Wind

[lordcloudx]

anyone else watching the various topics on NNL's translation patch for this game right now? (I think Shii is registered here and PyTom's posted on a wind-related board.)

I for one, can only get copies of any japanese bishoujo game through ahem underhanded methods unless I suddenly discover some form of hidden treasure in someone else's property granted that I didn't trespass ilegally and would thus be entitled to a share of 1/2.

fortunately, I'm not even mildly interested in wind and if the other translation groups follow suit... guess it's back to translating japanese text (sloooowly) myself.

All I can say is that watching the piracy vs elitism threads makes me wanna rofl


Seriously though, I wonder if everyone will look back at this a few years from now and laugh or if this is going to be a milestone in visual novel translation history. We might be watching history unfold right now.

edit: I'm having some second thoughts about opening up this topic. I hope I'm not opening up a can of worms or anything, in any case, feel free to delete this thread if it seems like inviting trouble. I just wanted to see the reactions of the regulars at this board.

[papillon]

There are games I would pay decent sums for if a patch were there. From what little I know about it, Wind really isn't one of them. I have *free* games I haven't played yet. I'm in no need to obtain a copy of Wind, legal or otherwise.

Even for a game I really liked, though, I admit I couldn't afford the $90 that some Japanese games go for. I'd have to take up a collection and share with a small group of friends or something.

[mikey]

My basic theory on this is following:

In the first phase, the translation team was doing something typical for fans who are producing content of their own, translating in their free time for no money.

In the second phase, when the patch was completed, the translation team is doing something typical for the gaming industry, seeing to it that the only ones who can play are buyers.

But I will say that this is an issue that concerns the translation community, so it's probably best to let them sort out how their works should be understood.

[DrakeNavarone]

This kind of thing scares me (and it's at the worst possible time too).

I'm only mildly interested in Wind, so there's no way I would actually buy the game. If NNL continues this firm stance on anti-piracy (which they really should) >sigh<, oh well... Life goes on.

It's also great that haeleth and heklin (plus whoever else) are also interested in setting up some kinda verification system. It is the admirable and honest thing to do. In fact, all fan translators should try to adopt this policy.

And this is where my fears play in. As a part of Mirror Moon's Tsukihime beta-testing team, I'm worried that the project may be delayed further, or even shut down, before I even get to try it out (or even worse, after I put my bit of effort into the project, only to have the whole thing come crashing down). Tsukihime might have special circumstances (discontinued), but still...

Man, and I just saw the "beta start-up" email this morning.....

[lordcloudx]

Ooohh... the drama! Check out visualnews and also nnl's webby. They've made another official statement.

This is fun! (watching stuff unfold that is)

[papillon]

(What's going on, exactly? I *really* wasn't interested enough to even bother looking for the patch, I had simply heard on various channels that it was complete.)

[lordcloudx]

hmmm.... super-summarizing everything based on all the various testimonies.

It goes something like this:

-NNL completes patch (fans go yea men!)

-NNL sez something about letting other ppl except those who own a legit
copy of the game wait 1 month before downloading the patch

-Fans in general get pissed

-Someone gets into nnl's irc channel and pisses them off with stoopid answers to their verification questions

-NNL gets pissed and *apparently* goes (hoo hahaha we have the powah!) No more patch for you... or anyone else and posts some super impossible requirement to be able to download their patch.

-Fans in general turn violent (we want patchy! we want patchy!)

-Internet dorama ensues

-A short time later...

-NNL makes official statement numbah 2. Something about giving the public another chance and clarifies a few issues

-Visualnews also clarifies a few issues

-next..... unfortunately this page in visual novel translation history is still being written as of this moment.

hehehe like I said. Fun!

On the next episode... "NNL Makes a Decision" watch out for it next week (I bet this could give haruhi a run for its money if this was ever made into an anime)

[DrakeNavarone]

Any chance of summarizing the original official statements? I think they were already pulled by the time I check both websites...

Haeleth's forum is a pretty good read, but I'm kinda scared to go find the Hongfire thread..... Any summaries on that too? (Wait, I can take a guess! PATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCH! -- or something like that??)

[GLACIER]

Any chance of summarizing the original official statements? I think they were already pulled by the time I check both websites...

Haeleth's forum is a pretty good read, but I'm kinda scared to go find the Hongfire thread..... Any summaries on that too? (Wait, I can take a guess! PATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCHPATCH! -- or something like that??)

I can't remember all the details. However, Visualnews or NNL posted something about suspending the verification process and essentially cancelling the release of the patch. For those who already own the game, NNL would offer a one-time verification period on July 23.

It seems that NNL was irked by the number of pirates who

a) wasted their time by attempting the test
b) proceeded to flame/insult NNL once they realized they had no hope of tricking the system

As for Hongfire, I remember a lot of justification for piracy (games too expensive, no desire to give money to the "evil" companies, piracy only bad from the viewpoint of the "rich and powerful", etc.), as well as some anger toward NNL's alleged elitism (restriction of patch to the "rich", moral high horse). It's as you'd expect from that kind of community.

It's also great that haeleth and heklin (plus whoever else) are also interested in setting up some kinda verification system. It is the admirable and honest thing to do. In fact, all fan translators should try to adopt this policy.

Yeah, given the hostility (between translators and pirates) that exists now, I wouldn't be surprised if other groups decide to adopt some kind of verification process.

[GLACIER]

It's been a long time coming, but NNL's patch is finally out now.

I'm only mildly interested in Wind, so there's no way I would actually buy the game.

I've only put two or three hours into Wind. However, from what I've read so far, I wouldn't recommend buying the game, unless you happen to be an avid collector of these things (I wrote off the cost back when NNL pulled the beta, but I definitely won't rush to pick up a soon-to-be-translated product again).

[Adorya]

On a side note, the Fate path from FSN is done according to the translation team, now 2 paths to go and a few more years

[Misuzu]

Hehe... F/sn might be out soonier then you think.... through probably not by the end of this year (unless there is a miracle) =D.

I've played through the majority of Wind and I also would have a hard time justifying a recomendation for it if you have to fork out $90 to purchase the game. It's not that Wind is bad, but its not great either, and for people not living in Japan, we are forced to pay the full MSRP on these games + obscene shipping, so I understand why people would want to be picky.

[lordcloudx]

we could always try... (because dots are fun.) By Intelligently buying Them. etc etc.

just kidding... maybe.

btw, I thought they'd release each route for FSN on separate patches, or so they said a few months back. I wanna see more internet dorama.

[Misuzu]

They haven't decided yet on how their going to release it. And just because a path is fully translated doesn't mean much. After translation, it needs to go through an editing phase, which mirror moon is unfortunately known for being quite slow at. (Don't believe their frontpage! It's still in the editing stage =D).