Nandemonai

Yes, I just liked a post from 2014.
It deserved a like. It deserves all the likes. (/ω＼)

I am very glad they decided not to just write off the project and move on.  The temptation to do that is very powerful (throwing good money after bad, and all that) but it really wouldn't have done good things for their reputation.  Look at MangaGamer's shaky reputation early on (because that's what they did with a lot of their early titles); it took them quite awhile to shrug it off.

I didn't see any better thread, and I didn't really want to start a new one.  So I chant my dark necromantic incantations instead.
So there was an update that went out over Halloween.  It was marked 'For Backers Only', so I'm not going to post the whole thing here.  But there are some highly relevant parts:
Also, I found this: http://www.7happycreations.com/just-who-translated-libra-of-the-vampire-princess/
This description is horrifying.  3 translation teams, team changeovers, it was the particular team members' first translation job (which is just terrible - if they're a big company, haven't they got veteran people? No team should ever consist of all newbies.)  They translated "simply and cleanly" in an effort to make their style fit with the other teams' styles, even though they never saw any of their work!  Un. Believable.

Sekai Project, yeah, they could open up a bit more.  But MangaGamer?  They post on Twitter and write updates on their blog all the time.  MangaGamer even gives regular progress updates (making it relatively easy to predict their release calendar) and answers questions via their Curious Cat.

I don't hold new companies to the same standards I hold MangaGamer or Sekai Project.  New companies get slack.  But they don't get a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Some companies deserve second chances.  MiKandi screwed up Libra big time, but I hope they get up, dust themselves off from this, and move on.  And like you said, MangaGamer did the same thing with their first releases.  Hell, so did Atlus!  (Seriously, just read up on how screwed up the release of the first Persona was.)
Other companies behave in ways that make them seem like parasites, pushing the market in ways that are harmful for its long-term survival, or pushing it toward long-term changes that I don't want to see.  SakuraGame is just burning down everything to make a quick buck off the ashes. Without them, I'm pretty sure Steam's new ban on discussing patches would either have never happened, or it would have taken a lot longer.
As for MoeNovel, well, it's interesting that you should mention them. Because, I'm sorry, but you can't just say 'putting aside your stance on all-ages titles'.  It's relevant.  If MoeNovel had moved on and started putting out real releases, I would be interested in supporting them.  (After all, the reason IMHHW pissed me off so much is I like Pulltop; I liked Princess Waltz.)  But they didn't really change their plan.  Now, instead of openly announcing they're censoring releases, instead they're trying to dodge the bad PR by tricking people into not noticing it's censored.
MoeNovel wants to push the VN industry towards a direction I really don't want it to go in.  IMMHW sent very strong signals that was a key part of their plan.  Subsequent events simply confirmed it to be true.  So yes, it is true that it is because of IMHHW that MoeNovel has been able to bowdlerize more titles.  I just think this is a bad thing.  In that sense, not buying IMHHW was clearly the correct move, as I really do want MoeNovel to take their ball and go home.
It's good to hear that you brought on more experienced translators.  That's a very good sign (especially since you did it before the game came out).  Too many companies release first games with questionable translations.
I think other people commented on the honorific toggle thing.  I might just be reiterating what someone else already said, but this is likely going to turn out to be close to translating the game twice.  You can't just have the honorific appear / not appear.  Very often the lines will need to be significantly rephrased, or else the honorific-free version will sound kind of robotic.  It might even introduce plot holes if someone (say) changes from using -chan to using -san.

The problem is that this is still censorship when the full version isn't released.
All other localization companies offers the full version through a patch or on a different website. The only reason steam always has censored releases is because that's Steam's policy, and Steam is the biggest VN platform in the west.
But Moenovel doesn't offer the original in any way.
I am glad that they have at least (seemingly, we'll have to wait and see for sure,) stopped literally censoring anything from kissing to innuendos, but the problem still remains; they only localize eroge, then censor them and slap them on steam. Some people might be okay with having H-scenes removed, but that doesn't mean it's okay.
This is eroge we are talking about. If you don't want H-scenes in them, you're playing the wrong genre.
 
Please stop trying to make Moenovel look like the good guys here. They still censor their games, and they still ignore all fan feedback. If you're going to cover this game in the VNTS, please make a disclaimer saying it has been censored, and that supporitng them advocates that.
If people keep supporting Moenovel, they'll keep repeating the same shit over and over. The only way to make them stop is to cut off their money. Trying to tell them what the west wants hasn't worked. People have been doing that since If My Heart Had Wings launched. All they think about is money, and they get that when people keep on buying their censored crap.
The VN localization scene has come so far in the past couple of years. We're finally at a point where censorship doesn't happen that much anymore. Most new eroge localizations gets their respective 18+ versions, and all-ages versions for those who wants that. Everybody wins.
So when a company like Moenovel starts censoring stuff without offering the original anywhere, they are ruining the great thing the west has finally started building. Don't support companies like them; we deserve better.

Breaking News: Sekai Project shuts down a religious cult trying to become the sky! - Is freedom of religion in danger?

Okay, not too long ago I reached a "milestone": there are now less than a hundred thousand lines left in the game to edit!  Time for a status update.  It turns out not quite four thousand lines were edited, in not quite a month. Note: all below percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Shoku
    Main                           42% (4319/10321)
    Battle                         100% (299/299)
    Aisha, Touka                   7% (281/4137)
    Ei, Yue                        0% (0/1954)
    Enya                           1% (13/2777)
    Hinari, Shuri                  2% (48/2907)
    Iishe, Pairen, Reiha, Toshi    0% (0/3377)
    Kikyou, Shion                  1% (34/2277)
    Mii                            27% (396/1448)
    Nenene, Ren                    0% (0/3330)
    Rinrin                         7% (206/2912)
    Sei                            37% (1002/2734)
    Sui, Tanpopo                   1% (27/3409)
    Shoku TL:89% (37198/41882)  Edit:16% (6625/41882) Untranslated H-scene routes: (Aisha, Touka), (Hinari, Shuri), (Ren, Nenene), and Sei
Gi:     4% (1390/38852)     Go:    5% (1360/25983)
Total:    9% (9376/108888)

While the thought makes certainly sense, Japanese VN developers seem to 'click' in a different way and they usually seem to ask "Why not this older game?" instead.
When MangaGamer got involved with AliceSoft they had to start with Beat Blades Haruka from the Bronze Age despite wanting a newer (or any) Rance title, and when they had a short deal with Lilith, they just got some titles from the Stone Age (which might be a reason why their relationship ended soon). Fortunately, we didn't have to endure a title from the early Cretaceaus period - meaning pre 2000 - yet. 
So Japanese VN developers seem to be rather protective about their newer and better titles.

I don't like Insem translation for 3 reasons:
First it was translated from CHINESE to english, meaning it was a Japanese -> Chinese -> English translation.
Second Insem kicked off from the team anyone that dared to suggest that his translation was in serious need of TLC and editing because it was crap and badly written (though it probably wouldn't have fixed the inherent problems with a J->C->E translation and the fact that Insem isn't really a great writter).
Third Insem is an asshole and a racist.

Yes, they should...
When you are given 2 options, and one is objectively better than the other, choosing the worse one is weird.
I can't even fathom that someone would ask this question.
Are you really saying you are okay with TLs that are incorrect, simply because you're an "average reader?" ... What's even the point of TLs, if people don't care if they are accurate or not.

I LIKE THE ENGRISH BETTER

Also I'm not sure why there's weird line breaks on the original fan translation screenshots, maybe it's the way I installed it on Windows 10..

The circle does that because that is the literal reason why Moenovel censored If my heart had wings in the first place. They wanted to market eroge to kids, for some absurd reason, and stuck with that policy.
There is nothing special about that one CG with some soap over a nipple in LoveKami; even If my heart had wings had certain "slightly lewd" CGs still intact, just censored. There is tons of other CGs they just straight up removed from Love Kami, without replacing them with anything. These aren't all-ages ports, they are just the normal version with content literally cut out.
You might be fine with having your games censored, but many people people aren't. I personally won't support a company that keeps doing this. Lucky for me I can read the original, but that's not the case for many western fans, so when a game gets censored without any way to restore the original content, it's stuck in that incomplete version forever or until some saint like Pabloc shows up to fix Moenovel's mess. (And people who are willing to do that are rare.)

Moenovel censored their second game in a devious way to try to cover up the fact they were doing it.  They released it first in English, then several months later released it in Japan ... with h-scenes added and specifically said to only be for Japan.  That sounds more or less like the kind of trick you'd expect to fool 12 year old girls, so yeah, I'd say they are

Moenovel censored their second game in a devious way to try to cover up the fact they were doing it.  They released it first in English, then several months later released it in Japan ... with h-scenes added and specifically said to only be for Japan.  That sounds more or less like the kind of trick you'd expect to fool 12 year old girls, so yeah, I'd say they are

I try to make sure that I read every comment that I can on here, and I can guarantee that I understand the position that you and Sol Press are in.
Hopefully, I can provide you guys with some information real quick, and be as open as possible!
In terms of licensing, this is something we've even discussed with different partners of ours. We are still small, so it is difficult to actually acquire anything substantial. The titles we have though mean the world to us, and we wouldn't have picked them up if we didn't like them. It's a growing game, so hopefully, in a few years you'll see us up near the top.
For Kickstarters, I have the exact same worries as most of you. Translation quality, becoming reliant on Kickstarter, and reliability are all issues that are currently plaguing the industry.
I personally have read each and every complaint about the translation quality of Sakura Sakura. We hesitated to release a Kickstarter Update until just a few days ago because there were so many changes happening each and every day in Sol Press to fix this. It was literally a "Let's wait until tomorrow to announce this because this is happening tomorrow also" that would repeat every day.
In the Kickstarter update, we addressed the issue of translation quality by doing the following:
We brought on more experienced translators (TBAC and Ningen) to assist with the translation. We also brought on two very experienced proofreaders and beta testers, Kitty-tama and Haerts (whose names I think most of you will recognize). 
To address issues of becoming reliant on Kickstarter, we've already begun projects that are not reliant on Kickstarter. We don't plan on announcing any of them through until they're much closer to release, but I can guarantee you it is something we want to move away from in the future.
 
In summary:
We'll get bigger titles as we slowly grow our name, but in our personal beliefe, each one of our titles is special and worth a read.
I personally read all the criticism I can find, even if it hurts. We're actively taking steps to improve on our weaknesses.
We're going to be moving away from Kickstarter, although the first few Kickstarters are to Kickstart the company as a whole. They help to build a rhythm and structure our deadlines/timeframes.
alice is super cute.
 
I've always been available on Discord for any DM's. If you see an issue arising at our company, please let me know! It's a lot easier to fix issues before it becomes ingrained in company culture than after.
 
 
I also want to point out that we are trying to identify issues we see are arising as well. An example would be honorifics. To help alleviate this issue, I came up with the idea of a honorifics toggle system.
Our surveys have pointed out that there is a large demographic that was being ignored with this. 13% of readers prefer no honorifics, while 54% prefer honorifics (33% don't care).
Our entire goal is to make reading visual novels a more pleasant experience. From our review poll, this was a highly utilized and appreciated mechanic.
 
If anyone sees other similar issues, please let me know and we'll try to brainstorm solutions!

If anything, the titles Sol Press have been able to obtain indicate that they have a short reach when it comes to licensing deals.  I think that they'd most likely be unable to obtain a license for a 07th Expansion VN, considering that both titles Sol Press have snapped up aren't very popular at all.  Now, that relies on 07th Expansion asking for more for a license than companies like Hiqo Soft and Laplacian, but considering that the former has actual name recognition and a series of popular titles and the latter don't (at least in the west, anyway), that's almost guaranteed.  MG is making actual progress on their backlog, and I wouldn't really say that's a factor against new acquisitions.  All the major TL companies are making new licensing deals pretty much all the time, regardless of their release backlog.  Hell, look at Sekai's backlog.  I'd still recommend communicating to MG that you're interested in newer titles like Trianthology.
No, you're not wrong, but Sekai has a track record of decent to great TLs.  With the experiences I've had, if Sekai Project was just starting up now, I'd say the exact same things about them that I'm saying about Sol Press.  There's no reason to assume that companies like Sol Press and OG Sekai Project are competent and will provide good products, and placing your trust in them is like playing Russian roulette with your wallet, you just have to hope that they aren't lying, that they aren't incompetent, and that they have the skills needed to deliver a quality translation.  Pre-ordering VNs is bad for the exact same reasons that pre-ordering traditional video games is bad: it encourages bad business practices and is typically a bad deal for the consumer.
I'm not advocating not giving them a chance, I'm saying there's no reason to throw money at them without results first.  Ultimately, your money is your money, and you're free to do what you want with it, but all actions have effects.
That's not what I said, though.  I'm saying that people in this community should be more wary instead of just tossing money at every VN translation company that exists.  More titles translated is always good, but I don't think it's worth it if they're poorly translated, because that almost always means that we'll never get a better one.  After Libra, Taisho x Alice, and most of all, Moenovel, I really wouldn't suggest that being skeptical about new players in the industry is such a horrible thing.
Feel free to imply that I'm a jaded, awful Negative Nancy, I really don't care.  Doesn't really bother me in the slightest    I never claimed to be an optimist.

Sorry, dude, but no less than Toshio Maeda, the creator of Urotsukidoji (which literally invented tentacle porn) has denied this:
Edit:  I might have been off on the timeline, and the specific detail about censorship in early H-OVAs might have been incorrect.  But the anime version of Urotsukidoji came out around the same time as the manga.  And the creators of tentacle porn have said quite clearly that they were covered by the censorship rules, and that's why tentacles came into existence.  And censorship also clearly used to be much more extensive than it is now.  Nowadays it's common to find stuff so minimally censored it might as well not even be censored at all.

I take it you've never played Saya no Uta?

I take it you've never played Saya no Uta?

The logic is faulty. If a person who tends to dislike moege likes one, then it may very well mean it's not all that good at being a moege.

That would pretty much be lovecraftian porn. Is lovecraftian porn a thing? 
 
That's like the definition of fetishism though. Sexual fixation on an object or theme than doesn't even have to be in any way connected to sex for an average person. It's often hard to identify where some of them come from (meaning when and how you pick them up), but it's only normal that most of them won't do anything for you.
I wrote my master's thesis on fan pornography, mostly in My Little Pony fandom and Sir, I can tell you, there are literally no limits on what things people are capable of fapping to.

Nah, that might have something to do with it, but that's not the real reason.  The real reason is it was a workaround for Japanese censorship laws.  See, back in the 80's censorship was much worse than it is now.  Really old h-ovas would have the whole cock disappear or turn into a vague white outline during a blowjob, for example.  Male-female penetration and pubic hair were the big things, though.
The key thing is that technically, a tentacle is not a male sex organ.  So you could have 100% uncensored tentacle scenes in your h-ova, with no legal problems, but you couldn't show vanilla consensual sex without censoring the heck out of it.  That is the real reason tentacle rape became "a thing".