventually it outgrew being a "patch" and became a full update.

Overall, it's been a little over 10 months between the release of v2.7.0 and the previous version, v2.6.1. I apologize for the long wait, but hopefully it'll have been worth it!

In this devlog, I want to talk to you all about what's next for DONTFORGET. After all, v2.7.0 wasn't a planned update, it just... sort of happened! However, it gave me a lot of time to think about where DF was going, so there have been some changes to our long-term plans.

BUT before we get into that - I just want to thank each and every one of you for helping us reach 30,000 followers!

Some of you might remember I jokingly promised that a Harlow plushie would be made if we reached 30k. While I can't actually make the plushie a reality (yet...?), we can at least give it to you in the form of celebratory artwork! Here's the artwork kindly provided by Prima:

With that all said, here's the changelog for v2.7.0! Man, it feels good to finally post one of these again...

DF CONNECTED v2.7.0 Changelog

- Added new MULTI-ENEMY ENCOUNTERS! It is now possible to encounter up to three enemies in the same battle, just like in Undertale!

- Added a redesigned ACT SYSTEM, based on the mercy bar mechanic from Deltarune Chapter 2. Every enemy has now been given all-new ACTs, and each ACT can increase the enemy's MERCY value by a certain amount. Getting the MERCY value to 100% will make the enemy spareable! But wait, there's more...!

- Added a new EMOTION SYSTEM to enemy encounters! To make enemies feel more like individuals rather than carbon copies of each other, each enemy you encounter can have a random emotion applied to them that affects the battle. A "neutral" enemy will be the default, an "ANGRY" enemy will have higher ATK, a "SAD" enemy will have higher DEF, a "HAPPY" enemy will have higher HP, an "AFRAID" enemy will decrease your invulnerability frames, and a "DISGUSTED" enemy will have longer attacks. But that's not all, enemies will also react differently to ACTs based on their emotion! This provides a lot more variety for pacifists, since now you'll need to use your ACTs in different ways to accommodate the enemy's emotion!

- Added a new BEFRIEND SYSTEM! This is similar to the "recruits" system in Deltarune Chapter 2. If you spare enough of a certain type of enemy, they will become your "friend", and their ACTs will give double their usual value, making that enemy easier to spare. Friendly enemies will also appear as NPCs in the overworld, populating the areas with new characters to talk to! Fill up the overworld with all of your new friends! If you befriend every enemy in an area, you'll be able to find them all in a group hanging out, and they might even give you a gift!

- Added a new FILE SELECT SYSTEM to Online Multiplayer and Offline Mode. You will now be given the option to choose one of three save files. The purpose of this addition is to prevent the need for players to make entirely new accounts to play different routes online. The save file that you're playing on (File 1, 2 or 3) will be displayed on your Undernet profile.

- Added the ability to EXPORT YOUR ONLINE SAVE FILES as Offline Mode save files. This is to help players get started preserving their save files for the future, when DFC inevitably shuts off its connection to GMServer to switch over to a private server system. There's no need to worry about anything just yet, the feature is simply already implemented for your convenience is all. Simply choose a save file to export, then an offline save file to replace, and presto!

- Added a new vessel: BERDLY, featuring both his Light World form and his new Dark World form from Deltarune Chapter 2!

- Added a new enemy to the Dark World: JIGSAWRY! This brings the total number of enemies in the Dark World to three.

- Added a new QUESTS menu in your CELL. From here you can see a description of your current main quest (when they get added in v3.0.0), as well as your daily quests! Speaking of daily quests...

- Added new DAILY QUESTS. Every day there will be three random daily quests to complete. There are 24 different types of quests, and their conditions are random too, so they offer plenty of variety! Completing a daily quest will reward you with a gift box, which can contain gold, undercoins, or even a Glitch Ticket!

- Added a redesigned VESSEL MENU, to make navigation easier (and more stylish).

- Added new assets to the Dark World, particularly for the Field of Hopes and Dreams and Scarlet Forest. Check out their new looks!

- Added a new design for Grillby's. The interior has received a visual upgrade and is now larger to provide more seating!

- Added the ability to feed items to partners, so that there's now another method to increase their friendship level besides battling with them. It also gives items another use too, so it's a win-win! Certain items give more points than others.

- Added a new skill: P-ACTION. During a battle, you can use this skill to have your partner help you increase the effect of your ACTs on an enemy. The effect of this skill is based on the friendship level of your partner. There is unique flavor text for every partner when using this skill, so give them a try! This skill replaces "Lullaby", which was no longer needed.

- Added a new minigame: "GRAND THEFT HARLOW VR". It was originally just a joke for a teaser, but has now been included as a playable minigame. You can access it from the computer in Alphys' lab. There's a new leaderboard for this minigame as well, so have fun reaching the top!

- Added a new PvP theme for Berdly, titled "Scientocracy of Gamers (with Nipples)", arranged by Perpetrator with assistance from SMario8282.

- Added a new PvP theme for Omori, titled "ENCORE", arranged by Perpetrator.

- Added a new PvP theme for Asgore, titled "FLUFFYBUNS", arranged by Perpetrator with assistance from SMario8282.

- Added a new cover of the shop theme, titled "Checkout", arranged by Perpetrator.

- Added a new cover of the "sans." theme, titled "Lazybones", arranged by Perpetrator.

- Added a new cover of the Temmie Village theme, titled "Tem Chillage", arranged by Perpetrator.

- Added a new cover of the hotel theme, titled "This Is A Nice Hotel They Play Jazz Here", arranged by Perpetrator.

- Added a new rendition of the iconic "Gaster vanish" sound effect to replace the original.

- Added new intro cards to help newer players understand the game better.

- Added new sprites for Ink!Sans, redone by Universal. Their old appearance is still available as a costume.

- Added new artwork for the vending machine shop, and new sprites for the booster drinks.

- Added a new sparkle effect when you enter a battle with a gold or diamond enemy.

- Added new Froggit NPCs in the Ruins that go over important game mechanics such as EN, emotions, befriending, partners, etc.

- Added new expressions for Susie (both light and dark versions) from Chapter 2.

- Added the ability to buy gachapogs in bulks of five or ten from new machines in MTT Hotel. This makes purchasing pogs easier, as you no longer need to do it just one at a time.

- Added sound effects from the game OMORI to replace some of the usual sounds while playing as the Omori vessel.

- Added text that appears over the area doorways in the HUB area, which states the names and numbered order of the areas, to make the intended order of areas more clear.

- Added a partner bonus for Sans and Ness.

- Added a partner bonus for Susie and Noelle.

- Added a partner bonus for Frisk and Asriel.

- Added a prompt when quitting the DFC Map Editor to prevent accidentally quitting it.

- Added the ability to change your costume and do your pose in Offline Mode on the mobile version.

- Redesigned the Dark World grind room to have a more interesting layout.

- Replaced Harlow's Dark World costume with the latest iteration of the design, as well as adding a new pose for them.

- Changed a vessel's "PvP Level" into a new system called "Vessel Level". It is now possible to "level up" your vessel by doing other things besides PvP, such as digging up pog holes, collecting Starwalker's power stars, and encountering gold/diamond enemies. Increasing a vessel's level will increase the GOLD rewards you get from battles while using that vessel. Vessel Levels have also been added into Offline Mode, so they are no longer an online-exclusive feature.

- Changed one of King's local chat emotes, and added a new one.

- Changed the sprite of the collectable stars in Starwalker's minigame, from the SM64 power star into a more fitting original sprite.

- Changed Sans' dialogue at the start of Hotland.

- Changed the sign at the start of the Dark World.

- Changed the prices of the booster drinks to be slightly higher.

- Changed Mew Mew's overworld sprites to give her a rounder face, rosy cheeks, and hair shading.

- Changed the PaciKiss booster drink so now instead of making an enemy instantly-spareable, it will make the ACTs of every enemy give 100% effectiveness. However, it will only do this for enemies you have befriended, so you still need to befriend an enemy normally before being able to use PaciKiss on them.

- Gave Whimsun a new attack to replace their old one.

- The "Bounty" system has been removed from the game, as it has now been replaced with the new daily quests.

- Made it so it is now possible to use keyboard hotkeys in Offline Mode: you can press [W] or [R] to warp, [S] to change vessel, and [U] to open Undernet.

- Made it so in a PvP match, the game will try to predict if you've dealt the killing blow to your opponent, hopefully making battles end quicker.

- Made it so if you die to a corruption battle, you'll now go back to the overworld with 1 HP rather than dying and potentially losing progress.

- Made it so pacifists get their GOLD rewards from a party calculated based on their spare count rather than their LV.

- Made it so you cannot gain bonus rewards from a party while in a PvP fight.

- Made it so purchasing the Darkheart is no longer a requirement for obtaining Trophy 6.

- Made it so obtaining Trophy 5 now only requires you to reach POWER 10 in Free-For-All rather than POWER 20.

- Made it so the game now auto-saves after a PvP battle.

- Made it so you can now transfer up to 10000G to another player through the bank, rather than a limit of 2500G.

- Made it so your chances of fleeing a battle are now much higher, to avoid getting stuck in battles if you're in a hurry.

- Increased the prices of SKILLS from 5, 10, and 15 to 10, 15 and 25.

- Improved the grass in the Field of Hopes and Dreams to make the wind appear to blow diagonally rather than simply horizontally.

- Improved the trees in the Field of Hopes and Dreams to make their animation smoother.

- Improved the design of the secret Dark World room in the Ruins (so now it actually looks like it leaks into the Dark World, rather than a Darkner just standing around in the Ruins).

- Updated the action icons in the top-left of the PvP interface.

- Damage values will now show on the killing blow.

- Renamed "Rickstercraft" to "Minecrap" to match a reference that Spamton says in Deltarune Chapter 2.

- Nerfed the HEART LOCKET and BROKEN LOCKET armor effects from giving a 2x reward bonus to now giving a 1.5x reward bonus.

- Fixed a bug where DANCE DANCE SPAGHETTI custom charts were unable to be played.

- Fixed a bug where it was impossible to create custom DANCE DANCE SPAGHETTI charts.

- Fixed a bug where players couldn't view the PvP List in the PvP room.

- Fixed a bug where hitting an enemy during battle could disrupt their animation.

- Fixed a bug where buying the Tem Key would not play a sound effect.

- Fixed a bug where the third message on local chat would not display the correct font on the sleek style.

- Fixed a bug where playing as Underracer Flowey and having Asriel as a partner would not grant a partner bonus, despite the opposite way granting one.

- Fixed a bug that allowed you to wrong-warp to the main menu.

- Fixed a bug where mashing the arrow keys would interrupt your partner's dance/pose animation.

- Fixed a bug where it was possible to open the menu while a dialogue box was open.

- Fixed a bug where hitting Undyne in PvP or a corruption battle would shift their hair into the wrong position.

- Fixed a bug where the GameJolt link for updating the game didn't work correctly.

- Fixed a bug where the Server Status, Account Recovery, and GameJolt Community options wouldn't work on the mobile version.

- Fixed a bug where the conveyor belts in the CORE would change color after a PvP battle.

- Fixed a bug where drinks could get consumed in-battle despite a drink effect already being active.

- Fixed a bug where betrayal-killing a corruption would cause their sprite to move to the left side of the screen.

- Fixed a bug where you could continue to get party benefits even after leaving a party.

- Fixed a bug where the death animation could infinitely replay if an opponent rage-quit in PvP.

- Fixed a bug where player 2 was not able to get past vents in Hotland. They will now teleport to player 1's position after player 1 uses a vent.

- Fixed a bug where rarely the friendship level of a partner would not increase even after reaching the appropriate EXP amount.

- Fixed a bug where if you bought a partner with gold, it would say "Met on 0" rather than the day you purchased them.

- Fixed a bug where Gasterbot and Bad Tom were affected by PaciKiss.

- Fixed a bug where getting a bank transfer could get you over the gold cap of 999999.

- Fixed an oversight where you could leave your name blank when creating an Offline Mode save file.

- Fixed an oversight where a maxed-out partner would still display 0/100 experience points rather than "MAX" experience points on Undernet profiles.

DF CONNECTED v2.7.0b Changelog

Hey there, before we continue, it's RickyG from the future here! Just wanted to quickly add onto this post with the changelog for v2.7.0b. This patch isn't mandatory (hence why it's 2.7.0b and not 2.7.1), but I just wanted to fix a few minor things while I had the chance.

Here's the changelog:

- Fixed an oversight where the "Export Save File to INI" option in Offline Mode was not removed. It has now been removed as intended.

- Fixed a bug where exporting an online save file into an offline save file would not export the correct file.

- Fixed a bug where there was an invisible wall in the Dark World left accidentally.

- Fixed a few dialogue errors.

- Fixed a bug with multi-enemy encounters where an enemy's data might get overwritten by another enemy's data.

- Fixed a bug with multi-enemy encounters where sparing a single enemy would still use their attack for that turn despite them no longer being in the battle.

What's next for DONTFORGET?

Now that v2.7.0 is done, I'll be keeping an eye on reports from you guys, to see if there's anything that needs to be fixed. If there is, then I'll release patches to address them. Hopefully we won't need them (or at least not too many), but with such a big update, who knows!

Alright, alright! Let's talk about what's next for DF.

So, I have some good news, and I have some bad news.

The good news is that more updates are coming! There are plans for at least one more update, v2.8.0, which is anticipated to release this year! There might also be a v2.9.0, but it'd mainly be a smaller quality-of-life update to prepare the game for v3.0.0. I'll share more news when I can.

Now, the bad news is related to DFC's end-of-service. There's a lot to talk about with this, so let's get into it.

When is DF CONNECTED's end-of-service?

You may recall in previous devlogs that I announced DFC will reach it's "end-of-service" by Summer 2023. This means that, when the time comes, the game will be disconnected from the server and will no longer be an MMO. Doing this would allow us to focus more of our efforts towards our next game, DF Story Mode, rather than moderation of DFC.

Now, we were expecting the end-of-service to happen in Summer 2023, because v3.0.0 would hopefully release before then, giving players plenty of time to experience it online before we had to disconnect the game from the server. However, this is no longer the case...

Unfortunately, it has become increasingly obvious to the team and myself that operating DFC has simply become too monumental of a task. We have done our best to keep DF's online multiplayer running since 2016, and I personally think the team has done a great job for the past nearly six years! Running a free MMORPG for six years is no small feat!

However, it's just gotten to the point now where we have to choose between DFC and DF Story Mode, and we really want to make DF Story Mode.

So, the end-of-service will now be happening earlier than planned.

DFC v2.8.0 (or v2.9.0, if it happens) will be the last version of the game to use GMServer.

Starting with DFC v3.0.0, which is the update that adds the game's story content, DFC will officially enter a new era where it will no longer be an MMO.

This might disappoint some of you. I know a lot of you were expecting to be able to experience DFC's story content before the end-of-service. I apologize for the disappointment.

However... don't worry! Just because we're disconnecting the game from the server, doesn't mean you have to play alone!

The Future of DF CONNECTED

With the release of the new story content in v3.0.0, DFC will also gain a new PRIVATE SERVER system!

Even though the game will no longer be an MMO, we still want you to be able to play the game with your friends over the internet. After all, that's what DFC was built for!

So, as long as you or a friend knows how to port-forward, you can create a private server and invite as many friends as you want to join you!

We'll do our best to ensure that everything works just as expected with this new system, including local chat, PvP, FFA, Undernet, and parties! The game will (hopefully) work pretty much exactly like it does now, but you'll have the freedom to create your own servers!

And here's some more good news - because we're switching to a private server system, we will no longer need to prevent players from decompiling the game! This means that DFC v3.0.0 will allow you to mod the game!

Want to add a vessel yourself? You can make a mod for it! Want to add new areas? You can mod that in too! Want to release your mod for other people to play? Go for it!

Since the game will run on private servers, you'll even be able to play mods with your friends!

It'd be cool if DFC was able to spark an active modding community. Even though the team and I can't continue to update DFC after v3.0.0, maybe you guys still can! The systems are a bit complex, so I'll even try to include some handy guides such as how to add new vessels step-by-step. You'll be free to release your mods however you like, as long as you don't redistribute the game in its entirety (your download should not replace the official download).

When the time comes, we can talk more about modding later. However, until DFC v3.0.0, we still can't allow mods yet... Just wait a bit longer!

DFC v3.0.0 will completely change the game. As I've said before, the main focus of the update is the new story content that will be added. DFC is canon to the events of DF Story Mode, so I think you'll find the story to be very, very interesting. There will be new quests in each area, new characters, new boss fights, and of course, the endings! Your route will affect the ending as well as the content of each quest, so there'll be plenty to sink your teeth into!

By the way, you may recall in previous devlogs that I said v2.7.0 would have the "Jevil side-quest" for the Dark World, as well as a new achievements system. I have decided to hold off on adding these until v3.0.0. This is because I changed my mind on making the Dark World a "non-canon" area, and its quest will be part of the main storyline for DFC. You'll be able to complete the Dark World quest and unlock Jevil in v3.0.0.

As for achievements, I would like to add GameJolt integration to the game, allowing you to earn GameJolt trophies for achievements. Therefore, I think it'd be better to wait until DFC moves into the private server system before including these, so then they can completely replace the old in-game trophy system.

As for mobile players, we plan to allow you guys to be able to use the private server system too, so don't worry!

Welp, that's all I can say about v3.0.0 for now. If you're curious when it'll be ready, we're expecting it to be a 2023 release. I really hope you guys will have a lot of fun with it, even if it'll no longer be an MMO. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months!

What's up with DF Story Mode?

That's a good question!

With all of this talk about DFC, you're probably wondering how DF Story Mode is doing.

During the past 10 months, I've been doing more than just working on DFC v2.7.0. I've been doing a lot of writing for DF Story Mode, and of course I've been making progress on DeltaEngine, which you can see in the few livestreams that I did. Rest assured, DFC is not the only thing on my mind, DF Story Mode is still being worked on!

Now, you may remember that I once estimated DF Story Mode would be ready for a full release sometime in Summer 2023... well, long story short, plans have changed.

As of right now, I do not expect DF Story Mode to release in 2023.

Well... at least not fully!

I am currently considering the possibility of releasing DF Story Mode in multiple parts, rather than all at once.

I think in the long-run it'll be better for both players and the team to have regular releases. It would mean players wouldn't have to wait as long to start experiencing DF Story Mode, and there'd be less stress on the team and myself.

However, what's preventing me from confirming that DF Story Mode will be released in parts is the structure of the game.

DF Story Mode has been planned to be about the length of Deltarune Chapter 2. Releasing the game in parts would be like if Deltarune Chapter 2 was released one area at a time (sort of). It might work, it might not. For now, I'm undecided.

Once I've come to a decision on how DF Story Mode will be released and when, I'll let you all know. For the time being, just know that I am leaning more towards releasing the game in parts, so you can get your hands on it sooner!

Another DF side-project...?

If you're on the DF Community Discord server, then you may recall that I posted a small teaser image of something I was working on. It looked like this:

I released this image with the following "hints":

• Are you sure it says "CONNECTED" as the subtitle?

• Why would the soul be red?

• Has that background been used in a menu for anything before?

I can now finally tell you what this is!

Introducing... "DF REFLECTED", a revamped version of DF Classic Multiplayer!

That's right, this dusty old thing is receiving one last update! It's a big one, too - it improves the game's internal systems (better movement, better textboxes, faster framerate), upgrades the visuals, and includes a brand new post-game side-quest where Harlow accidentally ends up in DF Classic, and you need to help them get back to DF Connected!

Now, the actual purpose of this revamp is to give the game a private server system, just like the one we're going to be giving DFC in v3.0.0. After all, we want to preserve DF Classic Multiplayer too, so we will be using it as a test for our implementation of private servers.

This means that when DFR releases, you will no longer be able to connect to DF Classic Multiplayer online, you can only join private servers. As such, your old save files will sadly no longer be accessible. If you want to revisit the game before this happens, now is the time.

Unfortunately, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to preserve everything, because the game is just so old and the engine is very rough to work with. For example, I may not be able to get PvP to work in private servers, because it's just a heaping mess of spaghetti. However, I'll preserve what I can. At the very least, it'll be much better than just leaving the game as it is, because a lot of content is unavailable in its current Offline Mode.

Also, DFR will be freely moddable, so you can do as you wish - you can change code, add skins (ha, if you can, it's all spaghetti), add areas, whatever you want! Hell, if you can figure out how to get PvP to work again if I can't, you're more than welcome to do that too!

Here's some screenshots of how DFR looks right now. It's still a work-in-progress, so the graphics aren't final. I might even decide to change back to the original assets to preserve the old feel of the game, who knows. Let me know your thoughts on that!

I'll have more news to share with you about it later! We're anticipating DFR to release sometime this year as well, but it may take a bit longer depending on how things go.

Conclusion

Whew! This was a long post. If you made it all the way to the bottom, thanks for reading all of this. It took a while to write!

As I said, I'll be keeping on eye on things to see if any patches are necessary to squash bugs. Please do report any bugs you find on the DF Discord or the DF GameJolt Community!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always, stay determined!