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Premise
Reniat returns to her home village after years away at boarding school to find that the village is nearly deserted. The mine that the village depended on heavily for boosting its economy and tourism has been overrun by monsters and no one has bothered doing anything about it. Having trained as an adventurer, she decides to see what she can do about reviving the town and making a name for herself in the world.

Homework Salesman is a life simulation game with an emphasis on dungeon exploration, completing quests, crafting new equipment and items, and befriending the people in town. The game takes inspiration from the Rune Factory and Atelier series.

Features
  • Befriend each villager by talking to them every day and giving them gifts. Higher friendship levels allow you to learn each NPC's personal story and can also gain you access to new shop items, skills, hidden goodies, and more.

  • Unique items means that each item in the game is treated as a separate object. You can rename equipment, find rare versions of them, upgrade and repair them (weapons have durability), and even enchant them. You can have several iron swords each with different enchantments on them.

  • Six unique crafts: Cooking, Smithing, Tailoring, Enchanting, Alchemy, and Construction.

  • Quests are divided into two categories: story quests that propel your adventure forward, and side quests that are procedurally generated.

  • Features a world encounter system where you can find random events in field maps or dungeons, such as traveling merchants or a bandit who'll offer to spare you for money (or you can kill him)

  • Enemy encounters and (most) treasure chests are randomly placed on maps. You typically won't find the same monster encounter in the same dungeon spot every time. Treasure chest contents are randomly drawn from a pool of items appropriate for the zone you're in. You can also find unique weapons with randomized names, stats, and enchantments.



Check out the official website for the game manual, credits, and more.

Check out the wiki here! http://homeworksalesman.wikia.com/wiki/Homework_Salesman_Wiki

Update Log:
1/27/14 - v1.2
- The last two bosses in the game will now put up an anti-frazzle shield if they get hit successfully by frazzle three times. This shield will dissipate after 2 turns. Note that it doesn't count just frazzling the boss, it will count if you frazzle any boss minions in the fight.
- The Treasure Hunter couple will now appear in the ending cut-scene if you saw their world event.
- Fixed bugs related to Liffely's cooking delivery service.
- Fixed bugs related to the 2nd Colorous Cave quest.
- Fixed a bug where if you somehow manage to defeat the 3rd floor bosses on the same day as defeating Plutonus, the magic shop NPCs would not move into town.
- Added several easter eggs, most of which are references to early testers and other people in the community.
- You now get a quest telling you what to do next if you defeat a certain field boss after defeating the last boss of the Caves for the first time.
- Fixed cut-scene bugs related to the Westerlys move in quest.
- Fixed the Beer recipe so that it tells you that you learned how to make Beer instead of Cheese.
- Fixed the case where using L/R would cause the game to crash when browsing recipes in the library.
- Other miscellaneous bug fixes that I don't recall at the moment.

1/25/14 - v1.1d
- Fixed treasure maps that would have a blank name
- Fixed situation where you were not able to trigger the event with Zathus to turn in the 2nd Colorous Cave quest.
- Fixed Manaleech.
- Fixed several spelling errors in the database.
- Updated the manual to include all equipment and skills.
1/12/14 - v1.1c
- Added Xebec's 2 star event
- Added Treasure Hunters world event
- Added post-chapter 1 optional boss (this boss will be refined/tweaked in the next update as well)
- Nerfed Captain Colorous and Robert slightly
- Fixed the cooking delivery quest bug where turning the quest into Qwilte would cause it to be stuck in the quest log
- Fixed weapon renaming
- Fixed a rare case where Autorevive would cause the game to crash
- Fixed a whole bunch of other bugs

6/18 - v1.0l Fixed the patch system so that it does not rerun patches. Fixed one hole in Colorous Cave F5 that could drop you into a dead end.
6/07 - v1.0k Massive balancing patch. Tweaks to crafting, skills, and more.
5/20 - v1.0j Fixed a bug that would cause Raimur to disappear if you ran away or died.
5/16 - v1.0i Fixed the Monster Hunt: Robert quest so that it can be turned in. Also, fixed the quest so that Robert spawns on save files that were created in version 1.0a. Fixed an issue that could cause the party to spawn with you if you respawn from running out of AP. Fixed an issue that could cause Zathus's character event to not be turned off after completion. Added Battle4 bgm file to the Audio\BGM folder. Life Essence and Ressurect now have animations when used on party members.
5/14 - v1.0h Fixed the Super Grind quest so that it can be turned in now.
5/12 - v1.0g Adjusted the difficulty of the last two bosses and fixed an issue where you could get stuck if you fell down certain holes on the 5th floor.
5/11 - v1.0f Fixed a passability issue on the 4th floor of the cave that occurred after defeating Langian. Fixed an issue that could cause Warp to stop working after seeing a world event on the 3rd floor of the cave.
5/08 - v1.0e Added all RTP audio SEs and a couple other files that the resource checker did not pick up. Fixed an issue that could cause a chapter 2 event to appear.
5/07 - v1.0d Fixed an issue where an npc could be stuck in cave walls. Fixed the skill Templar Strike so that it attacks enemies instead of the party. Added the sound effect Cat.ogg for non-rtp users.
5/06 - v1.0c Fixed an issue where Zathus would stop talking to you during the Plutonus quest.
5/06 - v1.0b Fixed an issue that would cause a boss to appear too early in the game
5/05 - v1.0a Initial Release

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Posts

it was 1.0e, and when I updated to 1.0g it still happened.
author=zaim92si
it was 1.0e, and when I updated to 1.0g it still happened.


Can you send me your save file? You can just upload it somewhere and PM me the link.
Awesome game, Star*Cadets! I think that hardly we won't be seeing a fabulous game made by you. :D I've been playing it nonstop those days, but there are plenty of things that are still troublesome for me:

Is there a "perfect gift" that will score higher in friendship with the NPC's? There could be some hints 'bout it in their profile, perhaps?
Something else that has been "annoying" me: The items that we craft can't be sold and end up taking too much part of the inventory/storage. There could be some quests for the Blacksmith about crafting some weapons/armor instead of only getting ores for him. (Perhaps there is/will be, I'm yet at the second boss and he's beating the crap out of me when he gets at somewhere near 30% hp, one hitting two characters at once with his special move =[ Must all bosses act two times before the party, hitting twice as hard and having huge amounts of hp? I mean, not impossible to beat, but sure takes LONG! I got to that fight with 20 potions in each character, all 4 of them, at level 8, fully equipped and to no avail. Got pwned. Shame on me.)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand another two or three ideas by yours truly genious over-active fan: FESTIVALS! You mentioned that the game was inspired by Rune Factory, and if I remember correctly, there are some festivals held at some months. With that, we come to my second idea (gosh, this text is getting BIG, I mean BIIIIIIIIG) : How about a Day/Month system that enhances some aspects of the game? Such as lots of wood/plants by Spring, different monsters, etc?

Anyways, lots of ideas that I'm sure you already have and are studying some ways to implement in. Did I already say that I love the game? Haha. Perhaps if we could choose either a boy or girl at the beggining, hm... Ok, that's it, I'm done now. xD Sorry for any mistake at my writing, I'm not north american/brittish/canadian. Good luck and thanks for reading this huge post. <3
nhubi
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
11099
Roshgard, The gifting thing got me really interested and I started playing around with the gifts for people and the points you get and there is a weird logic to it. Like the Dad who was a great adventurer before he got gnawed by a dragon only really likes gifts you get from taking on a boss, like a gift box or elinium, the smith likes ores and metals as gifts, the lady at the general store likes raw materials like the plants, whilst the baby witch likes made potions, since she teaches alchemy.

There are a couple of clues in the library descriptions, the female innkeeper, whilst happy with provisions (mushrooms, carrots, eggs etc) loves 'cute things and flowers' so that's what she gets when I can find them.

There is a little variation in the days, since on cloudy ones you get more events, as in all the random treasure chests in the town I've found only turn up on cloudy days, and you can't use the anvil or forge on rainy days, but the idea of a seasonal aspect is great.

And I should probably let the actual designers of the game answer. I just wanted to share some of the stuff I've worked out about the gifts, since I really like the aspect of the game.

Roshgard, thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

Initially we wanted to go with a day/night and calendar system like you said, as the main inspiration for the game is Rune Factory (but also the Atelier series), however, having dealt with day/night systems in the past in an old game called Razkertim, I can tell you that the amount of work it takes to account for NPC schedules and variance in a day/night system is just too much for a team of three people. Homework Salesman has been in development since late 2011 (when VXAce came out in Japanese) and this is how long it's taken to make just without a day/night system.

So instead, we opted for the fixed days similar to Atelier series, which was a secondary inspiration for the game.

I like the idea of submitting crafted weapons/armour to Boss, and do intend on adding such a quest along with other new types of daily quests in Chapter 2. There will also be festivals eventually, though they will appear based on prerequisites and not on a fixed date since there isn't a calendar system.

Also, didn't want to spoil it so soon, but farming will be added in Chapter 2 (that's what the plots in the south town map are for).
You remember when the sound file for any attack was apparently missing, well now i tried to fight plutonous(after trying once and fleeing), but it says it's lack battle4...
author=Turbotowns
You remember when the sound file for any attack was apparently missing, well now i tried to fight plutonous(after trying once and fleeing), but it says it's lack battle4...

Sorry about that, you can get battle4 from the VXACe RTP folder. It will install in c:\program files\common files\enterbrain\rgss3



author=Diedrupo
Roshgard, thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

Initially we wanted to go with a day/night and calendar system like you said, as the main inspiration for the game is Rune Factory (but also the Atelier series), however, having dealt with day/night systems in the past in an old game called Razkertim, I can tell you that the amount of work it takes to account for NPC schedules and variance in a day/night system is just too much for a team of three people. Homework Salesman has been in development since late 2011 (when VXAce came out in Japanese) and this is how long it's taken to make just without a day/night system.

So instead, we opted for the fixed days similar to Atelier series, which was a secondary inspiration for the game.

I like the idea of submitting crafted weapons/armour to Boss, and do intend on adding such a quest along with other new types of daily quests in Chapter 2. There will also be festivals eventually, though they will appear based on prerequisites and not on a fixed date since there isn't a calendar system.

Also, didn't want to spoil it so soon, but farming will be added in Chapter 2 (that's what the plots in the south town map are for).


Question. Will there be more ways implemented to restore AP? I feel a bit starved as is having only the hot springs to restore it.
author=AntarcticTiger
author=Diedrupo
Roshgard, thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

Initially we wanted to go with a day/night and calendar system like you said, as the main inspiration for the game is Rune Factory (but also the Atelier series), however, having dealt with day/night systems in the past in an old game called Razkertim, I can tell you that the amount of work it takes to account for NPC schedules and variance in a day/night system is just too much for a team of three people. Homework Salesman has been in development since late 2011 (when VXAce came out in Japanese) and this is how long it's taken to make just without a day/night system.

So instead, we opted for the fixed days similar to Atelier series, which was a secondary inspiration for the game.

I like the idea of submitting crafted weapons/armour to Boss, and do intend on adding such a quest along with other new types of daily quests in Chapter 2. There will also be festivals eventually, though they will appear based on prerequisites and not on a fixed date since there isn't a calendar system.

Also, didn't want to spoil it so soon, but farming will be added in Chapter 2 (that's what the plots in the south town map are for).
Question. Will there be more ways implemented to restore AP? I feel a bit starved as is having only the hot springs to restore it.


Yes but not until you've gotten pretty deep into the cave. You can find recipes for creating food items that restore 10 and 20 AP respectively.
Ah. I find it difficult to resist the urge to harvest as much iron as I can along the way, so by the time I reach the third floor, Reniat is usually exhausted. I need to stop being cheap and actually use these camp kits someday. At least I imagine they'll be a lot more effective than sleeping bags. ^^

Also, out of curiosity, do you know of the Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games? I recall running around in the field wielding my hammer early on, looking for materials, and it reminded me of that series.
I've never played the Summon Night games but always wanted to.
benos
My mind is full of fuck.
624
No romancing options? :(
author=benos
No romancing options? :(


How far have you gotten?
nhubi
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
11099
author=Diedrupo
author=benos
No romancing options? :(
How far have you gotten?

Almost the the end in my case, I think, (I've fought/beat the pirate but not the cloudy/overcast reliant day dude - man it is hard to be circumspect in these posts) and so far not a hint of romance (which I am fine with, BTW, this is sword and sorcery, not Mills & Boon).

Really looking forward to C2 though with the farming option :).
author=nhubi
author=Diedrupo
author=benos
No romancing options? :(
How far have you gotten?
Almost the the end in my case, I think, (I've fought/beat the pirate but not the cloudy/overcast reliant day dude - man it is hard to be circumspect in these posts) and so far not a hint of romance (which I am fine with, BTW, this is sword and sorcery, not Mills & Boon).

Really looking forward to C2 though with the farming option :).

Lol I was hoping Benos would answer, since I wasn't sure if he'd played enough to make that judgment call.

We don't have any romance options in chapter 1 but you never know what could come down the pipeline in future chapters (there are four planned).
I'm back with more questions/feedback. Are you aware that when completing Bertram and Sally's quests, when they give you a random item, it ends up subtracting 1 point of AP? Was it to be that way or this can be considered a bug?

When in the field, if you do something that makes you run out of AP and warp back home to rest, you'll start the next day with all party members already joined.

How about making Ankaba moving to the city, perhaps at the inn or adventurer's guild? There are times that it's hard to make her appear at the third level, making you change screens many times till she appears. And what a lovely merc she is, making bosses way easier. <3

Greatsword special attack Cleave consumes 4 points of durability, while all other weapons consumes 3. Not sure if something is wrong here, though. Isn't there any way to increase a weapon durability? I end up having to go with some spare weapons through the dungeon, since normal attacks aren't that effective.

When you're crafting, you can go all way over to 0% ap left if you do 10x some item that costs 10ap to make (usually at level 10, all recipes of that level range costs 10.) So you run to the springs with 0 ap, gets fully recharged, repeat the process. While I find this a good advatange, seemed like a bug to me, so I'm reporting.

I think that's all for now, haha. I'm curious about one thing, though: In some event you end finding two guys chained, having to decide which one to release. Is there a way to release both, or having one of them release changes something later on? (I kinda skipped that event, waiting until I could get past the area without having it triggered. I need answers, aaaaaaaaah! )

See'ya guys and keep up the good work. Feeling already Anxious for Ch2. :D
Hi Roshgard,
Every time you gain an item outside of battle or shops, you lose 1AP. That's simply how the system is designed. It's a way to control how much you can do in a single day.

Thanks for letting me know about the warp home bug, I will get that fixed.

Ankaba moves into the town in chapter 2.

The Cleave attack is powerful, which is why it consumes 4AP.

You can't currently increase durability, however you can craft portable anvils if you find the recipe, and then use the portable anvil to repair weapons while away from town. But yes, normally I would take a stock of weapons into a dungeon instead of just one weapon per character. You'll need a variety to access more skills anyway.

That crafting issue I will look into, you are right it does sound like an exploit.

As for the event you mentioned, unfortunately there is no way to save them both. You have to pick one!
benos
My mind is full of fuck.
624
author=Diedrupo
author=benos
No romancing options? :(
How far have you gotten?

Not far. I know Xebec managed to survived and I'm going to explore of the cave with that shrine.
author=Diedrupo
We don't have any romance options in chapter 1 but you never know what could come down the pipeline in future chapters (there are four planned).



benos
My mind is full of fuck.
624
I got Xebec and Eagen, maybe that'll be easier now to defeat that mine boss.