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English Translated Japanese Visual Novel/ADV Thread

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S

StayDead

Member
pizzaroll said:
lol.

People want anime close to the airing in Japan, yet streaming is a no go? How exactly do you propose they distribute it? Print new one-episode discs every week? Streaming is the only realistic option, and it's perfectly fine for watching shows as they air. There's no solid argument against it, tbh.

Post reeks of justification. Or maybe you're just joking around. Nobody is forced to pirate.
Click to expand...

Maybe saying forced to pirate is exaggerating a little, but some people genuinly don't like streaming stuff as the quality depending on where you live can be really really bad. If they can offer a high quality streaming service that actually works and airs all the anime it could be a great thing.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
kiryogi said:
Hrm fun.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/01/13/the-effect-of-piracy-on-english-visual-novels/

I think if there's any type of piracy that really upsets me, it'd probably domestic VNs.

In that regard though, since I've gotten into Kara so much. I did more reading up on MG on their forums and whatnot. . . Apparently Kara hasn't turned them a profit yet, the only titles that have for them are Shuffle! and Koihime Musou (or was about to). But the more worrying matter is that they're still in the red and get deeper as they continue on.
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I enjoy koihime muso material .. if i had a physical purchase i would have bought it without any problem ( with voices included ).
The treatment they did with the release was just discutable and that's why i didn't buy it ( i can show all the koihime muso marchandise i have BOUGHT and i was read to support the localisation as well ..) but while the translation is good , the delivery wasn't...

Ps: i have Vns ( and/or simple hentai games ) translated or not in my physical library..so i support various kind of products ... but i can't support a half-work . i played the Jp voices patched version.

i just had to say it .. i'm probably in the minority but as long as your delivery is good and game theme interest me i'll support a Vn otherwise ....
 
K

kiryogi

Banned
R_thanatos said:
I enjoy koihime muso material .. if i had a physical purchase i would have bought it without any problem ( with voices included ).
The treatment they did with the release was just discutable and that's why i didn't buy it ( i can show all the koihime muso marchandise i have BOUGHT and i was read to support the localisation as well ..) but while the translation is good , the delivery wasn't...

Ps: i have Vns ( and/or simple hentai games ) translated or not in my physical library..so i support various kind of products ... but i can't support a half-work . i played the Jp voices patched version.

i just had to say it .. i'm probably in the minority but as long as your delivery is good and game theme interest me i'll support a Vn otherwise ....
Click to expand...

Huh, I'm playing the voice patched version of Kara no Shoujo too, but what I patched was a legit copy I brought. Honestly MG can't help it when it comes to the voices considering what the companies demand of them, but you're still getting a pretty nice package. And although it may seem like a silly hoop to jump through, it's not as if we couldn't get the voices back.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
kiryogi said:
Huh, I'm playing the voice patched version of Kara no Shoujo too, but what I patched was a legit copy I brought. Honestly MG can't help it when it comes to the voices considering what the companies demand of them, but you're still getting a pretty nice package. And although it may seem like a silly hoop to jump through, it's not as if we couldn't get the voices back.
Click to expand...

do you think having to patch your game to get the full experience is a good thing ?

Yes i know ..Sarcastic question ... But unless things are taken seriously for this market ..i just ...can't support half baked attempts
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
R_thanatos said:
do you think having to patch your game to get the full experience is a good thing ?

Yes i know ..Sarcastic question ... But unless things are taken seriously for this market ..i just ...can't support half baked attempts
Click to expand...

Because people pirate instead of paying money for their releases, Mangagamer has no money. Because Mangagamer has no money, they can't afford to pay the ridiculous prices the Japanese licensors ask for the voice acting. Because they can't afford to pay the ridiculous prices the Japanese licensors ask for the voice acting, they are forced to leave voice acting out of the release. Because they are forced to leave voice acting out of the release, people pirate instead of paying money for it.

See the problem here? Where do you think this chain can most realistically be broken?
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
hosannainexcelsis said:
Because people pirate instead of paying money for their releases, Mangagamer has no money. Because Mangagamer has no money, they can't afford to pay the ridiculous prices the Japanese licensors ask for the voice acting. Because they can't afford to pay the ridiculous prices the Japanese licensors ask for the voice acting, they are forced to leave voice acting out of the release. Because they are forced to leave voice acting out of the release, people pirate instead of paying money for it.

See the problem here? Where do you think this chain can most realistically be broken?
Click to expand...
You know ..... i'm going by heart. In this situation what i want is a product that is complete...
Going by the amount of nukige released each year by everyone ( not only mangagamer ).. i'd rather them to try releases that have much more value than "that" ( if you know what i mean. )

That said piracy is bad and i don't support it.. but many markets have proven that you can fight piracy if your delivery is good. That's what i believe anyway... ( isn't that why shuffle worked ?? [in sales terms] )

i'm a buyer .. i buy lot of stuff ..for me the actual delivery isn't good. Is piracy the only reason the delivery quality for those games have dropped ?
 
L

Lain

Member
kiryogi said:
Hrm fun.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/01/13/the-effect-of-piracy-on-english-visual-novels/

I think if there's any type of piracy that really upsets me, it'd probably domestic VNs.

In that regard though, since I've gotten into Kara so much. I did more reading up on MG on their forums and whatnot. . . Apparently Kara hasn't turned them a profit yet, the only titles that have for them are Shuffle! and Koihime Musou (or was about to). But the more worrying matter is that they're still in the red and get deeper as they continue on.
Click to expand...

That's really unfortunate to read, but not surprising.
I've been purchasing Mangagamer stuff, but found out, when looking for the Kara voice patch, that the game was pirated like half a day after it was released. Made me angry but mostly made me wonder why someone would go so far in killing the few companies that actually bring out some translated VNs. The game wasn't even all that expensive.
Meh.
 
K

kiryogi

Banned
Lain said:
That's really unfortunate to read, but not surprising.
I've been purchasing Mangagamer stuff, but found out, when looking for the Kara voice patch, that the game was pirated like half a day after it was released. Made me angry but mostly made me wonder why someone would go so far in killing the few companies that actually bring out some translated VNs. The game wasn't even all that expensive.
Meh.
Click to expand...

:eek: Lain, did you finish Kara yet?
 
D

Dresden

Member
For some time now there have been complaints about the lack of informations regarding the project’s status. Rumors about our work being sold to JAST appeared as well of some rather rude assumptions of us not caring about your opinions and curiosity. Today I’ll try to answer some of your questions though I won’t be able to satisfy you all.

First of all I’d like to remind you that this is our first project. Though the translations went on pretty fast, that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been problems. As most of you know, Blick has disappeared. I won’t deny the fact that he’s been the very backbone of our group. The speed of his translations have been the very reason we aimed for Christmas as release date. With him gone, things will eventually slow down. As to why he vanished … I can’t say. Yet. We are still trying to get in touch with him and talk things out. To assume he sold his translations to JAST is very rude though, unless he told you so himself.

As for myself, I can tell you that JAST has indeed contacted me. One e-mail even mentioned Steam being interested in a playable demo. I did not reply to those mails. At the beginning of our translation project, I told Reading Steiner that I’d only work with them if that would speed up the game’s release. Needless to say that we’re still waiting for Chaos;Head. I can only speak for myself but RS and I made very clear that we are not interested in money, just the release of this wonderful Visual Novel. This hasn’t changed and it never will.

So, why are there no updates when everything’s fine? The short answer would be: We are taking a break. Now I know that there’ll be people out there saying “No shit, Sherlock!” and I’d have to tell them that our group is experiencing a couple of problems. Some of them involve real life and its traps. I myself have been MIA for a few months because I lost my job and had to think about other things than this project. Might sound harsh but I won’t put an internet hobby above my real life. Another problem has been the lack of motivation (or the growing fatigue after a good head start). Due to my absence people could not tell me that they’d have a break for a while. So I’m still trying to get into touch with everyone. Last but not least there are also some dissents on a few topics regarding translation and editing.

Until we settle everything, we will put the project on-hold officially.

I’m sorry to say this but it makes no sense to talk about an ETA when we are still discussing which way to go. I also regret that I haven’t replied to you earlier but it wouldn’t have done any good talking about updates whilst not knowing anything myself. While I’m at it I also want to apologize to everyone who has sent me an e-mail but did not get a reply. Since this project’s beginning I’m flooded with mails, receiving every comment one submits. I could turn off that function but I like to know what you think. I read every mail but I still have 281 mails to go through. So if you want me to reply, please re-send your mail!

That said, I want you to know that this project will be finished – one way or another. As long as it’s the choice of Steins Gate.
Click to expand...

http://vn.shourai.net/news/update-01-2012.html
 
K

kiryogi

Banned
Would be hawt if JAST did get it. . . Guess at this point for now I'll look into eventually playing the rough patch thats running around.
 
H

hamchan

Member
I was just thinking it would be amazing if visual novels could appear on Steam. Funnily enough I was specifically thinking of Steins;Gate on Steam too, since there are no ero scenes or anything I don't see why Valve would refuse it. I'm playing it with the rough patch that's out but I'd buy the game again on Steam just to show my support.
 
S

StayDead

Member
Is this thread limited to just English Translated VNs? Just found out today that the Steins;Gate Fandisk (Hiyoku Renri no Darling) is being released on PSP so shoved my order down straight away. Loving the first game. Infact, I've got a bit of an obsession with the series. :p
 
I

InfiniteNine

Rolling Girl
StayDead said:
Is this thread limited to just English Translated VNs? Just found out today that the Steins;Gate Fandisk (Hiyoku Renri no Darling) is being released on PSP so shoved my order down straight away. Loving the first game. Infact, I've got a bit of an obsession with the series. :p
Click to expand...

Well it's just more likely people would share their thoughts if they could read it too! Anyways this is pretty much for Japanese ADVs and VNs in general.
 
B

Basileus777

Member
There probably isn't enough interest to support an untranslated VN's thread, so it makes sense to have that discussion in here too.
 
I

iavi

Member
Blick; Main translator on Steins; Gate said:
I've tried to be nice to everybody, but enough is enough.


Yes, there is a possible JAST deal.
No, the project is not stalled, nor has the possible JAST deal "stolen the patch away from you".
The patch wouldn't have been ready at this point either way. As you can see from the newly updated status up top, I'm revising the scripts because my first translation was bad.

I've been working as hard on revising the scripts as I did translating them.
And I say "revising" because "editing" is something I believe someone other than the translator should do.

I decided to do this revision because of two things.

1. I was inspired by GundamAce's humility in translating Never7. He decided to do a second pass of translation since he didn't feel his first translation was up to par. Speaking of GundamAce, he has contacted me that he would like help on future projects. We have come to the agreement to collaborate once we are both finished with our respective projects.
Anyway, with his inspiration, I decided to actually read my translation and see if I was pleased with it. Which brings us to the second point.

2. I just didn't like how my translation read in a lot of places. I thought that this would be rectified in editing. It wasn't.

3. I overestimated the power of editing. When I received the edited Chapter 2, I realized that my scripts weren't ready to be edited yet. I still left some translation errors, and the awkward wording wasn't addressed. So I really did need to revise the scripts before they were ready to be edited.

More than half of the lines in the revision are being reworded.

Every colored line on the sidebar to the left represents a changed line.


I did not "betray" any project members because I've done every non-technical aspect myself, so far. [The technical aspects were done by Nagato]
Actually, I'm the one who feels betrayed. Antheon was the first one who got an e-mail from JAST, back in September, but he made the decision to "not respond", all by himself. He didn't even attempt to contact me, or anyone else, until this weekend, when he suddenly appeared.

Even though he was so eager to contact me by e-mail when he recruited me for "his" project.
And even when he contacted us, he disregarded what we had to say, and went ahead and posted on his site.


And I'm sorry, but I'm not going to bother responding to comments or questions. I'd rather work more on the actual project. Feel free to redirect your questions to Antheon, who is more than willing to talk to the fans.
Click to expand...

Source: http://e17time.blogspot.com/2012/01/project-goes-on.html

So...I'm led to believe that the last update on the group site was misinformation? Either way, I'm glad to see that it's still on. JAST picking it up for a domestic release would be pretty cool.
 
creid

creid

Member
hamchan said:
I was just thinking it would be amazing if visual novels could appear on Steam. Funnily enough I was specifically thinking of Steins;Gate on Steam too, since there are no ero scenes or anything I don't see why Valve would refuse it. I'm playing it with the rough patch that's out but I'd buy the game again on Steam just to show my support.
Click to expand...
Doesn't The Witcher 2 start out with a sex scene? Inclusion of sex shouldn't keep a game off of Steam.
 
X

/XX/

Member
Miri said:
So...I'm led to believe that the last update on the group site was misinformation? Either way, I'm glad to see that it's still on. JAST picking it up for a domestic release would be pretty cool.
Click to expand...
From what we know it could have been lack of communication, as simple as that. The rumors about JAST USA's interest has been 'floating in the air' since mid-December, and as it coincided with Blick Winkel's silence, people assumed things. Since very early, Reading Steiner (on 4Chan's /a/) debunked the sellout and always thought he "was still working on the final part of the editing", although also explained they didn't had direct contact with him for a time, causing the concern and the spreading of said rumor.
 
K

kiryogi

Banned
Whelp finally got one of the proper endings in Kara, and although it's not the true ending. I've lost a lot of motivation at this point to try and go for it. . .

There's really no such thing as a good end in this game. It's like the game's good ends are the equivalent to most games bad ends. . . It's honestly depressing as hell. It's really a kick in the gut and even more. That said though, it's actually a really good story and I'd play other Innocent Gray games.
 
C

Clevinger

Member
I've been following that SteinsGate thing and it amazes me how many shitheads there are in the VN community. Barely anyone in the comments on their sites are grateful. Most posts are just falsely entitled whining like "Why don't you update us on your progress more?" or "Did you sell us out to JAST" or "Why isn't it released yet?"

If I was that translator I'd just videotape myself deleting my translation work and saying "Fuck all y'all. Go learn Japanese."
 
I

InfiniteNine

Rolling Girl
Clevinger said:
I've been following that SteinsGate thing and it amazes me how many shitheads there are in the VN community. Barely anyone in the comments on their sites are grateful. Most posts are just falsely entitled whining like "Why don't you update us on your progress more?" or "Did you sell us out to JAST" or "Why isn't it released yet?"

If I was that translator I'd just videotape myself deleting my translation work and saying "Fuck all y'all. Go learn Japanese."
Click to expand...

Well some of the community is really stupid with their entitlement of things.
 
E

Erigu

Member
Especially considering the amount of work we're talking about. I seem to remember there's about as much text as in seven light novels. No small task.
 
S

StayDead

Member
Clevinger said:
I've been following that SteinsGate thing and it amazes me how many shitheads there are in the VN community. Barely anyone in the comments on their sites are grateful. Most posts are just falsely entitled whining like "Why don't you update us on your progress more?" or "Did you sell us out to JAST" or "Why isn't it released yet?"

If I was that translator I'd just videotape myself deleting my translation work and saying "Fuck all y'all. Go learn Japanese."
Click to expand...

It's one of the major issues with doing a project like it. Infact, anything that allows feedback/comments is asking for it. Much like reviews on Amazon if you have no problems and are happy with the service (or in this case the news they were recieving) they wouldn't generally post about it. The internet is full of such dicks sometime.

Got up to the bit where Okabe dreams -
(may be a memory from a previous worldline, I still haven't worked that out) That's he's been banished to the end of time by SERN where all human life is dead and the world is just a wasteland with time/the days never passing by. Then he hears Mayushii's voice saying that she's been searching for him throughout the worldlines. The true Okarin.

I'm just going to say that scene was way better in the game than it was in the anime. The music they used fit perfectly and it was genuinly quite creepy.
 
L

Lain

Member
Clevinger said:
I've been following that SteinsGate thing and it amazes me how many shitheads there are in the VN community. Barely anyone in the comments on their sites are grateful. Most posts are just falsely entitled whining like "Why don't you update us on your progress more?" or "Did you sell us out to JAST" or "Why isn't it released yet?"

If I was that translator I'd just videotape myself deleting my translation work and saying "Fuck all y'all. Go learn Japanese."
Click to expand...

I don't get the sellout sentiment and probably never will. People should be happy that a visual novel might be getting officially licensed, even if that takes away their patch.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Lain said:
I don't get the sellout sentiment and probably never will. People should be happy that a visual novel might be getting officially licensed, even if that takes away their patch.
Click to expand...

Exactly ..i'd rather have JAST pick it .. if that means a proper release for the game
 
H

hampig

Member
Sorry to jump in to the middle of your conversation like this, but I was just looking for some opinions on what the best ios visual novels are? The episodic format of Higurashi makes me nervous about the length of each episode and I've heard nothing about Kira Kira. I just finished Don't take it personally babe, it just ain't your story and I'm really craving some more. I would prefer a story about relationships and characters over anything else but it seems the ios has pretty slim pickings.
 
R

radiantdreamer

Member
Clevinger said:
I've been following that SteinsGate thing and it amazes me how many shitheads there are in the VN community. Barely anyone in the comments on their sites are grateful. Most posts are just falsely entitled whining like "Why don't you update us on your progress more?" or "Did you sell us out to JAST" or "Why isn't it released yet?"

If I was that translator I'd just videotape myself deleting my translation work and saying "Fuck all y'all. Go learn Japanese."
Click to expand...

Well, it's always the whiners that make the noise. Most other people, even if appreciative, don't post much.
 
S

survivor

Banned
radiantdreamer said:
Well, it's always the whiners that make the noise. Most other people, even if appreciative, don't post much.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I'm grateful for their translations and I said my thanks to them in their last update. There is no point in showing my gratitude if they are not updating anything.
 
A

Attackthebase

Member
Hey guys, my friend told me he would give me a $100 if I could find a VN (he is refusing to accept Hotel Dusk, Snatcher, and Ace Attorney) that was family-friendly. Any help?
 
B

Bowling Pin

Member
Attackthebase said:
Hey guys, my friend told me he would give me a $100 if I could find a VN (he is refusing to accept Hotel Dusk, Snatcher, and Ace Attorney) that was family-friendly. Any help?
Click to expand...

True Remembrance, Digital: A Love Story (I'm pretty sure), Princess Tomato and the Salad Kingdom (although that's just more of an adventure game). There are also eroge with options to not install adult content so there's that.

How does your friend define "family friendly" if he won't consider Hotel Dusk or Ace Attorney?
 
H

hamchan

Member
Attackthebase said:
Hey guys, my friend told me he would give me a $100 if I could find a VN (he is refusing to accept Hotel Dusk, Snatcher, and Ace Attorney) that was family-friendly. Any help?
Click to expand...
Well if we're talking DS there's that Lux Pain game maybe? I never played it but it might be family friendly. 999 is full of grisly murder so I dunno about that one, though kids do watch far worse on TV nowadays anyways.

There are heaps of family friendly VNs out there though. Such an easy $100 to make...
 
T

Torraz

Member
So I finished Umineko. Ive seen higurashi. What's a good VN to move on from here? I heard kara no shoujo is nice, or should I first read the higurashi VNs or something else entirely?
 
L

LegatoB

Member
R_thanatos said:
I enjoy koihime muso material .. if i had a physical purchase i would have bought it without any problem ( with voices included ).
The treatment they did with the release was just discutable and that's why i didn't buy it ( i can show all the koihime muso marchandise i have BOUGHT and i was read to support the localisation as well ..) but while the translation is good , the delivery wasn't...

Ps: i have Vns ( and/or simple hentai games ) translated or not in my physical library..so i support various kind of products ... but i can't support a half-work . i played the Jp voices patched version.

i just had to say it .. i'm probably in the minority but as long as your delivery is good and game theme interest me i'll support a Vn otherwise ....
Click to expand...
By "I played the JP voices patched version," do you mean you played the English version of Koihime with the voice files from the Japanese release re-inserted into the game by fans, or you played the original Japanese version in Japanese?
 
I

Item_Screen

Member
What VN games would you say are most like Snatcher and Policenauts? I always considered them adventure games, not VN. The only VN game I played was Saya No Uta, and while it was entertaining in it's own sick way, there wasn't really any gameplay at all. Snatcher and Policenauts are two of my all time favorite games however, and if any VN comes anywhere close to that I sort of experience then want to play them.
 
R

Ra1den

Member
Item_Screen said:
What VN games would you say are most like Snatcher and Policenauts? I always considered them adventure games, not VN. The only VN game I played was Saya No Uta, and while it was entertaining in it's own sick way, there wasn't really any gameplay at all. Snatcher and Policenauts are two of my all time favorite games however, and if any VN comes anywhere close to that I sort of experience then want to play them.
Click to expand...

Well the Phoenix Wright games have even more interaction than those classics you mentioned. And they are incredibly well written and engrossing games. They have a very different feel than the ones you mentioned of course, but they are just as good.

I recommend playing all 4 of them...and when you get to number 3, be joyful, for it takes the already high standards of the series and elevates them to incredible new highs.
 
I

iavi

Member
Ra1den said:
Well the Phoenix Wright games have even more interaction than those classics you mentioned. And they are incredibly well written and engrossing games. They have a very different feel than the ones you mentioned of course, but they are just as good.

I recommend playing all 4 of them...and when you get to number 3, be joyful, for it takes the already high standards of the series and elevates them to incredible new highs.
Click to expand...

I'll piggyback off of this and say Hotel Dusk, and probably Last Window (If it's as amazing as HD. I've yet to get to importing.) 999 is also said by many to be a pretty good adv, but I haven't personally been able to get into it. It's sitting on the shelf.

All of them DS games.
 
H

hamchan

Member
Ra1den said:
Seems more info developing on the Stein's;Gate official localization front, and a Steam release seems like a real possibility after all.

http://e17time.blogspot.com/
Click to expand...

Omg omg, I'm halfway through the game but I'll buy it for full price and play through it again if it makes it on Steam. It's the perfect VN for a Steam release and it would be a big boon for more English localization.
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
Lavalamp1138 said:
Oh my. The comments section in the latest blog posts are full of incredibly vulgar users. I haven't been keeping up with this translation group, but I don't really understand where these people are coming from.
Click to expand...

The visual novel fan community has a lot of entitlement issues (as does the fan translation community in general, to a certain extent).

Here I think part of the issue is that certain fans want to keep this a underground niche and would be disappointed to see the wider publicity that a Steam release would garner.
 
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