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[OricWindstar]

Developer: L'avant d'Après
Release Date: September 30th, 2016
Platforms: PC / Steam / Itch.io
Price: Pay What You Want!
Website: http://pehesse.fr/honey/en/sample-page/
Genre: Life-Management / Visual Novel / Beat ‘Em Up

[

Honey Rose: Underdog Fighter Extraordinaire tells the story of Red, a young university student with dreams of making it big at the masked fighting tournament. She looks up to Big Blue, the current champion, and aims to meet her idol in the ring! However, she has a history of poor class attendance, and has repeatedly failed her latest classes. This year, she made a deal with her parents: she’d either graduate, or they’d change towns. Unfortunately, the masked fighting tournament also takes place for the first time in the very town Red lives in... making it her one and only chance to make her dream come true!

Thankfully, that’s where you come in!

With your guidance, she needs to balance her studies with her training so she can bring home both the champion's belt, and her graduation. The game is a life-management simulation, presented as a visual novel, with beat'em-up elements.

In short: some reading, a little fighting... and lots of planning!

▪ A visual novel based around choice and reactivity! See how events unfold based on your decisions... or lack of commitment!

▪ A sizeable cast of characters to encounter in dynamic events, with individual subplots to pursue!

▪ Fight for your dreams in the ring, or to get back your suit from dastardly thugs in the street!

▪ Plan ahead to make the most of the 6 months you have left until graduation!

▪ Bring home the champion's belt if you can, but make sure to ace your tests as well! Can you really do both?

• Fully realized animations that really bring the characters and their stories to life!

Trailer: http://pehesse.fr/honey/en/media/video/
Let's Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YdZEl7txyU&feature=youtu.be

For any more info, check out this handy FAQ. Or cut out the middle man and just check out the game’s manual. Otherwise, get to downloading this game! And don't forget, this game was developed by GAF's very own Pehesse, so help show the GAF Indie community some love.

 

[Ashodin]

OMG PEHESSE IT'S ALMOST HERE

AND I HAVE A CAMEO IN IT

So excited for you!

 

[Spiral Insanity]

Gorgeous art.

 

[ScientificPizza]

Wow this looks really great

 

[RetroMG]

Well, I'm totally in.

 

[letmetrythisname]

That animation looks fantastic.

 

[Speely]

Yeeeeaaaahhhhh! Looking forward to this

 

[Nikodemos]

Man, what's with all these slice-of-life/underground luchador sims? So derivative.

Spoiler

Huehuehue. Keep up the good work. Game looks awesome.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

This looks amazing! Love the art.

 

[PandaPedinte]

Really good game from what I've already payed! It blew my expections.

 

[Speely]

Really good game from what I've already payed! It blew my expections.

Would you say it... Rose to the challenge?

Spoiler

sorry

 

[eyeball_kid]

Character design looks fantastic and looks to be doing some interesting things with the visual novel structure. Hopefully there's a Mac version since Construct 2 supports Mac & Linux export.

The only thing I'd say is that the UI elements look a bit utilitarian, and wish they were more like the title graphics in the OP.

 

[lovely ladies]

Thanks for highlighting this.

 

[superNESjoe]

Been following this in the gamedev thread. Congrats on the launch, gonna pick this up.

 

[Pehesse]

WOOOO! It's 4AM here, which means it's technically the 30th, so it's time to get this party STARTED!

The game is available here, there and just about everywhere:

On Steam!


On itch.io!

On her own site!

To accompany the launch, instead of a release trailer (ugh! so passé!) here's a RELEASE MANUAL - after all, the game has a lot of reading in it, might as well start while it downloads in the background!

The soundtrack will also be available very shortly!

Thanks A LOT to OricWindstar for making the thread, and to all of you for your support! I *really* hope you enjoy the game, but even if you don't, I'd love to hear about your experience with it and your thoughts in this new home for Honey!

And now to reply to each of you individually, gimme a minute!

 

[Garmonbozia]

This looks really cool, congrats on the release! Gonna play it for sure.

 

[Pehesse]

That animation looks fantastic.

Thanks a lot! It's hands down what took the most time, and it was my first time animating something of this scope (or anything at all character-wise, really) - it sure was a learning experience!

Well, I'm totally in.

Very glad to hear it :-D Would love to hear your thoughts!

Wow this looks really great

Thanks a lot! Took a while to get there, but... it's there, finally!

Gorgeous art.

Many thanks! Hopefully it has other surprises in store, too... I mean, it should, but you never know :-D

OMG PEHESSE IT'S ALMOST HERE

AND I HAVE A CAMEO IN IT

So excited for you!

IT'S SO CLOSE I CAN TASTE IT

Spoiler

WAIT IT'S OUT NOW NEVERMIND

And you totally DO have a cameo, along with many others in the Indie Thread! If somebody manages to recognize them all, uh... not sure what kind of prize you get, but you sure get one!

Yeeeeaaaahhhhh! Looking forward to this

Look no further then, it's here, it's here!

Been following this in the gamedev thread. Congrats on the launch, gonna pick this up.

Thanks a lot, I hope it'll live up to your expectations :-D

Thanks for highlighting this.

Oh, the game is ALL about highlights, believe me! That neon crest isn't just for show! Actually, it is. It is just for show.

Character design looks fantastic and looks to be doing some interesting things with the visual novel structure. Hopefully there's a Mac version since Construct 2 supports Mac & Linux export.

The only thing I'd say is that the UI elements look a bit utilitarian, and wish they were more like the title graphics in the OP.

I've had trouble with the Mac and Linux versions because of the C2 exporters, actually, to be completely honest, which is why I've exported instead a (tentative) web version for Mac and Linux users - I've had reports that it works for some... not all, though! So I'm still investigating what happens, but if you're on Mac, the web version is the way to go for now!

As for the UI, it actually fits with the overall aesthetic I want for the game, but it probably makes more sense in context once you can toggle it on and off and... stuff :-D

Wold you say it... Rose to the challenge?

Spoiler

sorry

She got ready to rumble, Rose.

Spoiler

drops mic

Really good game from what I've already payed! It blew my expections.

I'm *very* glad to hear that :-D Where are you in the game now?

This looks amazing! Love the art.

Thanks a lot! Hopefully that means you should love the game, too, at least I hope so!

Man, what's with all these slice-of-life/underground luchador sims? So derivative.

Spoiler

Huehuehue. Keep up the good work. Game looks awesome.

I know, right? Ugh, indie devs, such a lazy bunch. Give me my money back. Wait, I haven't paid anything. Well I don't care, somebody give me some money!

This looks really cool, congrats on the release! Gonna play it for sure.

Many thanks! If you do, be sure to come back and tell me what you think :-D

 

[Quonny]

WRONG THREAD

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Sorry if I missed the info somewhere, but how much will it cost on Steam?

 

[Pehesse]

WRONG THREAD

You're welcome to stay either way!

Sorry if I missed the info somewhere, but how much will it cost on Steam?

I'll copy-paste the information on the Steam page here!

The game uses a "pay-what-you-liked" remuneration model.

"Pay-what-you-liked" is a system designed after "pay-what-you-want", except you choose to support the game *after* having played it for yourself, and determined its personal value based on your own experience. It is designed to offer each player the most choice possible in how, when and why when considering whether to support the game or not.

Since Steam doesn't support "pay-what-you-liked" or "pay-what-you-want" remuneration systems, the DLC acts as a stand-in to offer multiple suggested tiers of support.

IMPORTANT NOTE: buying DLC stands in for supporting the game at the value of the suggested tier. It will NOT enhance or change your ingame experience, you will not be getting additional content other players can't access, as the aim for this system is for the game to be the same for everyone: ie, its most complete state right off the bat! That also means the game is NOT F2P/P2W: there is NO in-game economy that allows you to pay for additional content. The game is fully available for free from the minute you start playing it!


...that's for Steam. Alternatively, you can support the game on itch.io, or directly on its website, depending on where you want your money to go to! CHOICES!

 

[Dimitri LH]

I remember reading about this game here on GAF awhile back, sounded very interesting, put it on my "to buy" Radar. Did not realize it was gonna be Free to play! Gonna keep this for a rainy day! =D

EDIT: oh just saw that post above me, interesting~ Will support in anyway I can.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

You're welcome to stay either way!



I'll copy-paste the information on the Steam page here!

The game uses a "pay-what-you-liked" remuneration model.

"Pay-what-you-liked" is a system designed after "pay-what-you-want", except you choose to support the game *after* having played it for yourself, and determined its personal value based on your own experience. It is designed to offer each player the most choice possible in how, when and why when considering whether to support the game or not.

Since Steam doesn't support "pay-what-you-liked" or "pay-what-you-want" remuneration systems, the DLC acts as a stand-in to offer multiple suggested tiers of support.

IMPORTANT NOTE: buying DLC stands in for supporting the game at the value of the suggested tier. It will NOT enhance or change your ingame experience, you will not be getting additional content other players can't access, as the aim for this system is for the game to be the same for everyone: ie, its most complete state right off the bat! That also means the game is NOT F2P/P2W: there is NO in-game economy that allows you to pay for additional content. The game is fully available for free from the minute you start playing it!


...that's for Steam. Alternatively, you can support the game on itch.io, or directly on its website, depending on where you want your money to go to! CHOICES!

Oh, sorry for missing that. Thanks for the info! Definitely going to buy it on Steam for those delicious achievements.

 

[Pehesse]

I remember reading about this game here on GAF awhile back, sounded very interesting, put it on my "to buy" Radar. Did not realize it was gonna be Free to play! Gonna keep this for a rainy day! =D

EDIT: oh just saw that post above me, interesting~ Will support in anyway I can.

Thanks a lot! Yeah, the pricing model is very experimental - I think a few people are keeping an eye on it to see how it performs, actually! It's an immense bet on players' goodwill, and it all hinges on the game's quality... so I hope I didn't mess it up somewhere! :-D We'll see soon enough! If you decide to support it... well, I appreciate it *very much*!

Oh, sorry for missing that. Thanks for the info! Definitely going to buy it on Steam for those delicious achievements.

Thanks as well! Yeah, I made achievements exclusive to the Steam version, so the other desktop versions have literally no other external calls or forms of DRM. I've designed the achievements to bit kind of like puzzles - you'll get a very, very small amount playing "normally", but most don't have a skill or luck requirement... only thinking and planning! (at least, that's what the paper designs says :-D)

 

[Raticus79]

Ah, neat, that's a convenient way to implement a tip jar. I could see that approach catching on.

When launching through Steam, I'm getting the DirectX client first time setup dialog every time it starts up. It might not be tracking its installation status successfully. (Windows 10 x64)
Launching nw.exe directly works fine.

Were the images scaled down from a higher resolution source? I'm wondering if a higher-res version could be possible (or if that ran into performance problems, engine limitations, etc)

 

[correojon]

Wooook you did it! As I said in the indie OT, I hope this gets the recognition it deserves, this game is amazing and shows clearly how much love and dedication was put into every aspect of it.

Watch out Big Blue, here I come!

 

[itchyass86]

Holy shar this looks awesome!

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Pehesse has been very helpful to other gaffers in the indie gaf thread. Hope it does well for you. Congratulations

 

[Pehesse]

Ah, neat, that's a convenient way to implement a tip jar. I could see that approach catching on.

When launching through Steam, I'm getting the DirectX client first time setup dialog every time it starts up. It might not be tracking its installation status successfully. (Windows 10 x64)
Launching nw.exe directly works fine.

Were the images scaled down from a higher resolution source? I'm wondering if a higher-res version could be possible (or if that ran into performance problems, engine limitations, etc)

Ah, sorry to hear about the DirectX thing! I've had another report of it happening, but since it doesn't happen on any of my test machines, I haven't been able to understand or reproduce why it does it... and so, (also because I'm not tech-minded at all and apart from the "game" game parts, I don't really have control over the surrounding layers) I'm not really sure I'll manage to find a fix for it, but I'll keep looking! Hope it's not too bothersome in the meantime :-/

As for the asset resolution: indeed, the assets themselves were made at a much higher resolution, but the engine simply couldn't keep up! (or at least, it pretended to - I didn't try to push it really beyond the warning limit it kept providing, but it still seemed to play fine when I was supposedly beyond what was theoretically acceptable... but I thought it better to play safe :-D).

Wooook you did it! As I said in the indie OT, I hope this gets the recognition it deserves, this game is amazing and shows clearly how much love and dedication was put into every aspect of it.

Watch out Big Blue, here I come!

Glad to see you here! Go on, take ker down! I'd love to hear your thoughts on what it all leads to :-D

Holy shar this looks awesome!

Thanks! Hope it plays awesome, too :-D

Pehesse has been very helpful to other gaffers in the indie gaf thread. Hope it does well for you. Congratulations

Aw, shucks! Thanks a lot! After all, it's the thread that helped *me* in the first place, so I'm still paying back what I owe!

 

[Speely]

Can't wait to play it this weekend, Pehesse. Really cool approach to monetization, btw!

 

[Pehesse]

Can't wait to play it this weekend, Pehesse. Really cool approach to monetization, btw!

I can't wait either! :-D I'm hoping you'll come back and post your impressions in this thread!

As for the monetization... we'll see if it brings anything concrete, or if it was just one of those "bad good ideas" :-D

-------

EDIT: NEW UPDATE FOR NEW NEWS

The OST is available here!! https://morusque.bandcamp.com/album/honey-rose
If you don't want to play the game, that's absolutely fine, but still give Morusque's tunes a listen, they're just that good!

 

[unknownhero]

I played it for about 80 minutes. I like it so far but I just hope I'm making all the right moves hehe.

 

[timetokill]

Honey honey honey honey HONEY

Congrats to Pehesse!! So exciting

 

[Nocturnowl]

First I'm hearing of this but the mishmash of things including wrasslin' has my attention.

 

[Pehesse]

I played it for about 80 minutes. I like it so far but I just hope I'm making all the right moves hehe.

Don't worry, as long as you're having fun, you're making the right moves The game is designed not to have any single "winning strategy": there is no objectively better move at any given point, it all depends on context and the specific situation of your specific playthrough. You just have to keep at it, and keep believing! :-D

Honey honey honey honey HONEY

Congrats to Pehesse!! So exciting

HONEY HONEY HONEY! Man, now that she's out, what am I going to do with myself?

First I'm hearing of this but the mishmash of things including wrasslin' has my attention.

Glad to hear it! Keep in mind though that wrestling is only an inspiration - the game doesn't reference actual wrestling in any capacity!

-----

In other news, here are some articles about Honey that I found laying around the web!

http://www.pcgamer.com/fighting-gamevisual-novel-honey-rose-releases-today/
http://indiegames.com/2016/09/part_beat_em_up_part_visual_no.html#more
https://killscreen.com/articles/honey-rose-relatable-schoolgirl-luchador/

 

[WarRock]

Congrats on the release man! Not sure when I'll be able to play the full game, but I'll try to buy it next week! =)

 

[timetokill]

HONEY HONEY HONEY! Man, now that she's out, what am I going to do with myself?

Decompress, man! Relax, enjoy the reviews and criticism, drink and be merry! Get out and have some fun

 

[Pehesse]

Congrats on the release man! Not sure when I'll be able to play the full game, but I'll try to buy it next week! =)

Thanks a lot! And no worries, the game isn't going anywhere, take your time to play it when you think you'll enjoy it best :-D

Decompress, man! Relax, enjoy the reviews and criticism, drink and be merry! Get out and have some fun

Aw, but my whole day has basically been me sitting in front of the screen, repeatedly tapping F5!
Speaking of articles... HONEY ON KOTAKU! http://steamed.kotaku.com/fighting-game-has-useless-dlc-that-players-buy-to-suppo-1787285105
I still can't get over the huge "USELESS" in the title, but what matters is what the articles says :-D

 

[nicanica]

Is it me or did Kotaku completely give their Honey Rose article a shit title?

http://steamed.kotaku.com/fighting-game-has-useless-dlc-that-players-buy-to-suppo-1787285105

 

[Pehesse]

Is it me or did Kotaku completely give their Honey Rose article a shit title?

http://steamed.kotaku.com/fighting-game-has-useless-dlc-that-players-buy-to-suppo-1787285105

Hahaha, so it's not just me, huh? Reading it, it really looks like they don't care for the game at all... can't win everyone over, I suppose!

 

[Ashodin]

The game is so quirky I love it!

We should collab sometime Pehesse :3

 

[Zach]

Keep in mind though that wrestling is only an inspiration - the game doesn't reference actual wrestling in any capacity!

Well I guess I'll just kill myself then.

 

[BomberMouse]

Congrats on the game, I've been following the game in the indie dev thread for a long time.

Any chances of a Mac version Pehesse?

 

[Pehesse]

The game is so quirky I love it!

We should collab sometime Pehesse :3

Man, I appreciate that you'd want to, thank you so much :-D Though honestly... I kind of suck as a collaborator! Which is why I ended up working solo :-D
But if you're willing to give it a shot... yeah!

Well I guess I'll just kill myself then.

Oh no! Didn't realize it was such an important factor. Uh, I hope the game can still prove enjoyable somehow?

Congrats on the game, I've been following the game in the indie dev thread for a long time.

Any chances of a Mac version Pehesse?

Thanks a lot! :-D

The chances for a dedicated Mac version are pretty slim at best right now - I don't have a Mac to export on, and from what I understand, the C2 exporter doesn't work well if not used in conjonction with a mac. All of my tests with the mac export have been unconclusive... but I've exported a web version that's compatible with every browser that supports .ogg format, regardless of OS type, so Mac and Linux users should be able to play that one! In fact, I'd be very interested to know if you manage to get it to work on Mac! Link and info here: http://pehesse.fr/honey/en/get-the-game/ (I don't directly link the web version here so you can read all about it on the site first)

 

[BronsonLee]

Well I guess I'll just kill myself then.

Zach

Zach no

 

[Zach]

I guess I'll go on living.

I guess.

 

[hampig]

So happy to see this finally come out! Definitely picking it up.

 

[Master Milk]

man, i thought the first fight kicked my ass . . . but then i got the results from my first test

 

[Noogy]

Congrats on the release, I know that must feel good

Now relax, take a step back when reading reviews, and spend time with family to deal with any post-launch blues. Best of luck with the game!

 

[charsace]

Glad your game is out man. Wish I had more time to mess around with dx11.

 

[Pehesse]

So happy to see this finally come out! Definitely picking it up.

Thanks a lot :-D I hope you'll have a great time with it!

man, i thought the first fight kicked my ass . . . but then i got the results from my first test

Ha ha, Leslie was all over your case, wasn't she? What mode are you playing in? In ropewalker, you really gotta study your math if you don't want her to breathe down your neck! :-D

Congrats on the release, I know that must feel good

Now relax, take a step back when reading reviews, and spend time with family to deal with any post-launch blues. Best of luck with the game!

Thanks a lot :-D It definitely feels kind of strange... not sure where I am yet, but I'm looking forward to finding out! I feel like I've spent the last month doing basically nothing already, but I'll need a little more time to gather my thoughts and provide support for Honey before I move on to something else. But I'm eager!

Glad your game is out man. Wish I had more time to mess around with dx11.

Thanks a lot :-D Not sure what kind of DirectX the game uses, to be honest - I'm using C2 because it allows me to make games with minimal mingling with all too complex tech stuff, so apart from the game itself... the way it runs might as well be magic to me!