VN Ren'Py Harem Hotel [v0.18.2] [Runey]

[Konstantinus]

Personally I found that getting cash was so tedious that I just spawned a bunch of cash and moved on. The main appeal of game is the story and "plot". I don't think having cash helps.

I think it makes sense to have cash restrictions at the start to sell the point that the character is broke. But I think deeper in the story, cash should be a non issue. Maybe a solution could be that if you invest heavy enough into the bar, you don't have to worry about money anymore because it generates a bunch of revenue. You still have the sense of progression going from broke to something.

Right now, the bar doesn't give enough. Even if you invest in the heavy ad campaign, it doesn't really make a huge amount of cash.

I do think a problem with having a ton of cash weekly is that most of the items are one time deals. You don't have "weekly" costs. So if you bump the bar revenue, players buy everything, and then they don't have anything else to spend on.

Maybe a solution is to move unlocking items into doing side quests or events. Or maybe you just naturally unlock them by hitting certain stats with characters.

Interesting. For me it is the other side. Once I found out I got a bar and together with the money Kalis father later will give me I actually has enough money to let the girls live for free and buy each of them another Lin to cater their desires.
How about we spin the idea of the game further. We build a house where we can spend money on to buy elf slaves where they just live there.
We can do nothing about it except get a number of how many slaves we bought where they just live in peace.

 

[Runey]

Can someone more knowledgeable than me tell me where we are in the release schedule towards 0.13?

v0.13 should be out next month

 

[Uthuriel]

v0.13 should be out next month

Thank you, can't wait.

Love your game.

 

[Skode]

Gotta ask ya Runey - any plans for sexy time with the side girls at the Sauna? The main girls shower a different day in the hotel as well as linger in the lobby and you can enjoy those to the extreme (in most cases, in ones not it feels inevitable they will get ones just like the other main girls too) but currently the side girls veer to Sauna with not much to do interaction with them wise so was just curious given the effort to make them appear there if it was with future repeatable sex scenes in mind?

 

[Runey]

Gotta ask ya Runey - any plans for sexy time with the side girls at the Sauna? The main girls shower a different day in the hotel as well as linger in the lobby and you can enjoy those to the extreme (in most cases, in ones not it feels inevitable they will get ones just like the other main girls too) but currently the side girls veer to Sauna with not much to do interaction with them wise so was just curious given the effort to make them appear there if it was with future repeatable sex scenes in mind?

I think there's a good chance side characters will get a lewd option in the hot springs

 

[Jjay08]

Personally I found that getting cash was so tedious that I just spawned a bunch of cash and moved on. The main appeal of game is the story and "plot". I don't think having cash helps.

I think it makes sense to have cash restrictions at the start to sell the point that the character is broke. But I think deeper in the story, cash should be a non issue. Maybe a solution could be that if you invest heavy enough into the bar, you don't have to worry about money anymore because it generates a bunch of revenue. You still have the sense of progression going from broke to something.

Right now, the bar doesn't give enough. Even if you invest in the heavy ad campaign, it doesn't really make a huge amount of cash.

I do think a problem with having a ton of cash weekly is that most of the items are one time deals. You don't have "weekly" costs. So if you bump the bar revenue, players buy everything, and then they don't have anything else to spend on.

Maybe a solution is to move unlocking items into doing side quests or events. Or maybe you just naturally unlock them by hitting certain stats with characters.

it was just something i was thinking about. The lack of cash has never been an issue. you get handed the amount you need to build the sanctuary and pretty much casually generate the amount you need to save the elves. I just didn't want to be caught off guard, since runey has been teasing that garden so much i'd though i'd have a surplus just in case.

 

[Jjay08]

I think there's a good chance side characters will get a lewd option in the hot springs

yay! i want more hana time. I like the shy ones. Speaking of shy ones, what about Juliet?

 

[QQP_Purple]

I haven't received many complaints about the money in game, most of the feedback I've received says buying the bar and upgrading it to the max is enough. There was also a recently added sports day expansion that nets you even more money in the later game. Just to clarify, have you gone through these processes as intended? Or maybe you've waited a bit too long to buy the bar?

The money thing is a bit complicated to judge since most of us will have come into it late into the game on account of the fact we don't restart every time you publish an update. But there definitively seems to be a rubber band effect to it somewhat. As in, in the early game money is incredibly short. Than you get the event where the game just drops 10K in your lap, you can immediately buy the sanctuary and bar and start upgrading it and a few weeks in from that money completely ceases to be a problem. So you go from pinching every penny to not knowing what to do with the stuff at a point that I presume is going to be somewhere mid way through the finished game.

This said, I don't know where some people get 3k per week from. I actually have a spreadsheet I've been using to keep track of the money and here is an exert.
That's with full advertising by the way.

 

[QQP_Purple]

I'll keep a log of the money gained vs money lost when I restart the game, come next update. So you'll have more definitive data then.
But overall it's probably going to depend heavily on what girl you prioritize. Rushing Kali to get to that event is going to massively change the entire flow of the game in terms of money compared to not doing so.

 

[MortyFortyTwo]

I noticed there's a grayed out option for exhibitionism events with Autumn, I'm hoping that means those will be added soon The exhibitionism events are one of my favorite parts of this game.

 

[MrFurry]

Runey is it early or late july and great game btw ^^

 

[Lohengrin77]

v0.13 should be out next month

Great. I really love your game.

 

[Runey]

The money thing is a bit complicated to judge since most of us will have come into it late into the game on account of the fact we don't restart every time you publish an update. But there definitively seems to be a rubber band effect to it somewhat. As in, in the early game money is incredibly short. Than you get the event where the game just drops 10K in your lap, you can immediately buy the sanctuary and bar and start upgrading it and a few weeks in from that money completely ceases to be a problem. So you go from pinching every penny to not knowing what to do with the stuff at a point that I presume is going to be somewhere mid way through the finished game.

This said, I don't know where some people get 3k per week from. I actually have a spreadsheet I've been using to keep track of the money and here is an exert.
View attachment 1257746 That's with full advertising by the way.

You mention buying the bar with the money you get money from Kali's dad, but the bar should be something people get much sooner than that since the bar is somewhat cheap. That money is meant to offset the cost of Sylvia and some other minor things because Sylvia is crazy expensive. If you spent all the money you accumulated on outfits, this could be the cause of you having issues with money.

The most expensive advertisement will be buffed in v0.13 from -50/+50/+100 to -50/+100/+250.
This is a very interesting list though, thank you.

I'll keep a log of the money gained vs money lost when I restart the game, come next update. So you'll have more definitive data then.
But overall it's probably going to depend heavily on what girl you prioritize. Rushing Kali to get to that event is going to massively change the entire flow of the game in terms of money compared to not doing so.

That would be great!

 

[SirWilliam]

I agree that adding more logic to avoid sequence breaks would ruin the pacing. But in your example for Lin, all that would be required is you wait a day or three. You can skip time if you want, but the game is designed for you to train or experience other character's stories in between.

This is the issue with every sandbox game, or games with sandbox elements. It's what you get when you sign up for this genre. Much like how Ciri can be postponed for a good game of gwent in The Witcher 3. It doesn't make story sense, but that's a part of what makes the game fun. You can take it at your own pace.



I haven't received many complaints about the money in game, most of the feedback I've received says buying the bar and upgrading it to the max is enough. There was also a recently added sports day expansion that nets you even more money in the later game. Just to clarify, have you gone through these processes as intended? Or maybe you've waited a bit too long to buy the bar?

i like to help about the money D.S.Mod_v0.1.2c_Harem_Hotel it's old but it work

 

[allenandarth]

Finally caught up, had to buy another SSD because mine died...along with everything i owned, finally caught up with the releases
this game is kinda losing focus, not sure if i like the whole revolution thingy we're heading into...i just kinda liked it more when it was just about living a nice leisure life with the girls, i think Runey is making the story too...how do i say it, grandiose? Epic? something like that...if it keeps going like this, we're gonna have combat mechanics and shit and it just saddens me, i never felt like caring about the whole Nia shenanigan's, things were fine before, now the story is just stretching in a direction that just doesn't feel right, it's like another game, all of these politics and fight against the system things are not why i fell in love with this game and the things i fell in love with are going away. I do however appreciate the android more(she's no longer bottom tier).

i got a weird question, are we ever gonna be able to pick our background? like what job we had before the hotel, like a government agent, a white collared worked, a lawyer, a soldier, a McDonalds employee or something?

 

[QQP_Purple]

You mention buying the bar with the money you get money from Kali's dad, but the bar should be something people get much sooner than that since the bar is somewhat cheap. That money is meant to offset the cost of Sylvia and some other minor things because Sylvia is crazy expensive. If you spent all the money you accumulated on outfits, this could be the cause of you having issues with money.

As said, things get complicated for those of us that don't restart often. I got it when it was introduced which was IIRC in the same update as the big cash event. So my experiences with money are obviously going to be different than someone who got it much earlier because he restarted. I'll give you more data come next update when I restart.

 

[Runey]

Finally caught up, had to buy another SSD because mine died...along with everything i owned, finally caught up with the releases
this game is kinda losing focus, not sure if i like the whole revolution thingy we're heading into...i just kinda liked it more when it was just about living a nice leisure life with the girls, i think Runey is making the story too...how do i say it, grandiose? Epic? something like that...if it keeps going like this, we're gonna have combat mechanics and shit and it just saddens me, i never felt like caring about the whole Nia shenanigan's, things were fine before, now the story is just stretching in a direction that just doesn't feel right, it's like another game, all of these politics and fight against the system things are not why i fell in love with this game and the things i fell in love with are going away. I do however appreciate the android more(she's no longer bottom tier).

i got a weird question, are we ever gonna be able to pick our background? like what job we had before the hotel, like a government agent, a white collared worked, a lawyer, a soldier, a McDonalds employee or something?

Totally fair if you don't like the direction the story is heading. I've always loved world building, and people seem to appreciate the stories I've written, so this has given me an amazing chance to build a world that's very deep. But it's not my goal to make this game primarily about the world or a story separated from the characters. The focus of the stories are on each character and what they go through. Fixing their problems and making them happy has always been a goal of the MC, so this is primarily the focus of their stories. How this is done will be different for everyone. Making Lin happy for example involves freedom.

I can confidently say there wont be any action sequences like that in game, but there will be action. And it is my goal to make some stories epic, or inspiring. Specifically with Nia. And just to clarify, Lin's story isn't Nia's. Lin is more of a diplomat. The good news is Nia's content is completely optional. You can even treat her like a sex slave if you'd like.

You haven't mentioned exactly what the game is losing, but there will continue to be date events, such as Lin's in v0.13, which is quite romantic if I say so myself. And there will continue to be training scenes, as Autumn will get quite a lot in v0.13 as well. The focus has definitely shifted from relatively minor and personal problems to systemic and wide spread problems, but this is a natural flow of storytelling (to bring in bigger and bigger problems to deal with) but all these problems still remain to be very personal for the characters. And people can relate to these struggles.

We could leave the story at "Everyone in the hotel has found a slice of this world where they feel comfortable", but I feel like this rag-tag group of friends can achieve much more, which will make for an even happier ending. And I believe these stories will make the game much more interesting and separate it from a simple dating sim, to a dating sim with an engaging story where the characters get true happiness and there is a genuine happily ever after. I think it's better than just "congrats, she said yes and you got married to your waifu and had a baby" (which will still happen)

But I wouldn't continue down this path if I didn't get encouragement from fans to do so, so I am listening and will happily answer anyone's concerns or questions, and always accept feedback on the story.

 

[QQP_Purple]

But I wouldn't continue down this path if I didn't get encouragement from fans to do so, so I am listening and will happily answer anyone's concerns or questions, and always accept feedback on the story.

Well you have my encouragement, for what it's worth. This world needs more stories like yours.

 

[Skummy Ecchi]

Totally fair if you don't like the direction the story is heading. I've always loved world building, and people seem to appreciate the stories I've written, so this has given me an amazing chance to build a world that's very deep. But it's not my goal to make this game primarily about the world or a story separated from the characters. The focus of the stories are on each character and what they go through. Fixing their problems and making them happy has always been a goal of the MC, so this is primarily the focus of their stories. How this is done will be different for everyone. Making Lin happy for example involves freedom.

I can confidently say there wont be any action sequences like that in game, but there will be action. And it is my goal to make some stories epic, or inspiring. Specifically with Nia. And just to clarify, Lin's story isn't Nia's. Lin is more of a diplomat. The good news is Nia's content is completely optional. You can even treat her like a sex slave if you'd like.

You haven't mentioned exactly what the game is losing, but there will continue to be date events, such as Lin's in v0.13, which is quite romantic if I say so myself. And there will continue to be training scenes, as Autumn will get quite a lot in v0.13 as well. The focus has definitely shifted from relatively minor and personal problems to systemic and wide spread problems, but this is a natural flow of storytelling (to bring in bigger and bigger problems to deal with) but all these problems still remain to be very personal for the characters. And people can relate to these struggles.

We could leave the story at "Everyone in the hotel has found a slice of this world where they feel comfortable", but I feel like this rag-tag group of friends can achieve much more, which will make for an even happier ending. And I believe these stories will make the game much more interesting and separate it from a simple dating sim, to a dating sim with an engaging story where the characters get true happiness and there is a genuine happily ever after. I think it's better than just "congrats, she said yes and you got married to your waifu and had a baby" (which will still happen)

But I wouldn't continue down this path if I didn't get encouragement from fans to do so, so I am listening and will happily answer anyone's concerns or questions, and always accept feedback on the story.

I've enjoyed it so far, but as a fellow writer and notorious world builder, I do have a bit of a warning for you (bit easier to give it here than on discord). Don't ever get too carried away that you put the cart before the horse, you'll wind up with ultimately hollow structures waiting to be filled in. Better to have substance that's waiting to have somewhere to be put in my mind, you've been doing well on that front. Nothing gets introduced without having at least some relevancy, and a foundation to work with. All I want to make known is that things can very quickly get out of hand when people get too excited. I say this because it happens quite often with myself, hehe.

Otherwise, keep it up Runey, you've been doing it right just don't get too carried away with an idea before you understand how you're gonna make it all fit together.

~Skummy

 

[allenandarth]

Totally fair if you don't like the direction the story is heading. I've always loved world building, and people seem to appreciate the stories I've written, so this has given me an amazing chance to build a world that's very deep. But it's not my goal to make this game primarily about the world or a story separated from the characters. The focus of the stories are on each character and what they go through. Fixing their problems and making them happy has always been a goal of the MC, so this is primarily the focus of their stories. How this is done will be different for everyone. Making Lin happy for example involves freedom.

I can confidently say there wont be any action sequences like that in game, but there will be action. And it is my goal to make some stories epic, or inspiring. Specifically with Nia. And just to clarify, Lin's story isn't Nia's. Lin is more of a diplomat. The good news is Nia's content is completely optional. You can even treat her like a sex slave if you'd like.

You haven't mentioned exactly what the game is losing, but there will continue to be date events, such as Lin's in v0.13, which is quite romantic if I say so myself. And there will continue to be training scenes, as Autumn will get quite a lot in v0.13 as well. The focus has definitely shifted from relatively minor and personal problems to systemic and wide spread problems, but this is a natural flow of storytelling (to bring in bigger and bigger problems to deal with) but all these problems still remain to be very personal for the characters. And people can relate to these struggles.

We could leave the story at "Everyone in the hotel has found a slice of this world where they feel comfortable", but I feel like this rag-tag group of friends can achieve much more, which will make for an even happier ending. And I believe these stories will make the game much more interesting and separate it from a simple dating sim, to a dating sim with an engaging story where the characters get true happiness and there is a genuine happily ever after. I think it's better than just "congrats, she said yes and you got married to your waifu and had a baby" (which will still happen)

But I wouldn't continue down this path if I didn't get encouragement from fans to do so, so I am listening and will happily answer anyone's concerns or questions, and always accept feedback on the story.

it's good that you have the drive and that you have good fans, i'm not saying that the story is bad, i quite like your writing style, which is why i stuck here for so long, the characters are charismatic and their struggles are compelling.
I know Lin and Nia are two different storylines and as much as i hate Nia story it feels like a part of the world is missing if you don't do it, it doesn't feel optional at all, Jin feels optional, Nia sure doesn't.
When you asked me what is missing all can say is "the charm". The charm of the Hotel is exactly the fact that a bunch of weirdos found a place to belong, i do like that you're still keeping the dates format in it, but it just doesn't feel the same and while tackling bigger problems is a natural flow of storytelling, honestly i wouldn't mind it as much if there was more of a proper scalation for it, it feels like we just jumped of a cliff, one second the MC is like "man, this is bad Maria turned out to be a half-elf" the next he's screaming at whatishisface(the slaver dude) and swearing bloody murder towards slavery and joining a revolution.
I will repeat that i like the fact that you have drive, but the story just got a very weird jump start in the middle of it and suddenly it's something else, the story changed so radically in the span of a few days all that we got before were the event where Nia and the others wanted to be adopted, the one where we invaded the ilegal slavery den and a podcast on Kali's college(i'm not counting kali's "friend" finding out about Nia) you could argue that the lin's events and a little bit of Autumn's events help set the tone, but it just doesn't feel like it, Maria being a Half-elf sucks, but given how the "MC"(i know we have some more hardcore choices, but overall he's a chill dude) is normally writen as a chill guy even while clearly mad in several situations, he suddenly flipped the fuck out and it going on strong on the hate.
it Bloated the story too fast and too strongly for my liking, it just feels like another game. Now, i'm not giving up on playing the game, i'm a fan and while i don't really like that the MC can't take a more "rational" approach to this problem instead of joining a revolution(i'm calling it a revolution just for a lack of a better word, i'm not implying that it's a revolution...unless you say that it's one) to take everyone down including Kali's father and Autumn's father and the Elf Queen, because at this point they're all in the line of sight.
Overall it just feels too much in too little time, that being said keep up the good work, i'll still play the game until the end, just this shift in the story isn't enough to drive me away, i do hope to see the good ending that you're planning to create, who knows maybe i'll even like it better this way