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ChaosRaven

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  1. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from DharmaFreedom in Tokyo Babel Released!   
    I only got one or two bad endings and just skipped the rest. But with the bad endings I got, I really didn't have the impression that they were necessary, and they weren't long anyway.
  2. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Nosebleed in Baldry Sky 18+ version poll on Sekai Project forums   
    Sure, 2 parties are involved in a contract, but the devs are the ones that own the rights to the game and all of its content, so it's not unreasonable to think they're the ones making decisions like "no announcing 18+ content until we say it's ok". It's their game after all.
    Saying Sekai Project decides to just shaft 18+ material is pretty ignorant imo. It doesn't make any sense for them to purposefully do that when it's such an important thing for most of the community.
    I'm not saying I know all the facts, I obviously don't, and I'm ALSO not saying "hey we should push the blame somewhere else", what I am saying is that we should stop whining and direct our efforts into something productive instead of pure anger at either Sekai Project OR the developers.
    Because dovac has already explictly told everybody they can't say anything at the time, you can conclude 2 things:
    Dovac is more than aware fans want an 18+ version of the game He is unable to let you in on any extra info but has promised to disclose it when an appropriate time comes Hearing this, the conclusion I reached is that all I can do at the moment is wait, because I'm pretty sure Sekai Project is already doing what they can to negotiate an 18+ version of the game. And if they're not, the most I'll do is just say something "hey it'd be nice if we could have this" on their page, not raise my pitchfork and alienate any form of discussion.
  3. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Maxel in AX 2016 - VN Bingo   
    Let's dig the art together.
    Better quality.

  4. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Arcadeotic in AX 2016 Announcements   
    The last thread got oblirerated to an oblivion, so I'm trying my best to fix things at least somewhat
    Here's a short recap thus far:
    Mangagamer
    Bocchi Musume x Produce Keikaku. | VNDB Maggot Baits | VNDB Watashi ga Suki nara "Suki" tte Itte! | VNDB Dal Segno | VNDB Hadaka Shitsuji | VNDB JAST
    Katahane remake | VNDB Eiyuu*Senki | VNDB Princess X My Fiancee is a Monster Girl  | VNDB Sweet Home | VNDB Frontwing
    Island | VNDB Aksys
    Bad Apple Wars, Period Cube & Collar X Malice | VNDB[1] | VNDB[2] | VNDB[3] Code: Realize Fandisk | VNDB Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors PC port Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward | VNDB Tokyo Xanadu Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs World Tour | VNDB Degica
    Kimi ga Nozomu Eien | VNDB Minori
    Trinoline | VNDB Sekai Project
    Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki | VNDB Boku to Koi Suru Ponkotsu Akuma | VNDB Baldr Sky | VNDB A Magical High School Girl
  5. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Vorathiel in Popular/well-liked visual novels that you don't like/care for?   
    The second half of the post could have well been from me, the first half... not so much. I wouldn't bash Fate or Kanon. Even if it's true that Kanon's VN art sucks nowadays, but I really liked the anime.
    And bashing Key art while having an avatar of a character from one of the VN's with Key's most questionable art would be kind of bizarre even for me... 
  6. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Darklord Rooke in Brexit.   
    BTW, in case it interests anyone, the idea that unqualified people shouldn’t discuss various things is something which is brought up as a downside to democracy itself. 37 million people voted in the Brexit elections, and while they live in that place and the decision ultimately affects them, how many of them actually know the impacts of such a decision? And no, ‘living there’ doesn’t automatically grant you magical insight everyone else doesn’t have. People like to say that because you live there, you should have a say how things are run. I find this an acceptable argument ... as long as those people know how things are run, and actually know what they're voting for. Otherwise I question why this automatic right is even a thing.
    So if millions of those people are too unknowledgeable to know the impacts, why are they qualified to dictate Government policy through their ignorance? Because they live there? What a quality and well-thought out reason. Consider Joe Doe down the road who voted based on a pack of misinformation and lies, his ignorance affected the decision the Government has made and the future of everybody in that nation. Why should this ever be acceptable?  
    Don’t think the political parties don’t know this, which is why both sides of politics bombard the airwaves with slogans and crap aimed at the lowest common denominator. People who are educated can mostly make up their own mind, but WHA-HEY, look at all these uneducated folk we can sway with a massive scare campaign.
    This sort of stuff is one of the bigger downsides of democracy. Tyranny of the masses is one thing, it’s quite another when a significant portion of the majority is made up of people who don’t really know. 
    Which is one of the reasons why the voting age should be raised to 25, btw …
    Now when consider all of the above, you'll start to figure out why disqualifying certain people from 'commenting' on stuff is a Pandora's box. I'm actually waiting for somebody to open it, then we'll all transition to a society led by the intellectual elite ... which will inevitably end in a revolt when that same intellectual elite start culling the population. And no, I haven't been reading too many sci-fi novels.
    EDIT: I've been seeing quite a few people get annoyed when outsiders start commenting on a nation's internal issues (like that ever concerns America and their citizens when discussing China. Or Russia.) This is one of a few posts I've wanted to make on the issue for a while.
  7. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from XReaper in VN's that were way above ur expectations...   
    Hmm, while there are certainly VN's that exceeded my expectations, there aren't that much which I didn't want to play at all and then they were really blowing me away.
    I think the most prominent example in my case would be Kara no Shoujo. Initially I thought it would be some dark hentai guro crap like Maggot Baits, but thanks to some reviews and clarifying forum comments I got curious and tried the demo. I was literally glued to the screen - the VN turned out to be a very mature and serious work with a brilliant story and oozing atmosphere from every pore.
    Overdrive's Edelweiss was also much better than expected and Suika A.S. surprised me with one of the most beautiful endings ever.
    Nothing reaches the big contrast of initial expectation and actual experience like Kara no Shoujo though.
  8. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Darklord Rooke in The House in Fata Morgana Review Discussion   
    I think you'll find I talked mostly about the technique in general and didn't claim anything (in terms of absolutes) about Fata Morgana.
    Firstly no, it isn't. No technique is 'necessary' at all, but merely one of many techniques a writer has at his or her disposal to create a certain effect. Those who claim that techniques are 'necessary' don't have a very good knowledge of the full range of techniques at a writer's disposal. 
    Secondly, standard flashbacks are not used to establish grand things about the 'novel', they are used to establish facts about the past (which could possible include grand events, but is not mandatory.) That is why it's called an 'info dump' because you're (as the writer) effectively dumping background information in (what many people consider) one of the laziest manners possible. The flashbacks in Fata Morgana are no different, in that they are massive dumps of information to reveal background and past information. The danger of using this technique is that while it does reveal information, it also affects the pacing of the plot.
    Nothing happens in a vacuum, if your story has a plot (not necessary) then any time spent significantly developing anything will affect the plot in some way. Which is why many flashbacks in succession are usually enough to kill off reader's interest in novels, because even though it reveals information it does this in a way which negatively affects the story as a whole. This is because it halts the forward progress of present events. Quality writers will address themes, and develop characters WHILE moving the story forward. If you need to dump all that information in a series of flashbacks near the end, in a series of flashbacks which includes much repetition, chances are the writer has cocked things up somehow (if done intentionally) or just got lazy (if done unintentionally.)  In general, I'm sure there are people who have done it in an effective manner but the majority don't.
    The VN community seems to have a thing about long scenes which do nothing other than 'develop character'. 'You need those long scenes of nothingness to develop emotional ties with characters', they'll say. Codswollop, you need no such thing. There are a multitude of stories that develop deep ties between characters and the reader without such stuff being present. Those long scenes which do nothing, they're considered 'bad writing' in novels with a plot. So don't be surprised when readers turn their noses up at them.
    People may enjoy them, you may enjoy them, I enjoy many writers who write badly also, but I'm not going to try and claim that techniques considered 'bad' are actually quite good because I enjoyed them. Or because they are 'necessary' (this is never the case, btw) to the story.
    But I have seem writers warned again and again about the dangers of flashbacks turning off readers. So you shouldn't be surprised that SolidBatman felt the way he did, because it's quite a common reaction.
    And yes, I'm doing this while not reading Fata Morgana. How dare I!? xD I've seen it used often enough though (and I float around the writer community enough) that I don't need to see the story in question to tell you why people are turned off by the use of it or to tell you about it.
    Background character information dumped on the reader. Standard use of flashback, really. Nothing special about it.
    Is that so ... conscious? Like the repetitive 8 episodes in the second season of Melancholy of Haruhi was 'conscious' and done for effect?  
    Sorry, couldn't resist. People are too concerned with 'ideas' sometimes.
    Writers are warned to be careful of 'long flashback sequences', 'numerous flashback sequences', and we may as well include 'numerous flashback sequences which repeat shit over and over again' precisely because it bores the bejeezus out of most people xD
  9. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Suzu Fanatic in Piss off Fuwanovel in one sentence   
    I don't actually hate Sekai Project, I like Looseboy's writing, and found F/SN's h-scenes hot. fightme.gif
  10. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Qrqe in Two potentially good vn to come soon   
    I dont consider it as the same thing, In eiyuutan they sold them for 3000-3000-3000 yen instead of just one 9000 yen. Means it was still just one full priced game, they only released it part by part and now will release the combined hard copy one as a "one" full priced game as well. In Kakumei though, They'll release it as "3 full priced game", there'll be 9000-9000-9000 yen three game. Means they have to do x3 content of a full priced game.
    In short those two are quite different situations, Eiyuutan was just a marketing tactic and it worked very well. But this time they are making a huge project and planning to sell it for "27.000" yen, it'll be something enormous for sure. Also its one of the most popular games Shin koihime Musou's remake so pretty much guaranteed to sell.
     
    They'll probably make some kind of special offer like "all three routes are just 20.000 yen" though.
  11. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to granit in Two potentially good vn to come soon   
    As long as the story is good I'm okay with the lot of H-scenes. Koku is my favorite artist.
  12. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from SaintOfVoid in What are you reading? Untranslated edition   
    While I'm somewhat slow with English VN's, at least I seem to be able to finish some Japanese stuff lately.

    I've finished the last route I wanted to play in Akagoei with the one from Aya Nikaidou. Well, technically it 'should' have been her route, but in reality it somehow turned out more like one for her bodyguard Takanori. The majority of the route did consist of Kaito and Takanori arguing with each other like two immature teenagers. It was mostly comedy, but in all honesty those two guys were so obsessed with teasing each other that I wouldn't have been surprised anymore if the route would have turned BL on they way. Aya unfortunately got the short end of the stick, ending up more as a side character with some tagged on H-scenes. And that's a bit of a shame since I really liked her as a character.
    Overall, the VN probably did a decent job in the comedy department, but in terms of story or romance it falls apart. Reika probably had the only route where the story had some substance, but none of them provided a good romance. I unfortunately couldn't appreciate it as much because there was a lot of word play involved which all too often exceeded my Japanese language skills. So I'm certainly to blame here too. I skipped Tsuki's and *spoilers* routes despite liking them because Tsuki was too loli and *spoiler* still looked a bit too *spoiler* for me.
    Heroine rankings: Aya > Moe > *spoiler* > Tsuki > Tae > Reika.
    Final rating: 6.5/10 (Though I would have probably rated it higher in English)

    I've also finished Verethragna about 2 weeks ago. Well, it involved lots of skipping of pointless character events, and I don't think I would have finished it if I wouldn't have fallen into a short card game addiction which ended up in me installing Spellweaver and Magic - Duels on Steam. While the card game in Verethragna might not be the most complex one, it's fast and addictive, has good card art and some additionally gimmicks in the meta game like card leveling.
    It also isn't too hard to figure out an effective strategy. Usually, I used two armour breakers to make way and then used a mana generation card in combination with a nuke from a T4 monster to kill the leader with one hit. If you focus on just one leader card + crew there shouldn't even be much grinding involved. It was a bit more in my case since I leveled both Kisskill and Leah and a bunch of creatures up to high levels. Leah in particular was brutal since she had -1 deploy cost for each creature and I could run around with three green dragons. The only situation where I really had to grind a while was the end boss.
    Unfortunately, the rest of the game wasn't as great as the card game. The story about the 'living cards' from the parallel dimension had potential, but trying to force a dozen heroines into one route couldn't end well. About 2/3 of the heroines only acted as plain H-scene deliverers and shouldn't have been heroines at all. It might have still been kind of okay if you would have at least been allowed to just pick the ones you're interested in, but noooooo you had to 'do' them all. They should have at least focused on the card heroines. Having the protagonist 'sliming' himself through the school girls was just *ugh*.  
    And there was so much potential. Having heroines as leader cards was literally screaming for heroine routes as a way to have replays with different leader and creature card combinations. But unfortunately Astronauts doesn't seem to understand the simple concept of a heroine route. Even worse, I think I got about 60% of the character events AFTER I had beaten the final end boss. What the hell were they thinking?! Still, the card game was fun, but I think I'm slowly giving up my hopes to get a (worthy) successor for Kiriya Shimai from them.
    Heroine rankings: Leah > Kisskill > Suzuna > Satis > don't care.
    Final rating: 7/10 (Mostly for the card game, the rest was barely a 6/10)

    And finally, for my moege needs I've finished two left-over routes from Walkure Romanze Retell 1 & 2. Noel's in Retell 1 was better than expected while Akane's in Retell 2 was 'unusual' to say the least. I was almost falling from the chair when her route suddenly went harem. Usually, Walkure Romanze is strictly one girl.
    Final rating: 7.5/10
    Anyway, since I've now finished all that left-over stuff, I've now time for Ikusa Megami and Seikishi Melty ☆ Lovers. 
  13. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Silvz in VN's that were not up to their mark....   
    Too many to count... 
  14. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Narcosis in VN's that were not up to their mark....   
    Too many to count... 
  15. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Darklord Rooke in Dovac : Which do you want more console ports or adult versions of games.   
    It's to troll those who don't read  
  16. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Dergonu in What are you playing?   
    Yeah, that's actually my biggest gripe with the game so far. The silly humour and battles simply didn't really fit to the dark scenario. A more cynical and bitter humour would have been more appropriate. The characters therefore appeared somehow dull and out of touch with reality because of that which made it hard for me to feel sympathy for them. The protagonist appeared like the only one who actually seemed to 'get' what's really going on, and he was the main reason I finished the route.
    Fortunately, since the last part of Raziel's route when the game finally sticked to its darker roots and the characters got serious for a change, was pretty great.
    So, since the VN finally showed some qualities it earned itself me reading the next route which would be Sorami's.
  17. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Haruhiko in Looking for romance / comedy VNs similar to shuffle!   
    Koihime Musou is one of the longest translated titles. It was MangaGamer's best selling title for years and is probably still the most expensive title they've ever translated. So this is definitely a high quality title. It has one very long story route where you can choose to get into a closer relationship with several heroines. So it's more of a custom route instead of multiple routes, even if it does have several different endings.
    Da Capo 2 is almost a 'remake' of Da Capo 1. It's very similar, just that pretty much everything is better: writing, art, characters. I've seen people being disappointed with Da Capo 2 because it was too similar to Da Capo 1, so this would be one rare case where I'd suggest to just skip the first part. The connections between both are very loose anyway. If you like DC2 you can still play the first one afterwards. I did the same and it wasn't a problem. But it would be a real pity if you'd skip DC2 just because you've played DC1 first and didn't like it.
  18. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Haruhiko in Looking for romance / comedy VNs similar to shuffle!   
    I am looking for a VN similar to shuffle!, with a fantasy setting mixed into a romance / comedy game. Preferably with heroines like Nerine, Primula and Sia, who aren't normal humans. (Elves, demons, angels etc. Also fine with something different, like catgirls and such, but I want a game with routes that has some length to it.)
    I have played Shuffle!, I am currently playing Tick! Tack! and Tokyo Babel, and I plan on playing Really! Really! later, so do not recommend any of those.
    Any other recommendations would be appreciated!
    (It has to be translated into English. >_<)
  19. Like
  20. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from spademan in Looking for translated philosophical/morally grey vns   
    I also second the Saya no Uta suggestion. It's brilliantly written and makes it very hard to decide what's morally good or bad.
    And good old G-Senjou has some greyish areas too of course.
    A lesser known title with some more philosophical depth would be Suika AS. It looks just moe on the outside, but there's more than meets the eye.
    Tokyo Babel also has some deeper philosophical backgrounds even if I still find its execution deeply flawed.
  21. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Dergonu in Hi! Nice to meet you all :D   
    Hey, welcome to the forum, nice to meet you  
    I recommend G-senjou no Maou. It's a pretty good mystery / battle of wits type story. 
     
  22. Like
    ChaosRaven reacted to Decay in 22 million women played otome dating apps in 2014   
    "And get off PC," can't they be on both?
  23. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Fred the Barber in VN translators on Twitter counting down   
    Well, there are two points to consider. First, the title Eustia itself is a very highly rated and popular VN. Second, it's widely considered to be August's best title, and August isn't just some run of the mill VN company, they are one of the most popular VN developers in Japan. The only thing that's missing is a smash hit anime, otherwise they would be right up there with TypeMoon and Key.
    If you take just Getchu as a measurement, they could be even considered THE most popular VN developer. Since 2003, they've released five individual VN titles which weren't just fan discs and every single one of them got a top five placement in the yearly Getchu Bishojo Game Awards:
    2003 Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni ~Operation Sanctuary~: 2nd Place
    2005 Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na: 4th place
    2007 Fortune Arterial: 1st place (Winner)
    2010 Aiyoku no Eustia: 2nd place
    2013 Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai: 1st place (Winner)
    The only other company that won the Getchu awards two times is TypeMoon with their two Fate titles long ago. And August's sales rankings look even more scary. The are pretty much the 'incarnation' of mass appeal in the Japanese VN scene.
    So they are not just a company that had a good run a decade ago *cough*Type Moon/Key/AkabeiSoft2*cough*, they are always at the top, be it 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or now. And if I would have to make a bet who'll win the Getchu awards 2016, I would make it on their upcoming title Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki.
    And that's why August is 'special' and why the 'August Curse' is so infamous - they are the only VN developer with such a pedigree that don't even have a single title fully translated because almost all of their titles have a fan translation that was started, but none of them ever got finished.
    And what makes Eustia in particular even more special, is that it's also highly acclaimed by people who aren't really into moege but more into darker more serious stuff, since August is usually considered first and foremost a moege developer.
  24. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from XReaper in VN translators on Twitter counting down   
    Well, there are two points to consider. First, the title Eustia itself is a very highly rated and popular VN. Second, it's widely considered to be August's best title, and August isn't just some run of the mill VN company, they are one of the most popular VN developers in Japan. The only thing that's missing is a smash hit anime, otherwise they would be right up there with TypeMoon and Key.
    If you take just Getchu as a measurement, they could be even considered THE most popular VN developer. Since 2003, they've released five individual VN titles which weren't just fan discs and every single one of them got a top five placement in the yearly Getchu Bishojo Game Awards:
    2003 Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni ~Operation Sanctuary~: 2nd Place
    2005 Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na: 4th place
    2007 Fortune Arterial: 1st place (Winner)
    2010 Aiyoku no Eustia: 2nd place
    2013 Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai: 1st place (Winner)
    The only other company that won the Getchu awards two times is TypeMoon with their two Fate titles long ago. And August's sales rankings look even more scary. The are pretty much the 'incarnation' of mass appeal in the Japanese VN scene.
    So they are not just a company that had a good run a decade ago *cough*Type Moon/Key/AkabeiSoft2*cough*, they are always at the top, be it 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or now. And if I would have to make a bet who'll win the Getchu awards 2016, I would make it on their upcoming title Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki.
    And that's why August is 'special' and why the 'August Curse' is so infamous - they are the only VN developer with such a pedigree that don't even have a single title fully translated because almost all of their titles have a fan translation that was started, but none of them ever got finished.
    And what makes Eustia in particular even more special, is that it's also highly acclaimed by people who aren't really into moege but more into darker more serious stuff, since August is usually considered first and foremost a moege developer.
  25. Like
    ChaosRaven got a reaction from Vorathiel in VN translators on Twitter counting down   
    Well, there are two points to consider. First, the title Eustia itself is a very highly rated and popular VN. Second, it's widely considered to be August's best title, and August isn't just some run of the mill VN company, they are one of the most popular VN developers in Japan. The only thing that's missing is a smash hit anime, otherwise they would be right up there with TypeMoon and Key.
    If you take just Getchu as a measurement, they could be even considered THE most popular VN developer. Since 2003, they've released five individual VN titles which weren't just fan discs and every single one of them got a top five placement in the yearly Getchu Bishojo Game Awards:
    2003 Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni ~Operation Sanctuary~: 2nd Place
    2005 Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na: 4th place
    2007 Fortune Arterial: 1st place (Winner)
    2010 Aiyoku no Eustia: 2nd place
    2013 Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai: 1st place (Winner)
    The only other company that won the Getchu awards two times is TypeMoon with their two Fate titles long ago. And August's sales rankings look even more scary. The are pretty much the 'incarnation' of mass appeal in the Japanese VN scene.
    So they are not just a company that had a good run a decade ago *cough*Type Moon/Key/AkabeiSoft2*cough*, they are always at the top, be it 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or now. And if I would have to make a bet who'll win the Getchu awards 2016, I would make it on their upcoming title Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki.
    And that's why August is 'special' and why the 'August Curse' is so infamous - they are the only VN developer with such a pedigree that don't even have a single title fully translated because almost all of their titles have a fan translation that was started, but none of them ever got finished.
    And what makes Eustia in particular even more special, is that it's also highly acclaimed by people who aren't really into moege but more into darker more serious stuff, since August is usually considered first and foremost a moege developer.
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