A continuity error that slipped through the cracks before was caught by someone in the Discord server and corrected
The common route had a few dialogue updates to more clearly reflect things (example: Gray specifies further on a certain topic if you didn't choose answers that expanded on it previously)
You can now discuss multiple topics with Kay when you talk to him at night in the common route, instead of having to choose just one (:
An error with one of Lana's CGs in Style B has been fixed
An error with one of Clive's CGs in Style A with a male protagonist has been fixed
Voice lines that would get cut off before they finished playing have been fixed
As always, thank you all for playing Heart Fragment. Development for Book 3 is coming along fantastically and I can't wait to have more news to share regarding its release this year!
Update Notes (January 8, 2024)
Happy New Year everyone! You may have noticed that a new update just went up. A few things have been optimized since the last update, and a good chunk of voice acting for Xani that was missing was added both for Book One and Book Two. Lana's route still contains some unvoiced Xani lines, but those will be updated as well at a later date!
Wondering how development on Book Three is going? Well, big progress has been made, that's for sure. A lot of finishing up the writing aspect for Jasper's route is now just revising/editing scenes (act one and two are finished in this regard, focusing on act three) and finishing the second ending.
While most routes have 2 good endings (with the exception of Lana whose ending has more variations than others), I decided Jasper needed to be expanded into 3 good endings. One of these will be available exclusively by completing at least one ending for every other character. Because of that, you could think of it more as a "bonus" ending, but it will be extremely important nonetheless. I hope it will also encourage anyone who hasn't finished the other sections of Heart Fragment to visit them and make progress!
I've gotten to be a bit of a perfectionist with this route and I'm determined to bring it to fruition before moving onto anything else. I will continue working hard and do my best to have a release date update for you guys soon. As it stands, beta testing for Jasper's route is expected for March/April. :)
Hope you're all having a great start to the year!
Revised Book Three Release Date
Hello everyone!
Wait... What do you mean? We are already in August!? That's ridiculous. Time has been going by way too fast for me this year. Every time I look at the calendar, I'm shocked to see how much further along we are.
I come bearing an apology this time. Because of money and time constraints, Heart Fragment Book Three will not be releasing at the end of 2023 as originally intended.
Writing could still be on track for the 2023 release, but I am officially placing a hold on that release until 2024. I cannot take on any personal debt at this time, which would be required to finish Jasper's "Style A" CGs in time. All of the other art is finished - chibis, StarxSocial, Natalia Style A & Style B, and Jasper Style B.
I am very sorry to do this. If Heart Fragment were profitable enough that I could justify taking temporary debt to get the CGs finished for a 2023 release, I absolutely would. But as it is, most months I earn around $100 off Heart Fragment sales, if I am lucky. Sometimes I don't meet the minimum payment threshold on Steam to be able to get paid at all in month for the game. $100 is not even enough to pay for even one CG, let alone what I would need to be able to pay for the full set for Jasper's route.
At this time, I won't be giving any concrete release date for Book Three except that the goal is 2024. This is for the best for me in some regards too, as I can take writing slower now - something I need to do because I am starting college classes next month. I got the amazing news that I was accepted for a grant and can now take a class that I'd otherwise not be able to take due to the financial concerns. So at least it works out in some regards.
Still, I am sorry for letting you all down. I never want to do that. I promise you that Book Three will be coming as soon as is financially possible!
If you backed Heart Fragment on Kickstarter, you will get Early Access to Book Three. This means that you'll be able to play the game as soon as the writing & programming is finished, without the Style A CGs. So for Heart Fragment's amazing backers that made this game possible (I'd be nowhere without them), playing Book Three in 2023 may still be on the table!
I've been off work for the summer holidays due to my regular job being with the school division. Because of that, I've been able to make significant progress on Book Three. Writing for Jasper's route is nearly complete, with all but the final act finished in its first draft of writing. I will need to go back and check for errors and revisions before it is playable, but with every change I make, I feel it is becoming more like my original vision for his route.
Natalia's route has been a bit more challenging and as a result, progress has been slower. I think the payoff will be rewarding, though. I've had to make a lot of changes to the original outline to fit in with the changes made in Jasper's route... but I think this is for the best because they'll help make it more immersive. These revisions have taken more time than I thought (as all creative work seems to do!) but I'm positive that her story will be more captivating and intense as a result.
In terms of the art, most of this was covered above. There's still some progress to be made with Jasper - his StarxSocial and "Style B" CGs are complete, but his "Style A" CGs are still on the back burner. The funds from Kickstarter carried me all the way here though, which is a huge accomplishment. So even though I have to put in my own money, I don't mind for the sake of seeing this story through to the end. A project like Heart Fragment is no small undertaking though, and at the moment I can't afford to put any of my funds towards this. I hope to be able to continue ASAP.
Thank you all so much for your kindness and patience!
Update notes (June 27, 2023)
A few quick patches were posted today, including:
preparation for Book Three to make it playable immediately upon release later this year
a few typo fixes
an error with one of Lana's CGs not showing up in the gallery has been fixed; if it still doesn't show up for you, the scene may need to be viewed again unfortunately! Sorry for the inconvenience!
Thank you all for your diligent bug & typo reports. I'm always doing my best to improve and keep the game bug-free. Sorry it has been a while since the last batch of typo reports were fixed. I have been very busy lately and I'm doing my best to keep on top of things, but this time around, things got piled up longer than I would have liked. My apologies, and I appreciate everyone's patience!
You can now wishlist Book Three: Despair Fragments!
Hello everyone! I hope you've all been well since the last news update was posted here on Steam. Have you gotten a chance to play Book Two: Belief Fragments? There were a ton of reveals, answers to questions from Book One, new questions to resolve, and (of course) a chance to get to know Shannon & Lana better.
I've had a few people approach me to say they'd be skipping Book Two because they're not interested in routes with girls. While I understand the decision, I do want to let everyone know that you can romance Clive & Kay in Book Two as well when you do Lana's route, and you get a chance to learn some new tidbits about them there as well. Once Book Three is released, Lana's route will be updated to allow subplot romance with Jasper & Natalia too. ːheartofulː Not to mention all the answers and reveals! While you can play Heart Fragment's routes in any order you want, I believe completing at least one route from the first two releases will help with piecing together Despair Fragments.
Which brings me to the exciting news: you can now add Book Three: Despair Fragments to your wishlist here on Steam! The release date is still undecided, but adding it to your wishlist now will make sure you're notified the moment it goes live.
And on a final note, there is currently an issue with a CG now appearing in the gallery for Belief Fragments. I will get this fixed ASAP - I've had a lot going on which meant I need to prioritise certain tasks, and things like updates or minor fixes had to be put on hold while I focused on things that needed immediate attention. Thank you all so much for your patience with me! :)
Update Notes | October 5, 2022
Updates include:
Typo fixes
Gallery menu fixes
Music gallery fixes
Thank you all for bearing with me!
Update Note | October 3, 2022
A few small updates & fixes:
Clive's style B sprite no longer has 4 arms (alas, less arms to hug you with now...)
Error with the male MC showing up in a female MC flashback was fixed
Issues that prevented a certain bad ending in Shannon's route have been resolved
Platonic ending variations in Shannon's route are easier to obtain
Typos that were reported have been fixed
I hope you are all enjoying Book Two so far!
BOOK TWO: BELIEF FRAGMENTS DLC is releasing TODAY!
EDIT as of September 29 at 3PM PDT: Although the release is ready and should have been posted more than 24 hours ago, there is a problem on the Steam platform that is delaying things. I have sent in a ticket to Steam support in hopes that they can help with working this out. I apologize deeply and appreciate your continued patience as I try to sort this out. As an extra apology I have also updated the launch discount to 30% in an attempt to rectify things.
Original post:
Been looking forward to the second installment of Heart Fragment? The DLC, Book Two: Belief Fragments will be out in just a few hours!
Anyone who purchased Book One prior to the game being switched to free will have access to the DLC for free at no additional cost. Otherwise, the price will be $2.99 with a limited time 15% launch discount.💕
A full walkthrough guide for the new DLC will also be published soon. It will be available within 24 hours after the release. Thank you all for your patience throughout the difficulties I've had with my health and development. I sincerely hope the wait will be worth it! Have fun... and good luck!
BOOK TWO: BELIEF FRAGMENTS DLC is available now!
Been looking forward to the second installment of Heart Fragment? The DLC, Book Two: Belief Fragments will be out in just a few hours!
Anyone who purchased Book One prior to the game being switched to free will have access to the DLC for free at no additional cost. Otherwise, the price will be $2.99 with a limited time 30& off launch discount.💕
A full walkthrough guide for the new DLC will also be published soon. It will be available within 24 hours after the release. Thank you all for your patience throughout the difficulties I've had with my health and development. I sincerely hope the wait will be worth it! Have fun... and good luck!
Patch Updates | May 28, 2022
New updates include:
Minor typo & bug fixes
Fixed issues with the timeline showing some events twice
A few exceptionally large CGs were reduced in size, hence the large update to replace those assets; while the update size might be a bit of a nuisance, it helps save disk space in the long run
Added in prep for the Book Two: Belief Fragments DLC so that when it is released, there will be no issues with loading up the new routes
