It’s been a nearly a month since we flipped the switches—unfortunately, not literal switches—that released OFF on Steam! Before we get into anything else, we’d like to thank all of you who have followed the rerelease since our first announcement for your support.
It’s been a real pleasure to see people reacting to something we’ve been working on for such a long time; we’ve spent a fair amount of time on our development channels sharing our favorite comments and posts with each other. (Steam reviews are a huge help as we move into the post-release phase of the game, and we’re really excited to have over 1,500 of them already.)
That said, we’re not done using the development channels for development, either! We’re sending this newsletter to give you an early forecast of what’s coming next.
Roadmap: Languages
During our QA process, it became clear that the Spanish, Italian, and German language options weren’t quite ready to be released in their current state. We didn’t want to release these new localizations before they were ready, so we made the decision to temporarily remove them.
This happened very late in the process—not only after we mentioned them in this newsletter, but sufficiently late that a few outlets reviewed the game with the incomplete language options in place.
We’d like to sincerely apologize to anyone who purchased the game earlier than they intended because they’d read that the Spanish, Italian, and German options were already available. Our top priority right now is to get these options ready to go and back into the game; that will happen as soon as they’ve been completed and retested, and we’ll provide updates as that process continues.
We’re also aware of some missing text in the game’s English and French scripts, including updated credits and transcriptions of the library books in French and Wide Angle messages for new enemies in both languages. At this point we’ve already addressed the bulk of those issues, along with a few typos and and missing punctuation marks in the French script; you should see all the fixes in our next update.
If you’ve noticed something else that’s missing, or some other typographical error, please feel free to send us an email so we can add it to our list.
A couple of stray language notes:
Japanese was not part of our day-1 release plans, but things are still moving smoothly there; we’ll have more information on that in a future newsletter.
Brazil is responsible for the second-most OFF wishlists of any country, so we’re excited to announce that a Portuguese (BR) localization is already in the works!
Roadmap: Bug Fixes
Some other bug fixes are also in development right now—some of what the team is working on includes issues like incorrect enemy types being displayed and issues with the game window capturing and hiding the mouse cursor when that behavior is unwanted. Because of the different processes involved, you might see these updates happen at slightly different times for each platform.
We thought we’d end on one reported bug that might be receiving a battlefield promotion to Feature. It concerns a secret boss, so I’ll be vague: One of the bosses is capable of taking damage you deal to it, under certain conditions, and dealing it back to your party. Some of you noticed that if you heal under those same circumstances, the boss will heal you, too. Not our developers’ intended behavior (or the boss’s), but a fun reward for figuring out what’s going on.
Soundtrack
It’s been very gratifying to see so many positive comments about the new soundtrack; everyone who worked on it was very conscious of the lasting appeal and importance of Alias Conrad Coldwood’s soundtrack and eager to create something that would do the game justice in its own way. If you’d like to listen again, it’s all currently available in this YouTube playlist.
(We’ve gotten some questions from people who are interested in buying or streaming the soundtrack, which is also very gratifying! We aren’t yet sure where else the soundtrack will be available, but stay tuned here for more information.)
The news portion of this newsletter is now over, but if you’re the kind of person who likes to read every line of dialogue in an RPG, we asked members of the game’s development team to tell us about their favorite OFF songs. Here’s their responses:
Ryan Alyea (Studio Director)
Favorite New Song: Just like in the battle, I love how “JUSTUS” just feels like a bizarro mirror version of White Meat.
Favorite ACC Song: When developing OFF, a lot of what was playable was only Zone 0 and “Empty Warehouse (Out).” Really brings me back.
Jack Murphy (Programmer)
Favorite New Song: I just love how foreboding “Don’t Be Too Loud” is. Gives me the feeling of something hidden that is beginning to stir and strain against binds ready to give.
Favorite ACC Song: In a soundtrack filled with so much unease and underlying dread, “A Stab of Happiness” stands out as a small respite of light-heartedness, even if it’s only paper thin. The amusement park was one of the first locations I worked on, and I had this playing on loop a lot of the time.
Ryan Van Dyke (Combat Design, Programmer)
Favorite New Song: “WHITE ROT” captures the frantic energy of the Batter’s mission in a way that resonates really well—you kinda dig it, but it’s also very obviously messed up in its own right. The point that the song kicks in is, for me, when you start to really question if this mission is as pure as we're led to believe.
Favorite ACC Song: “Fake Orchestra” stands out to me for being... almost nostalgic. It reminds me very much of the mid-2000s midi covers you'd find on VGMusic, but with more modern elements. The synths and experimental sounds stand out to me as being reminiscent of genres closer to metal, but when contrasted against the... flutes? some other type of wind instrument? found in this track, you really get a picture of Dedan doing what he does not because he CAN... but because he must.
Dan Moore (Script Supervisor)
Favorite New Song: I’m a sucker for the swell in “PHOENIX” as the drums come in; it really seems to fit with the way Japhet sees himself, and the way he reveals his true self as he realizes he’s doomed.
Favorite ACC Song: The way the vinyl surface noise (is that what it is?) in “Windows Licking” becomes the backbone of the song is such a cool example of the way ACC’s songs confuse your expectations the first time you hear them.
chess!! (Social Media, QA Support)
Favorite New Song: gotta be "DOORSLAM SFX [EXTENDED]". morusque wasnt kidding - that door really does slam [extended]!! honorable mention goes to "AFTER SWINGS, MORE RUNS", which i heard for many hours while playtesting and scribbling notes. you can never predict what songs you'll develop a weird fondness for when doing QA!!
Favorite ACC Song: probably "Flesh Maze Tango"... i've probably listened to that one on loop for cumulative days in my own time. love that forward momentum!
Amelia Bone (QA Lead)
Favorite New Song: I love "CHAOS IS LIFE - MALEDICION." The samples feel so good on the brain, and the song travels through a bunch of really captivating phases that constantly keep me guessing.
Favorite ACC Song: It might be “Brain Plague”? The bass textures are so crunchy, and it does a lot to mess with perception and set a tone in an already trippy part of the game.
Everdraed (Animation)
Favorite New Song: When I create a trailer I'll generally listen to the song for many many hours and allow it to form motion and narrative concepts in my head. This version of “HOUR HAND” came very late, and the moment Toby had it ready I immediately timed an animatic of Mortis's Dedan storyboard against it. 'Oh! This is going to work beautifully...'
That would then become the basis for SmallBu's incredible animation, what a joy to help bring to life! Having edited, scrubbed, played it back innumerable times, Dedan's screams and gesticulations synced to the chorus is burned into my brain forever.
Favorite ACC Song: I mean, it can only be “Pepper Steak.” I've had it in my winamp playlist since 2011, I've probably listened to it on repeat for many days of time as I've worked on various projects including this one. It's an incredible driver, a chaotic march to finish your duty, the anthem of the righteously driven and sleep-deprived.
When the OFF remake first began I'd listen to “Pepper Steak” nonstop in the background and visualize countless playouts in my mind's eye: of how the project would manifest, of how tribulations would be overcome, of resplendent trailers that would draw in a new era of fans.
Trailers that ultimately could never exist... Truly one of my great sadnesses! But that longing and loss makes the song itself all the richer to me.
Robby Bisschop (Marketing and PR)
Favorite New Song: “Hour Hand” is epic. It makes the pixel graphics come to life through my imagination and was the kind of track where I could intentionally do bad in combat just to listen to it longer.
Favorite ACC Song: “Pepper Steak.” It’s raw and unpredictable. The first time I heard this I never knew what twist to expect next. It's like listening to the wildest stories from someone who forgets which tale they were telling halfway, but they are each so interesting you don't really care that none of them ever really reached a conclusion.