Development Update, a letter to all of you!

First of all, please remember that I'm always actively working on the game. I only post here when necessary, but you can always reach out to me on platforms like itch.io or Discord, or even check the update progress on Trello!

The lack of activity in Patreon posts doesn’t mean the game development has stopped.

Thank you all for your support!

The size of the update:

I've reworked Chapter 1 and its characters many times, and I finally feel confident in saying this is the last iteration. It's been through quite a lot, basically in hell.

As you may know from previous posts, I had multiple plans for the game. Initially, I envisioned an entire chapter with around 50 levels/events per girl. Then, I decided that this chapter would make up the entire first game. After that, I planned to split the update into three parts, which I shared in a previous post. But now, I've finally settled on releasing a massive update for Chapter 1.

Moving forward, regardless of how many chapters the game will have, I will significantly reduce the scope and release smaller updates more frequently, similar to what I did with the Christmas update and the time it took to produce that.

After Chapter 1, future chapters will feature 2-5 events or levels per character. But for now, let’s focus on Chapter 1, which includes:

• Almost 7, 10, or 15 levels per girl. Some characters, like Delilah or Maria, have fewer.

• Most events/levels contain at least 50 renders. For example, Sunny's level 10 has almost 500 renders and offers around 30 minutes of gameplay.

• A significant jump in quality across the board.

You’ll feel like Chapter 1 is practically HHG 2, as it doubles the content of the prologue.

New Mechanics and Systems:

• Universal Roads System: This is a passive skill tree that unlocks as you progress through the story. For example, in Chapter 1, you'll unlock the Deheritarium Road, which is linked to Narissa and has its own energy bar.

• New Lockpick System: You can use either Lucy’s Lockpick or Deheritarium Energy to unlock items like chests.

• Decoherent Chests: While exploring, you may encounter glitchy, locked chests. Open them for rewards, but be careful! They are decoherent, and if you stop looking or fail, they may vanish from reality.

• Fishing Enhancements: Fishing now has a chance to give you challenging locked treasure chests.

• Blueprints and Crafting: Find blueprints around the world and craft or upgrade your tools with Lucy, your favorite tinkerer.

• Lost Books: These books not only add lore and world-building but also give permanent perks when found.

• New Perks: Of course, more perks are available!

• Forge/Cooking: Melt materials and leave them in the forge to return later for results.

• Reworked Forage System: Now featuring three new types of tools for gathering.

• Reworked Mining System: Now includes three different types of mining tools that alter the experience: one requires repeated clicking, another demands precision, and the third is slow but automatic!

• Topic System: Whenever events happen, such as level-ups or side quests, girls will have something to say about them. Talk to them to gain affection, but don’t wait too long, or you may lose the chance to discuss it.

• Map Updates: Reworked locations like The Lake and The Ruins, with new areas like The Deep Forest added.

• Cinematic System: Completely reworked! Now you can pause anytime during cinematics. Get ready for what will feel like entire anime episodes in cinematic form!

• Better H-Scenes with Sound: I’m aiming to have this ready for the beta, but it may take some time to fully implement.

• Credits: Special thanks and recognition for our amazing community from Patreon, Discord, and even those who are not here anymore.

• Some surprises.

• Lots of more stuff and QoL that I, honestly, probably forgot.
  

Now, some bad news:

As you know, I typically release the Beta first, wait a week, then release the Pre-Release, and finally, after another week, make the game completely free.

However, this update is massive and requires a lot of time. I really need that time to fix any issues and gather feedback from users to ensure I deliver a polished, free product.

• The Beta will be available for 2 weeks.

• The Pre-Release will follow for 1 week.

• After that, the game will become free for everyone.

Future updates will return to the usual schedule. I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding!

To My Current, or Possibly Renewed, Audience:

I've been working tirelessly on the story, the characters, and everything that makes up the mini-world within this game.

I know this is an H-game, but my goal is to make Hero's Harem Guild one of the best—if not the best—H-game out there. So, my focus isn’t just on creating spicy H-scenes and cute characters. I want to build an engaging story and ensure you have a fun experience overall.

As you've seen in the prologue, the game doesn't take itself too seriously, though there are some dramatic moments you might enjoy.

One thing that used to worry me a lot was whether HHG could be more than just an H-game with spicy and cute characters. That fear held me back for a while. I was concerned that my audience might just want to skip straight to the H-scenes. Whether that’s true or not, it’s not something I worry about anymore.

Hero's Harem Guild will feature deep characters, along with dramatic and serious moments, just as much as it will have humor and lighthearted scenes where characters simply enjoy life.

The game will be welcoming to everyone—those who just want to see the spicy content will find it easy to skip whatever they want, use cheat codes to progress, or even unlock all the scenes at once. But it’s also for those who want to dive into a story, explore character interactions, and uncover some mysteries along the way. I won’t hold your hand or treat you like a child—I’m confident you’ll figure things out! ;)

Whatever your preferences, or even if the audience shifts after this chapter, I hope you enjoy what HHG has to offer—whether it’s the story, the gameplay, or the spicy scenes. Please know that I’m giving my all in every aspect of this game!

I'm Looking for Artists!

As Chapter 1 enters its late stages of development, I'm seeking artists to collaborate on various aspects of the game. Specifically, I'm looking for:

• Item Icons.

• Character Symbols/Guild Medallions

• Skill Buttons/Symbols

• Various things, like energy bars or interface icons.

• Sound designers: Interface sounds, combat sounds, etc!

Please enter HHG's Discord and speak to me via Direct Message. It would be amazing if you could provide some portfolio or your works in the first messages!

Thank you so much for your patience.

I’m going through a tough time in my life right now, due to things unrelated to the game. But when I’m at home, working on the game I love, and knowing there are still so many people out there who believe in this project and want it to succeed, it truly lifts my spirits and fills me with happiness.

I love seeing you all chat on Discord, discuss on the forums, and I enjoy answering your questions about the game and its development.

I owe you all so much.

This will be my last post before the update—see you then!

— Komi