Harem Chapter 3 released! v2c3m0.
We've completed the rewrite of the Mountain Glory content and everything is ready to go for public release!
Base game, requires RTP installed separately.
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5sq4lcz7iklt/v2c3m0.exe
http://rapidgator.net/file/f7079e1ef5d2f362d3b3809a5d4f344c/v2c3m0.exe.html
Game w/ RTP, requires no other installation but significantly larger
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5blg1jhv81vf/v2c3m0%2BRTP.exe
http://rapidgator.net/file/71b5f1a3eeb58e9e9fcf28e949fd9724/v2c3m0_RTP.exe.html
I do have a Patreon page up and running. If you enjoyed the new content and wish to support further development, any donation will help out a great deal!
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2583450&u=2583450&ty=h
Content Additions
2 new slaves for the base
Hints on 2 more slaves
Mountain Glory subzone open for exploration and primary
questing
Sidequest line (Celeean Swords) open in Eleen
19 new in game scenes, 3 more non-canon scenes
329 pages of text (per Word)
308 new images
And all that to add about an hour to each route!
Credit to the people who helped out with their time!
Copy Editor and Sanity Checker -HirotonoRei
Testing - Hunter769, DoomPanda, Avikash, Matt, Omnibomb, Gegrafsd and Sacr3d
Even if you don't feel like or can't donate via Patreon, your feedback is still critical to the development of Harem. Let me know what you thought. What you liked and what you didn't like. What you'd like more of, what I should focus more on and even what you thought I spent too much time on. The quality control I get from negative feedback is critical and the morale boost I get from positive feedback moreso.
Positive:
ReplyDelete-Some of the scenes seem expanded or new, such as Terra's backstory stuff while in her mind, or the conversation where Cecilia tries to convince Samantha to escape with her.
-New map is nice. Finally playing through Light path of the original version so I had something to compare new one with, it quickly became apparent that the world map was basically just, "Continually head east." Redesign feels much more natural.
-It seems that picture use has been expanded. Definitely true for the intro, though I could be wrong about it outside of that.
-I like that even on Light path the MC's plan seems to always be to depose the King. The reason I never played fully through Light path on original version was due to the mention MC made during Terra's mind scenes of wanting to reclaim his lands under the King who betrayed him, which made me facepalm and shelve it for a later that never came.
-It feels, though I could be wrong, that some of the earlier scenes got a little longer compared to previous version, which is nice.
-I generally like the idea of adding little quests in, and having new harem members like Baylie as potential rewards makes sense as to why MC would do them, and also gives the potential for minor slaves, which makes sense given the number of girls MC needs.
-I like the fact that Samantha is now in-harem head in both paths rather than just Dark, and that through Sarah interaction actually has at least one scene to showcase this.
Negative:
-I love the ability to skip text and hide text window, but it might be worth switching ALT and CTRL for those. If you happen to want to alt-tab or window the game via alt-enter, you generally accidentally skip text.
-The delay of Sarah's punishment for hitting/scaring Samantha doesn't really make much sense now that the punishment scene is in with this version.
-Samantha's comment to Cecilia in the inn, just before going up to Cecilia's room, seems a bit odd. The bit about how she and MC would love the company seems like it should upset or give Cecilia pause. But maybe she was too busy anticipating to listen at that point.
-Donnie's statement in the inn about MC making Jessica happy, after you accept Orc quest from them for a date, seems...a bit odd in dark path after your earlier offer to buy Jessica.
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Bugs/Oddities:
-Terra disappears from the Hideout past a certain point for no discernible reason.
-Donna scene that references all the other girls in the harem and how she feels like a mother to Terra plays too early, in Hideout. (At least on Light path, it mentions Angelica. I can't remember Dark version for sure, but presumably they're meant to play at the same point.)
-Scene where you spar with Sarah references Angelica on Light path, but can also play early in Hideout.
-Innkeeper in Eowen, during conversation where you ask about buying Baylie, has the last conversation piece repeat.
-Before you go into Terra's mind, when discussing her with Priest and his wife at table, if you talk to the wife instead, then after the conversation plays and you port back to your Hideout, the wife gives the "Talk to my husband" message.
Overall, absolutely love the new version, and how fast it's getting caught up to the old version!
Thanks for the feedback! I'll switch the skip and hide commands for the next version and reorder the Sarah/Samantha thing. I get stuck on the chapter sequence too much sometimes.
DeleteThere was a bug in chapter 2 where it didn't record your initial interactions with the Circle Guild. That was fixed but it wasn't possible to do it retroactively so if you were playing a Chapter 2 save it might have sounded odd. A fresh play would have different text. Your interaction with her on the date over-rides the initial encounter either way so it should be fine from here on out.
And I'll fix those bugs, again thank you for the feedback! I love receiving it and wish I got more!
I have been following this game for some time and all I can say is that this reboot of the game is better then the first release of this game I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.
ReplyDeleteHowever I have not been able to capture Naomi after getting her sister to join the harem before this release ends.
Other then that this game is a damn fine piece of work.
Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated.
DeleteNoemi won't join you in chapter 3. She'll have a series of events in Chapter 4 that puts her in your harem by the end of it. But that might not get fully resolved until a Chapter 4 minor release, depends on how the coding goes.
And thanks again!
Replaying the game from the start, it really does feel odd that we spend so much time saving Cindy, and then she's gone from the narrative forever. Otherwise, having the same kinds of bugs as the anonymous first poster, plus a new one that involves text repeating itself at several key moments in the new events.
ReplyDeleteStill, it's good to see some of these old events reworked, even if I do kinda miss the desert.
Also... the character portraits that looks straight ahead, staring into my soul, are a bit disturbing. I'd really druther have none at all than those!
DeleteThere is some future plans for Cindy but I won't be specific for now except for that they'll probably start in a Chapter 4 minor which is still a few months off.
DeleteAnd there is a desert in the future for you!
Thanks for the feedback!
Still I still think its kind of weird that Cindy did would disappear from the base.
DeleteDisclaimer: I copied my save over from the previous public version. I dunno if this breaks things.
ReplyDeleteUsing the Hearthstone while you're in the boat you get in chapter 1 breaks the boat; you bring the boat onto solid ground when you teleport, and you end up having to leave the boat there.
Otherwise, I'm liking the new content. Thanks for your work!
Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to do my best to keep saves compatible from version to version but it's not something I can guarantee to be honest. But I've gotten better at coding and it should be less of an issue now. The only real transition bug is that your initial action toward the Circle Guild simply wasn't recorded and thus they didn't know how to act to you in Eowen. But everything else should be fine.
DeleteI'll put a 'no boat' clause into the Hearthstone, easy enough to fix.
Oh and just for clarity, there's no lasting impact to the Circle Guild bug. Your actions toward Jessica during your date have more weight then your initial remarks.
DeleteHave you considered maybe adding a chapter skip option in the intro so that way people could possible just skip ahead to the current chapter?
ReplyDeleteThose are very dangerous unfortunately. While I've gotten much better at reducing the amount of pointless data tracked in v2, there's still a lot going on behind the scenes. And if I miss one of those when I'm coding the chapter skip it can create huge issues. Huge issues that might not pop up until much later.
DeleteI'll try to make a save pack at the end of each version, but that's not guaranteed.
I was playing the old version of the game recently and wanted to suggest two things when you get to that point in the new version, first the Namuhist base area is too complicated the basement zone I was in before the final battle was too large and I never found my way out. Second the merc encounters in the basement zone are also too frequent in occurrence I couldn't go 3 steps without them attacking me out of no where and grew so tired of it I gave up after 9 attempts to make my way through. So for future reference make the zone smaller and easier to navigate, and make the enemy encounters less frequent, I ended up choosing the dark path because it was simpler to get through the forest base.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep that in mind when I get to that point, but that's a long way off as well.
DeleteI also wanted to ask you how do I get the brothel? I can't find the owner's brother any place in this new version.
ReplyDeleteThat got cut for a few reasons.
Delete1. It didn't really make that much sense. Your trying to get back to your homeland with slaves, not put down roots in the area.
2. I didn't think most of the content was really that good. A few of the actions in getting it were good, but most of the content was lackluster at best.
3. The code for it is complex. Both in timing the customers and in removing slaves in it from events.
4. I've gotten a lot of feedback saying that players didn't like sharing your harem.
Ultimately I think it's too much work for what the end results are. Now certain parts of it may reappear (in particular Noemi's well sequence) but unless I get a lot of feedback saying that people want it back in, it's not likely to be developed.
All that being said, I was working on a similar concept in Rata that both makes a lot more sense and would be easier to code. And I think give a better end result as well.
But that's a long way off.
Thanks Ker! Count me as one of those people who don't like sharing my harem lol. They're mine. I acquired them, they're mine.
DeleteI'm not really all that thrilled with the idea of parting with at least some of them once the game ends and I return to MC's homeland, but I just tell myself I can pick up a bunch of randoms to dole out to the nobles back home, and my harem stays mine ;)
~Morningfrost
I on the other hand am ALL ABOUT whoring my harem out.
DeleteEven so, I'm fine with you finding a way to do it that is easier for you to code.
As to quality, the Sarah content was my favourite from that setup.
(Accidentally posted this as a free-standing comment.
Oops.)
Your characters name changes back to Ralph in this version btw.
ReplyDeleteDammit, I hate that initialize resets name. I'll have to be more careful about that in the future. I'll put a rename option into the id ring for the next minor release.
DeleteI on the other hand am ALL ABOUT whoring my harem out.
ReplyDeleteEven so, I'm fine with you finding a way to do it that is easier for you to code.
As to quality, the Sarah content was my favourite from that setup.
Thank you for your work ...after meeting the white angel in white path and before you enter eowen , the game tell you it reset everything and that made Terra lose spell" flame" and only have the fire
ReplyDeleteThat is intentional. If you started a game fresh she'd wouldn't have learned it.
DeleteNow, I usually would not and have never sent feedback to creators of an adult game since my purpose there is basically just get off and move on. But this game really caught my interest. I just tried it out today and I've already finished with all of the content in a single day because even after I had 'finished' so to speak I kept on playing because it isn't just sex, It's an actual game with combat and decision making so it doesn't just feel fuckin' empty.
ReplyDeleteI am making this comment because this game has a lot of potential and I've seen way to many game creators burn out from lack of motivation/inspiration and I just don't want that to happen to you guys. So, I have taken the time out of my day to make this post. I will be looking forward to the next release and you can expect more comments from me as you go.
Since I can't be arsed to make an account or some shit you'll just know me as.. Uh.. 'Blithering moron'. No, scratch that. Eh.. Kinda blank on this but.. 'Interested Blithering Moron'. Yeah, that'll do. I'll make sure to leave that on the end of every one of my comments. Anyway, nice work and a round of applause for the staff.
Yours truly,
-Interested Blithering Moron.
I absolutely love this kind of feedback. It's actually a huge part of keeping motivation up. While I see the download counts screaming up I can never hear enough feedback from the players simply saying that they enjoyed it.
DeleteI just wish that people would do this on a forum instead of the blog. Would help to encourage new players to try the game instead of agreeing with people who already like the game enough to check my blog!
I have a quick question about chapter 4. In the original version, one of the party members that you could get was determined by the choices that you had made until that chapter. Will that still be the case or can you get both of them no matter if you choose the light path or the dark path?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 Rhea/Alena will be exclusive. I've been talking to Hiro frequently about that and there's some thought of making the other acquirable later on. If it happens it won't be until 6c though.
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ReplyDeletedude from what i read from the texts when the orcs are defeated and be4 that here should be random encounters on the word map and a way to show what u do matters is after u burn the orcs base is that in that area the encounters are less often. mind this can be VERY hard to code and not nessaercary but world map random encounters should be a thing and maybe u can add ways of getting girls by defeating certain mobs (like in FF7's yuffie as a example) or can lead to mini-bosses/small dungeons. now that can be alot of work but it would be cool and can reward people for grinding. mind you that is just cool but random encounters on the world map must be a thing
ReplyDeleteActually I junked the built in VX/ACE random encounter system ages ago and use a system I custom made giving me full event and variable control toward encounters. What you're talking about I could do easily.
DeleteBut the question is should I? Some people enjoy the combat systems in VX/ACE but a lot do not, and putting a grind along the central storyline is something that a lot of people don't enjoy. So having random encounters on the world map is something which I will avoid doing as much as I can.
But I will be doing a huge sidequest launch in March. Current plans is have 7-9 different sidequests in v2c3m1 with nearly as many dungeon sub-zones full of loot and unique items. There will be one slave reward (Fenja for v1 players) and a few scenes at the end of chains.
how about this. u make it so the random encounters are few. meaning? say u just left the boat. by the time u get to the town u will have (at most and that would be rare) 2 encounters. that way when your looking around the map u arnt completly bored and if people like the new mechanic then u can up it a bit to see if people would like it.
Deletealso thie will allow one to get gear a bit easier. since most are very expensive its hard to get gold to buy anything but starter gear. u can even put monsters that are only can be encounters in the open world (bandits, raiders, etc.)
Delete3m1 will be heavily involved in sidequests to address that and you'll have plenty of opportunity to gain some gold and cool loots!
DeleteBut I don't want to force that kind of content into the main storyline. People that enjoy the combat will have every chance to do so and get a greater understanding of the world you find yourself in and get bonus scenes as well.
First off i wanted to apologize for not writing a response/review before now but with Noxian Nights, The Last Sovereign, Neko Para vol 2 and Harem all coming out it's been a busy week ;).
ReplyDeleteAs one of the players that first started with the old Harem it's great to have you back and i'm really liking the new version and the revisions you're making (art, maps, story etc) and you have my support as a fan (for whatever it's worth).
Now to the bug report and observations, the events playing where characters you don't have yet have already been mentioned so i'll skip those. There were a few places where the spelling/wording/grammar didn't make much sense these are:
1) In the conversation with Jorge he says "Mountain glory has been having with issues" should probably be something like "has been having issues with"
2) Conversation with Donna about the Nhumists (i've probably spelled that wrong) she says "until they started starting implying" probably don't need the starting there and just have "started implying"
The final thing is more an observation about something that seemed odd to me then any kind of real problem, but the protagonist stops the fight between Donna and Samantha and then again between Sarah and Samantha but when Angelica tries to dismiss Donna as lowborn and unworthy he basically just tells her off and sends her away without really resolving her outlook like he did with the others. This is all based on a Light path hero from a clean start (I always just replay the game from scratch for each release) so i have no idea if they occur on the dark path.
You mentioned that you wish these kinds of things were put on the forums as well so i'll post this to LOK forums also (as it's the only one i have an account for :)).
Thanks for the feedback! I'll try to get those addressed in 3m1.
DeleteThat's an interesting observation on the interactions. Angelica's interactions with the rest of the harem will be an ongoing thing and I didn't want it resolved quite so quickly as the others.
And yes, I love it when people take the time to post on the forums. I enjoy all the feedback and it's very motivating to me, but a forum post from a player (rather than myself) functions as advertising for the game. Every post is likely to have another 10-15 people try the game out just from the bump alone.
Bug: If you go to the underground cellar inside the church without speaking to the priest, you cant leave as it prompts "you must save the mage first" even if there is nobody to save
ReplyDeleteThat will be resolved in 3m1.
DeleteI like this new version of harem more than the last one. Don't get me wrong I was allready a big fan of the old version but the new one makes a more compliete and solid impression on me. Overall I see a win in quality of the game.
ReplyDeleteThat said who are the "2 new slaves for the base" that you listed? I have Donna, Samantha. Sarah, Terra, Angelica, Cecilia and Naomis sister (forgot the name..lol) as slaves at the end of chapter 3. Did I miss a slave?
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Great work of you ker, can't wait for the next part!
Thats accurate at the end of chapter 2 there was Donna, Samantha Sarah and Terra so in this chapter you get 3 additions Cecilia (oink haired guitarist), Angelica (the Mayor's daughter) and Phoebe (Naomi's sister). You have everyone you should have at the moment.
DeleteThanks for the feedback! As Omega pointed out, you actually added 3 new slaves in Chapter 2. Angelica, Cecilia and Phoebe. Noemi get's a scene or two but won't likely to be added to the harem until 4m1 or so.
DeleteHey ker, glad to see you're back. Haven't had a chance to play any of the new builds since you've rebooted Harem, been a little busy. I'll give some feedback when I can.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it seems the thread for this game on ulmf has been revived, not sure if you want to start posting there again, but it's this thread if you're interested: http://www.ulmf.org/bbs/showthread.php?t=18641&page=8
Thanks for the info. I'll keep an eye on the thread but not sure if I'd want to use it for the official releases.
Delete