Harem c8m4 released Sep 6 2019

[ker]

The last bug found will be some weird blocker that sneaks itself into the release.
Gotta go down in style.

Absolutely. I'll be copying Daisy by making the first public release a 'buggy' release just for that reason.

Buggy like entophilia or buggy like can't play the game?

Eww.. bugs and sexiness do not relate in my id. But buggy as in the 'While we've done everything we can to test this, some massive bug may still exist. 10 people didn't bump into it, but when 1000 people play the game I'm sure someone will. So if you want to play this the day I release it, well buyer beware'

[BlueBody]

I imagine it'll be like the PS4 release. Huge anticipation, but the potential for the blue ring of death still exists.

I always wait til a few weeks after to check it out though

[ker]

Harem 0.6b has reached public beta! Much thanks to all of my hard working testers, you caught so many bugs that would of made the game not playable, as well as many small ones which had slipped through the prior releases as well. This should be the cleanest, most legible version of Harem ever!

A few notes :
-Initially 0.6b was about 160mb large which is too large for the VX packager. So I compressed the images and audio down quite a bit and made the package only 70mb. I might of been a bit to aggressive in the compression so I'm also uploading the uncompressed media. If you want to use it, download it and over-write the graphics and audio folders with the other images. Should work just fine.
-There was a bug in the encrypter so this is my first version in a very long time that's unecrypted. Not quite sure why I always encrypted it anyways. If you want to see how Harem is made you can dig around in the game files (VX required of course) but be warned. There are spoilers, false flags and much randomness inside the code and if you have programming experience it may cause you to scream in pain.
-When I do a 'final' release I'll be doing the usual email to mediafire option for those people who can't get RG/FF to work. Please don't e-mail me about it until then. Bitshare will be coming as soon as it starts working again. I will try to add more hosts over time.
-I'm still working on providing saves to skip existing content. They will be provided in the next week or two (certainly before 0.6b is final).
-I am calling this a public beta. I got all the bugs that we found, but I'm sure have slipped through. If getting a bug would be traumatic to you, wait a few weeks for the 'final' version to be released. There will not be any content differences between them.
-Install the RTP if this is your first time playing a RPG maker VX game. Instructions on the side as well as in the readme file

Harem 0.6b download
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5s500pj6c9cp/0.6b.exe
http://rapidgator.net/file/3b752881255a ... b.exe.html

Better media download (requires Harem 0.6b)
http://www.filefactory.com/file/3eu0o78 ... _media.rar
http://rapidgator.net/file/cf37f3e803d3 ... a.rar.html

Patch notes : (spoilers in white font, highlight to read)

-Retcons - Vanessa met you in Denai, regardless of path. Both paths she told you to flee and then you don't see her again.
-Denai wasn't burnt to the ground.
-Numerous map and faces upgrades

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

-Climax of Terra's arc.
-Resolution of Vanessa's disappearance and Ariel/Cecilia will make an appearance.

-Complete removal of the random encounter system with a random event system in its place. While this isn't used all that often in 0.6 content it will give me far more flexibility with random encounters in any zone.
-The id ring has resumed some functionality as a guide, pointing the player to the next step of the main plot. Very much in beta stages and needing feedback for when it doesn't work properly.
-Fenja has been reclassified as a minor (or inventory) slave. Her quest will remain as it is but after she's captured there isn't any additional content for her. Essentially it allows me to create minor slaves at the end of an optional segment or when the character would normally buy/acquire a new slave but without the burden of really creating a character or weaving her into the plot. While there will still be more major characters introduced it gives me more flexibility in writing.
-Over 90% of people in the survey voted yes to letting me break old saves, so that will be done. Saves will be provided whenever 0.6b final is released.
-Continued editing and polishing. While the Corsix edit is still a few months away, Western Corsix and before should be much cleaner. Along with a change in workflow to increase accuracy it should be far easier to read Thanks to Hirotono on this.
-New faces. While this isn't complete, TheEye92 showed me a few issues with my workflow in creating faces that was creating the heavily pixelated look and new faces should be much smoother. Over time I'll work on going back and replacing as many of the old faces as possible.
-Donna's first two scenes on the dark path have been completely rewritten and imaged. That was some of my very early rough work and really needed to be updated. Feel free to [politely] suggest other scenes/events that could use a rewrite and I'll put them on the list.
-I haven't counted precisely yet, but 0.6b should bring on another 100-150 pages of text and another 30 scenes or so. Wow I really am developing like Valve.
-Rebalancing of characters to make combat more enjoyable and smooth. This has been going on for a few updates and has gotten to the point where old saves must be junked and new games must be created.
-Made it easier to find the fights to do the hunting quest
-Finding Terra's memories in her mind is a bit easier to do now
-Removed timer from Corsix quests. It never worked properly.
-Added quite a bit of new music

[SpectralTime]

Well, I'm ecstatic.

I'm downloading the game and the Better Media pack now. Once roughly one grillion years have passed and they've finished getting on my computer, I'm going to go from the beginning to the end and throw in any comments I can.

It's good to have this back, and I appreciate it.

Also, awwww. Rebalanced characters means all my favorite old broken tactics won't work anymore! I'll have to... learn to play? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[ker]

It was actually balanced enough that I had to take the weapons off of the slaves I was putting into the brothel so I can put them on others! Not hard enough to make use any of my gold though

[SpectralTime]

...That was meant as a joke. Sorry if it didn't come across that way. Over the top humor is hard in a written medium.

[Seyser Koze]

Just a heads-up that the Filefactory file is like 300K. I assume that's not how it's supposed to be.

* Donna's first dark scene in the hideout has her telling you to let Samantha take care of things while the two of you spend the day in bed. You can get this before you've recruited Samantha.

[ker]

Spectral - My response was intended as a joke as well. I guess dry wit doesn't translate particularly well to the written medium either.

Seyser - I just tried to download 0.6b from FF and it worked fine. You have to uncheck the 'download manager' which is probably what it tried to download instead. Good catch for Donna. I always assume the player grabs her immediately and forget to code otherwise. That'll be updated for final.

[hoboy]

Ker - great to see that this has continued. I think it was a toss up between Harem and Despair Labyrinth as to getting me addicted to this type of entertainment, and I love your writing. One question - you mention breaking the saves. I used my light and dark saves from the end of 6a3 and they seemed to play fine. Will I be missing content? Should I start from scratch? (Which I''m doing anyway, but just wondering...)

[ker]

I forgot to enable the save blocker in the public beta. I'll flip it on for the final release. Even if the saves work fine, there may be issues caused in the future. Saves created in 0.6b public beta will work in the final version though.

[Seyser Koze]

In the same vein as before, Samantha's first dark scene has her mentioning that you screwed Donna first, but it's possible to walk right past Donna on the beach and recruit Samantha first.

* I guess I'm not completely clear on what the "complete removal of the random encounter system" entails, given that I was jumped by three rats within a few steps of reaching the mainland.

[AllenAndArth]

i'll check out now

[ker]

In the same vein as before, Samantha's first dark scene has her mentioning that you screwed Donna first, but it's possible to walk right past Donna on the beach and recruit Samantha first.

* I guess I'm not completely clear on what the "complete removal of the random encounter system" entails, given that I was jumped by three rats within a few steps of reaching the mainland.

Random encounters were not removed. Rather the built in VX system for spawning them was and replaced with a custom system that lets me adjust encounter rates/types on the fly and lets me spawn events directly as well.

[cookie jar]

First of all, I'm not that far into the game again with 0.6b but the changes I've seen so far are really nice. Given that it was a good game already beforehand, all the more YAY! for your great work.

I have both a question and a bug report. Since It involves a secret room, I'll place them in spoiler tags.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Bug report first:
During the pirate bounty hunt - great idea to add those hunting quests btw. - the transition out of the secret cellar in the fishing village building is not at the top of the ladder but at the bottom. Took me a while to figure that out. I was almost ready to give up and load a save because I thought I was stuck. So you might want to place the area transition on the top rung of the ladder.

Now for my question: Is there anything that can be done in that room right now? I think I tried to use everything like the map table etc. but I couldn't trigger anything. This lack of scenes/follow-up quests is what got me to believe that this room isn't meant to be entered yet or not completely done. Which further prompted my earlier mentioned thoughts of being stuck down there.
Of course it might be that I simply didn't have the required girl for a scene yet. I only had Samantha, Donna and sarah at the time.

[ker]

First of all, I'm not that far into the game again with 0.6b but the changes I've seen so far are really nice. Given that it was a good game already beforehand, all the more YAY! for your great work.

I have both a question and a bug report. Since It involves a secret room, I'll place them in spoiler tags.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Bug report first:
During the pirate bounty hunt - great idea to add those hunting quests btw. - the transition out of the secret cellar in the fishing village building is not at the top of the ladder but at the bottom. Took me a while to figure that out. I was almost ready to give up and load a save because I thought I was stuck. So you might want to place the area transition on the top rung of the ladder.

Now for my question: Is there anything that can be done in that room right now? I think I tried to use everything like the map table etc. but I couldn't trigger anything. This lack of scenes/follow-up quests is what got me to believe that this room isn't meant to be entered yet or not completely done. Which further prompted my earlier mentioned thoughts of being stuck down there.
Of course it might be that I simply didn't have the required girl for a scene yet. I only had Samantha, Donna and sarah at the time.

That room is a bit of an appendix right now. Another player (Deloir) had joined the team, created the goblin and hunter sidequests but then real life pulled him away and the content was left unfinished. In the final I'm changing the ladder to a touch initiated rather than action button initiated event, so if you walk up the ladder you'll go upstairs without having to press a button.

I may pick up and do more with the hanging sidequests in 0.6c

[UnLimiTeD]

Dang and I missed this for a few days.
Looking forward to having time for this on friday.
Glad to see it's going on!

[SpectralTime]

Played the entire game, start to finish, over again on a Light play-through. Thoughts below, in spoiler tags.

First, some bugs:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Event triggers are all over the place in the new content. For instance, attempting to walk down the stairs in the druid chapel will have Teresa informing you that Isabella is below but that she wants to speak with you first long before this is actually the case. Re-entering the Tenta enclave and walking into the building behind Uma will allow a player to talk to Uma as though it were still the night of the banquet and causing much mayhem. And while the majority of them have been pruned out, there are still a few places where Angelica will ward a player away from unfinished locations by crying that he still needs to save Terra.

On a different note, trying to examine the papers in the storeroom of the Nahumist fortress a second time will result in a full repeat of the dialogue involved, the door and bookshelf moving forward and to the side respectively again, locking the player out of the next room.

Finally, after returning from the enclave but before attacking the fortress, Melonie will still be next to Teresa in the woods... just invisible.

Second, what I liked:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I appreciate the much improved proofreading and writing in the earliest, roughest parts of the game. It didn't bug me that much my first time through (and indeed, it gave the game a certain tongue-in-cheek handmade quality), but I still prefer my king's English, so to speak.

I enjoyed the new "bounty hunter" quests. While their actual structure is all-too-frequently MMO-style boring crap (Traveler! Slay me three whatevers in yonder wood!), the copious amounts of money and items they give really make the early game much more pleasant and tolerable, ultimately reducing the amount of grinding or save hacking a player has to engage in to keep up. And I am always cool with that. Some of the harder ones were inconvenient, but that's my own fault for ignoring the quest giver's warnings.

I liked most of the new scenes and plot, but particularly the very bittersweet one with Sarah, where she and the protagonist admit that they love each other (and that the protagonist loves most of his slaves in one sense or another), but that they both know that nothing can really come of it, given the nature of his mission. It was a well-conceived bit of dialogue reasonably well executed.

Lastly, I enjoyed the twist regarding the angel, though I was disappointed that it wasn't followed up on in release, particularly when you learn Anael gave Teresa a private audience later on to fill her in on stuff. Aw well. You can't always get what you want.

Third, what I was less happy with:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

First, the hidden village in the woods was... less than perfect. I think it's mostly a placeholder until you put more work into it, though, so ignore this complaint if it is.

Teresa's characterization seemed to undergo a harsh shift from "kind, matronly church mother" to "enraged avatar of vengeance who is really into the idea of killing you for your own good" without a ton of grease for the gears. I'm not complaining about the change necessarily, that works in a narrative sense, just that it could have used a little more foreshadowing.

If Betsy and Melony show up at all in the new content beyond the boss fight in the fortress and the aforementioned invisible encounter, I didn't run into them. A little more development on their little storylines would have been nice.

Vanessa is one of my favorite characters, and I really liked her showing up in the story again. However... well, I'll just say that I feel almost as if all of these 0.6 releases are you gradually trying to climb your way out of the hole you ended up digging in 0.5's trial scene, with much success. But putting a big choice like that into the plot is just shoveling a little more out. I'm also worried because it makes me meta-game: keeping her around will probably save her but doom her men and make her hate the protagonist, while sending her back (which will probably have no effect on the politics of stuff, seeing as how she's just a lowly captain) will almost certainly do the opposite. No way out! No escape!

Ahem. Moving on, I felt the nice!protagonist's personality was... well, almost too nice. I always appreciated that his culture just had different morals, and that he was a moral person by their standards. Here, he's always trying to soften up the angry god-fire lady and talk her around to peace on Earth, man! I dunno, maybe that's part of the plot? The Id Ring is making him more and more angelic, which is why it bothers tracking Ethos to begin with?

The mountain vision quest after the Tenta enclave banquet was functional, but I'm not sure if it went off right for me. For instance, after climbing the ladder, I was assaulted by an angel crying about my sins instead of a demon complaining about my being a weakling pawn of the heavens or something. Was that supposed to happen? Or was it just a glitch?

Also, doing the light-side version of a scene unlocks the darkside version in CG Mode, or fails to unlock anything at all. I can get you a complete list if you want me to bother.

So... can't think of anything else to say. Thanks again, and good luck.

[Sivertop]

Also i played this one now i think 8 hours in total (i think im just in the mid of the game but i will see what comes up to me now)

but back to the text i just wanted to say THANKS YAY already an RPG-Maker-Game that makes me so happy its realy n1 done and its before an v1.0 that needs to get respect (because most games that have full-release have not even an percent from ur game)
this one have so much content...god thanks my friend for show me the game...i just saw some text from ur blog a time ago and just thinked that it will take a long time to get some content on such a "Version-Number" but if i look on other games (RPG-Maker) they sit on it 2 years and have a gameplay-time from 2 hours with not even 1/16 from ur content -.-
hm yeah but realy thanks for the game and i hope u will continue ur well-done Project first game where i would donate for because it makes so fun playing it...

So now to one Bug..didnt found more right now (what makes me realy happy and wondering because its not even an full-release and there are no bugs ) (but played it first time so i just did one path (or better say an mixed path )

Bugs:
On the Fishers-Village where u can do that Pirate-Quest in that House u can go into another room but if u are in there u cant get out anymore because there is no way out..(needed to load an save before this)
(Saw it on an earlier Post here right now also i know now why this happens)

Questions:
Will be there in future an option or something like that to upgrade ur Fortress with i dont know special places, training-ground for ur own guards and such things? (i know im dreaming to much and have to much fantasy i just mean with all that..that it would be n1 if u can upgrade ur house or something like that to activate special storys or such things...(i dont know where the game leads me from where i am right know didnt finished the content right now) but it would be n1 it would build up the game.

Will it be possible to get an Quest-Log or something like that where u can see wich Quests are open for u (because it happend me today i got an hunterquest and saved the game than i was going to sleep after that i didnt knew anymore what i needed to do)--(already found out) but it would help out at some times... another one was i cleared all hunterquests and such things and needed to go to the next land through the secret in ur fortress but if i hadnt looked at the wiki i had never find it out..(searched for a way to get to the next land ~20 minuts or so ^^)

You can tell me/us what do u do next for the game or better say what do u plan for the game in future?

So now for the end of the Text another Thank you for doing this Game

[cookie jar]

I have to admit, it would be helpful if the Hunter ID card counted down how many kills you still need. Or maybe even better, if it displayed something like 3/10.


Edit: Typos. How many typos can you put into 2 short sentences? Obvious answer: a lot!

[ker]

Thanks for all the reports from the public beta. I think I've fixed every critical bug that's been reported to me so far so I'm releasing a patch to fix those issues.

Patch notes :

-Numerous progress resets fixed. Unfortunately these can't safely be made retroactive so those saves affect should be considered corrupted. Also see below

-Ariel, Vanessa, Terra, and Isabella sequences should all be fixed. Talking to them should put you back on the path if you are using an old saves. Note : Teresa/Danielle only giving you options to sleep/leave isn't a sequence issue, it's a result of a progress reset. That cannot be fixed.

-Sarah and Noemi will only appear when appropriate.

-Terra, Sarah, and Noemi will rejoin your party, not just your harem.

-Tram conversation should be working now. Once you've done the final assualt, talking to Teresa/Danielle about the tram will let you know what there's left to do outside the base.

-Numerous typos, CG mis-assignments and Ralph references fixed.

-Terra's 2nd dark scene in 0.6b should fire properly.

-Font has been changed for readibilty. Included in the patch download.

-Text skip has been changed from shift to ctrl. So when your sprinting through the world and an event pops up you shouldn't miss the first few text boxes. As a strange side effect f7 lets you walk through walls. For now I'll accept it, but if you break your save by doing it it's not considered to be a bug.

-In a new game the slave collar from Cindy is an accessory.

-Brothel customers happen more frequently. This is something which I think is being misunderstood. The brothel will only get new customers when the player is 'at risk'. It's tied to the random encounter system. If you're in a zone that would normally generate enemies, moving around there also adds to the brothel's customers. It should announce every time you get a new wave.

This is a patch, not a full download. It will require 0.6b to be installed. Simply copy the folders into the Harem 0.6b installed directory and over-write everything. When 0.6b final goes out I'll do another full version download.

http://www.filefactory.com/file/791oaaq ... atch_1_rar

http://rapidgator.net/file/b01e37ed43a2 ... 1.rar.html

http://bitshare.com/files/r6158sej/Patch-1.rar.html

MrTTao from Hongfire had a great suggestion. Rather than me trying to play through the game once again to create saves, the community could do this themselves. If you have a save you want, please post it into comments or in the threads describing which path you followed and how far you got.

When 0.6b goes final I'll grab a handful of them and it will be my official 'saves pack' for players who don't want to go through all the content again.