Formlose Gestalt

Too bad nothing that really interests me. But it is a bit sad that Mangagamer didn't announce single title that is interesting to me this year. I guess conjueror's prophecy that will some time after the weak initial sales of Tokyo Babel for the effects to be visible, is becoming true. Oh well maybe next year.

Doesn't the panel start about 5 hours from now? At 8:30 pm EDT? But maybe I got it wrong with the timezones somewhere. EDIT: This correction of 30min sounds really pedantic, but when I posted this I thought the panel would be 3 hours from the time of the post, because I fucked up with the timezones. So I corrected myself to sound really pedantic.

I knew it! All those Steam engineers where lurking here to see if they could get away with this. But jokes aside it's good that it's fixed/changed again. And hopefully this is not a sign of what is to come with steam.

Update: The titles that I listed above seem to show up for me again in the search function.

Sekai Project Titles are also affected. I just tested it and titles like Muv Luv (Alternative), the 3 main Grisaia titles, Chrono Clock don't show up if you search them. And after searching some of Mangagamer titles, it's the same problem. Titles like Like Kindred Spirits on the Roof, Mutiny!! or D.S. -Dal Segno- don't show up in the search function. And from Jast USA I can confirm that Eiyu*Senki isn't showing up when you search it. I haven't looked up all titles but some titles show up just fine. (The Phantom Trigger releases for example or Tokyo Babel) They are also specific for games because the Muv Luv Wallpaper pack or the Kindred Spirits on the Roof Drama CDs show up despite the actual VN being omitted. I hope this gets fixed soon because otherwise its pretty bad. Or maybe this it's just steams new way to get the games out that they don't want to see.

Those impressions can be quite subjective. If 5-10 people here say I'm not interested in X it can make quite a different impression. Even if it is less than 10 people. Compared to 2-3 years ago it could just be different people active on the forum. In any case I don't think Rance is any less popular now.

My favourite announcement this AX has to be Harumade Kururu, followed by the confirmation of YU-NO and the announcement of Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi. MG didn't have anything this time to catch my interest, but you can't always get what you want. And while those titles aren't at the top of my most wanted list, it could have been far worse. The reason why some people are disappointed is just that the VN fanbase consist of many groups. Some want nukige, some want otome games or BL or chuunige and so on. And with only a handful of publishers and only a limited number of releases to distribute between those groups it's impossible to make everyone happy. In the end VNs are medium and in the same way that people aren't fans of all movies or all books, people are not fan of all VN. But that's just my guess. Overall I enjoyed what AX had to offer and look forward to Otakon.

I honestly don't know. But I didn't want to go into that discussion here, so I decided to just trust VNDBs authority on the matter.

Here is was Aksys had to show. They announced Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ the second fandisk of Code: Realize for release in 2019 on PS4 and PSVita. Trailer for the JP Release: They also announced Death Mark a Horror VN for PS4, PSVita and Switch. It is supposed to be "coming soon". JP Trailer: I have to say Death Mark looks interesting.

Did anyone catch Aksys panel or has a recap? If not I have to wait for them post their recap. Besides that Harumade, Kururu looks like an interesting title. But if I haven't heard good things about the VN beforehand I would have probably ignored it because the description doesn't sound like anything I would be interested in. Now I only need the to find the time to watch the Frontwing and Spike Chunsoft panels.

I am just adding some more information from Frontwings panel here, for the people that don't check the opening post. The whole panel can be watched here: https://livestream.com/anime-industry/events/8278983/videos/177321186?t=1530851944046 Island is set to release in late Summer 2018 and Loca Love in Autumm 2018. Lilitales has a NSFW Trailer over on Twitter:

In their second panel Spike Chunsoft announced that the official name of the Uchikoshi Koutarou project is AI: The Somnium Files. It will be released on Steam, PS4 and Switch. Trailer: They also confirmed the previous leaked announcement of YU-NO. This is the remake version that came out last year on PS4 and Vita in Japan. For us the translation comes out in 2019 for Steam and PS4. And lastly the announced the release date for 428: Shibuya Scramble. The VN will release on September the 4th 2018, with a demo earlier this summer, on Steam and PS4. Trailer: You can watch their entire second panel here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/281302899 Or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPwpoXdG_Zo

Spike Chunsoft's STEINS;GATE panel just ended and they did actually livestream their panel on twitch. As expected the panel was all about Steins;Gate Elite, a new version that uses both the visual novel and the anime from White Fox to recreate the Visual Novel with animation. If I heard them correctly they produced new animated content for this. It was presented by Matsubara Tatsuya the director of the Steins;Gate VN. You can watch the panel here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/281187150 or here:

It's not great, but usually that is the best we get, and I am thankful for these videos so that we can get a few more information than just the pure announcement without any context. Especially the Q&A sessions sometimes give a little bit of insight. Sekai Porject tried to livestream one of their panels a few conventions ago but that didn't work out. I guess it is quite a bit of extra work for them to set up a livestream, and honestly I don't know if its worth it for them, because the group of core fans that want to watch something like that is probably rather small. As for not filming the presenters, maybe it's an issue with the rights? I know that it wasn't allowed so film/photograph some of the guests at earlier conventions. But I am not really sure. And after watching the stream from the JAST Panel right at the end there was question regarding Tokyo Necro that hasn't been discussed here yet but is super relevant for me since that's one of the titles that I am looking forward to the most. So I am pretty happy that these videos exist. Info from the panel video: Regarding Tokyo Necro, there are no plans for it at the moment, because Nitroplus prefers JAST to work on one title at a time to ensure quality. That's perfectly understandable but still quite disappointing for me to hear. That's also one of the reasons for the delay in Sumaga and Django, because SoniComi and Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi. had priority over those two titles. And if I haven't misheard or misunderstood them, Nitroplus has higher expectations for those titles than for Sumaga and Django. The other problem with Django according to their panel is that the game right now is incompatible with Windows 10 and would need some engine work from the Nitroplus side. Most likely in the form of a new (anniversary?) release from Nitroplus. (Something like the new release of Jingai Makyou last year.) So I guess Django isn't cancelled, but we should not expect a release any time soon. On the bright side they also said they expect Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi. to release before or at Anime Expo 2019 so in the next 12 months.

Sweet Pool was announced before this AX and is not a new announcement right? JAST had a good show at AX, while I can't really say much about the BL titles (besides that DRAMAtical Murder seems really popular) Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi is a really interesting title, that I am interested in reading. Although it would be nice if they had teaser sites for their new announcements or that they at the very least tweeted about their new titles. (Or make at news post on their own forum.) But if they can release their new announcements in a timely manner it's really good to see more of JAST. But deep down in my heart I am really hoping to see Muramasa or Tokyo Necro one day.

It's Muramasa for sure. But I guess news about Sumaga would be like a new announcement.

With the first panel (Jast on Day 0) less than 24 hours away (unless f-up with the timetables) it's time to pull this thread up again. Usually Otakon is the convention I look forward to the most in regards to VN announcements but I have a feeling there was quite a bit of hype on twitter surrounding this AX, which kind of got me excited. And looking back, last AX at least had 2 announcements that I am looking forward to and the year before there was the Baldr Sky announcements, so there is the potential for really great news. Let's hope that JAST steps up their game and lead with some nice announcements first.

It is that time of the year and AX is just around the corner. The Panels: JAST USA (and JAST BLUE) Wednesday, July 4th (Day 0) 9:00 pm PDT Link:https://twitter.com/jastusa/status/1007524483165511680 Announcements: - Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi. - DRAMAtical Murder - Togainu no Chi - Lamento -Beyond the Void- - Release dates for Trample on "Schatten!!" and Flowers Summer both coming on July the 16th The panel can be watched here: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1BRKjeOQApBxw Spike Chunsoft's STEINS;GATE Panel Thursday, July 05th (Day 1) 11:00 am PDT Link: https://www.spike-chunsoft.com/news/spikechunsoftax18panel/ A presentation of Steins;Gate Elite by Matsubara Tatsuya. The whole panel can be watched here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/281187150 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1rQj16vnQU Spike Chunsoft's Official Uchikoshi Panel Thursday, July 05 (Day 1) 5:00 pm PDT Link: https://www.spike-chunsoft.com/news/spikechunsoftax18panel/ Uchikoshi Koutarou is the scenario writer behind Zero Escape series and VNs like Ever 17. Announcements: - AI: The Somnium Files (The new game by Uchikoshi Koutarou for Steam, PS4 and Switch.) - YU-NO with a release in 2019 for Steam and PS4 - A release date for 428: Shibuya Scramble launching on September the 4th 2018 for Steam and PS4 The whole panel can be watched here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/281302899 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPwpoXdG_Zo Trailers in here: Frontwing Thursday, July 5th (Day 1) 9:30 pm PDT Link: https://twitter.com/FrontwingInt/status/1008711013565456384 Announcements: - Lilitales - Release window for Island coming in late Summer 2018 on Steam - Release window for Loca Love coming in Autumm 2018 The panel can be watched here: https://livestream.com/anime-industry/events/8278983/videos/177321186?t=1530851944046 There is also a NSFW! trailer for Lilitales in this spoiler box: Aksys Friday, July 6th (Day 2) 5:30 pm PDT Link: https://twitter.com/aksysgames/status/1013847035823325184 Announcements: - Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ coming in 2019 for PS4 and Vita - Death Mark a Horror VN for PS4, PSVita and Switch, "Coming soon" Trailers in here: Denpasoft Friday, July 6th (Day 2) 10:00 pm PDT Link (NSFW!): https://denpasoft.com/blogs/news/ax-2018 Announcements: - I Walk Among Zombies Series inculding Vol. 2, Vol. 3 and Vol. 0 with the earlier announced Vol. 1 out now - Harumade, Kururu. - 9 -Nine- Episode 1 - Re;Lord 2 - Majo Koi Nikki - Mischievous Sensation - a new english VN from the developer LatteCoffeeVN, you can find their patreon here Denpasoft has compiled their announcements in an NSFW! blogpost here: https://denpasoft.com/blogs/news/anime-expo-2018-announcements You can also the first part of the panel here: https://twitter.com/haertsisnoob/status/1015461789771825152 Sekai Project Saturday, July 7 (Day 3) 3:00 pm PDT Link: https://sekaiproject.com/2018/06/12/anime-expo-2018/ Announcements: - Harumade, Kururu. (all age version) - 9 -Nine- Episode 1(all age version) - Majo Koi Nikki (all age version) - Re;Lord 2 (all age version) - Last Stanza - Idol Connect -AsteriskLive- This is mobile rhythm game remade into a VN There is also a trailer for Last Stanza: Mangagamer Saturday, July 7 (Day 3) 11:00 pm PDT Link: http://mangagamer.org/announcements/ According to Mangagamers preview page they are going to announce 3 new projects, 2 of them from new partners. Announcements: - Luckydog1 - Official Website - Lilycle Rainbow Stage!!! - Official Website - Rance IX - The Helmanian Revolution - Official Website - Rance X - Showdown - Official Website Mangagamer also put together a blogpost about their new announcements here: http://blog.mangagamer.org/2018/07/07/anime-expo-2018-announcements/ And released teaser videos and translated openings for their new annoucements linked inside the spoiler: If you spot any errors or know of any other VN related panels, please let me know and I am going to add them to the starting post. With all the information out of the way, what panel are you looking for the most and what titles do you hope get announced?

Should one read MajiKoi before reading Tsujidou-san no Jun'ai Road or is it irrelevant which VN you read first?

Sad news. The game looks interesting. I guess there is hoping that the bad reputation among the VN community is hurting them. Sure a random Steam user doesn't know about their reputation, but its still a niche market.

Can you tell me where the second gif is from? EDIT: And sorry for the Off-Topic question. As for the main topic I don't feel qualifed enough to provide an actaully answer, but I heard the earlier 2000's thrown around before in this context.

May I ask what is going on with the Human Reignition Project? It is disheartening seeing you guys work on different projects (Heart of the Woods and Highway Blossoms Remaster) when there is no visible progress on the Human Reignition Project, a game that you had a sucessful Kickstarter campaign for almost 3 years ago. I mean for the past year you have been talking about producing an new Demo on you Kickstarter updates, with nothing to show for so far.

I wouldn't relax just yet. Who knows what comes out of them re-reviewing Kindred Spirits or what the follow up emails say. We really don't know what caused this to happen in the first place. The reasons behind this deicison could still be there and Steam is just paddling back for the moment before sending new emails two weeks later, saying the conent still needs to be removed. I would be nice if Steam could give more concret guidelines for what they want on their store, but since that is unlikely to be happening lets just hope they go back to the way it was before this whole thing happend.

I don't know how much work went into this I would rather see them finish The Human Reignition Project. They had a Kickstarter for that VN in 2015 before Highway Blossoms was released and the The Human Reignition Project is still not out. Sure there are not necessarily the same people working on the Remaster and The Human Reignition Project, but still for the past year they have been working on a Demo for The Human Reignition Project that still isn't out while the original release date of entire VN was end of 2016.

That's true but he also mentioned that he will attend Otakon this year. Obviously that doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be an announcement involving him, but I would not rule out the possibility. In any case I am rooting for an Evolimit announcement, or something along those lines. (I am still hoping for a Bradyon Veda translation someday...)