Monday, September 22, 2008

Unlocking Mark and Chelsea in Island of Happiness

To bring Mark/Chelsea to the Island, you need at least 50% completion and you need to have brought all main characters to the Island. You therefore need to have unlocked all areas on the map as well as having visited them. You need to have met all the Characters, including the Harvest Sprites who act as the guardians of each area. Some players had not been able to unlock Mark or Chelsea even when these conditions were met. A 'hidden' requirement does exist, and I suspected that it might be simply a requirement in terms of total Farming Degree points.

In Island of Happiness, new options usually are unlocked by one of the following:
1. the arrival of a new Main Character;
2. the arrival of a new subsidiary Character;
3. shipping a required number of specified Crops.

The basic requirements for bringing Mark or Chelsea to the Island are approximately 50% completion as well as having brought all Main Characters to the Island and to have met all of them, including the Harvest Goddess by throwing an offering into her Spring. You need to expand the Hotel as well because that is where Mark/Chelsea will live.

A player left a comment to the effect that it may be related to Festival attendance which made perfect sense, but in fact, was disproven by players who managed to unlock the arrival simply by completing the original requirements of bringing all main characters to the Island and unlocking all areas. Other players had thought it was related to the ownership of ranch animals, which was logical but now has been proven to the contrary. A player with no animals apart from the horse was able to bring Mark/Chelsea to Sunny Island.

I would like to thank all players who wrote about their Festival participation, by the way. It is only when many players write about their game experiences that hidden requirements can be proven or disproven.

Now, however, there have been so many different combinations of events that have served to unlock Mark or Chelsea that it is evident it can be only one true requirement: current Farming Degree points.

Everything else in Island of Happiness is based on that variable, after all. Farming Degree, Farming Degree, Farming Degree: whether it is the colour of a Wonderful, the appearance of a Wonderful or the 'hidden' requirement for an Event or arrival of a new character. It always is proven ultimately to be related to the player's Farming Degree total, a variable based on every aspect of life in Island of Happiness.

I therefore will strike ALL specific 'hidden' requirements for the arrival of Chelsea or Mark from my guides now. Every player fulfills the 'hidden' requirement differently, because it is nothing more than total Farming Degree points. What would be most useful now is for players to tell me what their Farming Degree titles were when Mark or Chelsea arrived for the first time. Although you cannot see your precise point total, you CAN see your current Farming Degree title in your Menu.

All aspects of life in Harvest Moon are vital. You need to farm, ranch, fish, mine AND make contact with every one but finally, ship items regularly in order to maximise your success. Unlocking new options, arrivals and Events is linked not only to farming, ranching, mining and fishing but to SHIPPING as well.

In terms of the final Rival Heart Event that will allow a Rival couple to marry, there evidently are specific aspects of life that are linked to this Event.

I was able to trigger Denny's 4th Rival Event only when I began to fish again after neglecting that aspect of my life for a season or so. Another player was able to trigger Vaughn's 4th Rival Event after mining again. Obviously, Elliot's 4th Rival Heart Event would be connected with farming. Rival marriages therefore are linked to specific activities. Vaughn is not involved with mining at all but Sabrina is. Both Lanna and Denny are involved with fishing. I wonder, though, if there is a ranching requirement to be met as well in terms of Vaughn's 4th Rival Event as he is connected with Animals. Julia likewise is connected with Ranching.

You don't have to be aware of these requirements if you are performing all activities and shipping items in every category regularly. I always ship a fair number of Ranch products processed through the Makers as they are linked to subsidiary characters... so I would not know if this were a requirement in the case of Elliot and Julia's 4th Rival Event or Vaughn and Sabrina's 4th Rival Event. I would be very interested to hear from any player who had shipped the required number of ores for Vaughn/Sabrina's 4th Rival Event and yet had no animals or had shipped no Ranch Products recently and therefore could NOT trigger the Event. I would be interested in the same situation with respect to Elliot/Julia's 4th Rival Event...
In other words, does the Event have requirements solely where one partner is concerned or for BOTH the Rival and the Eligible Bachelor/Girl?

Each day, I marvel at the complexity of Island of Happiness as new situations uncover another twist or turn in the game...

Note that many new options are linked to the Subsidiary Characters in Island of Happiness. These Characters often are referred to as members of different teams, such as the 'Farming Team', 'Ranching Team', 'Fishing Team' and so on, although they each come to the Island for different reasons and operate independently of one another.

In order to unlock new farming options, you need to bring members of the Farming Team to the Island and by completing farming goals, you will bring new Farming characters to the Island. The same holds true with respect to Ranching options and the Ranching Characters. For example, players who have been unable to unlock a Sheep will discover that bringing more Ranch Characters to the Island is the solution. Thus, all aspects of the game are connected.

35 comments:

Synth said...

I'll have to correct my statement from a previous comment: I attended just 4 festivals, not 5 (I don't have Blair), prior to getting Chelsea. Didn't have the bridge to the meadow for the sheep festival. But I won one of them (summer crop).

Sorry for the misleading information ^_^;;

Anonymous said...

I have Mark in my Town and have for quite some time. (since summer or fall first year) I have never won a festival, I am not even a good farmer, finding the weather against me sometimes. I do have a few chickens and 2 cows. I am not even sure what triggered his arrival. Hope this helps.
Allyson

Tess said...

I was able to bring Mark to the island after 50% completion and the arrival of all other main characters. I had participated or at least gone to all of the festivals to that date (about the middle of Fall). So I think you are right when you say there must be a hidden festival requirement. I had not won any of the festivals either.

amandakittyamandakitty said...

OMG please help me e-mail me i need lots of help my e-mail is amanda_kitty_kitty@hotmail.com is suck at island of happiness!

Anonymous said...

Hi, First of all, thank you for your harvest moon IOH. All the guides are very helpful. But I still have question about the watering can. I put 1 blue, 2 reds, and 1 indigo wonderfuls into the watering can, but when I can't use it to water 3 x 3 square. Do you know how to fix this problem? Thanks much in advance.

Freyashawk said...

First of all, thanks to every one for posting their festival attendance information but in fact, the 'hidden' requirement simply IS current Farming Degree point total. Remember, almost everything you do in Island of Happiness adds points to the total. Festivals are part of it, animal care is part of it, shipping is part of it and experiencing Events contributes as well.

As far as the watering can problem is concerned, this information IS included in my Guide but I know that my Guides are extremely long and I do update them constantly...
I urge players always to consult the most recent version for that reason.

As my ToT Guide is printed, that won't be updated, alas, but perhaps players will be happier to have a Guide that represents the FINAL version!

Back to the watering can: you need to CHARGE the tool in order to access its upgraded capacity. Every tool is the same in this respect. Even with a Yellow Wonderful in your Hammer, you won't be able to smash a large smooth boulder unless you CHARGE the tool by holding down the stylus. You have to CHARGE the watering can to water a 3 x 3 square instead of a single square.

In fact, there is no way to regulate the charge as far as I can see. It's all or nothing, unlike other HM games where you could use your Tool at various capacities depending on the length of time that you held down the button. Here, if you have 2 Blues in your Sickle, for example, it will mow 5 Squares when charged. You can't use a lesser charge to restrict the effect to 3 squares.

dr. c said...

This is not related to Mark/Chelsea, but to requirements for house expansions (sorry if this isn't the correct place to ask this, by the way!). I'm currently late in my second year of play, unmarried, and I have expanded my house to the Large size. I have put in a Husband's Bed, kitchen, bath and toilet. Gannon, however, has still not given me the option to expand my house a final time. Am I missing some requirement for that? I wanted to trigger the pregnancy event as soon as possible after marriage, which would involve buying the child's bed the day after the wedding (which I assume won't work if my house isn't yet the proper size!).

Freyashawk said...

That's very interesting, Jessica, and it leads me to suspect that you actually need to be MARRIED before the option will be open to you to expand the house for the last time. Try it and let me know.

Unknown said...

Hm... If the farming degree point total thing is the hidden requirement, how many points do we need to unlock them? any help would be appreciated !

Freyashawk said...

Lena, I wish I knew. In many cases, the only way to pinpoint all requirements is by massive amounts of data from many, many players. So far, almost every theory in terms of 'hidden requirements' has been disproven. In my own game, Mark or Chelsea appear as soon as the Bridge to the Jungle is completed, when I have 50% completion. Of course, one has to actually cross the bridge and meet the new characters... but I then experience the Event introducing my counterpart the next morning.
Medium Rancher Level 6 was the level at which Mark arrived in my last game... As you cannot SEE your precise Farming Degree points in IoH, it really would be kind of irrelevant to players except in terms of your current title.

Anonymous said...

I think it has to do with a certain amount of farming Degree AND if you had other people upgrade their house. I started a new file where i am currently stuck, but on my old file i had unlocked chelsea after Taro,Mirabelle/Julia,Ganon,Original Inn, Hotel,Diner, and Cafe were upgraded and i had all bridges.

Sadly i dont remember exact farmer degree but i was around medium

Anonymous said...

Woot. I just got Chelsea^-^. it is Sunday fall 11 during year 1 with 1 crop festival won and 1 festival not attended.my Farmer Degree is Advanced Rancher Lv.4. i had 62 people (without chelsea)all main chars 3 chickens 5 cows and a dog.
I hope this helps ^-^

Anonymous said...

umm i want to help i got mark by upgradeing the island hotel, have the titel of advance rancher Lv. 4 have all area's unlocked, met all other main caraters, 50% sunny island complete, and 25 sub-careters

Freyashawk said...

Ah, Nate, perhaps you can help with a thorny and perplexing problem: a player is in her third year, has exceeded ALL the requirements, including those you mention, and STILL has not been able to unlock Mark! What could be the problem??? She is going mad.

Anonymous said...

I was reading this guide last night in hopes of finding out what I had to do to bring mark and Chelsea to the Island.
As soon As i got off I started to play.
Here is what i found:
I am in year 4 and I had just brought Sabrina to the island after shipping jewels and having the hotel expanded.
3-4 days later, (I'm not too sure)
Mark showed up at my doorstep.
I have yet to see Chelsea and might I add that my current date in the game is
yr4 Winter 15. Mark showed up on the 14th of winter.
Hope this helps(:

<3- Sommer M.

Freyashawk said...

Anon, you cannot have both Mark and Chelsea in the same game in Island of Happiness! It is 'either/or'. If your character is a boy, Chelsea will arrive. If your character is a girl, Mark will arrive. Unless you are playing as a boy in one file and as a girl in the other, you have no prospect of bringing Chelsea to the Island in your current game(s).

Anonymous said...

Can you please help me?
I'm on my third year. I have 50% of the island complete, all of the main villargers, 32 sub-villagers, and the hotel expanded, but Mark still isn't here! I worked so hard. I'm trying to marry Vaughn, and Mark is the only thing I need on the island to get Vaughn to accept my proposal.

wadz1999 said...

REALLY!
I was having such a hard time trying to get Chelsea but I have one question im going to marry Vaughn will he accept my proposal even if I dont unlock all the character?


Pls. help!

Freyashawk said...

Anon, if you are trying to marry Vaughn, you cannot bring Chelsea to the Island. It is Mark who must be unlocked instead. You need to unlock all major characters before you can marry any one, but you don't need to unlock all the minor characters.

Anonymous said...

thanks guy but i think i gt all the character with the faces and still can not get marry because havset godess ani't bless me yet

Anonymous said...

Okay um...I'm an advanced rancher level 2, I've got 49 percent unlocked on Sunny island, I just RECENTLY (yesterday...) got Denny to a red heart, and I just unlocked Dr.Trent. I've beaten 1 fishing Contest, and I always go to the festivals...I've got every place unlocked, and I'm still not sure what to do. The cafe is yet to be upgraded, so, I'm not sure if it's that, or something else. Vaughn is on a purple heart, Pierre on black, and Elliot on blue. Can anyone help? Thanks.

Freyashawk said...

You definitely need to have met all the Main Characters and I believe there may be a specific number of sub-characters that contributes to the completion percentage required to bring Mark or Chelsea to the island. Have you met the Harvest Goddess, by the way? On consideration, I believe THAT is the hidden requirement that players may be missing.

Anonymous said...

Hope this helps. I have not gotten mark to come,but I have all my bridges, characters, my development is 60% and my title is advanced rancher lv. 1. I have missed some festivals and have not one.

Freyashawk said...

Anonymous, have you met the Harvest Goddess yet? That may be the missing ingredient. Other than that, it has to be pure and simple, a matter of total farming degree points like a lot of things in Island of Happiness.

Rue said...

I don't have all that characters but I have 60% development. my title is advanced rancher 3 I have not won a festival and have all the bridges. Hope this helps you and me :)

Unknown said...

okkkaay well i have MORE then 50% development im and advanced ranched lvl. 4 i have my main characters axcept pierre, all my bridges are unlocked and everything is expanded!!! where is mark??? i cant marry vaughn unless i have mark (btw, where is pierre too)???

Freyashawk said...

May, have you actually MET all main Characters and spoken to each of the Harvest Sprites who acts as 'guardian' of each area? Have you given an offering to the Harvest Goddess?

If you have lost Pierre, it is because you have neglected him. You need to speak to every one regularly in Island of Happiness AND you need to perform all activities in order to keep every one on the Island. My Characters Guides gives the circumstances under which each new Character will arrive as well as those that will cause him/her to leave the Island.

Pierre is linked to Cooking in the same way that Denny and Lanna are connected to Fishing.

Freyashawk said...

P.S. Mark and Chelsea, as aspiring ranchers, are linked to Ranching.

Anonymous said...

ok so im on my 5yr an i just married vaughn! happiness!!! but a problem ive been having is getting the yellow wonderful! i myself love playing this game probley cuz its the only harvest moon ive ever play! i know how can i call myself a gamer right? well im a big fan of halo and those games and this game intruges me haha.....ok so enough rambling i want to beat the game.....wellll get good at it at least so plzzz give me advice i love a chalange but i also love help so sorrry for making this so long haha i also love typing!


HELP ME OUT

Freyashawk said...

IoH is much easier than SI in terms of getting Wonderfuls of a specific colour. Each time you win a Festival, the colour of the Wonderful is based on Farming Degree Total. Save your game before you go to the Festival, see what Wonderful you win, reload, just use ANY tool a few times and try again... Keep doing this until the result is a Yellow if that is what you need.

Anonymous said...

how do you get 50%?

Anonymous said...

I am tryin to marry vaughn and i have met all the other requirements except to upgrade the hotel so i can get mark and i know that ya need 30 subvillagers to upgrade it but i have at least 30 and some have gone away and i was wondering do i have to get them back all at the same time or just to talk to themm at least once( cos i dont think i have) to upgrade the hotel

Anonymous said...

I am tryin to marry vaughn and i have met all the other requirements except to upgrade the hotel so i can get mark and i know that ya need 30 subvillagers to upgrade it but i have at least 30 and some have gone away and i was wondering do i have to get them back all at the same time or just to talk to themm at least once( cos i dont think i have) to upgrade the hotel

Ashlee said...

I want to marry Vaughn but first I must unlock Mark.
No matter how hard I try I cannot unlock him. I have been everywhere, unlocked all the other main characters and quite a lot of the sub-villagers. However, I am a very bad farmer and am too impatient to grow crops. I hardly ever go mining or do any actual farming.
I am in my first year and I have a horse, dog, chick and baby cow.

PLEASE HELP.
HOW DO YOU UNLOCK MARK

Anonymous said...

I have unlocked all the main characters including the harvest goddess,my island development is 67%, i unlocked all areas including the rice paddies area on my farm, i am a medium rancher level 6, i have expanded the hotel, cafe, and resturaunt, and have atended all the events and won 3 of them but i cant figure out why i have not unlocked Mark. any suggestions?

-Riley