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TS!UNDERSWAP [Undertale Fangame]

1 year ago

Progress Report - July 2023

Hey there! Don't think we forgot about this month's progress report -- it's just taken us a while!

Generally, we've liked keeping everyone up-to-date with our plans for monthly progress reports on Twitter -- although since that platform has been continuing to crash and burn with no end in sight, we're going to start using our Tumblr more for communicating news and updates!

Our Discord server, and other platforms of ours, can be found linked on our website.

While today's report won't be too packed with content, we've been making some nice progress we're happy to share! Let's go ahead and get right into everything.

Brief Catch-Up!

In case you missed our June 2023 Progress Report, here's a quick recap!

Writing -- We made further progress on the Starstruck Village and end-of-area script.
Artwork -- Necessary assets for village content, polish material, and Crystal Springs preparation were made.
Soundtrack -- We had 31/36 planned tracks for Starlight Isles completed, and 2/4 current Crystal Springs tracks completed.
Programming -- All route variations of Starlight Isles' final major boss was implemented, alongside major content for Starstruck Village and the Starlight Isles / Crystal Springs area transition.

"It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun."

(2018 vs 2023, sprites are subject to change.)

Progress Updates

Back in December 2022, we reported a then-estimated:

80-90% functional completion of Starlight Isles (likely closer to ~83%)
26% functional completion of TS!UNDERSWAP!
(These numbers are no longer accurate, though we have not estimated new ones yet.)

We're now focused on getting Starlight Isles fully playable from start to finish! This includes:

Prioritizing content required for area-wide progression (final scenes, major assets, etc.)
Implementing major content in-game with completed assets.
Finishing Starstruck Village script content, and other important writing.
Creating assets as-needed.
Making refinements to existing content based on team feedback.

Here's what this means for our general progress:

Writing -- We've (mostly) finished the entire script for Starstruck Village!
- All interiors and exteriors have been written, and all that's left are sidequests.
- 1/3 major route variations for the end-of-area script are complete.
- Writing for optional character content is further in-progress.
- Writing for the skeleton brothers' house is nearing completion.
Artwork -- Necessary assets for village content, polish material, and Crystal Springs preparation have been made.
Soundtrack -- We currently have 33/36 planned tracks for Starlight Isles completed!
- 3 other tracks are in-progress, while Crystal Springs has 3 tracks completed and 1 more nearing completion.
- We've decided to remake a track for Ruthless, with its original version becoming an "extras" track (alongside a few others for the area).
Programming -- Content for Starstruck Village has been implemented based on completed script and assets.
- Various tweaks across the game, some fixes, optimization, and music updates.
- Polish work on a Ruthless-exclusive battle.

(Concept art by Cap'nToad.)

New Music!

Following our last progress report, we posted 2 new song remakes to our SoundCloud!

First, we have the remake of "Count Koffin-K" by ExtendoFun! This one aimed to capture the feel of the original, while playing around more with the instrumentation and composition.

Next, there's the remake of "Koffin Keep" by colinator27! This one has much more significant alterations from the original, particularly in regards to how it has four total variants...

... Which can be heard right here! Nearly 9 minutes of Koffin Keep.

In our May 2023 Progress Report, we mentioned how Koffin Keep would be using progression-based, dynamic music! If you need a refresher on this, here's what we said:

As mentioned before, one of the themes being remade (see our March 2023 Progress Report for important context) is that of Koffin Keep. When it came to figuring out how we wanted to handle this, we decided to experiment with something we've been planning to work with... dynamic music!
Here's what this means: as the player completes major objectives in the area, the background music will change between different track variants -- starting out more basic, and gaining more instruments based on area progression. Think of how Undertale handles its main menu music!
Currently, the track "Koffin Keep" has 4 different iterations -- each corresponding to their own level of progression (initial "exploration"/calm version, and three objective completion variants.)
Due to Koffin Keep being a nonlinear area, we felt it'd be better to shake things up with its music -- both to enhance the sense of progression throughout this section, and so players don't get bored with hearing the same track playing nonstop.
We're really looking forward to showing off these tracks once they're completed!

Dynamic music is something we've been looking to play with for a while, and we're really happy with the ways in which we've utilized this so far in-game!

We plan to experiment more with this going forwards, particularly in regards to Crystal Springs and Boreal Bluffs.

That's it for now!

We're really excited with how everything has been coming together with Starlight Isles -- especially as we've been polishing up the rougher edges of certain existing material, alongside working on further content.

As a final reminder: we've started answering character and developer asks again on our official Tumblr page! While we can't guarantee your ask(s) will be answered, feel free to read over what has been answered thus far -- and submit your own, if you want! Just please make sure to read the rules for asks.