Draft:Home Sweet Home : Online

Home Sweet Home : Online is a Survival horror game launched for Microsoft Windows on Steam (service). A sequel to the game Home Sweet Home. taking hindrances (นิวรณ์, Niwarn), the afterlife as the main theme. The game has picked up Legends, Myths, and Folklore in Thailand and other countries to include and create characters and maps into the game. The game have two game modes: Battle Mode 4v4, designed to completely reduce the limits of the balance of the game, and Survival Mode 4v1, which has been improved from the older version of Home Sweet Home: Survive.

Gameplay
Home Sweet Home Online is a multiplayer survival horror game. In which the game is divided into two factions, that is, Visitor, also known as Survivors and Warden, also known as Specter. There will be 2 modes of play: Battle Mode 4v4 and Survival Mode 4v1.

Survival Mode 4v1
Survival Mode 4v1 (โหมดกรงวิญญาณ, Spirit Cage Mode) is a asymmetrical gamemode that inherits gameplay from older versions of the game Home Sweet Home: Survive Open Beta 2. There are many systems that have been added and many systems that have been developed to be even more balanced. It will be divided into 4 visitors and 1 warden, with one game having a time limit of 15 minutes.

On the visitor's side, the player needs to perform three out of four rituals scattered around the map in order to escape from hindrances. In order to start performing the ritual, the players will need to find two key items to start the ritual: incense and Nail of Sangkawanorn, which can be found in ritual chests all over the map. Incense can be found in chests that emit a yellow glow. Nail of Sangkawanorn can be found in chests that emit a white glow. While opening ritual chests or performing the ritual, there will be a skill check mini-game that must be done continuously until those actions are complete, then a door that will lead us out of the hindrances will appear. During the match, players have to constantly escape from the warden, visitors can interact with many objects to help them escape. such as the lockers, holes in the wall, doors, and holes from the upper floor of the map. There are three levels of movement: crouching, walking, and running. Running requires stamina in order to perform. There are two ways to win for the visitors, one is escaping from hindrances through the doors that spawn after three rituals are completed or there is only one visitor left alive. Another way to win for the visitors is to kill the warden using items from red chests around the map. Every chest will have one item inside, each chest respawns after a set amount of time. If one visitor gets eliminated, that visitor becomes a soul at the last point where they get executed. They can be revived by getting picked up by other visitors and brought to reviving statues once per match. If that visitor gets eliminated the second time, they are permanently out of the game.

As for the Warden's side, players have to chase and execute all of the visitors before the visitors can escape the hindrances. During chases, the warden will slowly gain "Bloodseek" which makes them move faster. The Bloodseek gauge has 5 bars, and the more the gauge fills, the faster the warden moves. How long until the warden gains Bloodseek depends on the warden that you play as. The warden is able to Destroy objects that the visitor can interact with, such as doors, lockers, and rituals. The destruction of the rituals will reduce the progress of that ritual. When being attacked, the Warden is able to use Defense Spell to block damage from weapons in the hands of the visitor or certain types of traps set by the visitor.

Battle Mode 4v4
Battle Mode 4v4 (โหมดตัดนิวรณ์, Hindrances Slash Mode) is a new mode of play that has just been added to Home Sweet Home Online. Completely difference from Survival Mode with new rules coming into play. This mode is divided players into 2 sides, with each side having a total of 4 people in which the player will be able to choose characters for both visitors and warden In which one game has a total playing time of 15 minutes, it will be played between two teams between the purple team and the yellow team. This mode is very much related to the story in the current Home Sweet Home universe.

Everyone will start as a visitor that everyone has chosen first. in which the player must find the ritual. In this mode, there is no ritual chests will appear. Because this mode doesn't require any ritual equipments at all. Rituals mechanics are the same as a rituals in Survival Mode, but it's just going to be much faster. After completing the rituals, players will receive a warden spirit, when used, players from visitors will transform into a warden during the period of imprisonment with Which can only transform 1 person per team, and once transformed back into a visitor, it cannot be transform again, until a teammate has transformed into a warden and has transformed back into a visitor. By turning into a warden, the player will receive karma. and when transformed back into a visitor The player will receive that karma temporarily depends on how much player you have executed. The objective of the warden is to eliminate as many visitors on the opposing team as possible before the time runs out by Eliminating an opposing visitor 1 time gives our team 1 point, and if eliminating a visitor with a Karma the points will be taken on how much that visitor karma they have, and warden can fight with opposite team warden to stun the opposing warden. As for other visitors, they can still help with the rituals to obtain the warden spirit for personal use or for our team's warden to use to increase the duration of the time limit for the warden. Visitors will be able to defeat opposing warden as usual. but it can fight against visitors of the opposite side as well.

Items
Items are visitors exclusive. They appear in the red chests around the map, with every chest containing one item each to be used in defeating the warden or aiding the visitors to survive longer. Items are categorized into two categories: items in the hands of the visitor and the visitors' trap.

Items in the hands of the visitor
Those items are held in the visitors' hand, effects vary for each item.
 * Prayer beads is used to attack the warden to deal damage, it is the most damaging hand-held item the visitors can use.
 * The holy rattan is used to attack the warden to deal a small amount of damage and stun the warden, works well with prayer beads to stun the warden first and guarantee that prayer beads will hit, or just support other visitors who are being chased and are about to be eliminated.
 * Holy water is used to throw at the warden, if hits, deals damage to the warden and slightly obscures their vision for a short amount of time. Each time the warden is hit by the holy water in quick succession, their vision will get more and more obscured.
 * Consecrated rice is used to throw at the warden, if hits, deals a tiny amount of damage and silences the warden for 5 seconds, making them unable to use skills during the silenced duration.
 * The syringe (called Healing Potion in the game) heals the visitors' health by half after 3 seconds of use.
 * Energy drink refills the visitor's stamina to full.

Visitors' Traps
Those items can be set at doorways by the visitors to stop the warden for a short amount of time.
 * Holy String Trap can be wrapped at certain types of doors or entrances, it takes around three seconds for the visitors to place it. The warden who runs into them will be stunned and dealt a large amount of damage. The warden can cancel out the trap by using their shield.
 * Sigil scroll cloth is used to place at doorways to prevent the warden from walking through them for a few seconds, useful in chases to separate yourself from the warden for a few seconds, allowing you to gain distance or regain your stamina.

Perk
Visitors and Warden can use special abilities or perks. Each perk consumes few number of skill points. Every character has a different skill point limit. Every character can equip up to 4 perks, which will give their characters special abilities that differ between visitors and guards. Guards will not be able to use Abilities of visitors And the visitors can't use the warden's ability as well. Examples of abilities that a visitor can use would be the Sharp Eye ability that would help with the rituals faster, or the Holy String Trap Master. That will reduce the speed of laying holy traps by half. side of the guard It has different abilities such as Poltergeist when using the spell defense skill when walking through objects that visitors can pass through (ex. door that can interact or break, or the wall that has a crack on it) it will be destroyed immediately without being stuck of the breaking animations

Players will begin to have a number of "general perks" unlocked at the start of the game for players to learn. which will be gradually unlocked according to the progress of the game Once unlocked, it will be unlocked in the in-game store. Players will be able to use Bullet Coins, an in-game currency to exchange for desired perks

Relics and Curse
Every character in the game has their own separate Level you can see in the Customization tab. Each time you finish a match, you will gain experience points for the character you play in that match. How much experience you get is determined by the points you get during that match. When those characters reach level 5, you will unlock Relics(visitors) or Curse(wardens) for that character. Each character has their own unique Relics and Curse that all work differently. Once you have unlocked a Relic or Curse, you can use them on any character you have. Each Relic and Curse has 5 levels, from 0 to 4(max). You unlock the next level of Relics or Curse after the character associated with each Relic or Curse reaches Level 15, 25, and 35 respectively. Each Relic and Curse has 10 durability, and the durability decreases any time you use items that the Relics or Curse has effects on, for example, In a match, you use a visitor's Relic that affects the Holy Water, each time you use Holy Water that match will decrease the Relic's durability by 1. If the durability reaches 0, the Relics or Curse will be broken and will need to be repaired with a Repair Kit in order to be able to use them again. You can also repair Relics and Curse before their durability reaches 0.

Visitor
There is 15 playable characters in the game for visitors at the moment. some created based on a Thai real life celebrities and some licensed from other horror franchises. All characters are sorted below according to their release.

Warden
There is 10 playable characters in the game for warden at the moment. some created based on a Thai real life celebrities and some licensed from other horror franchises. All characters are sorted below according to their release.

Collaboration
Home Sweet Home Online has collaborated with many Thai YouTubers to bring out many characters along with giving voice over to that character. During the opening of Home Sweet Home: Survivor. Naiyarat Thanawaigoses, better known as Zbing z., played the role of Ping, a female streamer on the visitor's side. along with the song "Cast off the past" (ปลดเปลื้องอดีตที่ผ่านพ้น) that Panupong Phumpraphas sings with. Aek Heartrocker who plays the role of HRK, a male streamer on the warden side. Along with the song "Heart Tied...Hurts" (ใจผูก...เจ็บ), which Panuphong Phumpraphas also sang as well. Thanakrit Chuawong or better known as BayRiffer, played the role of Don Chaiya, a bus driver who accidentally slipped into the hindrances and he also voiced a prisoner. Sukanda Khrongyut better known as "Pang Sam Pong Saw" played the role of Mew Mew on the visitor side. Aisha Aisika Wachanaroj, a VTuber who own a YouTube channel "Aisha Channel", played the role of Aisha herself. And they also collaborated with the Thai series called Let's Fight Ghost By bringing characters like Aof into the game as well.

On June 1, 2023, during the pre-launch of Home Sweet Home Online when the technical issues happened. The game has collaborated with Chatra Mue a Thai Tea shop and product, the game has created skins exclusively for Nipa and Ratri and many more accessories related to Chatra Mue. Skins and accessories can be obtained by randomly receiving codes obtained from purchasing product in the Chatra Mue shop. There will be a special tea for this event, Bloody Peach Tea, which is on sale during this period.

Before the game was officially launch, the game had collaboration with Tourism Authority of Thailand in a campaign "The Hunt for Amazing Cultures", to promote and draw global attention to Thai culture by adding a Thai traditional dress for Tim and Ratri. After the game was released they drop a new map call "Phimai Historical Park" that based on real life historical park in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Release
The game was revealing about 2 minutes long trailer at the end credits of the game Home Sweet Home EP.02 by that character both from the main game and new original characters. The games released on PC And plan to extend to other platform. And starting from the game Home Sweet Home: Survive, which started the open beta on March 25, 2021 and opened the open beta 2 on May 5, 2022 until reaching the launch of Home Sweet Home. Originally Home sweat home online were plan to open on June 1, 2023, but due to a technical error the game has therefore been postponed indefinitely until it was released on June 22, 2023.

Sale
Within first 7 month of Home Sweet Home: Survive the open beta version being launch to the public has a total of 150,000 downloads, from the original target of only 50,000 downloads, exceeding the target by 3 times or 150%, which is considered a game that receives high attention from players. together with during the pandemic situation.