Community The Visual Novel Council | All Choices Lead To Here

[Exzyleph]

The next Visual Novel book club thread is up, this time for Analogue: A Hate Story and Hate: Plus by Christine Love:

Community - Visual Novel Book Club - Analogue: A Hate Story and Hate Plus

Welcome to the second MetaCouncil visual novel book club! For the second MetaCouncil visual novel book club, we will be reading the 2012 and 2013 visual novels, Analogue: A Hate Story and Hate Plus. This is an informal book club, so there is no fixed schedule; you simply read the novel at your...

metacouncil.com

I've also created a meta thread for the book club, so please share any ideas you have for future book club VNs in that thread:

Community - The MetaCouncil Visual Novel Book Club

Welcome to the Visual Novel Book Club Meta(Council) thread! This is a club for those who would like to read visual novels in a group setting. Once a month we pick a visual novel, read it and comment about it in a new thread. It is an informal book club, so there is no fixed schedule; you...

metacouncil.com

 

[Kvik]

New N1RV Ann-A gameplay.

Community - MetaSteam | September 2019 - Valve, I Know What You Did Last Summer!

hope your all ready for greedfall is gonna be fetch

metacouncil.com

 

[Exzyleph]

Witch Hunt, known for translating Umineko, has setup a twitter account in preparation for the launch of Ciconia no Naku koro ni:

https://twitter.com/witchhunt_ot

They confirmed that we are getting a translation of Umineko Saku (at a later date) and that we'll be getting the demo of Ciconia ep. 1 in English:

 

[DeejayDoom]

 

[Exzyleph]

 

[ZKenir]

 

[Exzyleph]

The demo for Ciconia no Naku koro ni was released earlier today and I just finished reading it:

It's pretty short, just under half an hour, and seems a lot more action-heavy than the Umineko (I haven't read Higurashi yet):
A long action scene that takes up most of the demo did remind me of the first Witch duel in Umineko
Perhaps it will be more along the lines of Rose Guns Days in that regard, namely more about political machinations and gun-fights than mysteries.

But regardless, it served its purpose and made me even more excited to read the full story next month,

The price of the Steam version is going to be $40 and will feature both English and Japanese language support.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

$40 for one episode?
Sounds a bit high?

 

[Knurek]

$40 for one episode?
Sounds a bit high?

I think it's for the whole package, with further episodes added whenever Ryuukishi07 is done with them (just like with Higu and Umi)

 

[Exzyleph]

I think it's for the whole package, with further episodes added whenever Ryuukishi07 is done with them (just like with Higu and Umi)

Somebody asked WH about that on Twitter and they could neither confirm nor deny. But you might be right.

We already knew that it was going to be more expensive, but $40 is more than I expected.

 

[「Echo」]

Wait, no Taimanin on Steam? LAME!

Was it too excessive? Steam is still hosting the Butler torture porn game so as usual this kinda decision baffles me.

 

[ZKenir]

It might be “school related”

 

[「Echo」]

I don't remember school stuff in Taimanin tbh. It was a really long time ago but I thought Asagi was like 21 and out of school?

Well either way, I suppose it was a bit too hopeful to think Steam would carry it after all...

 

[ZKenir]

 

[Kvik]

GOG is currently running a Moon Festival sale. A bunch of VNs are discounted. Higurashi 1-7 is on its historical low, I think. Also stuff like Umineko, Kindred Spirits, eden*, World End Economica and FataMoru.

GOG.com

Download the best classic and new games on Windows, Mac & Linux. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies and 30-day money-back guarantee.

www.gog.com

(Thanks, Madventure )

 

[ZKenir]

and

 

[「Echo」]

Ah, Taisho-era fashion is so poppin'. Glad it's coming to Steam uncensored, that's where I'll get it then. Mystery VN's are my jam!

 

[ZKenir]

also general update:

• Hello Lady 85% Translated, 70% Edited
• Making Lovers 65% Translated, 65% Edited
• Senren Banka 45% Translated, 45% Edited For those wondering about the status of Senren Banka, we’ll have some more news for you soon, so keep an eye out for that!
• Our secret projects Secret Project #1 - 100% Translated and 100% Edited, still in engine work by developer, early 2020 release Secret Project #2 - 30% Translated and 25% Edited Secret Project #3 - 10% Translated, 0% Edited

source is that tweet thread

----------------------------------------------

Hey everyone, happy Friday, it’s almost the weekend!
It’s been a while since we last updated you guys about what’s going on with Aokana.
We are happy to announce that Aokana was approved by Valve and will be released at the end of this month, on the 27th of September!

The game will be, like our other games, released simultaneously on the NekoNyan store, Denpasoft, Fakku, JAST, Mangagamer, Nutaku as well as Steam (with a free patch available). The launch price will be $34.99 with a 10% launch discount.

Next, Backerkit will close on September 25th. Please make sure your order is locked in ASAP, so that you can get your digital keys. As of right now, there are still 175 people who need to lock their surveys in, so please take a few minutes and complete it. If you have issues completing it, please send us an email at help@nekonyansoft.on.spiceworks.com.

We are also really excited to announce that we secured the rights for the additional scenes from the Perfect Edition of Aokana. Those will be added a few weeks after the release of Aokana and will be available as paid DLC for $4.99. People who backed us on Kickstarter or pre-ordered the game on Backerkit will get those for free.
Most of you know that we hadn’t been originally planning on licensing the Perfect Edition, which in our cases adds a couple of extra scenes (and H-scenes) with Misaki. Some of you may also know the reason for that was due to the very high additional costs of that version over the base version. As time went on, more and more people asked about us getting the PE, and expressed interest in it. Ultimately, after thinking long and hard about it, we wanted to give you guys, the fans, what you wanted as best we can. We decided to go ahead and license the Perfect Edition scenes, but to help offset the extra costs, have them as an add-on DLC for those that want them.

Finally, in general NekoNyan news, we are looking for an additional Unity programmer to assist us with porting games from KiriKiri, BGI, and others, to our in-house Unity engine. If you, or someone you know has Unity experience, and is interested in helping to bring VNs to the west, please email a full resume to apply@nekonyansoft.com, along with any examples of previous work, if possible.

Thanks everyone! We hope you are looking forward to the game releasing in just 2 weeks time!

-NekoNyan Staff

 

[Exzyleph]

also general update:

• Hello Lady 85% Translated, 70% Edited
• Making Lovers 65% Translated, 65% Edited
• Senren Banka 45% Translated, 45% Edited For those wondering about the status of Senren Banka, we’ll have some more news for you soon, so keep an eye out for that!
• Our secret projects Secret Project #1 - 100% Translated and 100% Edited, still in engine work by developer, early 2020 release Secret Project #2 - 30% Translated and 25% Edited Secret Project #3 - 10% Translated, 0% Edited

source is that tweet thread

----------------------------------------------

NekoNyan continues to impress.
Of course, there is still plenty of time for delays and complications when they get to the physical goods, but so far their campaign has been exemplary.

 

[ZKenir]

Mangagmer had its weekly update

TITLES TO BE RELEASED SOON
(i'm including Hashihime tweet as well, the previous announcement may be recent but the situation of MG being volatile with payment processors I'd rather post multiple release confirmations)

slew of updates

• The release build for Funbag Fantasy 2 has been finalized. We've also added and integrated Steam achievements!
• Sona-Nyl of the Violet Shadows is 100% translated and 30% edited!
• The release build for Amatarasu Riddle Star has been finalized! Additionally, it's been approved for release on Steam!
• Moving along to secret projects: Sakuranomori Dreamers, AKA Secret Project #1, is 100% translated and edited! Image editing is progressing smoothly.
• The release build for Imouto Paradise 3, AKA Secret Project #2, is being finalized!
• WanNyan, AKA Secret Project #3, is 100% translated and 90% edited!
• Rance 01, AKA Secret Project #4, is 100% translated and 25% edited!
• Nyan Cafe, AKA Secret Project #5, is 100% translated and 100% edited! Image editing is coming along nicely~
• Eternal Torment, AKA Secret Project #6, is 100% translated and edited! Congrats, team!
• Funbag Fantasy: Sideboob Story 2, AKA Secret Project #7, is 100% translated and edited. Image editing is also completed, and will soon be heading into beta!
• Magic & Slash, AKA Secret Project #8, is 100% translated and 83.5% edited!
• Uchikano ~Living With My Girlfriend~, AKA Secret Project #9, is 100% translated and 37% edited!
• As we mentioned in our last update, the #Maggotbaits release build is finally ready! Will it be our next pre-order? Hmm... Who knows?

Basically by the time Sona-Nyl is out I'll be a grandad at this pace, also I don't see Bokuten mentioned there but I hope it'll come out at some point...eventually...maybe...

 

[「Echo」]

Great news to see Aokana approved for Steam. It's probably the console version though huh?

 

[ZKenir]

Yeah, they’ll have a free patch though

 

[Li Kao]

I do not have money anymore, I don’t even have enough to finish this fucking month, but I curious aboy Somnium Files. Looks interesting and not a killing game, which imho is becoming a little tired now.

 

[DeejayDoom]

 

[「Echo」]

Do they accept Paypal? Kinda hesitant to link a CC or bank card to them...

 

[Kvik]

Do they accept Paypal? Kinda hesitant to link a CC or bank card to them...

CC only, I'm afraid.

 

[「Echo」]

CC only, I'm afraid.

Steam remains the only place for me to buy MG titles than I guess. This also cuts me off from 2/3 of their catalog.

 

[ZKenir]

Do they accept Paypal? Kinda hesitant to link a CC or bank card to them...

Contact support, they’ll probably do the same they did up to now and let you pay with PP and give you enough MG points for the game you want

 

[Snakethesniper]

I still have to finish Muv Luv Alternative, but I wanted to ask something / tell something

Spoilers

First the question. Are the director's cut the original muv luv content or they're an added "hentai" bonus? Because I'm playing the director's cut, since I have no problem with hentai scenes and wanted to experience the product as it was intended-..but maybe that was an error!
I'm in chapter 9 and I got to the point where unit-00 tells Takeru what she experienced in the hive...and well....
I'm a little disappointed? Kinda ruined the novel for me?
I'm ok that in the previous novels there were H-scenes at the end, and I was actually curious as to why basically every character had some really explicit scenes while Sumika was like come out of the censored version.
Then, this part happened. I mean, it's supposed to be a shock and a traumatic experience and reveal for takeru, but they turned it in literally rape-porn with every japanese fetish stereotype in it (tentacle rape, lactating, boobs enlargment, futanari even!!!). And, in contrast to the previous H-scene of sumika, it's definetely explicit this time. In contrast, the love scene after is again really tame. It must be a conscious decision, and I'm kinda baffled by it. Like, there really wasn't reason to put it like that? If they really wanted to do a scene like that, they could do it in a more subtle way, like the other scenes, instead of going all out, or I don't know, like the berserk manga?
It has kinda put me off the plot, like , how can you still take it seriously when they decided to put a scene where sumika grows a penis and rape an alien????
Again, I can understand the fan-service stuff when you "conquer" one of the girls (even if the dialogue is really embarassing), but this?
Just wanted to vent off about this lol. I hope it will not hinder my enjoyment of the rest of the plot, since I was into it.

 

[Exzyleph]

I still have to finish Muv Luv Alternative, but I wanted to ask something / tell something

Spoilers

First the question. Are the director's cut the original muv luv content or they're an added "hentai" bonus? Because I'm playing the director's cut, since I have no problem with hentai scenes and wanted to experience the product as it was intended-..but maybe that was an error!
I'm in chapter 9 and I got to the point where unit-00 tells Takeru what she experienced in the hive...and well....
I'm a little disappointed? Kinda ruined the novel for me?
I'm ok that in the previous novels there were H-scenes at the end, and I was actually curious as to why basically every character had some really explicit scenes while Sumika was like come out of the censored version.
Then, this part happened. I mean, it's supposed to be a shock and a traumatic experience and reveal for takeru, but they turned it in literally rape-porn with every japanese fetish stereotype in it (tentacle rape, lactating, boobs enlargment, futanari even!!!). And, in contrast to the previous H-scene of sumika, it's definetely explicit this time. In contrast, the love scene after is again really tame. It must be a conscious decision, and I'm kinda baffled by it. Like, there really wasn't reason to put it like that? If they really wanted to do a scene like that, they could do it in a more subtle way, like the other scenes, instead of going all out, or I don't know, like the berserk manga?
It has kinda put me off the plot, like , how can you still take it seriously when they decided to put a scene where sumika grows a penis and rape an alien????
Again, I can understand the fan-service stuff when you "conquer" one of the girls (even if the dialogue is really embarassing), but this?
Just wanted to vent off about this lol. I hope it will not hinder my enjoyment of the rest of the plot, since I was into it.

Spoiler

That is the original content and I agree that it detracts from the story to a comical degree. The "all ages" version still includes that scene, but greatly tones it down, resulting in something much less (though still a bit) ridiculous.

On the bright side you are now at one of my favorite chapters in the entire novel, IIRC, and it is a hell of a read.

Because of the spoilered, I'd honestly recommend reading the "all ages" version of Muv-Luv: Alternative to anyone else reading this thread.

 

[Myradeer]

I usually end up liking Japanese all ages title very often, because to survive on that VN market without eroge content the plot has to be good enough to compensate and the latter is what I prioritize the most in the genre,

 

[ZKenir]

 

[Exzyleph]

The prefundia (Kickstarter preview) for Compass of Dei Gratia is up and it looks quite interesting.
It is an indie "thriller/mystery/action science-fiction visual novel" and "an homage to other famous science-fiction visual novels such as Ever17 -Out of Infinity-", published by the same company that localized Root Double and (soon) Raging Loop.

 

[Rosenkrantz]

I tried London Detective Mysteria a couple of days ago, and ended up uninstalling it a few hours later, it's really padded and obnoxious, tho I did like the premise and what little of detective work I've seen in that time.

 

[Knurek]

The prefundia (Kickstarter preview) for Compass of Dei Gratia is up and it looks quite interesting.
It is an indie "thriller/mystery/action science-fiction visual novel" and "an homage to other famous science-fiction visual novels such as Ever17 -Out of Infinity-", published by the same company that localized Root Double and (soon) Raging Loop.

Sadly, I see no way in hell they are making the 50k goal.

 

[ZKenir]

 

[Exzyleph]

Anyone know what "unexpected developments" they are talking about?

 

[Snakethesniper]

Spoiler

That is the original content and I agree that it detracts from the story to a comical degree. The "all ages" version still includes that scene, but greatly tones it down, resulting in something much less (though still a bit) ridiculous.

On the bright side you are now at one of my favorite chapters in the entire novel, IIRC, and it is a hell of a read.

Because of the spoilered, I'd honestly recommend reading the "all ages" version of Muv-Luv: Alternative to anyone else reading this thread.

well glad not to be only one xD
Speaking of alternative, I don't know if it's my configuration or what, but is it normal that during "cutscenes", aka scenes that play automatically, sometimes they go really fast that you can't even read the text?

 

[Exzyleph]

well glad not to be only one xD
Speaking of alternative, I don't know if it's my configuration or what, but is it normal that during "cutscenes", aka scenes that play automatically, sometimes they go really fast that you can't even read the text?

It could be a VSync issue, where the play-back speed is tied to the frame-rate, so you can try to see if there are any options to enable/force VSync.

I vaguely remember parts of some action scenes that felt sped up, but I don't recall having had trouble reading the text, so I think I took it as an artistic choice. There are some complete play-throughs of Alternative on Youtube, so you could try finding a clip one of those fast playing scenes and see if the LP'er had the same experience as you.

 

[Li Kao]

I hope it hasn't already been discussed, as it seems like a fairly common question when talking about the genre, but... do you people play uncensored or censored version of VN ?

I'm quite opposed to any form of censorship, when I play a Japanese game, I want to play the most faithful adaptation of it. Some other places would ridicule me, this is me caring
But at the same time, in the case of the few mature VN I played several hours into, I definitely had mixed feelings.
First I was, porn ? Ok, let's do business !
Then if hopefully the plot is engrossing, I had less and less will to... err... do that. To the point of the scenes being annoying.

So, maybe it's best to always prefer censored versions ?
I know the usual answer is that some h-scenes are important to the plot. But are they really that important ?

 

[Rosenkrantz]

I hope it hasn't already been discussed, as it seems like a fairly common question when talking about the genre, but... do you people play uncensored or censored version of VN ?

I don't nesseccerily consider all-ages versions to be censored, a lot of the time H-scenes don't bring anything remotely important to the table and just there because the certain segment of VN fandom expect it to be there. The best stuff I read doesn't even have AO versions to begin with (Science Adventure, Ever17, Remember11, 428 etc.).

 

[ZKenir]

I always read the uncensored version

 

[「Echo」]

I always read the uncensored version

Yep this. If I get tired of the Ero scenes I'll just skim them or skip through quickly. I hesitate to skip over them entirely just incase any story development actually happens. ... Which is rare, but I've seen it before! (F/SN cough!)

 

[Li Kao]

So how is Our World is Ended ? I know it has some misogynistic content, but how is the overall narrative ?

 

[Myradeer]

The prefundia (Kickstarter preview) for Compass of Dei Gratia is up and it looks quite interesting.
It is an indie "thriller/mystery/action science-fiction visual novel" and "an homage to other famous science-fiction visual novels such as Ever17 -Out of Infinity-", published by the same company that localized Root Double and (soon) Raging Loop.

I actually played this game and it's definitely a hidden gem. A title I heartily recommend to all Infinity series fans.
Not sure if the goal will be met unfortunately...

 

[ZKenir]

 

[「Echo」]

This is good stuff, when translators put in work like this it makes a big difference instead of doing just a straight up localization.

 

[Kvik]

Does anyone here ever bought anything from Magino Drive? I'd like to know if they accept non-JP credit cards.

 

[sk2k]

Has anyone played Exogenesis? How complete is the game? It is in Early Access.

 

[Exzyleph]

It seems that Nanairo Reincarnation just got the Valve stamp of approval and will be releasing in 3 days:

According to discord the price will be $29.99 on all platforms with 10% off on launch and there will be a free 18+ patch on Denpasoft.

Has anyone played Exogenesis? How complete is the game? It is in Early Access.

It seems that the ending is still missing, according to a developer:

If you want to get to the ending, best to wait. Hopefully we're done by the end of the year.