VN Ren'Py Hardenville [v0.2.3] [JoyFI Games]

asahibito · Jul 29, 2024

JoyFI Games At the end of Episode 1 after clicking on the main menu button and the looking for translators screen the game restarts the episode instead of going to the main menu.

JoyFI Games · Jul 29, 2024

asahibito said:
JoyFI Games At the end of Episode 1 after clicking on the main menu button and the looking for translators screen the game restarts the episode instead of going to the main menu.

Thanks for reporting this issue. The bug has been fixed in the upcoming version 0.2.3. The fix involved removing the "return" from the label play_ep1_intro within the video.rpy file.

OLD:

Code:

label play_ep1_intro:
    play music "music/Episode 1/Episode1Intro_Music.mp3" noloop
    play ambient "sfx/Episode 1/Episode1Intro_Ambient.mp3" noloop
    show screen ep1_intro_video_screen
    voice "voice/Episode 1/Episode1Intro_Voice.mp3"
   
    $ renpy.pause(initial_delay + sum(subtitle_durations) + 1)
    return

NEW:

Code:

label play_ep1_intro:
    play music "music/Episode 1/Episode1Intro_Music.mp3" noloop
    play ambient "sfx/Episode 1/Episode1Intro_Ambient.mp3" noloop
    show screen ep1_intro_video_screen
    voice "voice/Episode 1/Episode1Intro_Voice.mp3"
   
    $ renpy.pause(initial_delay + sum(subtitle_durations) + 1)

player6969666 · Jul 30, 2024

The last 2 pictures in the gallery did not unlock either by playing the game or using the code. I was using a mod. Any ideas?

asahibito · Jul 30, 2024

player6969666 said:
The last 2 pictures in the gallery did not unlock either by playing the game or using the code. I was using a mod. Any ideas?

Not sure what mod you used but unless the mod changed the script, those should unlock asking the dildo question in the Never Have I game.

JoyFI Games · Jul 30, 2024

Feedback Requested
I've seen a lot of reviews saying there's no introduction to the characters and the MC, making it hard to know who they are and what they're like. Since Episode 1 released three weeks ago, the general review score for Hardenville has dropped (average 1 star down) in this thread, though it's stayed the same on Steam (61%).

Questions

Do you think the game should have focused more on introducing the characters earlier?
What kind of introduction would you want to see?
Which AVNs do a good job at this?

OR

Do you think it's better to keep it as it is, getting to know the characters more throughout the story as I originally intended? There will be a lot of character interaction in Episode 2 to help you get a better feel for their personalities. But is that "too late"?

General Feedback Requested As Well
I've received a lot of constructive feedback since Episode 1, and I agree with many suggestions on how Hardenville can improve and get better. I still want more feedback, but please use acceptable language to make it easier for me to gather and understand your suggestions.

asahibito · Jul 30, 2024

JoyFI Games said:
Feedback Requested
I've seen a lot of reviews saying there's no introduction to the characters and the MC, making it hard to know who they are and what they're like. Since Episode 1 released three weeks ago, the general review score for Hardenville has "tanked" (average 1 star down) in this thread, though it's stayed the same on Steam (61%).

Questions

Do you think the game should have focused more on introducing the characters earlier?

What kind of introduction would you want to see?

Which AVNs do a good job at this?

OR

Do you think it's better to keep it as it is, getting to know the characters more throughout the story as I originally intended? There will be a lot of character interaction in Episode 2 to help you get a better feel for their personalities. But is that "too late"?

General Feedback Requested As Well
I've received a lot of constructive feedback since Episode 1, and I agree with many suggestions on how Hardenville can improve and get better. I still want more feedback, but please use acceptable language to make it easier for me to gather and understand your suggestions.

I rather liked the “in media res” wedding prologue. Feels like you are stepping into the shoes of someone and any sort of formal introduction would feel out of character.

The main issue for me is that there are too many characters introduced in a relatively short amount of time. For example all the new characters in the supermarket scene. The scene focuses on them so it says they are important but then nothing more about them. The cashier for example could have waited till her content to be introduced. You could always use a flashback if you really need to tie her to the supermarket event.

Perhaps, too, the character relations screen could be beefed up with more bio and how the MC meets them as they are introduced.

I can’t think of a single at the moment that does the introductions well primarily due to the nature of development of these games. With long periods between updates no matter how well they were introduced the players will forget some characters. I often resort to the character bios screens, if available, to refresh my memory.

flaviopaganini · Jul 30, 2024

JoyFI Games said:
Feedback Requested
I've seen a lot of reviews saying there's no introduction to the characters and the MC, making it hard to know who they are and what they're like. Since Episode 1 released three weeks ago, the general review score for Hardenville has dropped (average 1 star down) in this thread, though it's stayed the same on Steam (61%).

Questions

Do you think the game should have focused more on introducing the characters earlier?

What kind of introduction would you want to see?

Which AVNs do a good job at this?

OR

Do you think it's better to keep it as it is, getting to know the characters more throughout the story as I originally intended? There will be a lot of character interaction in Episode 2 to help you get a better feel for their personalities. But is that "too late"?

General Feedback Requested As Well
I've received a lot of constructive feedback since Episode 1, and I agree with many suggestions on how Hardenville can improve and get better. I still want more feedback, but please use acceptable language to make it easier for me to gather and understand your suggestions.

When I started playing, I was surprised there wasn't an introduction. It was a bit of a shock having all the information presented at once. However, since they are teenagers, I thought maybe they don't have much history to introduce.

Perhaps you could include a Prologue chapter where they are at school or the mall, and you can calmly introduce who each one is and a bit of their personalities. I had difficulty distinguishing my relatives, my friends, and the staff at the party.

But the game as it is did not affect my experience, because in chapter two all my doubts were cleared up.

Bloodguard · Jul 30, 2024

JoyFI Games said:
Feedback Requested
I've seen a lot of reviews saying there's no introduction to the characters and the MC, making it hard to know who they are and what they're like. Since Episode 1 released three weeks ago, the general review score for Hardenville has dropped (average 1 star down) in this thread, though it's stayed the same on Steam (61%).

Questions

Do you think the game should have focused more on introducing the characters earlier?

What kind of introduction would you want to see?

Which AVNs do a good job at this?

OR

Do you think it's better to keep it as it is, getting to know the characters more throughout the story as I originally intended? There will be a lot of character interaction in Episode 2 to help you get a better feel for their personalities. But is that "too late"?

General Feedback Requested As Well
I've received a lot of constructive feedback since Episode 1, and I agree with many suggestions on how Hardenville can improve and get better. I still want more feedback, but please use acceptable language to make it easier for me to gather and understand your suggestions.

I think Fresh Women did a good job of introducing the characters that felt fairly natural but didn't get bogged down in exposition.
Granted none of the ladies lived with the MC, and I didn't play until the entire first season was done, so I don't know how it looked in Dev.
Honestly, I think the lack of content in the game is what is holding it back the most.
Probably too early for early access on Steam, that's what the majority of negative reviews there seem to indicate.
Once it gets a few more updates under its belt it will probably be fine.

Maviarab · Jul 30, 2024

JoyFI Games said:
OR

Do you think it's better to keep it as it is, getting to know the characters more throughout the story as I originally intended? There will be a lot of character interaction in Episode 2 to help you get a better feel for their personalities. But is that "too late"?

Yes. Before you know, they will want you to just download it and fecking play it for them...and want their godamn spoon as well.

Not everything needs knowing immediately....

Subversesuxx · Jul 30, 2024

So got mom the deep wet love already?

Bloodguard · Jul 30, 2024

Subversesuxx said:
So got mom the deep wet love already?

Nope. No actual sex in the game yet. Bit of fantasy, bit of foreplay. I'm sure we'll get there eventually.

JoyFI Games · Jul 30, 2024

asahibito said:
I rather liked the “in media res” wedding prologue. Feels like you are stepping into the shoes of someone and any sort of formal introduction would feel out of character.

Perhaps, too, the character relations screen could be beefed up with more bio and how the MC meets them as they are introduced.

I can’t think of a single at the moment that does the introductions well primarily due to the nature of development of these games. With long periods between updates no matter how well they were introduced the players will forget some characters. I often resort to the character bios screens, if available, to refresh my memory.

I agree that the relationship screens could benefit from several improvements. They have the potential to be much more useful than they are currently. Personally, I think there are too many clicks required to access a character right now. One idea I have is to organize all characters into a mosaic-style screen, prioritizing the most important household members first. Idle characters could be displayed at 50% transparency, hovering over a selected character would be at 0% transparency, while their household members would be at 25% transparency. This setup would make it easy to understand who shares a house with whom. Implementing this would take some time, but I believe it would be worthwhile.

Additionally, I could incorporate zodiac signs for each character and create a notes section where you can jot down details you learn about them. For instance, if Millie mentions loving pancakes in Episode 3, that detail would be added to her note. Then in Episode 4, if you decide to create a bed and breakfast for Millie, you might choose between making her omelette, pancakes, or cereal.

flaviopaganini said:
When I started playing, I was surprised there wasn't an introduction. It was a bit of a shock having all the information presented at once. However, since they are teenagers, I thought maybe they don't have much history to introduce.

Perhaps you could include a Prologue chapter where they are at school or the mall, and you can calmly introduce who each one is and a bit of their personalities. I had difficulty distinguishing my relatives, my friends, and the staff at the party.

But the game as it is did not affect my experience, because in chapter two all my doubts were cleared up.

I'm glad Episode 1 provided you with more understanding. At some point, I'll need to remake The Prologue to update all the characters. I might also expand its content by adding more options and possibly remove the porta-potty scene entirely. This should make the game less cringeworthy, more professional, and improve the overall experience.

Bloodguard said:
I think Fresh Women did a good job of introducing the characters that felt fairly natural but didn't get bogged down in exposition.
Granted none of the ladies lived with the MC, and I didn't play until the entire first season was done, so I don't know how it looked in Dev.
Honestly, I think the lack of content in the game is what is holding it back the most.
Probably too early for early access on Steam, that's what the majority of negative reviews there seem to indicate.
Once it gets a few more updates under its belt it will probably be fine.

Theoretically, it's a positive sign that people are interested in the game and eager for more content. Additional content will be added over time. While some developers release larger batches of 3 to 5 Episodes per season, I plan to release 9 Episodes, with each one expanding in size. Some reviews may be influenced by delays, which is understandable. The Steam store page has always provided information about the estimated playtime for The Prologue and the combined length of The Prologue and Episode 1, along with details about the current release version. Therefore, people were realistically aware of the current content length and what the full release will involve.

Moreover, it's a great deal to purchase AVNs on Steam with a one-time payment and receive all future updates. The release timing for Episode 1 on Steam was aligned with all Patreon tiers due to the delay. Many people pay $25 a month to access the latest releases 1 to 2 weeks before lower tiers. Purchasing the game now for $7 (or $5 on sale right now, the cheapest price was $4 in June) is a reasonable price compared to a cup of coffee that lasts only 5-10 minutes. The game stays in your library forever and will continue to improve and expand.

Unfortunately, many negative reviews on Steam don't fully understand how much they can impact sales and the potential for stable investment for solo AVN developers who pour significant resources into their projects. Negative feedback can hinder steady progress, including the addition of new assets for future releases. Let’s hope that after Episode 2, the game can shift from a “Mixed” to a “Positive” rating on Steam. Recent months have seen more wishlist deletions than additions every day, which is understandable—who wants a “Mixed” rated game on their wishlist?

---

Thank you for the feedback. However, Ariel wants more!

Scene Creation: Approximately 1 hour

Render Time: 33 minutes

Post-Processing: 3 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 36 minutes

Iterations: 2,000 (Forced Stop)

Resolution: 2880 x 3840 pixels

GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4090 FE

CPU: Intel i9-14900K

RAM: 128 GB DDR5

Maviarab · Jul 31, 2024

JoyFI Games said:
Thank you for the feedback. However, Ariel wants more!

View attachment 3884018