I just realized the… main post? Basic info post? Dunno what to call it, but anyway, this thread doesn’t mention the release date. I feel like that would be very useful to include. I was planning to link this thread into a promotional CG set on my blog, because the basic info is so nicely laid out at the top. =/
@Sir Tinglefanny, we know some fans are disappointed that we're changing some content in our release. The plan is for everyone to get every bit of the game via the third party patch. We think you'll like the results...
@OtakuAPologist, the current working release date is the end of April. We're working hard towards this goal. The English EXE is finalized and we're re-starting testing with it to make sure there are no surprise bugs.
@Peter Payne, that definitely gives me a lot of comfort. If the patch is all but confirmed my body is more than ready for this game. I don't dare to hope that the re-implemented content will be without mosaics as well, but it'd be a pleasant surprise. Yeah, no, I should use what time's left until the game/patch comes out to make peace with the fact that it won't happen.
Anyway, looking forward to buying the game on release. It's been a long time coming.
The free software Gimp is pretty amazing for restoring genitalia. Especially female genitals, once you know how they look, can be drawn with ease. I know there are even better tools than Gimp. I’m sure anybody could do a neat job removing mosaics after a week or two of training. 
@OtakuApologist
I’m sure many will agree that an impersonator’s art will be inferior to the uncensored CGs which JAST are already in possession of, yet refuse to make available.
To JAST:
I get your legal argument about being unable to ship the product internationally, and being worried for your employees being prosecuted. But you are pretty much advertising the fact that a patch will be available, I mean look at your twitter back in december, you make it sound like YOU are putting a patch out there (see here, here and here) which is quite contradictory, since in this blog post you state otherwise, not to mention without your involvement a fan-patch will not feature uncensored art in it, which will just give people an inconsistent and pointless product.
You state that “The plan is for everyone to get every bit of the game via the third party patch. We think you’ll like the results…” What does this mean? Unless we get all the uncensored CGs we aren’t getting “every bit”, you still have every bit, but won’t release it. Don’t use a non-answer like this and refuse to answer these questions before release, plenty of people are pre-ordering believing what you state about there being a patch, but the thing is these patches take ages to make, and won’t feature uncensored art without your involvement, which you claim won’t happen. Can you please stop trying to trick people into buying a butchered product, by making claims based on absolutely nothing, relying on hypothetical fan patches to fix the content you cut, and just be clear about what will happen on and post release.
Again on the “We think you’ll like the results…” comment, I very much doubt this. Unless you somehow get the uncensored CGs to this “fan-patch” you are so hopeful will happen, I’m gonna be pretty pissed off. I’m not pre-ordering this, and I won’t buy it until I can be 100% sure I’ll be getting all the game’s content uncensored, and I’m not asking for some amateur to use GIMP to do this, not when you have Sei’s uncensored art in your possession, I’m asking for you to either distribute the patch that your tweets seem to advertise yourselves, be it from your official site or discretely under some other name, or quietly assist in putting the uncensored CGs into another fan-patch.
This is not the kind of question dodging and false advertising (see especially this tweet) I’d expect from a company like this, and it’s quite disappointing to see it happening concerning a game from one of my favorite VN artists. I really wish Will/Empress had approached someone like MangaGamer to be honest, because this kind of issue wouldn’t happen with them. In future, please don’t license games you’re going to have to edit, and I’d rather not see you license more of Empress’ games if you’re going to treat them this poorly, not only in editing, but in your misleading information and lack of clarity in your statements.
I’d like some answers as to what you meant by your misleading tweets back in December, (I’m too lazy to link them again, see my first paragraph), what you meant by your comment “The plan is for everyone to get every bit of the game via the third party patch. We think you’ll like the results…”† and to be honest, I’d really just like you to make the uncensored CGs available in some way, I don’t care if you “accidentally” leak the CGs to a fan-patch community, but god damn it, this is not acceptable.
Sorry if this sounded rude, I just really need to get my thoughts about this out, and would like answers on them, and hopefully solutions. I’ll happily make a purchase when I know this game is in good hands.
It's really doubtful JAST is going to clarify any further. Holding off on a preorder is reasonable. Getting enraged over JAST's dodginess regarding a 3rd party patch isn't so reasonable. You'll get all your answers with time, from actions not words. Don't expect any more official statements that might undermine JAST's plausible deniability stance.
"I'm sure many will agree that an impersonator's art will be inferior to the uncensored CGs which JAST are already in possession of, yet refuse to make available."
That's not necessarily true. Getting demosaiced images isn't as simple as you seem to think it is. Depending on the exact circumstances (assuming demosaicing is even possible at all, which in this case we can assume is the case), the mosaiced areas may have to be completely redrawn (and looking at JAST's available titles, the end result sometimes isn't very pretty). We don't know whether a hypothetical third party patch will have demosiaced images or not. Getting riled up over assumptions based on speculation is kind of pointless. Again, let's wait and see. If worse comes to worst, and the 3rd party patch doesn't meet expectations, then don't buy the game. It's that simple.
@Dark_Shiki
"Getting enraged over JAST's dodginess regarding a 3rd party patch isn't so reasonable."
It is when JAST are advertising the patch as if they were making it themselves through misleading wording.
Some of the tweets they made are downright false advertising (this is not an acceptable thing to say to a buyer if it isn't true).
"Getting demosaiced images isn't as simple as you seem to think it is"
Yes, this is true, but not in the situation of this game, JAST specified they wanted to release Cleavage about a decade ago, but couldn't because the uncensored CGs had been thrown away, this implies that in this case they had not been, in this case it really is just a case of getting the CGs from the original source.
"We don't know whether a hypothetical third party patch will have demosiaced images or not."
While yes, we don't know whether someone will redraw the uncensored art, we can be certain JAST won't give a fan-patch the uncensored CGs, which is a compromise I hope they will become willing to make, since they've made it clear they have the original CGs drawn by Sei, uncensored, not a redraw by someone in GIMP or some similar tool.
"If worse comes to worst, and the 3rd party patch doesn't meet expectations, then don't buy the game. It's that simple."
It may be that simple, but it isn't satisfactory to a lot of people. Games rarely tend to be localized more than once, so this is pretty much the only chance this game has at getting a release, and I'd rather it not be something half-baked. There are ways JAST could quietly get a patch out without drawing negative attention, they just want to play it as safe as possible because they think they can get away with it.
I'll wait for an official response thanks.
Yea, I have seen those Twitter posts before and I was planning on quoting them, as well. But it is kind of understandable if they want to stay mum about the whole patch thing for now until they are absolutely certain of what to do with it, when the game is released. If I know Peter, and I believe I do based on his previous handling on PR issues in the past, the outcome will be a good one (as he promises to be). Staying quiet about it for now is a good thing in my honest opinion, as publicizing it further on things may stair up unnecessary attention. And believe me when I say that I am the biggest fan of Sei out there, especially after this game was made, and I am the most vocalized audience on their decisions to censor this game but if JastUSA is playing it safe and keeping it quiet on certain things about this project and the end product is, in fact, what has been promised, then who am I to argue on things that were mentioned many times already. I am sure they won’t add anything new to it more than what has been already said!
Having written that, I believe the biggest issue right now would if they decide to postpone the release date again. That would be a bummer for few fans out there since Empress just announced another game that will be released at the end of June and I am saving it for that game, too. There will be other good releases this Summer as well, so I hope JastUSA does not postpone this game again. 
@dogma
Your praise of Peter is quite reassuring to me, to be honest I think I’ve overreacted a bit, I’ve just gotten quite anxious due to the lack of information. I do wish some of their statements (especially on twitter) were a little clearer about what was happening post-launch, since this is one VN I care very deeply about. I agree it would be nice if the release isn’t postponed too, as that would probably clash with Closed Game, (which is looking stellar by the way, wink wink nudge nudge looking for another game to license?).
I’d still appreciate a response to some of my questions, but I’m much more hopeful the outcome will be a positive one now.
I'm worried about the handling of Shiny Days myself. I don't care in particular about Starless, but their handling of this title sets a precedent that may carry over to Shiny Days. If the censored content gets restored in a professional and timely manner, then I'm less concerned.
@Tom-ahawk: You could try sending a strongly worded e-mail to Nicholas. That’s how I wrung information about Starless out of him. 
Seriously speaking, these boards may not be in popular use, but they are very public none the less. This situation is delicate. Laws about sexual materials are NOT TO BE MESSED WITH. Your chances of getting answers may not improve significantly, but I would suggest trying e-mail. JAST USA have a Tumblr account as well and they accept questions from everyone.
@OtakuApologist
Any idea where I can find that email address? I've had a quick search but to no avail.
@tom-ahawk:
Try this address: support@jastusa.com
Alternatively, try out these two:
JAST twitter: https://twitter.com/jastusa
JAST Tumblr: http://jastusa.tumblr.com/
@OtakuApologist
Thanks, I'll just try the email for now, seeing as twitter and tumblr are more public.
You can also open a ticket to us here.
Yay! Just few more weeks until this gem is released in glorious uncensored form (albiet censored version) to the world. I hope it won’t be postponed again. If it does, I may have to cancel my pre-order to cater for other releases on May and June, especially that new Empress game, which looks pretty awesome! I also hope the restoration patch is released soon after by someone. 
Waiting eagerly for the release… (-_________-)
@Peter Payne
If I were to submit a ticket, would that go to someone different than an email? I’ve gotten a response from
Nicholas via email. If sending a ticket would go to you I’d be happy to, but I don’t want to waste Nicholas’ time by contacting him twice via two different methods. You seem to work in very different areas, (from what I’ve gathered, you operate out of Japan Peter?) so I was just wondering whether one of you might be able to provide a more satisfying response.
@tom-ahawk
Sorry if my answer was too succinct for your liking. You were asking for direct clarification about patch details, which we've already stated our official position on this forum. Please, just be patient and wait for the game's release then the clarification you wanted will be in existence.
I just noticed that Starless has been delayed yet again, but at the very least I really appreciate you guys are communicating the delay well in advance. I honestly didn’t appreciate the lack of communication concerning the last delay. Specifically, posting about it on some blog or updating a dated product page slips under the radar. Someone else here made this exact point. In the future, I would like a more direct communication. That said, I understand that the delay is concerning the packaged edition, but what about a timely digital release? I have the limited edition on preorder, so I definitely appreciate any extra goodies, but I’d just really like to play the game at this point. If including the interview is the cause for delay, then is an early digital release out of the question? From my understanding, we get a digital download when the game ships, but I don’t mind getting charged for an early “preview” and shipping the packaged game when it’s ready.Anyway, I look forward to the release.
Delayed again, RIP. Sad, this game is going to come out and when the patch comes out I'm probably going to be stuck playing The Witcher.