QUESTS TO RELEASE CHAPTER 3&4!!

Illustration of Kris, Susie, and Ralsei raising their hands towards a floating controller

QUEST 1
GUINEA PIG SYNDROME

That's right… The first quest we have to clear regardless of any way that we want to release anything…

We have to be the guinea pig for a brand-new function of Gamemaker!

Annoying Dog on a hampster wheel

Yes, YoYoGames, the creators of our engine, Gamemaker, are adding a special new function to it just for us!

This is a new command for GameMaker called "game_change". It allows you to separately launch different games you have created in GameMaker, and even works on console! That means we can create each Chapter as an independent game project, and swap between them using this function!

For Chapter 1 & 2 DEMO, we initially committed the strange act of smashing both chapters together into one game project. It wasn't such an issue with only 2 chapters, but as the game progresses, doing something like that will become more and more troublesome.

Here's the kind of trouble that could arise if we DIDN'T have game_change...

  • When editing the combined project, we wouldn't know if anything during the process might have inadvertently affected anything at any point in the game… So, each time we patched ANY chapter, we would have to test ALL the Chapters over again.
  • Gamemaker would potentially be slow to run the game with content on the scale of three chapters or more.
  • On the player's side, initial loading of the game would potentially take longer and longer as we add more chapters...

Anyway, the point is... with this command, we have a solution to all those issues!

... With one caveat!

This new function is… well, brand-new! It has never been tested broadly on many computers and platforms before! Therefore... we would soon like to ask for your help testing it!

It’s estimated GameMaker will be updated with the new command within the next few weeks. At that time, we will put out a version of Chapter 1&2 that uses it, along with some more detailed instructions about testing.

For future updates on this topic, just keep your eyes on the official @UNDERTALE Twitter!

In the case you don't have a Twitter account...

... I'm happy for you.

QUEST 2
MAKE THE CONSOLE VERSIONS

Kris holding a gaming controller that has the annoying dog's face on it, and it's plugged into a very stupid looking Queen-type arcade machine

Since our goal is a simultaneous Console and PC release, we will have to make console versions of Chapter 3 and 4! It's no problem to get the game running on console at this point, but making sure there's no differences or bugs between the console and PC version will take a bit of time.

Each console manufacturer also has their own special rules and standards. So, we will also have to update the game to reflect those things appropriately...

We will begin focusing on this as the PC version is reaching completion!

QUEST 3
LEGEND OF LOCALIZATION

Temmie illustration: small ralsei on the left labeled 'cute' then another ralsei on the right labeled 'kawaii' but his eyes are bigger and shinier

As I mentioned, we are aiming for a simultaneous English and Japanese release! (After all, it would be pretty strange if only the first two chapters had Japanese and then the third and fourth ones didn't...)

At this point, getting the Japanese script in the game is trivial. But, the location and timing of Japanese text always need many small adjustments to make it just as good as the English version. (Plus, there's always some lines we forget to hand over for translation...)

Chapter 3's localization is already amazing. Now that I can read all the Japanese, I've been able to personally review every single line. Oftentimes the phrasing in the English is very vague, so I try to clarify everything I can for the translation team. I know localization isn't something that interests most people that much, but I'm really proud... Original creators are very rarely involved in the translation process of their works this closely!

(Reading the Japanese and English versions side-by-side could be a great way to study...! Although, Rouxls Kaard might make you stupider...)

Localization example Localization example Localization example Localization example Localization example

Anyway, the localization of Chapter 4 will need to be completed before the chapters' release. By the time you read this, I hope that we have already started! I think the characters will be easier to localize than Chapters 2 or 3, so hopefully it will be smooth...

QUEST 4
BUG HUNTING!!!

Illustration: Susie chasing after virovirokun with an axe, while ralsei looks on sweating.

Releasing a game properly means trying to hunt down every major bug you can find...

Fortunately, we have a dedicated company that will test our game and help! A group of professionals will play the game cumulatively hundreds of times, in both English and Japanese, and on every console.

Of course, we can't do this until everything else is finished. After all, any change to a project could inadvertently cause an issue. For example, making changes for console could make bugs on PC, making changes for JP could make bugs for EN, etc...

So, this will be one of the final steps!

QUEST 5
EVEN MORE!!

And, there's a few more things to think about, too!

  • Get the game reviewed by the ratings boards (ESRB, PEGI, CERO, etc)
  • Complete the soundtrack and get it ready for release
  • Make the trailer and release materials
  • And more...?

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

So… those are the main steps to getting Chapters 3 & 4 ready for release!

The order looks kind of like this.

Testing new function [soon!]

v

Complete untested Chapter 4 English PC version

v

Console Ports, Japanese Version, and Other Stuff

v

Bug testing

v

Release

We'll let you know the progress of each of these things going forward!

(That's it for this page...)