SAVE

SAVE (JP: セーブ) is a gameplay mechanic in Deltarune that allows the player to save their game progress in each Chapter.

The current game can be SAVED at any available SAVE point. These SAVE points are mostly found in the Dark World, but starting in Chapter 4, they can occasionally be found in the Light World.

SAVE files

There are three SAVE file slots available for each Chapter. Each SAVE file can be erased or copied to another SAVE slot.

In Chapter 1, SAVE points always write the SAVE to the SAVE slot the player is currently using. Starting in Chapter 2, SAVE points allow choosing which SAVE slot is used.

SAVE progress for a slot for each Chapter is indicated on the Chapter Select screen. This includes if a Chapter has been completed, has a SAVE file, or if a Shadow Crystal boss has been defeated.

The chosen SAVE slot also has some minor in-game impact, affecting some descriptions:

• In Chapter 1, the SAVE slot impacts the text when checking Asriel's drawer in the Dreemurr residence. The first slot describes a torn cross-country shirt, the second a school ID with an embarrassing haircut, and the third a book of expired pizza coupons.
• In Chapter 3, the TV Dinner's check description in the inventory changes. The first slot describes it as having a crumb of Kris's favorite pie, the second mentions the TV's pointy nose being used as a cone for the ice cream, and the third describes it as a normally shaped vegan steak.

File Select

The File Select menu before completing Chapter 1, as AUDIO_DRONE plays

The File Select menu for each Chapter is accessible from the Chapter Select menu. In addition to allowing loading and managing SAVE files, the game's language can also be toggled on this screen.

The design of the File Select menu and its music vary depending on Chapter progress. Most Chapters depict a Great Door glowing in the background until a Completion FILE has been created for the Chapter.

• 
  File Select menu for Chapter 2, as Faint Glow plays
• 
  File Select menu post Chapter 1, as Before the Story plays

File Select dialogue

In Chapter 1, the File Select menu has alternate dialogue if Chapter 1 has not been completed. It consists of uppercase text, with dialogue similar to the voice's style of speaking. There are capitalized lines with no counterpart if the Chapter has been completed, such as that shown when aborting an erasure.

• Please select a file. [Beginning, after completing Chapter 1]

Copying

• CHOOSE THE ONE TO COPY. [Copying, before completing Chapter 1]
  • CHOOSE THE TARGET FOR THE REFLECTION. [Selecting a save file]
    • THE DIVISION IS COMPLETE. [Copy successful]
  • IT IS IMMUNE TO ITS OWN IMAGE. [Copying a save file to itself]
  • IT WILL BE SUBSUMED. [Overwriting an already existing save file]
    • IT CONFORMED TO THE REFLECTION. [Overwrite successful]
    • PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE. [Overwrite such that all files are identical]
      • WHAT AN INTERESTING BEHAVIOR. [Overwriting a file after all files are identical]
    • IT RETAINED ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE. [Overwrite aborted]
  • IT IS BARREN AND CANNOT BE COPIED. [Selecting an empty save file]
    • BUT THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT TO COPY. [All files empty]
• Choose a file to copy. [Copying, after completing Chapter 1]
  • Choose a file to copy to. [Selecting a save file]
    • Copy complete. [Copy successful]
  • You can't copy there. [Copying a save file to itself]
  • The file will be overwritten. [Overwriting an already existing save file]
  • It can't be copied. [Selecting an empty save file]

Erasing

• SELECT THE ONE TO ERASE. [Erasing, before completing Chapter 1]
  • BUT IT WAS ALREADY GONE. [Selecting an empty save file]
    • BUT THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT TO ERASE. [All files empty]
  • TRULY ERASE IT? [When selecting a save file]
    • THEN IT WAS SPARED. [Erase aborted]
      • VERY INTERESTING. ["Threatening" a file 10 times]
    • THEN IT WILL BE DESTROYED. [Confirming erase]
    • IT WAS AS IF IT WAS NEVER THERE AT ALL. [Erase successful]
• Choose a file to erase. [Erasing, after completing Chapter 1]
  • There's nothing to erase. [Selecting an empty save file]
  • Erase this file? [When selecting a save file]
    • Really erase it? [Confirming erase]
    • Erase complete. [Erase successful]

Completion FILE

Main article: Completion FILE

Completing a Chapter creates a Completion FILE in the corresponding SAVE slot. When starting a Chapter other than Chapter 1, the player can choose to continue from the previous Chapter by using a Completion FILE. Completion FILEs are separate to SAVE files, and will not be deleted even if the corresponding SAVE file is deleted.

A Completion FILE for a particular Chapter in any slot allows some parts of that Chapter to be skipped. In the first four Chapters , if a Completion FILE is present, Kris can go back to sleep at the start of the Chapter to skip the Chapter's introduction.

Continuing from a Completion FILE means that the party's items, Dark Dollars, equipment, recruits, etc. are carried forward to the next Chapter. The party's actions in the previous Chapter are also carried over, including whether the Weird Route was completed as well as minor interactions with NPCs.

Even if a Completion FILE exists, the player can still choose to start a Chapter without using a Completion FILE. If a Completion FILE is not used, the party starts with no items or Dark Dollars, and have a default set of equipment.

Save Data

For importing console version Save Data from the demo to the full game, see Deltarune Chapter 1&2 § Importing Save Data.

In the PC versions, save data (including SAVE files and Completion FILEs) for all Chapters is stored in the following directories:

Operating system	Version	Filepath
Windows	All	%LOCALAPPDATA%\DELTARUNE
macOS	All	~/Library/Application Support/com.tobyfox.deltarune/
Linux (via Steam Play)	Demo	~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1690940/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/DELTARUNE
	Full version	~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/1671210/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/DELTARUNE

Due to Steam Play storing the SAVE files for the demo and full version in different locations, demo save data is not automatically transferred to the full version on Linux like on other platforms. Instead, as a workaround, players can manually copy the demo's save data to the save data directory for the full version.

For each Chapter, SAVE files are structured as follows, with "#" representing the Chapter it corresponds to (e.g. filech2_0 represents File 1 of Chapter 2):

Filename	Role
filech#_0 filech#_1 filech#_2	SAVE files for each of the three SAVE slots, created by using SAVE points. 0 is the first slot, 1 is the second slot, and 2 is the third slot.
filech#_3 filech#_4 filech#_5	Completion FILEs for each of the three SAVE slots, created automatically by completing a Chapter using a particular SAVE slot. 3 is for the first slot, 4 for the second, and 5 for the third.
filech#_9	The SAVE file that will be loaded if the player continues from the Game Over screen. The game occasionally creates automatic autosaves in this slot at various hidden checkpoints. Additionally, whenever the player loads a SAVE file, the game overwrites the content of this file with that SAVE file.
filech5_3_b filech5_4_b filech5_5_b	Completion FILEs created after finishing Chapter 5's Weird Route.
filech5_9_b	SAVE file created after finishing Chapter 5's Weird Route, resembling the file used for continuing from Game Overs and autosaves. Currently, it is not used, and attempting to load it results in Chapter 5's Dogcheck.

Trivia

Kris's SAVE file at ?????? in Chapter 1

• In Chapter 1, before the player has created a SAVE file in the slot they are playing in, checking a SAVE point shows a SAVE file for "Kris". This name is overwritten by the player's uppercase name the first time they SAVE. In later Chapters, the SAVE point starts by displaying the player's name instead.
  • It is possible to complete Chapter 1 without overwriting Kris's SAVE file. However, the Completion FILE created at the end of the Chapter always uses the player's name.
• In Chapter 1, the SAVE interface is a replica of Undertale's.

See also

• SAVE point
• SAVE article on the Undertale Wiki

External links

• Spamton Save Editor, a SAVE editor by Nisha Wolfe
• Tenna Editor, an open source SAVE editor by Tenna Project
• if youre looking for what lines do what in a save file you should check out this document, it currently only contains stuff from chapters 1 and 2 although it should still work in more chapters.