Howdy, folks!

On this accursed day, exactly six years ago, the DONTFORGET project was first unleashed upon the world, and it has continued to be an irreparable blight on humanity ever since...

Jokes aside, DF has officially turned six years old today! Thank you all so much for your continued support over the years, it really is humbling that so many of you are still interested in this dorky fan project.

In this devlog, I'll be showcasing what I've been working on for the next DF CONNECTED update, v2.7.0, particularly with the new additions to the pacifist route. So, let's cut to the chase and get started!

Status Update for DF CONNECTED v2.7.0

In case you didn't read the previous devlog, here's a quick recap of what was shown off last time:

• New multi-enemy encounters have been completed for all major areas! It is now fully possible to encounter more than one enemy at a time.

• The Dark World has begun getting a rework, including a new layout for its Gold Grind Room.

• The Ink!Sans vessel has received a new design. The previous design is still available as a costume.

• It is now possible to bulk-buy pogs at MTT Hotel, rather than just one at a time like it was before.

• An estimated completion for the update was stated, with it being at around 40-50% done at the time.

Since then, I would now estimate the update's completion to be around 70%. I wish it could be more, but I had to pause development for a while to focus on university. On the bright side, I still have a lot to show you, so I hope this suffices while you wait a bit longer for the update to release!

CHANGES TO THE SAVE FILE SYSTEM

I would like to start off by talking about the save file system. In the December 2021 devlog, I revealed that DFC would finally be receiving multiple save files per user account, rather than just one. I stated that save files would work a bit differently than usual, with only essential stats being unique to each save file, and the rest of your save data, such as pogs, partners, unlocked vessels, etc... being shared between files. This was because I was concerned with the amount of storage that multiple save files would take up on the server, so I intended to compromise by making files only save vital stats necessary for playing different routes.

However, I am pleased to say that this no longer has to be the case! Save files will now work exactly as you'd expect - you can start completely fresh with each file, rather than having to share certain progress between them! Everything from stats, to pogs, to partners, to unlocked vessels, to Undernet unlocks... all of it will be separate for each save file, so you can truly start from scratch with a new save file if you wanted. Don't worry, your progress in one save file does not affect your progress in another. If you want to have one save file for pacifist and one for genocide, you can do that!

Also, the file select menu has received a change. It's still a work-in-progress, but currently it looks like this:

Just to clarify, the artwork being used in these screenshots is temporary. It was originally made by ItsJustRandomMe for DF's fifth anniversary post from last year, so it kind of fits to use it in the sixth anniversary devlog! However, it doesn't fit to use it in the official release, since Harlow's soul has a party hat on it lol. Rando is currently working on new artwork specifically for the file select menu, so for now we're just using this one during development.

In the screenshot above, you can see that I have two save files, one of them is for my genocide playthrough, and the other is for my pacifist playthrough. These files are completely separate from each other, so I don't have to worry about something I do in one file affecting the other.

At the bottom, you can see three other options. When playing online, you can set whether Online Safety Mode is on or off from this menu, in case you changed your mind or forgot to set it before. But the option I think you will find most interesting is the second one: you will have the ability to export your online save files to be used in Offline Mode.

You can choose which of your online saves to export...

...and then choose which offline save file you'd like to export it to!

This feature means that you can now start preserving your online save files, in the event that anything happened to the game. As a side-note because I know someone will ask - you cannot re-export an offline save back for use in online mode, as this would enable cheating. You can only export an online save to offline mode, for the sake of preservation, and not the other way around.

And yeah, that's the new save file system! Hopefully this allows you to experience more of the game without the hassle of creating multiple accounts!

NEW INTRODUCTORY CARDS

It occurred to me recently that players who are completely new to DFC often start the game not knowing what to do or how the game works. There's a sign in the starting room that talks about the controls, but let's be real here, most people will skip the signs lol. But even if they don't, the signs don't tell them much about how the game works.

To resolve this, I have added intro cards that will display when you start a new game. Starting off with the CONTROLS card, which shows the essential controls that players will need to know right off the bat.

Then there's the GAMEPLAY card, which shows a little graph telling the player that their primary goal is to explore and encounter enemies - making a choice of whether to fight or spare them.

Lastly, there's the PRO TIPS card, which offers three key points to help the player get started. They're advised to start with the game's first area, the RUINS, and it is explained that how they progress is up to them and their choices. And of course, they're shown how to save their game.

Hopefully these new intro cards will prevent confusion on how the game works. In the future when the story content is added into DFC, this will likely be less of an issue as the player will be guided by the game's story beats anyway, but for now these should help a bit.

PROGRESS ON THE NEW PACIFIST ROUTE

There's been a lot of progress done on the new pacifist route! To start off, I have begun replacing the ACTs for every enemy. I want to move away from using the exact same ACTs from Undertale like before, and instead have completely new ones. This will help make DFC's battles feel more unique and not just lifted straight out of the source material. For example, here are Froggit's new ACTs:

And here's how it looks to use an ACT now:

When an enemy's mercy bar has been filled to 100%, they can be spared. By sparing an enemy, you will "BEFRIEND" them. I first mentioned the BEFRIEND mechanic in the December 2021 devlog, and now I can finally show it to you! Here's how it looks when you spare an enemy:

Each enemy has a certain number of spares required to fully befriend them. For Froggit, you need to spare them 10 times in order to befriend them. You can check your progress on befriending an enemy by looking at their "FRIENDS" stat in the bestiary:

When you have fully befriended an enemy, two things will happen: their ACTs will become twice as effective as before, making them easier to spare, and they will also appear as NPCs in the overworld to start populating the areas. Here are some befriended enemies vibing in the RUINS:

But be warned, if you kill an enemy, they will be forever "LOST"...

This means you will no longer be able to befriend that enemy, and if you had already befriended them before, you will lose that friendship and they will disappear from your overworld.

Moving on from the BEFRIEND mechanic, the EMOTION system has now been fully implemented, and I'd like to show it to you!

PROGRESS ON THE NEW EMOTION SYSTEM

When you encounter an enemy in v2.7.0, they will have a random chance of spawning with an emotion applied to them.

You can tell what emotion an enemy has by looking at the icon next to their health bar, and there's also a label so you know for sure.

As explained in previous devlogs, an enemy's emotion will affect a battle in two ways:

• The effectiveness of certain ACTs will change.

• A status effect will be applied to the battle.

For pacifists, emotions will have a huge effect on how you deal with an enemy. Your usual go-to ACT to spare them may not work, so you'll need to think about which of your ACTs may best suit how the enemy is feeling.

For all players, emotions will spice things up a bit. Here's what each emotion will do in a battle:

• ANGRY - the enemy's ATK stat is increased by 25%.

• SAD - the enemy's DEF stat is increased by 25%.

• HAPPY - the enemy's max HP is increased by 15%.

• AFRAID - the player's invincibility frames will be halved.

• DISGUSTED - the enemy's attacks will last 25% longer.

To deal with these effects, it is recommended that you make use of the SKILL system, which can be used to deal with these emotion effects.

I hope you enjoy the changes that the new emotion system will bring in v2.7.0!

IMPROVED VESSEL MENU

Up next, I'd like to show you the redesigned vessel menu that I'm in the process of adding to the game! I wanted to change the vessel menu so that the vessels in each category were visible to the player from the main page, making it easier to look at them at a glance. Here's how it looks so far:

And when you select a category, you'll see the full portrait of the character you're selecting:

What do you think? I hope you like this new menu design!

CHECK OUT BERDLY'S PVP THEME!

Last but not least for this status update, check out the new PvP theme for Berdly, "Scientocracy of Gamers (with Nipples)", arranged by Perpetrator, with help from SMario8282!

Conclusion

Well, that's about it for this devlog. I apologize for how long this update has been taking, but I hope that what I've shown you today has helped make the wait a bit more bearable.

I'm not exactly sure when the update will be ready, as I will be leaving to go on holiday for a few weeks next month, and probably won't be able to work on the game during that time. But who knows, we'll see how things go!

Once again, thank you all so much for the past six years. It has been an unforgettable experience so far (haha get it), and I can't express enough how much it all means to me.

Thanks for reading, and as always, stay determined!