Hardenville News

[h3]Hardenville Episode 1 releases in June[/h3]
After many months behind schedule for this release, I'm happy to announce a final launch month for the next release. It will have almost three times the content as the Prologue. Characters have been fine-tuned for more variants of body shapes, some with fewer freckles, some with improved freckles, and much more. I'm beyond excited to release it to you all.

What's the realistic timeline for Episode 2 and beyond?
With Episode 1 launching in June, it is realistic to say that Episodes 2 and 3 will release in 2024. But my goal is to deliver Episode 4 by late 2024 as well.

It is unacceptable that I've been so absent for almost a month, but the reason is because of focusing on some exams instead of spending too much time online. I still have a few exams left, but I'm working on Hardenville even in the middle of the exam period.



[h3]Hardenville[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2010460/Hardenville/

[h3]GPU Just Arrived[/h3]
After months of waiting for the Nvidia RTX 4090 FE to come in stock, refreshing Nvidia's homepage multiple times per day, earlier this week, I was finally able to order the GPU. And it arrived in my hands today. Now, I can install the RTX 4090 into the new rig I purchased in January, which means I can once again use my old rig and reinstall the RTX 3090 back into it. I will use the rest of the week/weekend to configure an efficient workflow between these two PCs so they can share the same assets, saves, etc. With the new GPU, render times should reduce significantly, making multitasking much easier. I plan to buy the (most likely) upcoming RTX 5090 when and if it launches later this year. Then, I'll install the RTX 4090 into the old rig and the RTX 5090 into the new rig.

Thank you so much for your patience!



[h3]Hardenville[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2010460/Hardenville/

[h3]Sneak Preview of What's to Come in the next big update, Episode 1[/h3]

The Prologue:

• Added emojis for text messages
  
• Improved support for gamepad
  
• Option to refer to the landlady as Johanna or the landlord as Tom in the dialogues
  
• Corrected grammar errors
  
• Fixed some screens that were not pointing back to the correct screen
  
• Faster menu with reduced lag
  
• Fixed some persistent values that were not being saved
  
• Made slight changes to the UI
  
• More achievements added (Steam): Porta-Potty Fun, Win Rock Paper Scissors
  

Episode 1:

• Added 2 new mini-games: handball and beer pong
  
• Included 2 new sex scenes
  
• Added new contacts
  
• Added new gallery images
  
• Introduced new residents: dog, cat, Hallie, Kiara
  
• Added new songs
  
• Added new text messages
  
• Added new achievements (Steam): Doggo (Name Your Dog), Goalie of the Day (Win The Shoot-Out Against Millie), Beer Pong Champion (Win the Beer Pong match), Cashed in V-Card (Best 20 Seconds of My Life), Complete Episode 1
  
• Added more SFX
  

[h3]Work, work, render, render, code, code[/h3]
I just wanted to tell you guys how amazingly patient you've all been. I know for a fact that it is very frustrating being promised a release date and it not being met. It is the worst feeling for me to disappoint you over and over again. Many have wondered why there's been so much delay, and that is a very fair question to ask. For those who don't know, I'm the sole developer. As a sole developer, I don't get that much input from others, which means that I can indeed change my mind a lot when it comes to content and how it's going to be portrayed. As has been said many times before, renders take a lot of time to render, and if renders don't look that great after all, I would need to change up a lot and then try again. With renders taking from 30 to 120 minutes, and then maybe altering some renders two or three times, that means that it doesn't always result in a lot of progress in a day. I do have some personal stuff here and there as well that I need to prioritize. But rest assured, my mind and focus are on Hardenville. I'm still super confident and eager to work and deliver new updates to you all. So please don't worry about the project being abandoned. I'm not a quitter! Just a tiny bit of a perfectionist when it comes to making the renders look good.

I have promised many more episodes for this year. And for each episode, I expect faster progress because of less extra tweaking on characters, environments, code functionality, and so on. Realistically, I probably would need to push Episode 5 to be the first episode launched in 2025, which means that I will work my butt off to deliver Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4 to you all this year.

A massive thank you again for supporting this project. I'm using your hard-earned money on new assets and other Hardenville-related additions almost every single day. Once Episode 1 is launched, and I can begin work on Episode 2, I will consider doing some streams of showing you the creation of the new renders as other developers do if you're interested.



[h3]Hardenville[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2010460/Hardenville/

[h3]Translators and Script Updates[/h3]
Earlier this year, we were searching for translators for Hardenville. We've received some applications, and we're beginning to accept them. So far, we've received applications for Chinese, English proofreading, French, German, and Portuguese. I'm going to send them the script for The Prologue soon for them to begin working with, and hopefully, within this week, I'll send the entire script for Episode 1 to the English proofreader. Then, hopefully, I'll send the script for Episode 1 to the other translators next week.

[h3]Renders are still in production[/h3]
The images and animations are still rendering, which is, once again, time-consuming considering renders take from 30 to 90 minutes just for the image to render, not including the time to pose, set up lighting, etc.

I still can't promise a specific date for the release of Hardenville Episode 1, which means, once again, that it won't happen this month either. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but I'm so sorry to disappoint you again and again about the release schedule. But rest assured, this will indeed be a good episode compared to the Prologue.

As always, thank you so much for your patience and support!



[h3]Hardenville[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2010460/Hardenville/

[h3]The Bucket Is Filling[/h3]
While there is no doubt that Episode 1 is long overdue for its previous planned release, I can assure you that I'm working hard on a fantastic release. I fully understand that the longer the wait, the more frustrated some of you may become with the amount of time it's taking. At the same time, I'm thankful that the majority of you are still positive and are giving me the time I need to develop Hardenville. I'm spending much time building pieces to fit the story better than previously planned. I've listened to feedback across multiple sites, and much of it aligns with my own thoughts. Rest assured, I won't change Hardenville's story based on feedback I disagree with, but I will improve it with the many good suggestions I've received.

Jasmine is filling the bucket. What kind of devilish plan does she have in store?



[h3]VR Support Put On Ice[/h3]
The majority of the feedback regarding VR possibilities has been negative, as it would extend the development time of the episodes even further. I understand your concerns. VR was not originally part of the plan, so I respect your feedback, and VR support will be put on hold until Season 1 is finished.

Thank you all for your patience, feedback, and support

[h3]Hardenville[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2010460/Hardenville/