Sekai Project fails to secure nearly finished Baldr Sky fan TL

[Nier]

Quote

Aginyan  Sekai Project

Hi guys,

I see that various people are asking various questions and speculating. While I would all love to answer questions you may have, I am unable to answer the majority of them.

All negotiations surrounding the formation of the team that will handle the Baldr Sky project are subject to non-disclosure agreements put in place to protect all parties involved, including the contractor candidate, SP, and Giga. It would be a breach of those agreements for us to make statements about those negotiations, especially when they are ongoing.

All I can say is that there IS a project team being put together but the details behind it are not simple. We promised the world Baldr Sky, and so Baldr Sky will definitely be released to the world in the future.

I'm sorry I can't offer you guys any further information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/50nxuv/aroduc_speaks_on_baldr_sky_concerning_recent_game/d75xgvk

[Vorathiel]

Sucks for Arc, but shit like this happens if you're working in grey area.

Still believe in Sekai project, that translation will be good and I will still be alive on the day they will release this.

[Darklord Rooke]

13 minutes ago, Nier said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/50nxuv/aroduc_speaks_on_baldr_sky_concerning_recent_game/d75xgvk

I use my magical ESP abilities to predict the trolls at Reddit will downvote this out of sight. Not due to any fault of Aginyan, but rather that's just the community at Reddit these days. 

It's a pretty sad indication of community behaviour when members have to plead with the community to stop downvoting posts for no reason.

[bigfatround0]

1 minute ago, Rooke said:

I use my magical ESP abilities to predict the trolls at Reddit will downvote this out of sight. Not due to any fault of Aginyan, but rather that's just the community at Reddit these days. 

It's a pretty sad indication of community behaviour when members have to plead with the community to stop downvoting posts for no reason.

You're acting like fuwanovel is any better.

[sanahtlig]

2 minutes ago, Rooke said:

It's a pretty sad indication of community behaviour when members have to plead with the community to stop downvoting posts for no reason.

I'm racking up a record of -22 votes and counting for posting a link nearly identical to this thread's OP in one of the comments.

[Nier]

16 minutes ago, solidbatman said:

that click bait title lol

"BREAKING NEWS! Sekai Project Exposed As The Anti-Christ!"

[solidbatman]

2 minutes ago, sanahtlig said:

I'm racking up a record of -22 votes and counting for posting a link nearly identical to this thread's OP in one of the comments.

because of your shitty misleading title 

[yorikbad]

14 minutes ago, Nier said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/50nxuv/aroduc_speaks_on_baldr_sky_concerning_recent_game/d75xgvk

Yeah, right. Why not launch another kickstarter to pay this imaginary project team? Maybe, I'm really stupid, but tell me, why not choose Aroduc with his pretty much already done TL but instead basically tell him ''go to hell''? It's NOT the first time SP buys fan-translation. And Aroduc is not some teenager with basic knowledge of moonrunes. I don't think he is so greedy and stubborn to ignore any possible compromise. In his work he complains mostly about attitude of SP. Well, everybody does at this point. But it's Baldr Sky and that's why it's so sad...

 

[Darklord Rooke]

3 minutes ago, bigfatround0 said:

You're acting like fuwanovel is any better.

It is. There is no inherent ability on Fuwanovel that allows users to childishly hide posts from the community merely because they don't wish to hear it. In fact there is no 'neg' ability on Fuwanovel whatsoever, and therefore nothing to dissuade you from speaking your mind (as long as it adheres to the rules.)

Ergo, better.

[bigfatround0]

4 minutes ago, Rooke said:

It is. There is no inherent ability on Fuwanovel that allows users to childishly hide posts from the community merely because they don't wish to hear it. In fact there is no 'neg' ability on Fuwanovel whatsoever, and therefore nothing to dissuade you from speaking your mind (as long as it adheres to the rules.)

Ergo, better.

 

You're right it doesn't have that but it does have shitty clickbait titles, shitposters, and people that think they're funny.

 

And solidbatman.

[Nier]

1 minute ago, yorikbad said:

Yeah, right. Why not launch another kickstarter to pay this imaginary project team? Maybe, I'm really stupid, but tell me, why not choose Aroduc with his pretty much already done TL but instead basically tell him ''go to hell''?

Because of something that's called a "contract", someone's else already contracted and under NDA for the job.

[yorikbad]

3 minutes ago, Nier said:

Because of something that's called a "contract", someone's else already contracted and under NDA for the job.

It's just PR trick to calm people down. SP is really good in those.

[Nier]

Just now, yorikbad said:

It's just PR trick to calm peple down. SP is really good in those.

Source?

[yorikbad]

5 minutes ago, Nier said:

Source?

Just my blind guess, which is based on the constant delays and suprises from this company. Grisaya, WEE, Root Double, no answers about Maitetsu, SakuSaku, LeyLine etc... I still believe SP will manage to release BS on steam. In 2020. 

[solidbatman]

19 minutes ago, bigfatround0 said:

 

You're right it doesn't have that but it does have shitty clickbait titles, shitposters, and people that think they're funny.

 

And solidbatman.

 

[novurdim]

39 minutes ago, yorikbad said:

but tell me, why not choose Aroduc with his pretty much already done TL but instead basically tell him ''go to hell''

Probably something in the vein of a personal animosity, neither Aroduc nor Dovac are the most likeable people. Wouldn't surprise me if the whole drama stems from the disdain they might feel for each other, it's not like we know how exactly Aroduc asked/proposed things or how he had been refused.

[yorikbad]

Just now, novurdim said:

Probably something in the vein of a personal animosity, neither Aroduc nor Dovac are the most likeable people. Wouldn't surprise me if the whole drama stems from the disdain they might feel for each other, it's not like we know how exactly Aroduc asked/proposed things or how he had been refused.

True enough, but it's buisness and a pretty big franchise, the biggest after Muv-Love, so they both could swallow their pride and make a deal for the sake of money... I mean, fans. Or, maybe after recent flops SP experiences financial problems and can't give him a reasonable price. They have to learn how to communicate with community better. And keep their promices at least sometimes. The post above about ''the new TL team" is so confusing. In any way we have to wait. As usual.

[Soulless Watcher]

Just now, yorikbad said:

True enough, but it's buisness and a pretty big franchise, the biggest after Muv-Love, so they both could swallow their pride and make a deal for the sake of money... 

(cough) Konami (cough)

[Gumak]

This whole situation is a fiasco of gigantic proportions. Aroduc is an experienced, fast and reliable translator with multiple gameplay VNs released officially, not to mention whatever technical work has already been done by his team - definitely the correct person to do the job. His post insinuates that SP was aware of ongoing translation beforehand and specifically calls the offer they got "grossly inadequate". Given the fact that he worked with JAST on multiple occasions I suppose he's well aware what's the payment rate in the VN industry and I highly doubt there exist some large discrepancies between different companies. I think that SP hoped for quick buyout knowing that after official announcement he'll have to drop the project but didn't expect him not to accept said "grossly inadequate" recompensation they offered. Rest is history.

One way of another SP has a 4+MB long behemoth on its plate. I wonder if we'll see a return of Clannad situation - throwing all available people at it and letting other projects grind to a halt.

I expect delays, lots of them.

 

[Decay]

31 minutes ago, Gumak said:

This whole situation is a fiasco of gigantic proportions. Aroduc is an experienced, fast and reliable translator with multiple gameplay VNs released officially, not to mention whatever technical work has already been done by his team - definitely the correct person to do the job. His post insinuates that SP was aware of ongoing translation beforehand and specifically calls the offer they got "grossly inadequate". Given the fact that he worked with JAST on multiple occasions I suppose he's well aware what's the payment rate in the VN industry and I highly doubt there exist some large discrepancies between different companies. I think that SP hoped for quick buyout knowing that after official announcement he'll have to drop the project but didn't expect him not to accept said "grossly inadequate" recompensation they offered. Rest is history.

One way of another SP has a 4+MB long behemoth on its plate. I wonder if we'll see a return of Clannad situation - throwing all available people at it and letting other projects grind to a halt.

I expect delays, lots of them.

 

You're putting too much stock into the adjectives Aroduc uses. He is by default an extremely salty individual and would call the best offer he's ever received "grossly inadequate" if it falls below the rate of high-level professional translation work outside the industry. SP has been known to pay better than JAST and MG, in any case. The real reason he rejected their counter offer is likely not because of the low amount of money offered, but the fact that he'd have to hand his work off to them and walk away. That seems to me to be the main sticking point here. He doesn't want to sell his work, he wants to be involved in the process. And SP seems to have other plans. 

I'm reluctant to speculate on this any further due to the absence of any real details.

[shadowolf64]

2 hours ago, bigfatround0 said:

 

You're right it doesn't have that but it does have shitty clickbait titles, shitposters, and people that think they're funny.

 

And solidbatman.

Isn't that basically humanity at the moment though? Or at least western culture since I can't comment on things that happen in other languages and cultures. 

Also as for the topic, while it sucks that this guy spent a bunch of time translating the game and hes not getting anything out of it, I don't see anything that SP did necessarily. Maybe they could have given him a heads up before hand to tell him they were licensing the game and weren't interested in hiring him for the translation or couldn't due to something Giga wanted or whatever the case is, but maybe they didn't know until recently? I mean I just don't see a way this is all SP's fault.  

[Nandemonai]

2 hours ago, yorikbad said:

 Maybe, I'm really stupid, but tell me, why not choose Aroduc with his pretty much already done TL but instead basically tell him ''go to hell''?

We don't know, and never will, because companies never talk about this kind of thing in public unless it goes to court.  And believe me, it won't.

Maybe Aroduc wanted too much money.  Maybe SP are skinflints and gave an insultingly low offer.  Maybe the folks over at Giga were not impressed that someone decided to work on the title without their permission, and told Sekai Project that he would not be acceptable to them.

I figure the most likely explanation is Sekai Project was secretly negotiating for Baldr Sky at the same time Aroduc was secretly fan translating it.  And that neither one knew what the other one was doing.  So SP might have already inked a contract with another translator to work on the project.  It's still fairly rotten for SP to not even straight up tell Aroduc 'sorry, we can't hire you' and subject him to the no-reply treatment.  That's just straight up unprofessional.

The no-reply treatment is fairly common in the world of business.  If I submit my resume to a bunch of different places, I expect to not really hear back from places that have no interest.  They just don't respond.  I don't expect places that were actively talking to me to suddenly stop.  If a company and I are talking, and they decide 'this isn't going to work out, we don't think we want to hire you after all', but they've already started talking to me, or I've already had an interview?  Very bad form to simply start stonewalling.

Honestly, I get the feeling that Sekai Project's troubles almost all seem to stem from the unprofessional way they seem to be handling public relations and communication.  This issue was never going to make Aroduc happy (his work on a game he didn't even like is now wasted), but blowing him off is just stupid and short-sighted.  What if they want to work with him in the future?

Likewise, all the controversy over will-they-won't-they on whether their recent announcements will get adult releases.  If you take one of their twitter comments at face value, the only reason they didn't announce the adult versions was time constraints.  Okay, so why haven't they since?  Why have we been left to read the tea leaves, and try to read into statements like "well this game was explicitly announced for Denpasoft and Steam, this other game was only announced for Steam".  They said they'd have news to share at AX about Maitetsu uncensored; they said the reason they didn't reveal it there was they ran out of time at the panel.  Then why didn't they announce it at Otacon?  Or online?

So either they lied, or they were telling the truth and somehow something came up.  If they lied, and have no plans to make any such announcements and are simply trying to shut people up - this is terribly unprofessional, and makes them look bad, and makes people not trust them.  If they were telling the truth, then they are simply incompetent at public relations, they're so bad that they can't even keep track of the things they said they'd announce, or they commit to announcing info they really intend to announce but then it turns out they can't.

Either way I think SP would do well to get this under control.  They're generating a LOT of ill will towards themselves unnecessarily.  Even if the answers are "no adult versions of games X, Y, and Z for now, sorry, we tried" - telling the truth would hurt less than this.

[sanahtlig]

14 minutes ago, Decay said:

The real reason he rejected their counter offer is likely not because of the low amount of money offered, but the fact that he'd have to hand his work off to them and walk away. That seems to me to be the main sticking point here. He doesn't want to sell his work, he wants to be involved in the process. And SP seems to have other plans. 

This.

I'll repost what I posted on 4chan when the topic I came up.

Quote

We made an offer to them (which was flatly rejected for reasons that remain unclear to us even after expliclty asking), and they did make an 'offer' to give us a grossly inadequate sum of money to hand over everything we've done and walk away, after being told at the very beginning that doing so was completely out of the question.

Quote

to hand over everything we've done and walk away

Quote

after being told at the very beginning that doing so was completely out of the question

Requotes for emphasis. Rates aren't something you (usually) lock down at the start of negotiation. Refusing to hand over unfinished work and let someone else finish it could very well be.

Sekai Project wanted Aroduc and friends to take the money and walk away. Aroduc gave them the finger: it was THEIR work and THEIR project.  That's my working hypothesis at the moment.

Fan translators don't care that much about money.  They wouldn't be doing what they do if they did.  For fan translators, it's all about pride in one's work.  The last thing you should ever tell a fan translator is, "Take this wad of cash and hand over your work, no questions asked."   People like Aroduc and Moogy will tell you to shove it.  It's their baby.

[yorikbad]

30 minutes ago, Nandemonai said:

We don't know, and never will, because companies never talk about this kind of thing in public unless it goes to court.  And believe me, it won't.

Maybe Aroduc wanted too much money.  Maybe SP are skinflints and gave an insultingly low offer.  Maybe the folks over at Giga were not impressed that someone decided to work on the title without their permission, and told Sekai Project that he would not be acceptable to them.

I figure the most likely explanation is Sekai Project was secretly negotiating for Baldr Sky at the same time Aroduc was secretly fan translating it.  And that neither one knew what the other one was doing.  So SP might have already inked a contract with another translator to work on the project.  It's still fairly rotten for SP to not even straight up tell Aroduc 'sorry, we can't hire you' and subject him to the no-reply treatment.  That's just straight up unprofessional.

The no-reply treatment is fairly common in the world of business.  If I submit my resume to a bunch of different places, I expect to not really hear back from places that have no interest.  They just don't respond.  I don't expect places that were actively talking to me to suddenly stop.  If a company and I are talking, and they decide 'this isn't going to work out, we don't think we want to hire you after all', but they've already started talking to me, or I've already had an interview?  Very bad form to simply start stonewalling.

Honestly, I get the feeling that Sekai Project's troubles almost all seem to stem from the unprofessional way they seem to be handling public relations and communication.  This issue was never going to make Aroduc happy (his work on a game he didn't even like is now wasted), but blowing him off is just stupid and short-sighted.  What if they want to work with him in the future?

Likewise, all the controversy over will-they-won't-they on whether their recent announcements will get adult releases.  If you take one of their twitter comments at face value, the only reason they didn't announce the adult versions was time constraints.  Okay, so why haven't they since?  Why have we been left to read the tea leaves, and try to read into statements like "well this game was explicitly announced for Denpasoft and Steam, this other game was only announced for Steam".  They said they'd have news to share at AX about Maitetsu uncensored; they said the reason they didn't reveal it there was they ran out of time at the panel.  Then why didn't they announce it at Otacon?  Or online?

So either they lied, or they were telling the truth and somehow something came up.  If they lied, and have no plans to make any such announcements and are simply trying to shut people up - this is terribly unprofessional, and makes them look bad, and makes people not trust them.  If they were telling the truth, then they are simply incompetent at public relations, they're so bad that they can't even keep track of the things they said they'd announce, or they commit to announcing info they really intend to announce but then it turns out they can't.

Either way I think SP would do well to get this under control.  They're generating a LOT of ill will towards themselves unnecessarily.  Even if the answers are "no adult versions of games X, Y, and Z for now, sorry, we tried" - telling the truth would hurt less than this.

I agree with you in many terms, though I dought Giga really knows about Aroduc. And even if they do, why not include Aroduc in the new team? Let him have his moment of glory, if it means to release BS sooner. This game's not getting any younger. Or shorter.

[Deep Blue]

I find interesting that all this issues could be resolved or even avoided by just talking things out but it seems that sekai project doesnt like to talk, or have this lack of ability to communicate properly (this was already proved beyond any doubt in the past) which is really hurting them as a company, something that is really easy to fix too...