Honey Select 2 [DX R16]

• Windows 8.1/10 64bit
• DirectX 11
• Intel Core i3 4000 (i5 recommended)
• 4GB RAM (8GB recommended)
• 2GB VRAM (4GB recommended)

Installation:

• If you downloaded the “All-In-One (R3 Base Game Repack)”:
  • Unzip to a root folder (keep your game path simple, don’t nest it inside a huge folder tree).
• If you donwloaded the “Update only (R2 to R3)”:
  • Run the exe and confirm your game path was correctly auto-detected.
• Run “[BR] HoneySelect 2 Registry Fixer.bat” in your game folder.
• Install “R3.1 Hotfix”.
• Run “InitSetting.exe” and update base game (“Bleeding Edge”, “Extra Maps”, “Items for Studio” and “UserData” are all optional). The update button may sometimes glitch on the first run – just close and restart InitSetting.
• Choose your Resolution, “Activate DHH” OR “Graphics Mod” (optional graphic improvements) and “Activate Console” for your first run.

Warnings:

• DO NOT merge contents of your old Bepinex folder backed-up by the updater. This will break your game. Move any plugins you were using to the apropriate folder manually.
• DO NOT install zipmods into the root folder. R3 now uses “\mods\MyMods”. This will insure future updates work as intended.
• Feel free to zip-up and move the UserData backup made by the updater. This step insures you have something to roll-back to if something happens to your installation. It is advised to do your own back-ups regularly.

Optional Sideloader Modpack:
Contains multiple assets for animation in StudioNEO. Not relevant to those interested in just playing the game.
Unzip to your “mods” folder.

RESOURCES__________________________________________________________

Cards:
Official Illusion Character Packs: Mega | GDrive
F95 AI Card Sharing Thread
Booru
Pixiv
Yuki (JP)
IllusionSoft Discord
Remember you can search for AI Shoujo cards too.
You can also use the in-game downloader, but you’ll require a VPN to spoof the JP geoblock.

Mods:
BetterRepack already contains the essential available mods out there. But you can check these links:
F95 of course
IllusionSoft Discord
Pastebin
Wikiwiki7 (JP)

Other:
Discord HS2 Help Channel (for all your troubleshooting)
ScrewThisNoise Torrents
CharaFile Web Editor

INTRODUCTION________________________________________________________

What is this game all about?
Consult the official online manual for all sorts of useful info on getting started with HS2.

Can I use HS1 cards in HS2?
No, only AI cards are compatible.

Does the game support VR?
Not yet. It’s been announced by Illusion and you’ll see a BetterRepack update as soon as it’s out. Stay tuned.
If you’re absolutely desperate to try it and are willing to endure the bug-fest, there is a jerry-rigged early release ported from Koikatsu. You’ve been warned.

How do I install cards?
Just move the pngs to the appropriate folders:
“\UserData\chara\female”
“\UserData\chara\male”
“\UserData\coordinate”
You can add custom graphics for cards in “\UserData\bg” and “\UserData\cardframe”
Studio scenes go in “\UserData\Studio\scene”

How do I progress with the characters?
Refer to this sheet.

How do I unlock the shower and bath maps?
You can’t use them for custom H-scenes, they’re only available on events.

TROUBLESHOOTING____________________________________________________

My specs are only barely enough, what can I do?
Maybe this will help.

The game window is the wrong size for my screen.
This game is intended to be played on a 16:9 ratio. If none of the screen resolutions listed in InitSetting.exe give you good results, open the in-game “Settings” and go to “Plugins” > “Graphics Settings” > “Resolution”. Beware you may experience some UI issues.

Some of my AI cards aren’t loading in HS2.
They probably contain modded attributes that aren’t compatible with HS2. Install those mods if available, or strip the original cards of any extras in AI.

I’m experience erectile dysfunction…
This happens to everyone, bro…

1. Telescoping Penis – No fix. There wasn’t one in HS1 and there is none in HS2. This is by design, so penetration is achieved in all the different poses and different character sizes. Wideslider will therefor worsen the issue.
2. Clipping Penis – No fix yet. Go to “Settings”> “Plugin Settings”> “Uncensor Selector”> change “Default Male Penis” to “cur pole”.
3. Resizing Penis in Creator – Not possible. No bone modifiers for this unfortunately.

Some of the clothes textures look very strange.
This is either a problem with modded models (check for updates) or an Antialiasing issue (experiment with your settings in the “Better AntiAliasing” mod, “DHH”, or “Graphics Settings”).

Everything looks blurry.
Disable “Depth of Field” in Settings, and reduce “Temporal Stability” to “3” in “Plugin Settings”> “Better Anti-Aliasing”.

My game is glitching/freezing.
Make sure to run with the console window in “InitSetting” and check the error messages. They might give you a hint as to what is occurring. If you can’t figure it out, make sure to include your “output_log.txt” in your post when seeking help.

One of my mods is causing issues.
Open “\[UTILITY] KKManager\KKManager.exe”. Go to “Plugins” tab> select the problematic plugin> press “Disable”.

The game keeps stuttering.
Go to “Settings”> “Plugin Settings”> “Graphics Settings”> change “VSync” to half.

I get a huge frame-drop when cumming.
Change “Semen Display” to “simplified” in settings.

KNOWN BUGS_________________________________________________________

My UI is unresponsive. Nothing happens when i click some buttons.
Missing files due to incomplete extraction (specifically use up-to-date 7zip, or download the missing files).

I get a white/black screen when starting the game/H-scenes.
Make sure you followed the install instructions and have reg-patched, hot-fixed and updated the game.
If that doesn’t solve it search the HS2 help channel. This issue has been extensively discussed there. Possible causes:

• Updated game from R1.x to R2 (Download R2 manually and do a fresh install).
• Extraction issue (refer to the previous question in FAQ).
• Allocation issues (check your game is in a simple properly named folder structure like “C:\Illusion\HS2”).
• Misbehaving mods (try playing without “DHH”, or disabling “Lipsync” in KKManager).
• Outdated BepInEx (check you have “winhttp.dll” in your root folder).
• AMD cards conflict with Unity (delete “lib_burst_generated” files in “\HoneySelect2_Data\Plugins”).
• Outdated Unity installation, DirectX, or graphics drivers.
• Firewall or Anti-Virus block.

My character’s skin is black.

• Disable “HD Body Skins” and “Nyaacho Body Normal 1.6.0” in KKManager and re-apply your character’s skin in creator.
• If you’re using an imported card, it might contain skins or overlays that aren’t present in your install. If you’e not getting any missing mod warnings while running the game with console, just re-apply the skin or try a different one.

ADVANCED OPTIONS___________________________________________________

Can i use this mod from AI?
If you couldn’t find it in the linked resources, you can try to port it into HS2 by opening the desired zipmod and deleting the line “<game>AI Girl</game>” from “manifest.xml”. Update the zip and move it to “\mods\Sideloader Modpack”. At your own risk.

I have both AI and HS2 installed. Can I cut down on disc space by using the same mods folder for both?
As long as you understand this may lead to bugs, you can achieve it by deleting the mods folder in HS2 and editing “\BepInEx\config\com.bepis.bepinex.sideloader.cfg” to direct the “Additional mods directory =” to your AI folder.

FINAL NOTES__________________________________________________________

This is a lousy FAQ, my Q isn’t here!
I’m not in my prime FAQing days anymore. Just go search this thread before posting. Remember spam is bad for the environment. If asking for help with a bug describe your problem in detail, mention any significant deviations you may have taken from this FAQ’s installation instructions and post your “output_log.txt”.

This Guide Thread is for:

• To encourage those who never attempted to use the studio due to lack of information and tutorials.
• To help the community learn the studio & tools more and provide guidance if needed.
• To help the creative users, developers who use the studio to create and export assets for their games and projects to achieve better results.
• To help people who are interested in this topic access the materials they are looking for more easily in a single place.
• To follow future updates, changes, studio plugins, mods and how to adapt to them.

All are welcome to create or share their own guides in the thread linked above.