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You ever wondered why we still have a lot of visual novels without translations? Based on talks with people in the industry, watching the community, and analysis, here are 7 reasons why we don't have MORE VN translations:

Well, there are certainly still a lot of problems. Unlike computer games, VN's get barely any media coverage. And there are usually no standout lighthouse titles that could expand the scene. We still rely on the occasional oddball like Nekopara or Doki Doki that for some reason manage to get more attention. And due to their explicit content, they are usually more difficult to talk about wih other people. And selling those titles is still a problem. While it's easier on Steam than in the past, many titles have to split the adult content into a separate patch or don't make it at all on Steam. And not everyone likes buying incomplete versions that require additional patches. And in addition to that, there are 'regional restrictions' *sigh*. German Steam blocks every adult VN by default for years now that can be bought in the US and other countries without problems. Sometimes even if the adult content is split into a separate patch for whatever reason. Like Hatsuru Koto Naki Mirai Yori for example. I'd really like to buy it, but since it's only available on Steam and Steam blocks it in Germany, the only way I could get it, would have to be to pirate it. Another problem is that VN's usually are a significant time investment. So, many people probably won't buy more than they can read. Other than me who still buys almost everything I just want to read at some time, leading to an ever growing backlog. On the other hand I'm kinda positvely suprised how many VN's we are actually getting in the west. Thanks to strong newcomers Nekonyan and Shiravune (relative to MangaGamer, Jast and Sekai at least) in particular, we do get a decent number of titles translated. And we actually do get a lot of the good ones. What the publishers could definitely do to improve the situation, is to improve the shopping front. An English Getchu variant where I could get ALL titles would be great. Nekonyan at least sells their titles also on MangaGamer, but Frontwing sticks to Steam and if Steams blocks the title in my country, I just can't get it. I'm also unhappy with Shiravune's Johren which feels unnecessary complicated in almost every way. I couldn't even find a way to filter out untranslated VN's when browsing titles. And the one title I once bought made my Windows Defender go crazy. I also see AI translations as a great opportunity and unlike others, I see it as a great way to make work easier for translators and not as a threat to them.

H2O √ after and another Complete Story Edition Release Download the patch (Google drive, Mediafire) (ver. 1.01, dated September 8, 2023) Description In H2O -Footprints in the Sand-, Hirose Takuma is a blind middle school student, though the cause for his blindness is undetermined. After his mother died unexpectedly, it left a deep emotional scar on him, causing him to become lonely and reserved. Due to this, Takuma moves from the city out into a rural area to live with his uncle and Takuma is enrolled into a new middle school. There, he meets several new girls, including the firm and obstinate Kohinata Hayami, the kind and obliging Kagura Hinata, and the cheerful and mysterious Otoha. In √ after and another, there are new after stories for two of the heroines from H2O (Hayami and Hinata), plus new routes for Yui and Hamaji/Yukiji, the latter of which also unlocks Maki's route. A version merging both games into one was later released, H2O √ after and another Complete story Edition. H2O VNDB: https://vndb.org/v473 √ after and another VNDB: https://vndb.org/v561 Where to purchase The game can be purchased legally from DMM (https://dlsoft.dmm.co.jp/detail/mnphs_0007/), but a Japanese proxy/VPN may be necessary to purchase it. That is where I obtained my copy. It goes on sale quite often, although it's pretty cheap even at full price, considering its age. Project The English localization project is being conducted by Studio Frisay, fresh off the completed Imasugu Onii-chan ni Imouto datte Iitai! project. As before I (Tooko) will be doing all of the translating and editing of the script, along with probably most of the image editing, and any engine work that needs to be done (of which is very little). Studio Frisay discord server Progress Programming: The game is built on the BGI/Ethornell engine, as with Imaimo before it, so I'm already familiar with how the engine works and have all the resources necessary to apply any hacks and build the completed patch once everything is done. In fact, there's a lot less work this time around on that front because the structure is a lot simpler, being a NVL game instead of an ADV game. Translation: The translation officially commenced on August 10, 2022 and was completed on January 28, 2023, although progress was initially very slow because of the ongoing work for the Imaimo patch at the time. However, I already translated a decent amount of the script (20%) by the time I announced the project a couple months later in October. The game has 73,547 lines across 167 scenario files split up between the common route and six character routes: Common: 6953 / 6953: 100% Hayami: 20620 / 20620: 100% Hinata: 14112 / 14112: 100% Yui: 13151 / 13151: 100% Hamaji: 4973 / 4973: 100% Maki: 5437 / 5437: 100% Otoha: 8301 / 8301: 100% Total: 73547 / 73547: 100% Images and videos: Aside from minor tweaks, all of the in-game images in need of editing are now completed. Editing of images is shared between me and nReus, who will also be typesetting lyrics onto the 9 OP/ED videos. The images include about 110 for the UI, and about 335 for the rest of the game, although most of those are minor variations on each other, so the actual number of unique images is much less. Editing: The editing of the game's text officially commenced on February 10, 2023, and it was completed on July 10, 2023. QC: The quality check phase involves going through a normal playthrough to check for any problems with the patch files and their rendering. This should took about two months, completing in early September. The patch is scheduled for release on September 8, 21:00 UTC. Progress link on Google Sheets

Sorry for not posting week ago, but to make it up, we're giving it a double guest episode featuring LuckyPuyo!

Spiral Dystopia/Rasen Sokou no Dystopia Developed by LiLiM and Dennou Club, published by Kagura Games Steam, GOG, Kagura Games 18+ Patch: GOG, Kagura Games Summary Kou is the descendant of a family that manages a deserted shrine. He, his childhood friends Azusa and Yurina, and his best friend Souma are constantly worried about their future. One day, as summer approaches, Kou meets Miyu, a mysterious woman who wanders the night with a bamboo sword wrapped in her bag. When Kou approaches her, Miyu tells him she’s looking for a very old book that might be hidden somewhere in the city. Turns out the book Miyu is looking for is being kept in the shrine that Kou’s family manages. When the two of them reach out to pick up the book, lightning strikes, and the world begins to spiral. [From Kagura Games] Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order There is no required route order within Spiral Dystopia, so you can play in whatever order you'd like. However, your second run of Miyu's route is the true route, so I would save itfor last. I would recommend playing Miyu 1st Lap ->Azusa -> Yurina -> Miyu 2nd Lap Miyu Lap 1 Azusa Yurina Miyu Lap 2 Route (True End) Sources: Walkthrough written by OtakuLair Please let me know if there are any mistakes!

I listened to this video while doing the dishes and I really like this type of content. This could have also been a discussion during a VNture podcast. Very nice, make more such content, Ange. You also went through the translation/localization process really well, but there are some things you missed to mention. 1.) Reliance on JP Tech support Often the Japanese side has to be included in the process, since some engines are so proprietary that only they own the license/decryption keys. And the Japanese pipeline and the hierarchies that decisions have to go through are known to be extremely slow and full of hindrances. Usually when developers announce that there are "technical issues" it is often because the communication between the English and the Japanese side is halted due to the project being trapped in THEIR programming cycle. A lot of engines have been cracked and are also allowed to be officially worked on, but for some the Japanese side reserve the agency to make adjustments to the engine and confirm changes the western side wants to make. 2.) Steam Cuts Another thing that can hold up a production process are Steam Cuts, which require not only dedicated staff to go through the game text, but also make appropriate suggestions where to make these cuts, Sometimes it is as easy as to just cut at a fade to black and then continue with the next scene, but sometimes you want to create a defused scene that still makes it possible to tell that there's something lewd happening. The decision process behind these changes then also have to be confirmed by higher staff. And it is also often really hard to come to an agreement with all parties since everyone who has a stake in the localization process might have a different opinion. 3.) The lack of responsibility Also, behind the scenes, ghosting and leaving projects mid-work isn't exactly uncommon in official localization projects either. There are NDAs at every company, I signed one during my time at JAST myself, but it isn't uncommon that - due to disappointment in quality/miscommunication a staff member just quits and the project is then left in limbo. Even if there are contracts attaching you to the project, due to the semi-anonymity that a lot of previous fan translators living in different places around the globe possess, it is hard to really enforce consequences on them. TLDR; Even in the actual localization process, projects can be ghosted and there are a lot of possible complications.

It is an issue, and one that doesn't really need to happen with localized VNs. To be blunt, compared to JVNs that haven't been localized, the prices are unbelievably cheap even in the most expensive cases. There is no excuse for pirating localized VNs... especially since sales on digital versions are a regular thing if you just wait.

Sharing is caring! I've created and uploaded some cool new bark textures. They live on my Bark - Artistic (Tile-able) page. As always, you can access them here: https://soundimage.org/images-home-page/ Also, for those of you who use my music tracks, MP3 Music Packs are now available on my site so you can quickly download all of my tracks at once for the following genres: Fantasy Sci-Fi Puzzle Music Chiptunes Dark/Ominous Horror/Surreal Funny/Quirky/Weird Action Music and more. https://soundimage.org/mp3-music-packs/ This should be a huge time-saver. I've had Ogg music packs available for a while, but for all of you who prefer the MP3 format, here they are. Enjoy, keep creating and have a good weekend!

Mad that you attempted to play this game but you were put off by a few things!? Mad cuz there is not one media player which has all the neccessary functions? Mad that sub titles aren't appearing/synching properly with certain media players? Mad that theres no optimal playback forcing you to read over everything again? WELL GUESS WHAT PUNK I GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU TO KNOW! So i pretty much found a website where someone had actually explained how to play Phantom of Inferno without any major problems however its so god damn hard to find on google without spoiling yourself you would have to literally dedicate yourself to find answers (unless you stared through the same scenes over again in which case i am no masochist). So pretty much i simplifyed his guide through my own testings despite the fact that its not even complicated any who and that i am no expert with codecs and such but things just make sense when you put it together. Shout outs to Suicide Victim ... http://imaginedpoetry.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/running-phantom-of-inferno-in-mpc.html?zx=f9b27172d18e6851 Those "Mad" sentences i put at the top are typically the common problems you will find if you try and play the game straight off the bat. MPC player allowed playback but failed to show the sub titles throughout the whole DVD. Any Power DVD software synchronises the subtitles properly but unfortunately the playback seems to be somewhat crappy and unreponsive. And because the game itself is a DVD you realistically don't want to wait trying to get another ending especially because there ARE choice texts in this game. SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT!? We are simply going to put the two together! It's very simple. We are going to steal Power DVD codecs, add them to MPC player and BOOM! You got yourself PLAYBACK and SUB TITLES! You can use these pictures as a guideline http://imgur.com/a/sojxw Step 1 You need to install the following: MPC-HC 32-Bit Power DVD 9 MPC player must be 32-Bit and at all times when playing because Power DVD 9 is a 32-Bit program (Meaning that the codecs we are going to be using will only go through as 32-Bit Duhhh). The good news is that you don't have to pay for anything apart from the game from wherever the hell you got it. You can download both of these programs from legitimate sites which i will put below. http://www.geforce.com/games-applications/pc-applications/powerdvd_9 https://mpc-hc.org/downloads/ You can go through the installation like any other program. Just watch out for any Ads and just leave everything as default. You can even try and play the game in Power DVD 9 and see that there is no playback availability and on MPC the sub titles are not synched correctly. Power DVD 9 is a trial and that is perfectly fine as we don't even need to use it. We just need the files on our PC thats all. Step 2 We are nearly there now. On this step we need to simply place some codecs on our external filter so... Open up MPC-HC and go to VIEW > OPTIONS. Go to EXTERNAL FILTERS and select ADD FILTER. On this section locate the following and press okay. CyberLink Video/SP Decoder (PDVD9) Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Decoder MPC - MPEG-2 Video Decoder (Gabest) If you are unable to find the last two (Microsoft and MPC) then don't worry about it because on my PC i only had Cyberlink. If you do have them make sure you select it as worded above (On his guide he had those so i put here just to be safe than sorry). Do the following for each one. CyberLink Video/SP Decoder (PDVD9) - PREFER Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Decoder - BLOCK MPC - MPEG-2 Video Decoder (Gabest) - BLOCK Apply it and now open Phantom of Inferno by whatever method you are using. I have an image file of the game and i mounted it using Daemon Tools Lite. Most likely you will select FILE > OPEN DISC > PHANTOMDVD. When the DVD loads right click any space, FILTERS > CyberLink Video/SP Decoder (PDVD9). In the window look for Miscellaneous and UNCHECK DxVA. Apply it, close down your MPC player and get ready for the next section as it gets a bit more complicated from here. Step 3 Open MPC-HC and open up Phantom of Inferno. ... CONGRATULATIONS You can now play this game with synchronised sub titles and the ability to slide through the time bar and use playback settings. What you should know!? You probably won't touch the playback until you get your first ending so don't even bother fiddling around with it until then. Create favourites as a save point instead of the Password system (unless you want to play super casual). You can name them to help you get through. If you saved a favourite half way in a scene and return to it, it may go black and only audio will be present. To fix this simply remember the time it was on and roll it back to the beginning of that scene (this causes it to refresh) and now drag it back to the time you was on. Note that you can't abuse the play back because... Im not too sure why, just treat the slider gently and if you mess up just refresh the chapter by dragging it back to 00:00. This happened quite a lot to me. It gets pretty finicky on scenes that are like 20-30 minutes long so you have to be patient if you are trying to get to a certain time. If you are using MPC-HC for other media files and you feel that its causing problems to it just remove the items in the filter. Or you could just use your 64-Bit MPC-HC. I don't think this just applies to Phantom of Inferno but for any other interactive DVD game which has common problems like this. It's worth keeping hold of it! Don't you dare touch the navigation and select chapters. The favourites cover this for you if you are using them. If you end up using navigation you could potentially spoil yourself and enter another route. Mess around with the Video Frame settings to your preference. Hope this guide helped you out. I finished this yesterday and i absolutely loved it. I don't want anyone to go through the trouble of not playing the game because of media players and other bullshit. If there are any problems please let me know i will try my best and help you but as i said i'm no expert about these things. If there is someone else who could help explain things that would be great! May be editing this randomly or when i'm bored.