Return of the Obra Dinn

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.

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).

Other Unused Strings#

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

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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ noclues_explain_more |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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... |}

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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ help_faceclear_fates0_easy |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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. |}

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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ welldone_2_first |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ help_zoom |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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. | ﺍﺳﺘﻤﺮ ﺑﺎﻟﻀﻐﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺯﺭ ﺍﻟﺘﻘﺮﻳﺐ ﻟﺘﻔﺤﺺ ﺍﻟﻮﺟﻮﻩ.<>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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ fate_killer_notpresent |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ dialog_demo_end_aa |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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 - |}

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.
{| class="wikitable" |+ dialog_moment_unknown_aa |- ! width="7%" | Text (EN) ! width="7%" | Text (DE) ! width="7%" | Text (ES) ! width="7%" | Text (FR) ! width="7%" | Text (IT) ! width="7%" | Text (JA) ! width="7%" | Text (KO) ! width="7%" | Text (PL) ! width="7%" | Text (PT) ! width="7%" | Text (RU) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-S) ! width="7%" | Text (ZH-T) ! width="7%" | Text (UK) ! width="7%" | 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.

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 chapter's 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 this goes unused as the corpse-finding mechanic is only introduced in Chapter 7.

Generic Testing Beep

A generic testing beep presumably used during development.

Watch Moment Buildup

An unused 8-second drum loop. Based on its 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)

Watch on YouTube

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)