Toby Fox releases Undertale 2 Demo

What are you playing. Hands out of your pockets!

Toby Fox releases Undertale 2 Demo

Postby A Combustible Lemon » Wed Oct 31, 2018 6:12 pm

https://www.deltarune.com/

It released on Halloween and uses spoopy "you accept everything that happens from now on" stuff, trips Windows security.

So the meta elements seem all there. Or his twitter got hacked and we just saw a gigantic virus attack.

It looks like a demo, but seeing as it's probably a WD Gaster game, it'll probably end up with a ton of hacking stuff or ARGs too.
  • 1



WE ARE ALL FLOATING IN THE WINDS OF TIME. BUT YOUR CANDLE WILL FLICKER FOR SOME TIME BEFORE IT GOES OUT -- A LITTLE REWARD FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED. FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT...
User avatar
A Combustible Lemon
TCS Regular
TCS Regular
 
Posts: 486
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: The Internet, India
Show rep
Title: Grenadier

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2 Demo

Postby KleinerKiller » Thu Nov 01, 2018 12:13 am

Downloaded it but haven't officially installed or played it yet. I'm incredibly excited, though.

MAJOR WORD OF WARNING, THOUGH: Apparently it's just been discovered that the uninstaller is busted, and if used, it deletes everything in the directory you have the game installed in. Fox recommends not using the uninstaller at all.
  • 1

"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it." - Eclipse Phase

NEW REVIEW! Judgment / Judge Eyes (2019)
User avatar
KleinerKiller
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1883
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:34 pm
Location: Newfoungengzealaustrermany
Show rep
Title: Cute

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2

Postby KleinerKiller » Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:28 am

Okay, well, I just spent a few hours completing it. Hoo boy. I always said I didn't want an Undertale sequel unless Toby Fox had a core idea he was just as passionate about and a lot of new shit to pull into it, and I think we got it. Unorganized thought dump ahead.

Also: I'm worried about how many people are going to skip out on this thinking it's just a demo.

Spoiler: show
It's not a demo. It's Chapter 1.

The new battle system is just the best. I don't know how I didn't think that the natural evolution of "bullet hell Earthbound" wasn't "bullet hell Final Fantasy", but it's the perfect next step: so fucking intuitive yet ripe for depth, strategizing, and creative boss fights the likes of which we only just glimpse with the King at the end. Both of the new party members bring a lot to the table, though I still mainly only relied on Kris in battle.

If I was worried Fox had run out of ideas for creative and lovable characters with the first game, this soundly assuages my fears. Ralsei is clever and adorable even with the concerning weirdness that happens with him at the end of the road, Lancer breaks out of the Papyrus-lite shell he looks to be falling into after some time and I desperately hope we see more of him, and Susie... I can't believe I ultimately warmed up to such a bloodthirsty bully (who seems in my mind to represent everyone who didn't bother playing the original game as it was supposed to be played and just killed everything they came across, though that's probably not right), but that's just good writing and development for you. The fact that she seems to be the co-star going forward is exciting.

Didn't get a whole lot of Gaster stuff, other than the disturbing optional phone call and the Duke's weird resemblance. I'm leaning toward the speaker of the initial dialogue being him, but I can't be sure. But I'm sure something more explicit is coming, and I'm very scared how.

So far, the core themes seem to be "your choices don't matter" and "sometimes violence is necessary", basically making this an antithesis of the original game. You're denied the chance to name your character, you're offered a ton of choices only to have them swiftly rescinded or talked over, and you generally get railroaded down a single path despite appearances (very... topical, given Telltale's recent closure). And then there's no actual peaceful solution to the Spade King, and playing it Pacifist almost kills the whole party before the rescue. I'm glad we're not just in for a repeat of the last time, and I'm very interested in seeing what Fox has to say going forward.

I got a genuine knot in my stomach wandering through the town at the end. Fucking love/hate you, Fox. Seeing all of the old characters was a rush of extremely potent nostalgia, but then realizing how subtly off they were (and that most of the previous relationships have been dismantled or reimagined) gave me some weird emotional cocktails the likes of which I can't quite describe. Whether it's an "Elseworlds"-style spin-off/reimagining, a trick, a result of whatever's actually happening within the universe, or what have you, I can't recall the last time a game did something like that to me. Given the context, it wouldn't shock me if it were a deliberate middle finger to the part of the fandom that wanted a happy ending override so a sequel could happen, but we'll see.

I don't even know what to say about that cliffhanger, other than that I'm quite anxious and have absolutely no idea what the gameplay of Chapter 2 is going to be like. Will we be wandering around as a Soul, vulnerable to being damaged by everything? Body-hopping into someone else, assuming there's still anyone alive after Chara(?)'s rampage? Susie as the new player character? I DON'T EVEN HAVE A GUESS

... The vocal track that plays over the credits is very nice.


I know Undertale has a bad rap because a subsect of the fandom got horribly overzealous and unpleasant, and then the wider internet judged everything to do with it as being cancer and still won't shut up about it three years on, but this "franchise" is really something special and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
  • 0

"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it." - Eclipse Phase

NEW REVIEW! Judgment / Judge Eyes (2019)
User avatar
KleinerKiller
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1883
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:34 pm
Location: Newfoungengzealaustrermany
Show rep
Title: Cute

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2 Demo

Postby Krashlia » Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:58 am

KleinerKiller wrote:MAJOR WORD OF WARNING, THOUGH: Apparently it's just been discovered that the uninstaller is busted, and if used, it deletes everything in the directory you have the game installed in. Fox recommends not using the uninstaller at all.


Is this a Genocide Run?
  • 1

User avatar
Krashlia
TCS Junkie
TCS Junkie
 
Posts: 2155
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:44 am
Show rep

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2 Demo

Postby A Combustible Lemon » Fri Nov 02, 2018 8:42 am

He just released an FAQ:
It's October 4th. The DEMO (first chapter) of my game is supposed to come out on Halloween.

Actually it was done a little while ago but I'm waiting for the translation to be finished.

I feel like I should address what I think people will think before the game comes out.

Of course, if I'm all wrong about this, then I just wasted my time, but...



QUESTIONS I PREDICT PEOPLE HAVE

1. "Is this a sequel? What's going on?? I'm scared..."

Please don't worry too much about that.
Actually, I'm worried if people worry too much about "what it is," they might not be able to properly enjoy it... (laugh)

I will say that basically, what you're seeing here is not the world of UNDERTALE.
UNDERTALE's world and ending are the same as however you left them.
If everyone was happy in your ending, the people in the UNDERTALE world will still be happy.
So, please don't worry about those characters, and that world. It will remain untouched.

To rephrase that, DELTARUNE's world is a different one.
With different characters, that have lived different lives.
A whole new story will happen...

I don't know what you call this kind of game.

It's just a game you can play after you complete UNDERTALE, if you want to.

That's all.


2. "I have questions I want to ask about the story..."

There's a lot of questions I'd like to answer, too.

That's why I have to make the game.

Please wait until then.


3. "When will the next chapter come out?"

This is a difficult question.

When I made the demo of UNDERTALE, I made it to prove to myself that it was possible to make a whole game alone (with some help with the art).

Because I was able to make it in a few months, I felt that I had proved that it was possible.

However, making the demo of DELTARUNE...

took a few years.

So, given the length of the rest of the game, and how long I'd be willing to spend on a project (7 years maximum) I think the answer is that it's actually impossible to make this game.

Lots of things make this game harder to make than the last time.

- The graphics are much more complicated and don't play to my strengths (black and white battle graphics were easy...)
- The battle system is much more complicated due to multiple characters (I'll write about this later)
- The overworld and other sections are more complicated due to multiple characters
- Having multiple main characters is much harder to write especially introducing everyone properly in chapter 1
- The entire town had to be created correctly on the first try to set up properly for the rest of the game

And further things outside of those:
- Trouble starting tasks/concentrating and general difficulty paying attention
- Travelling / other responsibilities like translation/ports
- Self-doubt / burnout regarding the creation of the game

Essentially it's not possible to make this game as one person (and Temmie).

However, it MIGHT be possible to create the game if I'm able to make a team.

So I'm going to try making a team. Because I really want to make this. But I may not be able to succeed because I have no experience successfully directing a team and I have no idea who I'm going to work with.

Since I haven't started assembling the team yet I have absolutely no estimation of its completion. It could take up to 999 years depending on the efficiency level.

By the way, I currently plan to release all of the chapters at once after we complete them. I'm not sure how long that will take.

You'll buy all of the chapters at once as one purchase. That'll be the only option. I'm not doing pre-orders because I don't like those. It just seems like the best way not to burn anybody.

Price is unknown. It depends on how long the game is, and how much it costs to make...

I don't know anything about what consoles, etc. it'll come out for because by the time it comes out we might be on Playstation 14 or something.

So... in short, I have no idea.


4. "Is this the game's final design? Will you change anything?"

It's possible I could change things. This is basically a demo. I might even change this first chapter before release depending on how development goes.

This is really an excuse to talk about the parts I think had issues.

THE BATTLE SYSTEM:

I think the battle system could be explained better.

I had a super duper long explanation of things here but really it boils down to:
1. UT's system is incompatible with multiple party members but I wanted to do it anyway because it's cool
2. I'd like to make it so for pacifist players, characters won't have to "defend" so much

Oh. The people who tested the game thought that the TP system and animations were cool so it's not all bad.
By the way, did you notice that getting close to bullets makes enemy attacks end faster? It doesn't work for every attack, but...


EVERYTHING ELSE:

I thought everything else was OK. Actually some parts were kind of lazy, like finding the key pieces, but oh well.

The UI had some things that could be changed too.

When making a game, there's so much to do you have to draw the line somewhere. That's why I need other people to help me (laugh)

Oh, and I have no plans to add more content to the first chapter.



5. "Will there be multiple endings?"

No. No matter what you do the ending will be the same.

(Honestly most games are like that, but for some reason it feels really oppressive to say here...)

I think that's part of the reason why the ACT / FIGHT system feels so vestigial in this one.

Oh... I'm just talking about the battle system again...



6. "I found some kind of bug, will you fix it?"

Hopefully an e-mail for that exists on the website by now.

Or, it would be better if you could tweet it with #deltarunebug .

That would really help us and make our lives easier because tweets are easier to ignore than e-mails


7. "Can I be on the team?"

I'll ask you first!!! (Total silence)


8. "What's the progress on the rest of the game so far?"

0%!!! Nothing!!! I've done nothing!!!

I mean, I've done some songs and written the whole story, but...

Since no programming or final art has been done, it's best to just think of it at 0%.


9. "Will you do a Kickstarter?"

I still haven't finished that damn Alarm Clock, are you kidding me?

There's no way I'm doing a Kickstarter this time.



10. "The game doesn't work" / "I don't like the game" / "Will there be a version for (platform)?"

Because it's a free download I'm surrounded by a forcefield that destroys all complaints and platform requests.

There might be more platforms for the DEMO but I don't want to make any promises.

(At the very least it'd be nice to do something for the people who bought the game on console.)

By the way at the time of writing I haven't even rendered a Mac version whatsoever at all.

I hope I can release it... (laugh)



11. "Can I buy the soundtrack for Chapter 1?"

Yes! You can buy it at [ http://tobyfox.bandcamp.com ] And other forms of distribution will be in the works too.

I'm writing this in the past so I don't know what I just said.



12. "Any closing remarks?" (No one asks this, but...)

Thanks for playing my game. I hope you liked it.

For the past 3 years I've been waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep because I've been thinking about the scenes that happen in the game.

Even though so many details are still hazy,

I really want to show you the things I've been thinking about.

That's really my only reason for making this game.

If I don't show you what I'm thinking, I'll lose my mind.

(It was actually a totally selfish motivation...)


By the way, I was really worried at first about making this.

The expectations for my next work would be really high, so high that I knew that no matter what I did, I felt like people would be underwhelmed.

If you played "UNDERTALE," I don't think I can make anything that makes you feel "that way" again.

However, it's possible I can make something else.

It's just something simple but maybe you'll like it.

See you in ?? years... OK?

Don't forget.
  • 1



WE ARE ALL FLOATING IN THE WINDS OF TIME. BUT YOUR CANDLE WILL FLICKER FOR SOME TIME BEFORE IT GOES OUT -- A LITTLE REWARD FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED. FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT...
User avatar
A Combustible Lemon
TCS Regular
TCS Regular
 
Posts: 486
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: The Internet, India
Show rep
Title: Grenadier

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2 Demo

Postby KleinerKiller » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:28 am

The long wait that may turn out not to bear fruit at all is incredibly disappointing, given the myriad improvements this first bit of Deltarune has made and how the ending is going to be sizzling at the front of my mind for days to come, but it's not unexpected for a game of this quality. And the fact that he still maintains such humility and single-minded dedication years after the monstrous success of Undertale speaks volumes about him compared to certain other breakout indie devs, and gives me even more respect for him as an artist.

God willing, if anyone can quickly round up a team of skilled and passionate applicants at this point, it's Toby Fox.
  • 0

"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it." - Eclipse Phase

NEW REVIEW! Judgment / Judge Eyes (2019)
User avatar
KleinerKiller
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1883
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:34 pm
Location: Newfoungengzealaustrermany
Show rep
Title: Cute

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2

Postby ftl » Sun Nov 04, 2018 4:51 am

KleinerKiller wrote:
Spoiler: show
IAnd then there's no actual peaceful solution to the Spade King



I ended up
Spoiler: show
not killing him, he just wore out eventually. I meant to hit him a few times and then put him to sleep but didn't even get that far.

Does that not count?
  • 0

ftl
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2018 2:44 am
Show rep

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2

Postby KleinerKiller » Sun Nov 04, 2018 5:13 am

ftl wrote:
KleinerKiller wrote:
Spoiler: show
IAnd then there's no actual peaceful solution to the Spade King



I ended up
Spoiler: show
not killing him, he just wore out eventually. I meant to hit him a few times and then put him to sleep but didn't even get that far.

Does that not count?


Spoiler: show
What I mean is that there's no path to solving the problem by inaction and emotional ingenuity, like every enemy in the first Undertale except Asgore and Photoshop Flowey -- and even they gave you options. Letting the Spade King exhaust his dialogue and continuously using Kris and Ralsei's unlocked moves to stay alive ultimately just causes him to fake surrender and then cripple the party, only being stopped from killing them when Lancer overthrows him with the enemies previously won over by your kindness. He's pretty much pure, unreasonable evil and you have no choice in whether the problem with him is solved through force or not. It's a very interesting reversal.
  • 0

"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it." - Eclipse Phase

NEW REVIEW! Judgment / Judge Eyes (2019)
User avatar
KleinerKiller
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1883
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:34 pm
Location: Newfoungengzealaustrermany
Show rep
Title: Cute

Re: Toby Fox releases Undertale 2

Postby ftl » Mon Nov 05, 2018 12:58 am

KleinerKiller wrote:
ftl wrote:
KleinerKiller wrote:
Spoiler: show
IAnd then there's no actual peaceful solution to the Spade King



I ended up
Spoiler: show
not killing him, he just wore out eventually. I meant to hit him a few times and then put him to sleep but didn't even get that far.

Does that not count?


Spoiler: show
What I mean is that there's no path to solving the problem by inaction and emotional ingenuity, like every enemy in the first Undertale except Asgore and Photoshop Flowey -- and even they gave you options. Letting the Spade King exhaust his dialogue and continuously using Kris and Ralsei's unlocked moves to stay alive ultimately just causes him to fake surrender and then cripple the party, only being stopped from killing them when Lancer overthrows him with the enemies previously won over by your kindness. He's pretty much pure, unreasonable evil and you have no choice in whether the problem with him is solved through force or not. It's a very interesting reversal.


Ooh, good point.

Spoiler: show
Your choices don't matter.
  • 1

ftl
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2018 2:44 am
Show rep


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests