Return of the Obra Dinn

Return of the Obra Dinn
Developer: Lucas Pope Publisher: 3909 Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X Released internationally: October 18, 2018 This game has unused graphics. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has revisional differences.

Return of the Obra Dinn is a detective game with a very snazzy art style created by the same person behind Papers, Please.

Note that this page contains unmarked spoilers for various character identities and fates.

To do: Make prototype pages for the two publicly-released demo builds, 0.0.4 and 0.1.23. Various things on the present-day ship (content in level1 and sharedassets1.assets): Animations for the player character's hand lighting the onboard lanterns, presumably left over from the demo builds where this action was still possible. Abigail's skeleton is fully modeled despite being mostly hidden from view in-game. The ship's lazarette can never be entered during the present in normal gameplay, but using the debug mode's noclip function to do so reveals that it's fully rendered on the inside anyway. Similarly, many death scenes include fully-rendered side rooms that can't actually be seen or entered without noclip. Several pieces of potentially unused music and foley, make sure these are actually unused before documenting them.

Unused Images

Early Sketch Portraits

The file sharedassets5.assets (used for the majority of book-related assets) contains these remnants of an older version of the manifest sketch seen in prerelease footage (this devlog post and this timelapse video).

Compared to the final game's sketch, it's missing the officers' tricorn hats, Edward Spratt's signature, and Maba's tattoos. Additionally, the portraits of Christian Wolff and Finley Dalton use a closer zoom than those in the final game; in Dalton's case, this was likely changed so that the portrait would include the important detail that he's seen holding the ship's wheel in the sketch.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Text

November 2017 Demo Readme

Left over in resources.assets is this readme from a non-public demo build, labeled as simply "Readme".

*******************************************
EXPO-ONLY BUILD
DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
*******************************************

RETURN OF THE OBRA DINN
http://obradinn.com

---------------------------

November 2017 Demo
Day of the Devs
Version [VERSION]

---------------------------

This is an expo-only demo specifically for Day of the Devs. It includes
the book mechanics and a new stylized rendering mode. Total play time
is around 10-20 minutes.

This demo will quit to the title screen if left untouched for 60 seconds.

Best played with headphones.

---------------------------

Note: The game can only be exited with Alt-F4.

---------------------------

Thanks for playing!

Lucas Pope
@dukope

*******************************************
EXPO-ONLY BUILD
DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
*******************************************

Crew Identity Hints

Also in resources.assets is a file called "Crew" that lists various attributes of the 60 crew members. One of these attributes, "hint", has no in-game effects; from context, it seems to indicate ways the player was intended to figure out each character's identity (though it doesn't cover every possible clue in the final game).

Character	Hint (1)	Hint (2)	Hint (3)	Hint (4)
Robert Witterel	name-dialog	relate-dialog
William Hoscut	relate-dialog	relate-manifest	origin-accent
Edward Nichols	name-dialog
Martin Perrott	name-dialog
John Davies	role-room
Alfred Klestil	relate-dialog	origin-accent	role-scene
Charles Miner	role-scene	relate-dialog	relate-scene
Henry Evans	role-scene	role-rooom [sic]
James Wallace	role-scene	role-room
Winston Smith	relate-dialog	role-room	origin-accent
Marcus Gibbs	relate-dialog	role-room	origin-accent
Thomas Sefton	role-appearance	role-dialog
Emil O'Farrell	role-scene
Christian Wolff	role-scene	name-dialog
Olus Wiater	role-scene	relate-scene	origin-accent
Duncan McKay	room [sic]
Finley Dalton	role-sketch
Edward Spratt	name-sketch
Abigail Hoscut Witterel	name-dialog	relate-dialog
Nunzio Pasqua	name-dialog	origin-accent
Emily Jackson	name-accessory	relate-scene
Ms. Jane Bird	relate-scene	elimination
Bun-Lan Lim	origin-appearance	origin-language	name-dialog	relate-scene
It-Beng Sia	origin-appearance	origin-language	name-dialog	relate-scene
Chioh Tan	origin-appearance	origin-language	relate-scene
Hok-Seng Lau	origin-appearance	name-dialog
Zungi Sathi	role-appearance	origin-appearance
Fillip Dahl	relate-dialog	role-dialog	role-appearance
Paul Moss	name-dialog	role-appearance
Samuel Galligan	role-appearance	relate-scene	relate-dialog
Roderick Andersen	role-appearance	relate-scene
Davey James	role-appearance	relate-scene
Peter Milroy	name-dialog	relate-scene
Thomas Lanke	elimination	relate-scene	role-room
Charles Hershtik	name-dialog	relate-scene
Omid Gul	role-scene	number-scene
Timothy Butement	number-scene
Huang Li	role-scene	number-scene	origin-appearance
Jie Zhang	role-scene	number-scene	origin-appearance
Li Hong	role-scene	number-scene	origin-appearance
Wei Lee	role-scene	number-scene	origin-appearance
Nicholas Botterill	name-dialog	role-scene
Maba	origin-appearance
Lewis Walker	role-scene	number-scene
Leonid Volkov	role-scene	number-scene	origin-language
Alarcus Nikishin	number-scene	origin-language
Aleksei Toporov	number-scene	origin-language
Nathan Peters	relate-dialog	relate-manifest	role-scene	guess
Lars Linde	origin-dialog	origin-language
John Naples	name-dialog
Renfred Rajub	number-scene	origin-appearance
Abraham Akbar	number-scene	origin-appearance	origin-language
William Wasim	number-scene	origin-apperance	role-scene
Soloman Syed	number-scene	name-dialog	role-scene
Hamadou Diom	origin-appearance
Henry Brennan	name-dialog
Alexander Booth	origin-accent	elimination
Patrick O'Hagan	name-dialog	origin-accent
George Shirley	number-scene	origin-apperance	elimination
Samuel Peters	relate-dialog	role-scene	guess

Other Unused Strings

These strings are located in the StreamingAssets folder, which contains all text that varies depending on language selection.

bookmarked_unknown

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Unrecognized Soul	Unbekannte Seele	Alma sin identificar	Âme non reconnue	Anima non riconosciuta	身元不明の人物	모르는 영혼	Nierozpoznana osoba	Alma desconhecida	Неопознанная душа	无法辨认身份的人	無法辨識的人	Невпізнана душа	ﺭﻭﺡ ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﻌﺮﻭﻓﺔ

Located next to the strings for indicating how many memories a bookmarked character appears in, so it might've been meant as an equivalent string for having bookmarked a character before they've appeared in any memories at all, which isn't possible in the final game.

noclues_explain_more

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Please Explain...	Ich bitte um eine Erklärung …	Pedir explicaciones…	Plus d'explications...	Per favore, spiegami...	説明を表示…	설명 보기...	Wyjaśnij mi to...	Como Funciona...	Прошу разъяснить...	请解释……	請解釋...	Пояснення…	ﻓﺴﺮ ﻓﻀﻼ...

noclues_help

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
A Little Help	Ein wenig Hilfe	Pedir ayuda	Un peu d'aide	Un piccolo aiuto	ヒントを表示	약간의 도움말	Potrzebuję pomocy	Uma Pequena Ajuda	Небольшая подсказка	些许帮助	稍許幫助	Допомога	ﺳﺎﻋﺪﻧﻲ ﻗﻠﻴﻼ

Unused alternate versions of the "Please Explain" option in the tutorial prompt that appears when trying to determine a character's identity before the game expects you to be able to.

help_faceclear_fates0_easy

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Fates are validated in sets of two.	Schicksale werden immer in Paaren bestätigt.	Los sinos se validan de dos en dos.	Les Sorts sont validés par groupes de deux.	Le sorti vengono convalidate in gruppi di due.	安否情報の正否確認は、2件ごとに行われる。	2명의 신원과 운명을 특정할 때마다 알아낸 운명의 옳고 그름을 판별할 수 있습니다.	Losy są zatwierdzane dwójkami.	Destinos são validados em conjuntos de dois.	Проверяются участи двух человек сразу.	只有在查证两人的下落之后，推断才能得到验证。	系統每次以二人為一組確認下場是否正確。	Долі підтверджуються групами по дві.	ﻳﺘﻢ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﻘﻖ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺼﺎﻳﺮ ﺍﻷﺷﺨﺎﺹ ﻓﻲ ﺩﻓﻌﺎﺕ ﻣﻦ ﺍﺛﻨﻴﻦ.

help_faceclear_fates1_easy

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Correctly identify at least two people and their fates to have the information typeset into the book.	Identifizieren Sie mindestens zwei Personen korrekt und weisen Sie ihnen das richtige Schicksal zu, damit die entsprechenden Informationen im Buch erscheinen.	Identifique correctamente los sinos de al menos dos personas para que la información se muestre en el libro con letra de imprenta.	Identifiez au moins deux personnes avec les Sorts corrects pour que les informations soient inscrites dans le livre.	Identifica correttamente almeno due persone e le loro sorti per vedere le informazioni scritte sul libro.	2名について正しい身元と安否情報を特定すると、その情報が手記に記録される。	최소 2명의 신원과 운명을 정확하게 알아내어 일지에 해당 정보를 기록하십시오.	Gdy poprawnie zidentyfikujesz przynajmniej dwie osoby i określisz ich los, informacje te zostaną wpisane do książki.	Identifique corretamente ao menos duas pessoas e seus destinos para que as informações sejam datilografadas no livro.	Верно опознайте хотя бы двух человек и определите их участь, и эти сведения будут отпечатаны в книге.	正确识别至少两人的身份及其下落，并将这些信息录入书中。	正確指認至少二人的身分和下場，使這些資料編入書中。	Необхідно правильно визначити щонайменше дві людини і їхні долі, щоб цю інформацію було закарбовано в книжці.	ﻋﻠﻴﻚ ﺗﺤﺪﻳﺪ ﻫﻮﻳﺎﺕ ﻭﻣﺼﺎﻳﺮ ﺷﺨﺼﻴﻦ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻷﻗﻞ ﺑﺼﺤﺔ ﻟﺘﺪﻭﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎﺕ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻜﺘﺎﺏ.

Unused alternate lines for the in-game explanation of the fate-validation mechanic, wherein it would've happened with sets of two fates instead of three. Given the string names, it's possible this was meant for a scrapped difficulty-selection mechanic of some sort.

welldone_2_first

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Well done. Two fates correct.	Wohlgetan. Zwei Schicksale korrekt.	Bien hecho. Dos sinos correctos.	Bien joué ! Deux Sorts correctement dévoilés.	Ben fatto. Due sorti corrette.	調査が進展。 2名の正確な安否情報を取得。	잘하셨습니다. 운명 2개를 맞추셨습니다.	Doskonale. Los dwóch osób został poprawnie ustalony.	Parabéns. Dois destinos solucionados.	Отлично. Участь двоих определена верно.	做得好。 已查证两人的下落。	幹得好。 已查明兩人的下場。	Чудово. Ви з'ясували дві долі.	ﺃﺣﺴﻨﺖ ﺻﻨﻌﺎ. ﺇﻥ ﻣﺼﻴﺮﻳﻦ ﺻﺤﻴﺤﺎﻥ.

Might've been intended for use with the alternate "easy" validation mechanic described in the above strings. Note that in the final game, while the last six fates the player correctly identifies are validated in sets of two instead of the usual three, none of those validations use this exact wording.

help_zoom

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Hold zoom to examine faces.	Lassen Sie die Zoom-Taste gedrückt, um Gesichter zu studieren.	Pulse «Ampliar» para examinar rostros.	Maintenez le zoom enfoncé pour examiner les visages.	Tieni premuto il comando d'ingrandimento per esaminare i volti.	ズームを長押しすると、人物をアップで表示する。	확대/축소를 누르면 인물의 얼굴을 확인할 수 있습니다.	Przytrzymaj klawisz przybliżenia, aby zbadać twarze.	Segure o botão de zoom para examinar rostos.	Зажмите кнопку масштаба, чтобы рассмотреть лица.	按住放大键可以检查面部。	按住放大鍵可細看臉孔。	Утримуйте «Наблизити», щоб роздивлятися обличчя.	<M>ﺍﺳﺘﻤﺮ ﺑﺎﻟﻀﻐﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺯﺭ ﺍﻟﺘﻘﺮﻳﺐ ﻟﺘﻔﺤﺺ ﺍﻟﻮﺟﻮﻩ.<><F>ﺍﺳﺘﻤﺮﻱ ﺑﺎﻟﻀﻐﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺯﺭ ﺍﻟﺘﻘﺮﻳﺐ ﻟﺘﻔﺤﺺ ﺍﻟﻮﺟﻮﻩ.<>

In the final game, this mechanic is hinted at by a button prompt to zoom in appearing when the player's focus lingers near a character's face, rather than by an explicit text description like this.

fate_killer_notpresent

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
$subject was definitely not present when this poor soul died.	$subject war definitiv nicht anwesend, als diese arme Seele aus dem Leben schied.	$subject no estaba presente cuando esta pobre alma pereció.	$subject n'était clairement pas sur les lieux quand cette personne est morte.	$subject non era presente quando questa povera anima è mancata.	この人物が死亡したとき、$subjectが現場にいなかったのは間違いない。	이 불쌍한 영혼이 죽었을 때 $subject은(는) 분명히 현장에 없었다.	$subject na pewno nie był obecny przy śmierci tego biednego człowieka.	$subject certamente não estava presente quando esta pobre alma descarnou.	В момент смерти этой несчастной души $subject был где-то в другом месте.	这个可怜人死去时，$subject肯定不在场。	這個可憐蟲死時，$subject絕對不在場。	Коли згинула ця бідолашна душа, серед присутніх точно не було: $subject	$subject ﻗﻄﻌﺄ ﻟﻢ ﻳﻜﻦ ﻣﺘﻮﺍﺟﺪﺍ ﺣﻴﻨﻤﺎ ﻓﺎﺭﻗﺖ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﺮﻭﺡ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﻜﻴﻨﺔ ﺍﻟﺤﻴﺎﺓ.

An odd string seemingly related to fate descriptions. While the string name implies that "$subject" is referring to the killer of "this poor soul", the used strings for describing fates that involve a specific killer instead use "$killer" for them and "$subject" for the victim.

dialog_demo_end_aa

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
- End of Demo -	- Ende der Demo -	- Fin de la Demo -	- Fin de la démo -	- Fine della demo -	- End of Demo -	- 데모 종료 -	- Koniec wersji demo -	- Fim da Demo -	- Конец демоверсии -	- 演示结束 -	- 試玩結束 -	- Кінець демоверсії -	- ﻧﻬﺎﻳﺔ ﺍﻟﻨﺴﺨﺔ ﺍﻟﺘﺠﺮﻳﺒﻴﺔ -

dialog_demo_end_ba

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
Thanks for playing!	Danke fürs Spielen!	¡Gracias por jugar!	Merci à vous d'avoir joué !	Grazie per aver giocato!	Thanks for playing!	플레이해 주셔서 감사합니다!	Dzięki za grę!	Obrigado por jogar!	Спасибо, что играете!	感谢你体验本游戏！	感謝您體驗本遊戲！	Дякую, що грали!	ﺷﻜﺮﺍ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻌﺐ!

Leftovers from the 0.1.2.3 demo (and possibly other unreleased demo builds). It's unclear why they and the following line were left untranslated in the Japanese script alone.

dialog_moment_unknown_aa

Text (EN)	Text (DE)	Text (ES)	Text (FR)	Text (IT)	Text (JA)	Text (KO)	Text (PL)	Text (PT)	Text (RU)	Text (ZH-S)	Text (ZH-T)	Text (UK)	Text (AR)
unknown	unbekannt	desconocido	inconnu	sconosciuto	unknown	불명	nieznany	desconhecido	неизвестно	不详	不明	невідомо	ﻣﺠﻬﻮﻝ

"Moment" is the game's internal term for death scenes; this line was presumably meant as a placeholder or fallback option for use if encountering a moment without valid dialogue attached to it.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Audio

Unused Flashback Music

Each flashback has two pieces of music that play when it ends: A severely cut-down and simplified version of a chapters music, and a variation of that for when a corpse can be found. Curiously, the final chapter of the game has its own corpse locating music, but goes unused as the corpse finding mechanic is only introduced in Chapter 7.

Generic Testing Beep

A generic testing beep used during development.

Watch Moment Buildup

An unused 8 second drum loop. Based on it's name, it may have been intended for locating a corpse within a flashback.

Bag Open

Open and close sounds for a presumably interactable bag. As Obra Dinn features no interactable objects beyond doors and the watch (with several more cut during development), These go unused.

Bag Close

Ditto.

Watch Buildup Short

A sped-up version of the music when entering a flashback for the first time. Goes unused, and is not used when entering a flashback already entered once.

Debug Menu

The game features a debug menu sporting various options such as post-processing toggles, noclip, and the ability to jump to any scene in the game.

This menu is normally locked to debug builds; however, it can be re-enabled with a patch.

Extract the patch files to the same folder as the game executable and hold "G" while in-game to open the menu. (It should be noted that this is not the default method by which the menu would normally be opened.) The menu is navigated with the arrow keys: up/down to scroll between options, right to confirm selections, and left to back out of sub-menus.

Download Obra Dinn Debug Menu Patch File: ObraDinn_Debug_Patch.zip (4.63MB (compressed)) (info)

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Revisional Differences

To do: Find out the release dates for these updates.

1.0.86

• Initial release.

1.0.89

• Fix falling through various parts of the ship when transitioning states.
• Fix nonfunctional left mouse button for some systems.
• Fix pause menu "View Controls" popup getting stuck.
• Book tutorials: Don't skip when moving the mouse.
• Disable log file to fix some performance hitches.
• Fix pocketwatch hands popping when returning from flashback.
• Small localizations tweaks.

1.0.91

• Fix mouse sensitivity issues.
• Add story details to The Calling & Murder chapters.
• Fix top-deck pocketwatch triggering from cabin below.
• Select system language on first boot.
• Add slight auto-run: Increase walk speed after a few seconds of continuous movement.
• Add some additional fate variations for a few deaths.
• Brighten some skeletal remains on the ship.
• Move deleted saves to a "Backup" subfolder.
• Optional logging with system information.
• Localization updates.

1.0.92

• Fix soft-lock issue when exiting/crashing in The Calling chapter.
• Fix rewind bug in Bargain chapter.
• Fix sketch not hiding to show fates-correct animation.
• Fix unresponsive fate editor after changing face from manifest.
• Change left/right to jump up/down manifest by 10 entries.
• Don't show page turn glyphs on first/last page of book.
• Remove "?" from manifest fate editor.
• Fix UI appearing in 3D scene in some flashbacks.

1.0.93

• Fix for stuttering mouse input.
• Fix for mouse remaining locked after ALT-TAB.
• Allow W/S for scrolling up/down in book map & sketch.
• Show "?" on map for unlocked but unvisited corpses.
• Add some additional fate variations for a few deaths.

1.0.95

• macOS: Use automatic API selection (Metal/OpenGL).
• macOS: Set bundle version correctly.
• Localization updates.

1.0.96

• macOS: Remove Metal API support to prevent preloaded shaders crash.
• Use the name "CopiedOver" when backing up copied-over saves.

1.1.108

• Added Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean localizations.
• Added frame sync and log command line options.
• Fixed a few minor scene geometry errors.
• Fixed a case where the ghost trail could get stuck inside an invisible box.
• Fixed incorrect mouse clamping logic again.
• Fixed a few typos in the game text.
• Fixed 50Hz/60Hz physics/rendering mismatch. (Thanks @bfod and @phort99)

1.1.110

• Updated Korean localization (new font, translation fixes, better word-wrap).
• Updated Simplified Chinese localization (fixed 被刀杀死 and 被剑杀死 verbs).
• Added "strangled" as valid fate for two unfortunate crew members.
• Added checkpoint saves to help recover progress after a crash.

1.2.120

• Updated engine from Unity 5 to Unity 2017
• Added RTL text support.
• Added Ukrainian localization (by Olga Sushytska)
• Added Arabic localization (by Eternal Dream Arabization)

(Source: 3909 - Support)