Denpasoft Info & Announcements

[sanahtlig]

it is reasonable to ask for it because all the games that they translating are crowdfunding ones

Expecting regular updates on crowdfunded projects is reasonable.  Only 8 of their past and present projects are crowdfunded however.

https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/sekaiproject/created

 

I count 52 games on their VNDB page.  Even if you subtract out the OELVNs, that's definitely still not "all".

[Deep Blue]

Expecting regular updates on crowdfunded projects is reasonable.  Only 8 of their past and present projects are crowdfunded however.

https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/sekaiproject/created

 

I count 52 games on their VNDB page.  Even if you subtract out the OELVNs, that's definitely still not "all".

so why the lack of update of progress for all those 8 games (a really tiny part of that huge list) 

[Decay]

so why the lack of update of progress for all those 8 games (a really tiny part of that huge list)

There are not 8 translation projects on that list, but 6 of them. One of them is complete, another is a VN that is still actively in development in Japan, the rest besides WAS actually do receive updates. WAS hasn't received one since the alpha went live back in may and that's a pretty confusing situation.

[sanahtlig]

I relayed Tay's complaint to JAST (voiced on this week's VNTS) regarding the disappearance of the project update page on JAST's new Tumblr blog.  I figure when someone who endeavors to actively promote VNs is complaining that they're making his job harder, JAST might want to listen.  Honestly I agree that the new page is a mess.  They have some nice content there, but the interface is awful.

[OriginalRen]

Why is there an expectation of regular updates to begin with?  What does it matter to you?  Games will be done when they're done.  The updates are just marketing to generate hype.

 

I think people here are mixing up a need for transparency on critical topics with "I want to be kept in the loop because!".  Is it important that information on censorship be conveyed to crowdfunding backers in a timely fashion?  Yes!  Is it important that you know what % of the translation is done on every single project?  No!

 

This comment is the same thing as saying that people should ignore the fact that Anita Sarkeesian straight up lied in regards to her video series that people paid money for on Kickstarter. If you are paying money for these things, you damn well better believe I want updates for it.

 

Edit: I noticed you made a post after this commenting on the crowdfunding. Never mind.

[kyrt]

G-Senjou no Maou is out of Final QA and should be releasing on steam soon...we'll probably know about the end result of whether G-Senjou gets an 18+ release via denpasoft soon. If nothing is said and it just releases then we can probably expect a few of their other titles to also be getting the non 18+ treatment. The h-scenes in at least one route of G-Senjou no Maou are actually relevant to the plot if I remember correctly.

 

G-Senjou no Maou should also show us whether denpasoft bothers to attempt to get uncensored mosaics or not.

 

It brings an interesting question to the forefront though in that if a bunch of games get released via denpasoft that are 18+ titles with an emphasis on h-scenes and they still censor the mosaics would people even buy them? 

[WinterfuryZX]

G-Senjou no Maou is out of Final QA and should be releasing on steam soon...we'll probably know about the end result of whether G-Senjou gets an 18+ release via denpasoft soon. If nothing is said and it just releases then we can probably expect a few of their other titles to also be getting the non 18+ treatment. The h-scenes in at least one route of G-Senjou no Maou are actually relevant to the plot if I remember correctly.

 

 

Only the simulated rape, if you consider it an eroscene (wich is not). And... yes, Haru got pregnant but there's really no need to show the insemination in detail lol

[Scorp]

All h-scenes in the game are relevent to develop an affection to characters (as actually they really lack of romantic lines along the story itself). I first completed game without h-scenes and was utterly disappointed in lack of romantic relationship development. That said, I did not believed in Haru's romance till the very end (as all h-scenes were cut out) and was only thinking she is just pretending to be so.

 

So I disagree. It is not important to read the whole "slurps", but it is important the scene to believe in the romantic line, even if you fast-forward the scene it have some impact, instead of when it is completely absent and you just "wut? why?? you even never kissed, she was "disgusting girl" and now what the hell???".

[Darklord Rooke]

Why is there an expectation of regular updates to begin with?  What does it matter to you?  Games will be done when they're done.  The updates are just marketing to generate hype.

 

I think people here are mixing up a need for transparency on critical topics with "I want to be kept in the loop because!".  Is it important that information on censorship be conveyed to crowdfunding backers in a timely fashion?  Yes!  Is it important that you know what % of the translation is done on every single project?  No!

 

Percentage updates on translation titles are only a 'thing' in fan-TL circles. A fan-TL group puts out such a progress update so they get more kudos, people know that they haven't disappeared (which might encourage others to leap on the project,) and most importantly they get more kudos. 

 

For professional development it's not regularly done. You don't see percent completion in Light Novel translations, novel translations, game translations, or any form of professional game development, you just get an estimated time of release (if they have one) and actual meaningful updates (with words and explanations) if the project was a kickstarter.

 

Does it even tell the consumer anything by itself? Do remember that JAST's projects tend to get stuck on '99%' for a year or so before they're released, and sometimes progress will go backwards if mistakes are found (which they prob won't tell you, and will just display as a halting number.)

 

How long has Subahibi been at 100% translated? Maybe people wouldn't be so impatient if they weren't watching the damn numbers go round and round.

 

I don't see much benefit in knowing the precise numbers, and I don't consider it a luxury, numbers without context are meaningless. I also don't consider it a hallmark of a professional studio. 

 

Fan translation projects need updates because they're so unreliable.  Also, the updates and resulting buzz serve as motivation for the translators to keep working.  Fan translation is governed by a completely different set of rules adapted for different circumstances.

 

Pretty much this. At the end of the day, I believe it's used by fan-translators as a shout out to fans that they're still working on it and a plea for encouragement. I don't see the point in a professional studio.

[SilverLi]

add was to that list with a release date from 5 months ago and still nothing and they dont comment on that project anymore either, I will never going to back a kickstarter campaign from SP again.

Don't remind me of that. I supported that one... Luckily I get updates on my mail so I don't miss it if they ever release it. I am not supporting them again if I don't see some radical changes during 2016. I am waiting for the inevitable delay of Clannad too.

 

Edit:

Indeed Rooke. Good points. I don't care about the numbers. I care when they announce a release date and then push it forward without a single reason or information. I recall WAS was delayed because of some problem with the translation though. But give us that information earlier than 2 days before release.

[oxczen]

Any news on Grisaia no Meikyuu and Rakuen? Any at all?

[kyrt]

I finally got around to adding the blight that is Sakura Swim Club to the front page list...so far no real news about anything else though; Denapsoft continues to be absolutely horrible about keeping people informed.

[Suzu Fanatic]

Well, if I allow myself even a remote amount of naive optimism - Koesti had started Tling it prior to the official localization. Unless he's helping with other projects, I like to imagine he's already working through it.

 

I'll make a prophecy/guess and say next April.

[Decay]

Supposedly the subsequent games use the same engine builds and whatever issues there were that held things up with Kajitsu won't be issues anymore.

[Maxel]

Yeah, Sekai didn't even advertire Grisaia Unrated on their twitter. Theyre like:

Grisaia 18+? What is that?! Go buy Steam release!

 

...

[sanahtlig]

If there's anything I've learned, it's that eroge companies can't be counted on to market anything.  At some point I thought to myself, "I bet I could do a better job than this!"  And thus began my quest to market the games that JAST wouldn't bother to market.

[astro]

Huh, I didn't actually know that.  Still, though, I don't think it's a good idea to be that optimistic about the potential release date for Meikyuu.  If anything, it's better to be pessimistic and end up being pleasantly surprised.  I've only seen them post updates for their non-Denpasoft VNs, and frankly, the fact they they did this at all surprised me, so I wouldn't expect much communication about their Denpasoft work, since they won't even advertise for it.  Hate to be That Guy, since I want to read Meikyuu as much as the next person, but it's better to be realistic.

[astro]

I fail to see how one Twitter account is a successful marketing venture.

[astro]

From what they said later about adding new staff members (don't have a source since I don't remember where they said it), I'm pretty sure that they had barebones staff and servers, as they didn't think that many people would be interested in the 18+ version of Grisaia, or assumed that everyone that had already read it wouldn't buy it.  That doesn't exactly mean much besides that they didn't properly predict the amount of traffic they'd get.

[Suzu Fanatic]

@Astro

I don't see what's so "shaky" about those preconceptions - I've been under the same impression ever since reading through posts over at SP's forum (back around Christmas, when tongues were looser then maybe SP would have liked, in hindsight.).

 

For reference, the Fuwanovel forums had an average of 17,300 pageviews a day in August last month

[astro]

unless you legitimately believe a majority of those are not bots and 3rd party scanners?

[Suzu Fanatic]

Or maybe unless you legitimately believe that 100% of the community cares about Grisaia enough to follow its news in the first place?

 

 

Again, the Denpasoft and SP Twitters both appeal to different audiences. There are also many people who follow Denpasoft but don't follow SP. That is just how the market is divided. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who are strict anti-lewd or are simply too ashamed to have obscene photos showing up on their TL. It is that surprising that not 100% of the visual novel fanbase resides in the 18+ eroge fanbase?

 

People follow the SP Twitter because they care about the SP side of things - you'd only follow Denpasoft if you only wanted to know about the 18+ titles. Since there are only, what, two 18+ titles released so far in comparison to the plethora of all-ages titles, that follower discrepancy does not seem all that strange nor relevant to me.

 

You need to keep the general demographic in mind. It's just neither appropriate nor tasteful for an all-ages company to refer to an 18+ company just because it'd be convenient for you. Be reminded that eroge IS pornographic material. You may be desensitized to this kind of stuff because you've been exposed to it for so long, but it is a sensitive subject for many. You don't see Crunchyroll posting about hentai just because some of their employees work at the Fakku office.

[astro]

You do raise some good points for me to consider. But - it's Sekai Project that promotes almost-porn content such as the Sakura series - and you can't tell me that's catering to moralizing, sensitive, anti-lewds. Unless we are going to debate the explicitness (or lack thereof) within a medium. The sexualization is still rampant - even if not outright explicit.

[Suzu Fanatic]

Well, it's probably a lot higher then 5% if we factor in that Winged Cloud is likely a subsidiary of SP -  like a module under a large umbrella.

 

But I do have to concede - I still see it as lost potential sales, but you make a strong case.

[kyrt]

We finally have news from the denpasoft nothing really substantial outside of reconfirming the release of Atom Grrrl and mentioning that the developer has a twitter for it...at this point we might as well take whatever we can.

Denpasoft ‏@Denpasoft_pr  6 minutes ago

Check out @CosmillicaJP's account! We'll be releasing their title, Atom Grrrl!

They also have mentioned more about Sacramento Sheep 

They've also put the unrated edition of Nekopara on their website via digital download.

Edited November 2, 2015 by kyrt