Helvetica Standard

Sorry, I was late on my edit. XD

I vote for pose changes for the heroines! :3 The way they are now makes them look all too similar. Body language is an important part of personality, after all. Edit: I meant varied body poses as expressions. Not the stock pose, btw.

FIRST SOME RANDOMNESS: TO MODS:

AWESOME. I Can feel all the work and love you've put into this project. That said I do have some qualms so bear with my long reply for a while... 1. Logistically speaking, was the experience seamless? (Did the engine run smoothly, text legible, proportion of sprites to bgs, etc) I have average broadband speed and load times were nearly instant. The preload at the start was a bit longer but it's understandable (akin to any game when it boots up.) As for the engine performance, it runs very smooth albeit with a few minor technical issues which I will list below. -There's a minor stutter on the text box every so often, mostly when characters change expressions. It's natural for VN's to hide box briefly when a sprite changes but the switch here is more like flickering. -Text size is perfect and I like the font choice. The textbox is huge though..at least compared to the padding of the text. Why don't you pad the sides and center the text so that the textbox doesn't feel so empty and spread out? just an idea. -On the topic of the textbox, aside from the brief flicker, the textbox really never disappears from the screen. This could only be an issue on my end but box remains on screen at all times. Even when there's no dialogue at all. -Sprites. This is a delicate topic, mostly because it's VERY DIFFICULT to try and instruct your artist on "relative ground", "roof" and "absolute position". That said the issue here is only present on some of the sprites: Yahiko and Masato are precise to the reticule and fit very well on screen, their ground is even and they don't go over their roof like on several VN's with tall characters, you know they are tall but not towering. They have a problem though and that's their "absolute position": AP is the area where a single sprite is when changing expressions or poses, both Yahiko and Masato flit left or right when changing pose which shouldn't happen. Even if their neck rotates or shoulders hunch, absolute position shouldn't change unless moving the character onto a different part of the screen for an animation. Now onto Rui. I'll assume for now that she's a very short girl since she is dwarfed by both her friends and on top of that, her head is far bigger in relation with theirs. This could be due to the differing art styles but it's still contrasting. Also, while her sprite is gorgeous she has no pose changes like Yahiko or Masato? This makes it difficult to know when she's changing expressions even when she's on the center of the screen, but I believe this is partially due to the fact that Yahiko and Masato have realistic and varied expression changes, while Rui's are humorous and more moeblob like. (which lacks impact.) -Aliasing. This happens in all VN's so not really a big issue, but still I couldn't help but notice that while Rui and Ellie sprites are spotless in quality, Yahiko and Masato have jagged edges (upscaling or downscaling issue, perhaps?) regardless, it's something minor so don't pay much attention to this. -WIP. The choice screen is a black screen with the choices at the top instead of centered. Intentional? Also, no hover effect when picking choices so you can't tell what you picked till Yama speaks. -Minor bugs. When the scene fades to black, the fade is a bit on the slow side and characters fade to alpha instead of black, which gives them an odd transparency effect. Will this be corrected? 2. What were your first impressions on the VN? POTENTIAL MUCH SO GOOD. You have my undivided attention. GIVE.ME.MORE. 3. Which character is the most appealing? (As an interesting character, not necessarily romantic interest) 1.Rui. 2.Rui. 3.Rui. 4.Rui. 5. Did I mention Rui already? 6.Rui is my waifu. 7.WHY CAN'T THERE BE GIRLS LIKE RUI IRL??!! 4. What was especially well done in the game? -Script. Polished, clear and punctual. A very smooth read. Awesome! -Characterisation, Characters are engaging and interesting. There's the token and tropey stuff but it's well executed so it really doesn't matter. XD VIVA TROPES. -Backgrounds are awesome, simple but well designed and atmospheric. The classroom one might need some lighting effects since it's a bit flat and bright. overall, BG's are fantastic! -Chibi art/CGs Wonderful. Bravo. These look very professional and the artist went the extra mile adding detailed backgrounds to them. -UI. simple and efficient, not obtrusive at all. I will always say it as I'm a designer: Minimalist is best. 5. What could be improved? -Transition effects. -Text padding and centering. -Sprite aliasing -Music should be a little louder 6. Feel free to include any other comments/questions and we will try to answer them to the best of our ability -I am genuinely intrigued and impatient to know what happens next. Characters are quirky and likable. Also Rui. -RUI IS LOVE. RUI IS JUSTICE. -Will you release on chapters? or core release? -GREAT JOB GUYS. THIS LOOKS GREAT. I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE HOW YOUR PROJECT EVOLVES. BEST OF LUCK AND YOU HAVE ALL OF MY SUPPORT. -ALSO CAPS.

oi ¬¬ I think I made it clear that we're waiting for the art assets XD Go pester Darksin and leamee aloneeee XDDDD

Please use this thread to post info on significant updates/changes. I know I'm no moderator but please don't bump down other threads with messages like "ok" or "yeah". It's difficult for other posts to get attention if you hog it all like this.

Just remember guys.. PLEASE, STAY ON TOPIC.

This changes everything. XD I think the biggest problem would be having to boot browser everytime just to play, not to mention the internet connection. Also now that you clarified that assets will be on drive side then I like the idea. You have all my support. Kind regards and good luck with your demo release too!

Ok. I promised our artist I was going to do this and I will do it even if he rages: OUR ARTIST IS HARD AT WORK TRYING TO MEET THE SEPTEMBER DEADLINE. (HE'S FINISHING THE ART ASSETS.) SO.... ANY DELAYS, PLEASE: SPAM DarkSin's INBOX!! :DDDDDDDD Lol ok.. end of joke. XD To answer your question: We are working around the clock to get the demo finished by the end of september. We had a few difficulties along the way, as well as sudden, last minute ideas that we ended up including in order to provide you guys with more content and to increase the overall quality of the demo. We are nearly done, but since our Head artist, Darksin joined us when we had a lot of prior graphical content, he's the one with the most workload, partly because he had to redo every art asset we had with his own personal style. His skills are professional level so I can guarantee that the wait will be very well worth it. Kind regards, and stay tuned for release!

So.. browser VN... Hmmm..I really don't know what to say. ...I don't trust cloud storage..and creators won't welcome a cloud based browser visual novel. Plus, if you have no connection you're basically screwed. I'm sorry but this is just my opinion. It's still a very good option for those who lack the programming knowledge, though...so.. Best of luck!

Title. I don't mind if it's in japanese but I'd love to have a moe assistant or a meido clock or something like that. A "touch interactive" app would be cool too (if you know what I mean ;9 ) Thanks in advance.

I'm interested. The "ongoing projects" board needs some mods.

I'm the project head and creator! why am I suddenly a "new member"??? XDDD

Just "Helv" will do, ok? Please don't call me "onii-chan" dear sirs. Anything but that! XD

David! Hello =3 Thanks for reading my ten page essay here. XD I hope you didn't misunderstand though. I was just analyzing what Iced said on a previous post and rewording it to sound more constructive. That said let's clear any doubts left, shall we? 1. I'm so glad to know you're dedicated and motivated to see this through the end! keep up the good work! 2. Yeah, I know. XD It has been difficult for me as well. (I'm the writer for Violet Hill) However even if we do trip on some clichés, it doesn't matter as long as we flesh it out well like you said. Execution is key. 3. I disagreed with Iced on this matter. Stories must be about and around characters; making sure to integrate them well into the world where we put them in. 4,5, and 6. Iced is right but he could've been a bit nicer about it. Programming a whole VN on flash is going to be a complicated endeavour. More than you think. I was just illustrating on the technical difficulties it entails and recommending a more specialised platform for the job. Whatever you guys choose as your engine, you have all my support. 7. Glad to know. Likewise, our project is also for the community. I can't wait to see how your VN turns out! Loving what I've seen so far! =3

I divided some of the stuff this gentleman said into points because there was some truth mixed into the brutal bluntness. 1.What he said is sad but true, I've been developing my VN along with the team for a year now. We have seen plenty of projects sink into nothingness. Don't take this as a deterrent, but rather as an encouragement. DON'T GIVE UP! Keep up the good work. I love what you guys have done in so little time. 2.This is also a common issue among us developers. We tend to go the traditional way and focus on japanese plot points, japanese characters, japanese stereotypes and japanese money maker stories. This is a delicate problem though. If we stray too far from the idea of making an OELVN with a japanese setting, we'll end up doing something completely western barring a few tints of japanese influence (like american sushi, if you get what I mean.) and If we do it way too traditional we'll risk making a cookie cut japanese moege filled with clichés. We've all been through this, so it's not as easy as this gentleman makes it out to be. Writing a story is not like typing a prophecy about how another one is doomed. 3.This doesn't make sense at all. Unless you have very few characters, it's very difficult to build a story not centered around characters, and VN's are dialogue heavy. Pure narration doesn't work on its own. 4.He's right. Regardless of experience coding a VN in flash is asking for trouble. It's not impossible but also not practical. You'd take double the time you'd take coding it with a specialised platform. Also Ren'py is very versatile and there's little it can't do. As a renpy/python programmer I guarantee you that. 5. False. Basic VN mechanics are simple enough but only for short and linear projects. A full fledged VN requires advanced python coding knowledge and at least basic ATL programming experience. 6.Sorry, but he's so right about this there's simply no room for retort. Flash can be a nightmare since most of the time you won't be able to tell what went wrong. Ren'py, unity, GM, are far more intuitive and mind you: Renpy is not known for being intuitive. 7.Yes. Treat your project with dedication, seriousness and responsibility. Losing motivation along the way invites disaster. There will be plenty of naysayers and haters and such, but it will all turn out good in the end if you keep it up and work hard towards finishing your VN. I'm rooting for you and as a fellow VN developer I'm mpressed with your progress so far and wish you all the luck! If you need anything don't hesitate to ask.

Local joke. You should hear him speak on skype. He sounds like this:

We welcome our newest members! I present you the talented: Palas: Musician Kimanor Batman: Video Editor

"Request" Keyword. Western providers are not going to care about this at all. After all, in the eyes of Japanese we're all a bunch of dirty gaijin. Oh, and also, japanese government is complaining about ghost money. They're not losing shit because very few people buy the BD releases. 6k sold (an that's only in japan) is considered good sales. No, really. Every other japanese person watches anime on TV for free.

OK. Torrent files can be corrupt if you stop the torrent before if finishes downloading XD Redownload and try again. I'm out of alternative links! XD

The version hosted at fuwanovel is error ridden. Please tell me you know how to use torrents XD otherwise google: Bittorrent download and install. then download the torrent with the link I gave you. Google: Daemon tools lite. Download and install. After the torrent has finished downloading go to the downloads folder and look for the ISO file. then follow this intructions to the letter: A) Set system locale to japanese: Control Panel > Clock, Language & Region > Change display language > Administrative > Change system local... > Japanese. Reboot. B ) How to install: 01) Mount with Daemon Tools 02) Run DMMd iso file 03) Install 04) Follow through the process. A for Accept, N for Next. 05) Delete shortcut on the desktop, it requires you to place a serial key. 06) Copy-Paste files from DMMdUpdate1.10 into the directory where you installed the game. 07) Copy DMMd_crack_for_ver110 into file directory. 08) Create shortcut on desktop of the DMMd_crack_for_ver110 and rename it if you want. 09) Windows 7 users don't need to worry about changing the compatibility settings: Right click the sortcut you created on your desktop > Compatibility > Pick program compatibility. 10) Double click the new shortcut. Play:D/

Oh yeah. I forgot In order to open iso files you need this: http://www.disk-tools.com/download/daemon install and that's it. when you're done downloading the iso, just double click on it to begin installing. then follow this steps to the letter. I assume you already changed your system locale to japanese? If not then do so before installing. B )How to Install 01) Mount with Daemon Tools 02) Run DMMd iso file 03) Install 04) Follow through the process. A for Accept, N for Next. 05) Delete shortcut on the desktop, it requires you to place a serial key. 06) Copy-Paste files from DMMdUpdate1.10 into the directory where you installed the game. 07) Copy DMMd_crack_for_ver110 into file directory. 08) Create shortcut on desktop of the DMMd_crack_for_ver110 and rename it if you want. 09) Windows 7 users don't need to worry about changing the compatibility settings: Right click the sortcut you created on your desktop > Compatibility > Pick program compatibility. 10) Double click the new shortcut. Play:D/ Tell me if this method doesn't work for you.

I always go for clean isos with installer. (install free is not my cup of tea. It might work for the one who made the package but not everyone.) Hopefully this one works for you.

okay. try downloading from here: http://erogegames.com/dramatical-murder-496/ (it's in 15 parts though XD ) That version should work. Tell me if you run into any trouble.