I want discussion!

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#41
quote:
Originally posted by Benoit:
I don't understand why you make such a big deal about the patch being obtained through giving them your serial. You mentioned that patches would have to be on removeable media, and you can get the patches for the G-Collections games on such media by burning them on a CD or even copy them to a floppy disk. What's so bad about that?
I just went through a confrontation with Norton Anti-virus software where it did turn out to be a big deal. I downloaded a patch for the product to my PC and didn't even have to give them the serial number because it was silently uploaded along with my system profile. When I copied the patch file to my notebook, it refused to install even though the same program had previously been installed there. It turned out that Symantec had changed their policy of one license per customer to one license per system and were enforcing it through the upgrades.

quote:
As for the "silent treatment", you can e-mail Peter at any time to ask questions, which he usually replies to within one or two days. I don't see why people have complained in the past about not getting answers when you can contact Peter.
Thanks for your kind advice. I realize that I can contact PP privately. I would rather have PP respond publicly, on the record for the benefit of anyone else who'd like an answer. It's not like I'm asking PP to reveal marketing plans or delivery dates. I'd just like to know their intentions regarding the patches so I can plan accordingly. I'll even provide a survey form. [Choose one of the following.]

A. We have no intention to add the patches to the product discs.

B. We have no intention to add the patches to the product discs, but they can be copied from one system to another and will work as advertised.

C. We do plan to add the patches to the products discs. We'll keep you advised as to availability.


#42
quote:
I just went through a confrontation with Norton Anti-virus software where it did turn out to be a big deal. I downloaded a patch for the product to my PC and didn't even have to give them the serial number because it was silently uploaded along with my system profile. When I copied the patch file to my notebook, it refused to install even though the same program had previously been installed there. It turned out that Symantec had changed their policy of one license per customer to one license per system and were enforcing it through the upgrades.

And that is related to the Virtual-Mate patches how? The patch removes Virtual-Mate, hence no licenses issue. The patches are nothing but self-extracting ZIP files that unpack a .exe file into your game directory that replaces the main .exe.
#43

Benoit, is there any subject you’re not an authority on? Thanks, but I’ll wait to hear from someone in a position to answer.

#44

I’m currently underfunded for getting any of the v-mate games. I just spent 400 dollars to backorder the new US Army uniforms. Since they’re not issueing them to us, we have to buy them.

Whenever I feel like my account can take a small hit again, I’ll probably buy 3 of the games, and maybe the horny bunny ones, just to see some good hentai action without worrying about a story too much.

As far as new releases, none of the new titles really interest me much. I was looking at Ai Yori Aoshi, but then I read into it more and realized it’s just a visual novel. I haven’t seen the actual show, so that kind of puts me off. I’m hoping next year we get some announcements for some games that I will probably end up liking. My biggest problem is as a guy I just can’t imagine playing through the games as a girl. Just not my thing, I like playing the guy.

Edit: One more thing, I think it fits in with a general discussion topic. To anyone who has played the Japanese extended version of Crescendo, can you give me a rundown of the extended scenarios? I’m very curious to see if they actually added anything interesting to the game or if they just wanted to add some extra sex scenes. If anyone could find out, or if anyone already knows, I’d appreciate the info!

[This message has been edited by Billybob (edited 09-04-2005).]

#45
quote:
Originally posted by ladyphoenix:
I'll do my best to get through the Doushin testing quickly

Good Luck!
That's a pretty tough cookie that you are going to chew on. Perhaps, even a tougher one than Lamuness had with testing Brave Soul!

Do you use a walkthrough for your testing?
I think that otherwise, you have close to no chance unlocking the path to Ryoko's best ending within a reasonable amount of time...

#46
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
A. We have no intention to add the patches to the product discs.

B. We have no intention to add the patches to the product discs, but they can be copied from one system to another and will work as advertised.

C. We do plan to add the patches to the products discs. We'll keep you advised as to availability.

Ok, after you describing your Norton experience (yes they're bastards becoming just like M$) I think I understand your concerns.

I can tell you that the answer is (no worse than) B. I downloaded the patch using one machine, and then transferred it to and installed it on a different machine.

#47
quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
Benoit, is there any subject you're not an authority on? Thanks, but I'll wait to hear from someone in a position to answer.

What's with the flame? I'm pretty sure what I'm saying is correct. I don't understand why you are seemingly being paranoid. Do you really think Peach Princess would use such underhanded tactics when releasing a patch that would disable those exact tactics which were in place? They didn't even have to release the patches in the first place, you know.
#48
quote:
Originally posted by papillon:
depends on how relentlessly dedicated you are. this is a Princess Maker style game. sim/stat management and monster killing. There are at least 50 endings depending on how you count. And the last people I tried to recruit for testing from here never sent one single piece of feedback, making me rather grumpy. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

So if you're not a diehard PM/RPG fan willing to play through things over and over and over again, you're probably better off waiting until the official demo testing comes around (which will be more of a 'Does this RUN on your PC?' test.) [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

I offered to test when you mentioned it before but I never heard anything from you. I'd still be interested in testing if you need someone. Let me know.

#49
quote:
Originally posted by Nameless Mofo:
I can tell you that the answer is (no worse than) B. I downloaded the patch using one machine, and then transferred it to and installed it on a different machine.
Thanks for the help, NF. According to Peter's comment in another thread, it looks like "C" may also apply.
quote:
Originally posted by Peter Payne:
Incidentally, on the games that we're reprinting, we're obviously leaving the Virtual Mate requirement off. So if you buy the newly reprinted Let's Meow Meow, Hitomi, Sagara Family etc., they will come in the spiffy new "no V-Mate required" packaging.
Now the trick is to guess when the reprinting will take place. Will there be an announcement of some kind?
quote:
However, I did say before that you wouldn't be seeing the last of V-Mate. Maybe V-Mate will be back with us again soon, as an option, of course.
Playing those yaoi games must have turned him to the SM side. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/eek.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by perigee (edited 09-05-2005).]

#50

Well Benoit, as the title of this thread stated, you wanted discussion, you’ve got discussion!!

#51

Indeed. I had quickly realized that it was a self-fulling prophecy.
Or something like that.

#52

Sorry if this sounds certifiably dense folks, but it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten to this site and I’m apparently way, way behind on the news (my username had even expired or something, which is just as well because I can’t remember it - I was “Zaphod B. Goode” over at G-Collections.)

Anyway, I’m reading hints of news I haven’t clued into: Has something happened to G-Collections? And apparently V-Mate is no more which is something of a relief, though I share the manufacturers’ concern (make that boundless contempt, in my case,) for pirates, piracy and intellectual property theft in any variant.

As to game releases, I’ve gotten to the point where my enjoyment of these games, along with my enthusiasm for tackling languages, has got me thinking about setting up my PC for Japanese and learning enough of the Japanese language and alphabet to muddle my way through the untranslated version. This will be after I buy a new PC, which will happen soon, not to mention after I’ve had enough time to dive into Japanese. I’m struggling with Thai right now for girlfriendish reasons, and that’s actually not too hard - only about 60 characters in the alphabet, though the five tonal variations are a bee-atch.

Right now I’m running W98SE and I’ve heard that on XP, switching the OS to compatibility with other languages is just a matter of a few clicks in Settings. True or bullsh*t? Could it really be that easy?

Even if I get that to work I’d still want any English-translated versions as a preference. But for those who are radical in their enthusiasm, the hard route beckons…

Thoughts?

------------------
“In the absence of evidence to the contrary, always assume you have the upper hand.” - Ronnie Montrose

#53
quote:
Originally posted by Gromit:
Right now I'm running W98SE and I've heard that on XP, switching the OS to compatibility with other languages is just a matter of a few clicks in Settings. True or bullsh*t? Could it really be that easy?

Basically: yes, it IS that easy. There are a few exceptions, that sometimes occur during installation time, though...

However, if you should have troubles in this regard, you should be able to find some help and experience in playing japanese games here.


quote:
Originally posted by Gromit:
Even if I get that to work I'd still want any English-translated versions as a preference. But for those who are radical in their enthusiasm, the hard route beckons...

Thoughts?

Japanese won't give yoiu much troubles with pronounciation as did apparently Thai.
But on the other hand, the amount of characters that have to be learned aren't to be underestimated:
Katakana and Hiragana are about 60 characters each. And they would only suffice if you would start playing games at elementary-school-level.

For adult games, you have to learn Kanjis: about 2000 characters, that all have meanings on their own and could also be combined to form other meanings. Among the most commonly used words, you will find Kanjis that consist of 1-3 characters.

So, I wish you good luck and the necessary endurance for tackling this challenge. It IS possible, but certainly will take its time (in my case: 5 years, and still not perfect).

[This message has been edited by Unicorn (edited 09-09-2005).]

#54

Just coming out of the shadows as requested …

Since my Japanese is really starting to take off now that I’ve got a good chunk of kanji under my belt, for the first time I’ve been surfing for some good Japanese-language h-games.

Some good looking ones that caught my eye were Cleavage by Will, Lingerie, Sister Mermaid, one whose name I forget right now but is about a gymnastics team, some of the recent games by Lillith & Dark Lillith (has anyone played any Lillith games?), Stray Sheep … Sort of all over the map genre wise as I’m still trying to figure out what I like best. For every English translated game that raises my eyebrow there are 50 Japanese games that raises my … erm … interest even more.

Anyway, re: discussion, has anyone played any of the games I mentioned and have any thoughts?

Does anyone have any good recommendations for some relatively easy Japanese in an H-Game to start off?

#55

Hey everyone, its been awhile since I’ve posted here and thought I’d join the topic.
I haven’t played much in the way of erogames, but I did order a copy of the massive 5 disc Tokimeki Memorial 2 today.

quote:
Does anyone have any good recommendations for some relatively easy Japanese in an H-Game to start off?

I haven’t played any of the ones you’ve mentioned, but for a beginner to the import world I’d recommend Baldr Force EXE and Duel Savior Justice. Both are made by Giga and are eaisly purchasable from Himeya.

Baldr Force EXE has a great story thats not too difficult to understand. Plus it has a really fun highly customizable 2D robot-shooter battle mode.

Duel Savior Justice has a lighter and more “fun” storyline to it. It does get much more interesting in the later paths though. It features an insane 2D fighting game battle system (simple yet very deep, feels like a “Tales” game on steroids). Navigating the game is very easy since most choices consist of choosing a place on the map with a sprite showing you which girl is currently there.

Duel Savior is eaiser to play, I personaly prefer Baldr Force EXE’s deeper story and atmosphere though.

#56
quote:
Originally posted by Keido to Ido:
discussion, has anyone played any of the games I mentioned and have any thoughts?

If you meant by Lingerie actually Lingeries made by Mink, then I indeed did play this one.


quote:
Originally posted by Keido to Ido:
Does anyone have any good recommendations for some relatively easy Japanese in an H-Game to start off?

What do you mean by "easy" exactly?
Tha game itself being not too difficult - or the demand for japanese language skills being low?

In the latter case,I'd suggest you take a look at games first that aren't aimed for an adult audience.
In my case, the "Galaxy Angel"-series helped a lot: Funny stories with still a nice amount of romance, 3D-animated space-combat-simulation with chat between the pilots and a mysterious background-story that gradually unfolded starting with the Black Moon-story in the first game until the grand finale in the third and last game.

EDT:
But if you insist on adult themes and you feel a confident enough about your Kanjis, I'd recommend:

  • Sudzukuri Dragon from Softhouse Chara
  • Kuutei Senki from Eushully
  • Brightia from Cronus (just recently re-released with an additional scenario)
  • Darcrows from AliceSoft

[This message has been edited by Unicorn (edited 09-13-2005).]

#57
quote:
Originally posted by Keido to Ido:
Does anyone have any good recommendations for some relatively easy Japanese in an H-Game to start off?

Sakkyuba™SOON! is 100% voiced (every single line!!), its Japanese is extremely easy, and it's an amusing game, too (try the demo here).
For other suggestions, have you seen the Reviews forum?
#58
quote:
Originally posted by papillon:
Actually, I would have liked Figures of Happiness better without the sex scenes. The writing of the naughty bits was... very much not my style. I was torn between laughing and groaning most of the time. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img] And the telltale squelchy-squelchy noises! Twas a hoot. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

I hear the same thing is true of Key's games.

#59

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. (o^^)L

I meant “easy” by Japanese level, but on reflection … I’m in that stage of kanji learning where I’ll go thru anything very slowly with a dictionary, translating word by word, sentence by sentence – so it probably doesn’t matter so much the level (I’ll take as much time as I need to understand it) as much as that the story needs to be interesting enough to carry me the distance (if I get too bored, I’ll just stop since it’s not worth all the effort for a dull story/action).

Re: Adult games/themes, they do tend to be more interesting than family games just by virtue of being more mature (though not always!), and engaging and the H factor is there, but I don’t underestimate the fun of other types of games if they are really exceptional.

[This message has been edited by Keido to Ido (edited 09-14-2005).]

[This message has been edited by Keido to Ido (edited 09-14-2005).]

#60
quote:
Originally posted by Keido to Ido:
so it probably doesn't matter so much the level (I'll take as much time as I need to understand it) as much as that the story needs to be interesting enough to carry me the distance (if I get too bored, I'll just stop since it's not worth all the effort for a dull story/action).

I see. If you are really persistent and only care for a story that makes you want to go on, then I have to add Soul Link from Navel.

The EVE-series from C's would also be a good choice in this regard, but it is a bit lengthy and I wonder if it wouldn't stress your endirance on your current level too much. I myself have that series lying around unplayed for years and am still not encouraged enough to begin with it. The same goes for a few other games that are highly praised, so I bought them before they probably would be not available anymore.


quote:
Originally posted by Keido to Ido:
Re: Adult games/themes, they do tend to be more interesting than family games just by virtue of being more mature (though not always!), and engaging and the H factor is there, but I don't underestimate the fun of other types of games if they are really exceptional.

I see. I heard rumors about Brokkoli releasing a complete collection of Galaxy Angel, containing all three parts. Perhaps, you should keep that in mind...