Wednesday, July 1, 2009

English Patch Answer

The powers that be have spoken, and no change has been made.

The English patch of Rosenkreuzstilette will require the game disc, physical or ISO.

This decision will most like not be changed at all, as it is the best possible method is terms of quote "practicality and ethics." This, in turn, means that you will be left to find the game image or disc on your own. For those of you who already have the game installed, you will inevitably have to uninstall the game and reinstall it from the disc using the English patch. Replays are transferable, so you'll probably want to grab those before you delete it.

For anyone who does not have access to the game disc for any reason, I'm sorry to say that you're pretty much left out. There's nothing I can do about this decision, so there's nothing more that I can say.

66 comments:

  1. If you where already set on that decision regardless of input why did you even ask for input in the first place?

    Well it's your call seeing how you did all the work and while I respect your decision I would be lying if I did said it did not disappoint me.

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  2. I wasn't set on it, and I wanted to see where everyone else stands, but in the end, I discovered that it's really not my decision to make.

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  3. Well this Rock Man fan has Brooklyn Rage now... I take it out on random AI-controlled players on Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, thank you very much.

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  4. Well, it IS your decision to make, but that's like saying 'it's your call if you want to rob a bank or not'. Like I said in my post, I can see the reasoning behind not wanting to share the game files, both due to size issues and due to it possibly passing off as pirating.

    In the end, those who really want to see the story of RKS are probably the ones with heads on their shoulders as opposed to just the people who play for the heck of it; so, well, chances are everyone's smart enough to go to Google and, oh, say, type 'Rosenkreuzstilette ISO'.

    I sincerely doubt that making the disc a requirement will /prevent/ people from playing it-- it will inconvenience them in that 'it'll take five more minutes to find/install it than it would have had otherwise' way, but what's an extra five minutes to get the image file if it means seeing the story?

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  5. Well, it IS your decision to make

    I'm not the one making the installer, so I have absolutely no control over this. In addition, have you tried looking for a working torrent of the RKS ISO? I have tried two C73 torrents, and so far, both of them have failed me. The only things I am able to locate as far as downloads go are just rips of the game, and TDOMMX seems to believe that because one Anonymous commentator found a way to reverse-burn the game back to an ISO and then use it as a "game disc," everyone can just use that same method if ISOs are hard to find.

    I'm really at a loss here, and it has me quite upset. A lot of you just want to patch the version of the game you have. I want the same thing. Unfortunately, I have no control over it, and as such, I get to watch as the community has to earn the ability to play the game in English by sending them on an Easter Egg hunt.

    I want everyone to enjoy this game's story. I want everyone to have fun with it. I don't want everyone to have to jump through hoops to achieve that. I wanted things to be easy for people, but now, I foresee nothing but complaints and problems.

    I'm really sorry, everyone.

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  6. Well Letty, it isn't under your control so it isn't your fault. I'm sure you will get complaints, but I hope people reading here would understand the situation and not be hard on you.

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  7. Well, if I may say? I personally found the .ISO in one of the files in 4chan's Rapidshares directory. Quite a handy resources, that place. I didn't know it was THAT hard to find, Letty-- I just went by the fact I had to get it twice (a second time due to accidently deleting it) and it wasn't hard at all.

    If anyone REALLY wants it I suppose I could also offer to upload the .ISO myself to a file-sharing medium and password it, and offer it to those who ask-- provided they swear they bought the game or something. Just to keep it 'legal'.

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  8. If you decide to point out where or how to get it, just don't do it here.

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  9. This decision disappoints me. But I'm not going to mope around crying. It's their decision and I respect that. I'm done with RKS anyway and I'll just wait for Freudenstachel to come by. Excuse me while I destroy a lunatic princess and a pheonix....

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  10. hmmmm....so in the end, nothing can be changed? I guess I can no longer look forward to the E patch, cuz it's impossible to to find that ISO now.....T_T

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  11. Well, it's back to my "learn Japanese in a week" textbook.

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  12. its alright Letty the fact that the patch needs an original is a bummer but it was in the hands of the translator in the first place and not you so you don't have to apologize for it but as you said it will be an easter egg hunt hope to god i find it cause i was really looking forward to the story mode dang

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  13. I'd like to add a few words, if I may:

    I'm quite impressed with the level of maturity I'm seeing from the bulk of the comments in this topic and its predecessor. I'm glad you're all being supportive of Letty considering I'm essentially The Bad Guy (TM) here (and, even then, I'm mostly going along with what I believe to be the wishes of [erka:es]). The only thing anyone could criticize Letty for is asking for feedback on a question which wasn't really open to debate in the first place, and I don't think he deserves any backlash for that.

    On the other hand, I am disappointed in the reactions of those who are writing off the English translation because of the last few posts. They reek of an "if I can't pirate it the way I want to, I don't want anything to do with it" mindset. Considering the people here are intelligent enough to be posting on a blog dedicated to an obscure Japanese garage game (many of whom are Hongfire regulars), I can't help but find their attitude more conceited than the average pirate's. It's not as bad as the ones who swarmed NNL's IRC channel during the "Wind Translation Drama" a few years back, but it's nothing to be proud of, either.

    [For those who don't know, when NNL initially "released" Wind, they wanted to conduct a semi-open beta before the final public release with people who had already bought the game (since they were more likely to have some Japanese knowledge). They asked a single question related to the packaging to make sure the person was honest about their "credentials" before giving them the patch. Unfortunately, every single applicant lied about owning the game (questions were along the lines of, "what color is the package?" and "how many English letters are on the back of the box?"). This annoyed NNL, and when they went public with their intentions, 4channers caught wind of this (no pun intended) and proceeded to harass NNL staff for the next few weeks, calling them elitist, self-fellating drama whores and the like, attempting to crash their servers, and otherwise make their lives a living hell. After this "drama" subsided, it became clear that not one of the attackers actually cared about the game - they just felt slighted for not getting something on their own terms (ie: "free" and "now"). As a former NNL staff member, I'm sure you can see why I will not tolerate this kind of attitude.]

    To my knowledge, every single Japanese PC game that has had an English fan translation has been re-uploaded and seeded extensively following the English release - even ones I never thought would get any attention. As Dri noted, RapidShare mirrors of the disc already exist, and there's nothing I or [erka:es] can do about that. I'm sure dozens more of those will pop up once the English version has gone gold. One clever poster noticed that I only read the files off the disc and that as long as the files were in the right place, a self-made disc would also work (I left this in for the same reason that the Portal developers left in a few unplanned shortcuts in the game - if you want to use the sneaky ninja approach, props to you). As long as I don't see the patch and the original game bundled together, you're free to do whatever you want regarding distro.

    I'm offended that many of you seem to think that there is a significant difference between downloading a rip of a game and downloading an ISO of the same game from a consumer's perspective. There isn't. As I have said several times before, patching from the disc is much more efficient than patching the over half-dozen of official variations on the files. I received quite a few complaints about corrupt downloads and archive problems, all related to the sheer size of the installer, and I'm making it my number one priority to keep the installer size down.

    By the way, Letty deserves more credit in the translation department than I do. I handled all the technical and graphics work and half of the writing. Letty is far more well-versed in Japanese than I am. He, Akira, and Tanin are the project's translation team.

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  14. Well, I'll stay with what I understood already from the Japanese script, then.

    Sad, let's go back to Tales of Vesperia !

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  15. It's a shame, but if TDOMMX feels it's for the best then so be it. I fully respect the decision. I was kind of expecting the patch to require the original disc from the beginning anyway, so I'm not too dissapointed.

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  16. Like TDO said, you can make your own ISO. Or you can still find it out there, I can't say where I got mine obviously but I can say that google helped, as did IRC. Like Letty, I came across dead torrents, but there are other working ISO rips out there.

    Or just take the sneaky ninja approach. Those of you who don't have an original game disc aren't screwed out. Honestly? I'd have bought the game myself but I can't find a legit copy anywhere, this being the same issue that everyone else seems to have.

    Seriously though, Letty, TDO, while I AM good for installing the final english patch? I'd still like to actually get a physical copy of RKS at some point, if either of you know a way to go about that, I'd be all ears.

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  17. I agree with Charles, I'd like to have a legit copy, but haven't been able to find one. I bought some touhou game disks online from a guy, but that was a lucky break I probably won't be able to replicate with RKS. And more so, I would have preferred to be able to buy it in a way that gives money back to the maker of the game.

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  18. Can someone least give me a hint on finding the damn .iso file for the game?! I've google search and I haven't found a good one!

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  19. Thank you, guys, for being so understanding. Well, most of you (-_-;).

    Anonymous, you might want to adopt a handle so that Charles or the others can send you the information you asked for via email or some such method. Alternatively, you can private message each other in the project forums. Letty has already stated that you may share information on how to obtain a copy of the game, but not in public (ie: in the SASA comments) or we will be honor-bound to intercept and block the message.

    Sorry for the inconvenience, but we have to keep our hands clean until [erka:es] says it's okay to do otherwise. If they do give us permission, it will likely be after they have had a chance to look at our finished product. I'd be flattered if they actually integrated our localization into the reissue, but, for now, that's just wishful thinking on my part (it's happened before: see "Warning Forever")...

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  20. "I want everyone to enjoy this game's story. I want everyone to have fun with it. I don't want everyone to have to jump through hoops to achieve that. I wanted things to be easy for people, but now, I foresee nothing but complaints and problems.

    I'm really sorry, everyone."


    I hate to sound like a total a-hole, but sorry just doesn't cut for me. It just doesn't... I was really hoping to simply patch my game and enjoy it in English, but NO.

    It makes me wonder why bother to translate this game at all if we need the damn disc or an iso for it. =_=+

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  21. On the other hand, I am disappointed in the reactions of those who are writing off the English translation because of the last few posts. They reek of an "if I can't pirate it the way I want to, I don't want anything to do with it" mindset.

    I'm sorry, TDOMMX, but in this case, I'll have to defend those people for a reason.

    YOU'RE the one who got people's hopes up and then you crushed them with a sledgehammer. Do you expect people to just shrug it off and act like nothing happened?! Are you saying they don't have a right to feel betrayed?! If they can't use the patch, I'd say they have every right to write off the patch!

    To those people, you reek of a "I'm gonna get people's hopes up, only to crush them with a sledgehammer, and if they don't like it, they can suck my big toe." mentality. I'm sorry, but to me, those people are astronomically worse than any pirate, regardless of amount of conceit, could ever be.

    I probably went to far. But this is my opinion; I have a right to express it and you have every right to disagree.

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  22. Hey guys. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that, like me, none of you paid for or assisted in the development of this translation patch in any way, and that these kind, hard-working people have done it purely as a favor to ungrateful little snotrockets like you. If this is indeed the case, they don't owe you a God damned thing and you should probably shut the fuck up.

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  23. O_o

    Wow. Seriously. Wow.

    Johnny, thank you very much for that little outburst. You summed up in a single paragraph what Letty and I couldn't in a few dozen (well, not without coming off as elitist pricks, anyway). Really, we appreciate it.

    Since you asked for it, let the gloves come off (Zero Punctuation-style!):

    It has been a full month since the English Trial was released and the only complaints I have received were regarding download problems and its cumbersome size. No one complained about its functionality during that time and I think it's ridiculous for anyone to expect us to rewrite the installer this late in the game - especially since we were following Mirror Moon's precedent and they didn't get anywhere near the level of bashlack we've received these past few days. Letty is well aware of my distaste for 4-chan following the Wind fiasco - I'm surprised to say that their attitude has been far more supportive than that of some of our "regulars".

    Viper, you have no right to be so cold to Letty. I have stated several times that the installer is for anyone who has the original game. You claim you have the game, then complain that you won't be able to use the patch. Don't insult our intelligence. Either you have a copy and the patcher will work, or you don't and it won't. Our project was never intended to cater to the warez crowd, so if you feel alienated: I'll tear a page out of The Book of Yahtzee and tell you to FUCK RIGHT OFF. Our obligation is to [erka:es], not to you.

    Anonymous, do us all a favor and explain who betrayed whom and how. "Get people's hopes up"? "Crush them with a sledgehammer"? "Astronomically worse"? Looks like you've learned a thing or two from Jack Thompson, given all that hyperbole. We promised an English translation, and we said a month ago that the installer would copy files from the original disc instead of installing them outright. We never reneged on our word, so don't offend us by trying to label us as traitors. There is a clear-cut line between an opinion and a verifiable fact; just because you think something is true doesn't mean it actually is. If you're going to accuse anyone of something, be sure to back it up or you'll make a mockery of yourself. You can go join Viper now.

    Letty and I have been debating this issue almost non-stop for the past while, with Letty playing the unenviable role of Devil's Advocate. I can't speak for Letty, but my patience on this matter has just about run out. If you were planning to abuse your posting privileges to demand that we release a pirate-friendly version of the game, you've done a fine job of shooting yourselves in the foot. In the words of Mark Twain, "it is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt".

    I'd like to thank everyone that tried to see the issue from our point of view during this whole "debate", even when our views clashed with their own. You are the true fans, not the poseurs who abandoned ship at the first sign of inconvenience. Really, thank you.

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  24. In case it wasn't obvious from the ZP references, that last post wasn't nearly as angry as you might think it to be. I just felt like venting a little. The two posts following mine were seriously out-of-line, though. Especially the Anonymous one.

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  25. Everyone, please calm down... It's a discussion, not Nuclear War ;-)

    As for me, TDOMMX and Letty, in the previous debate I just stated my opinion. It appeared there was a kind of paradox, such as: "The patch is for non-Japanese people" confronted to "Non-Japanese people can't actually buy the original game".

    Then, this was of course caused by a consideration of piracy: it's obvious that neither you nore Letty is responsible for the disponibility of the game disc abroad ! O_o

    Then for me, seeing the situation, you're the ones that are in difficult position. Considering that mentionning the piracy of the game, could bring you copyrights problems then. After a quick thought, it's not hard to understand.

    It's your work guys and most of us respect that, but don't consider that those who gave their opinion, which could be diffirent than yours or mine, were disrespecting this work. I'll still give you my support for this, if you ought to know ;-)

    My previous line just stated that, for most of us, this translation wouldn't be of any use. But it's not a case of running away from there.
    I think most of the ones who often post there, me included, haven't change their mind. My support for SaSa is the same as before, it's not very kind to be called a "poseur", even if this wasn't directed to me especially. T_T

    The fact that I probably won't use your own translation, doesn't say that I've no respect for your decision, as it's understandable. No problem with that.

    So then please, TDOMMX, don't be so violent within your words, and don't think everybody have just changed their minds because of one single decision ;-)

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  26. @TDOMMX: Rage! Rage! Show me your RAGE!

    Seriously, the whole hubbub is silly. It's not as if this discussion is really hurting pirates. It's hurting stupid pirates. That's why some people are angry about the decision: They hate to feel stupid.

    Personally, I'm not a member of hongfire, have not much idea about all this computer stuff and sometimes need help with torrents for the rare anime I watch. And guess what? Finding a working download for the iso - which I don't even need - was a matter of about 2 minutes with google. If I can do that, everyone else can, too, with a tiny amount of brain usage ;)

    Fact is, overall it doesn't matter too much. If iso-only is the best way to go at it, so be it. You guys did the work, so you got a right to make your work easier.

    The only sad thing is that Letty gets flak for it when it wasn't even Letty's decision. Lay off poor Letty, people >=/

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  27. I'm not angry, I'm just being frank. I don't understand where people get off complaining about a project that they contributed nothing to.

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  28. O.O

    wow. I haven't seen a fanbase go flaming in such short a timeframe ever since all those folk who claimed to play Black Cyc games actually got their hands on one and somehow didn't know it would be full of torture and gore.

    Ok, I'll divide these groups into Patcher (Letty, TDO), erka:es (duh) and Players (me, and most other posters)

    Patcher - Of course your patch method is a pain, and of course you'll be hounded with problems. But you did the best you could and that's far better than expected. You don't defend against piracy one bit with this, but it sounds like that wasn't your goal. TDOMMX did sound arrogant and get people's hopes up in several instances, but it was nothing I'd call a serious fault. Anyone who's ever installed a translation patch to any game before should expect ups and downs to the process. I won't fault you for it, but just understand why some people would be angry, regardless of if they have the right to be. In the end, reality is the most important truth.

    erka:es - Ummmm. sorry?

    Players - Really, I don't see why you're all spazzing out. Am I missing something here? He says an ISO or a lagit game disc will work. So we're all covered. I just took 15 minutes before writing this, just to make sure I wasn't putting my foot in my mouth, and googled. I found 12 downloads for the ISO in 15 minutes, 7 of those downloads actually progressed past the starting point and I can confirm at least 2 work. This was with a 15 minute google run. With IRC, Winny/Share, etc you can likely find over 20 working ISO's easily. Also remember that when the patch comes out people will be more likely to share, and again when the full RKSF comes out.

    It's true that the game is ultra rare and only those with the "right place, right time" skill could score a lagit copy, but it's not like the game is hard to find otherwise.

    It's a crying shame that the game is so hard to buy but anyone in this blog has likely played the game already.

    There's absolutely no need to fret or spaz out.

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  29. First of all, I didn't get my game from an .iso or have the disc, I got it from a .rar achieve file. Which gives me a valid reason to complain.

    And second, I AM aware that you're doing this for [erka:es], not for us, the fans. Also, I'm not a "regular" like some people are. I'm just a simple commoner who just wanted to enjoy a game without having to go through a lot of trouble for one game. And when something like happens, this is the extent of my anger and coldness.

    But now that I've calmed down a little, I would to say I'm sorry. Even though I highly doubt you, Letty, or anyone else will accept it. If you don't to hear from me again, then fine. I'll (bitterly) accept that as my punishment...

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  30. Out of curiosity (and completely unrelated to the topic at hand): Killing_Doll, are you French? I get the impression that you are given that you used "disponibility" instead of "availability". Moi, j'habite au Québec, alors il faut que je parle les deux langues officielles.
    Les erreurs francophones sont typiquement facile à reconnaître...

    Back on track: while I am upset, I'm not Incredible Hulk angry. Since I wasn't sure people would have caught onto that, I posted a follow-up five minutes after my original comment to clarify that point. I am, however, offended by Viper's and Anonymous's behaviour. A personal attack merely prompts more of the same; I just tried to have some fun with it to blow off some steam so I can get back to work. Every moment I spend on this idiocy - let's face it, this issue is stupid since there's plenty of precedent and legal backing (and clever workarounds) on one side, and absolutely nothing beyond a false sense of entitlement on the other - is time I'm not working on the actual release.

    Yes, I agree with you on the apparent disconnect between the availability of the game and the purpose of our localization. The same could be said about Tsukihime (which is one of the reasons I keep mentioning Mirror Moon). Granted, the game was eventually reprinted and later gained massive popularity in the form of sequels, spinoffs, anime, and manga. But, popularity aside, there is no difference in the rationale and functionality of MM's Tsukihime patcher and our RKS patcher, so I think any backlash targeted squarely at us is unjustified and sets an unwanted double-standard. That, and I still haven't forgotten the reception of the last few projects I was involved with (namely: Wind, ef, and Ys -The Oath in Felghana-; all three had legal / ethical controversies perpetuated by pirates / elitists).

    I'm not about to say, "it's not our problem" with the RKS availability: Letty, Tanin, and I are doing everything in our power to appeal to [erka:es] and ensure that Anglophone fans (prospective or current) are not left out of the game (pardon the pun). Only time will tell how well that pans out, so I cannot and will not promise anything until we hear from them. Recall that Letty was trying to start a campaign a few months back to secure a batch of original copies of the game and offer them directly via this blog. It's not as if the low availability only came to our attention now.

    Killing_Doll, I apologize to you in particular for implying you were a phony. If you can't use the patch as soon as it's released, I invite you to come back later. Hopefully, the situation will have changed by then and we'll have put out a release that you will be able to enjoy.

    Macha, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Despite the multitude of workarounds suggested these past few days, some people still didn't understand that what they planned to do - use the patch with an illegal copy of the game - is still very much possible (I have specifically not prevented it) and has in fact already been done. The first third-party YouTube video of the English localization of the game was proof enough of that. I was willing to turn a blind eye to piracy until my last set of posts, but direct insults and outright fabrications quite forcefully mandate me to abandon this idea. Everyone should know what they say about biting the hand that feeds them...

    Now, back to work.

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  31. Well, lucky me at least I made my own game disc via writable CD and tested it via installation of the English Patch choosing to install the extended version, and guess what? It worked ^o^

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  32. But now that I've calmed down a little, I would to say I'm sorry. Even though I highly doubt you, Letty, or anyone else will accept it. If you don't to hear from me again, then fine. I'll (bitterly) accept that as my punishment...

    Have things really come to this? Do you honestly think I of all people don't want RKS fans like you around?

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  33. I'm not about to say, "it's not our problem" with the RKS availability: Letty, Tanin, and I are doing everything in our power to appeal to [erka:es] and ensure that Anglophone fans (prospective or current) are not left out of the game (pardon the pun).

    No offense, but you've really got to stop tossing our names around. I have flat-out told you that [erka:es] will not be receiving any form of contact from me until the English release, and my attempt to ensure that the "Anglophone fans" will get to experience this game without issue ended in complete failure. I did NOT want discussion of downloading the game to occur at any point on this blog, and I did NOT want the English patch requirements to encourage it. And yet, both of these things happened anyway.

    There is no appealing to [erka:es]. There is no "doing everything in our power." I wanted the English patch to work in a way that would benefit anyone who has the game, regardless of how they got it. Instead, we have a method that, when confronted with the low, if any, availability of the game, has people scouring the internet looking for a downloadable copy of the game, which will inevitably increase the availability of downloadable copies, giving plenty of people "justifiable" reason not to purchase the game if ever there is a re-release, which is incredibly doubtful but not impossible.

    I wanted a method that would avoid this issue altogether. Instead, I get to deal with all of this, and I'm not happy about it. If I had known this was coming, I wouldn't have made such a big deal about it, but as far as I was aware, the disc requirement was only for the Extended Preview in the Trial, not for the final product. Discovering otherwise made me feel like, once again, I wasn't really even a part of this project at all, because I don't recall having much say in that decision. Yes, I did have some issues with people's "problem" with the Grollschwert mod (it's a goddamn graphic data file replacement, it won't cut the framerate of your game), but that one issue that only a handful of people seemed to encounter was not enough for me to go "Welp, you guys can't be trusted with knowing how things work, so we're going to hold your hand. But first, you'll have to go download the game, since you can't buy it. No, we don't condone pirating! We're just going to look the other way!" That is exactly what I did not want. Exactly.

    This part of the project has made my passion for it all start to truly wane. Yeah, Grolla still owns, and I don't love the game any less. Simply, everything I was hoping to avoid from the start is beginning to happen, and all I can do is sit here with my head in my hands and just go "Where the hell did it all go wrong?" Maybe I'm being ridiculous about this. I don't know. My feelings, however, remain the same. I pray to any and all powers that we do not encounter this with Freudenstachel, because if we do, I will probably lose it.

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  34. So you're saying that I should never come back here again? Because I am willing to take that stigmata if you and TDOMMX (especially) hates me that much now.

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  35. I'm saying that the last thing I want is for you or anyone else to leave here. (Except for Justin. I think he needed a break. >_>) Stick around, and you won't be disappointed.

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  36. "Viper, you have no right to be so cold to Letty. I have stated several times that the installer is for anyone who has the original game. You claim you have the game, then complain that you won't be able to use the patch. Don't insult our intelligence. Either you have a copy and the patcher will work, or you don't and it won't. Our project was never intended to cater to the warez crowd, so if you feel alienated: I'll tear a page out of The Book of Yahtzee and tell you to FUCK RIGHT OFF. Our obligation is to [erka:es], not to you."

    With a anger response like this, I still fell like I shouldn't be here anymore...

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  37. *sigh*

    If you want to leave, I can't stop you. Just know that I don't want you or anyone else to leave over anything said that didn't come from me.

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  38. I'm not saying that I want to leave, because this like only place where English-speaking people like myself can turn to. Though I feel like I've pissed off TDOMMX that I should be around him.

    And by the way TDOMMX, I did felt like saying something that Anonymous said earlier, but I manage to hold my anger and not say it at all.

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  39. Fine, a few explanations can cure most of the anger there ;-)

    TDOMMX- Hooo right, I let a mistake slip, that should be because I wrote too fast O_o
    Sorry for that, my english worn out a bit T_T

    But you're right, I've actually been living in France since quite long. I work here, but part of my family still live in Spain: that's why I said here some time ago, that English and Japanese were not my native languages, althought I can speak both of them, along with German too ;-)

    Pas de quoi s'excuser, TDOMMX, je ne l'ai pas mal pris, et au pire sois sûr que je pourrai toujours trouver un fichier .ISO. Bon courage (à Letty également) pour la suite du projet ! ^_^

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  40. Just to be clear, I'm not leaving this place. The only time that I'll never appear here again is the day that I get the ban-hammer.

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  41. To SaSA readers:

    While TDOMMX was not lying about approaching [erka:es], which he has every intention of doing eventually for this project and the matter at hand, there has been a great deal of miscommunication between the two of us, and my frustration has, in large part, led to the statements I have made. It is not my intention to make him look like the bad guy in all of this, so please do not think ill of him. That is all.

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  42. Hello!

    Hey guys, I have a question: I happen to have lost my game disc, and I was wondering: do you think there is any place where I can buy the game again? I really don't wanna be left out of this...

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  43. Thank you very much, Letty. I would like to say I'm sorry for using your and Tanin's names irresponsibly and for contributing to your growing headache. I agree that much of this commotion could have been avoided had we taken the time to make sure we understood each other properly. I'll try and make sure we're both on the same page from now on.

    I'll address this issue one last time, then I would like for all of us, staff members and visitors alike, to close the book on this little fiasco for good and not bring it up again:

    Viper, while your post did irritate me somewhat (a rip is still a pirated copy and not valid grounds for complaint), I wasn't anywhere near as angry as my words themselves would make me out to be. I take it you're not familiar with the style of Ben Croshaw, are you? Have a look at this video and notice if anything in my earlier post sounds familiar. In any case, I believe I owe you an apology for letting off steam at your expense. Sorry. Quite frankly, I don't want to see anyone leave us unless they have absolutely no interest in having a meaningful discussion.

    Also, when I said "regular", I meant that as someone who regularly visits this blog. I was just pointing out that some of the responses from frequent visitors were less polite than those from 4chan (which, up until recently, I loathed with a passion).

    Johnny, I'm pretty sure that post was targeted at me and my venting, but thank you for your kind words nonetheless.

    Killing_Doll, no, I never intended to label you as a poseur. While I regret that you will not be able to use the patch when it released, I hope you will check back with us from time to time. Hopefully, we'll eventually be able to create a release that everyone can enjoy.

    Et merci beaucoup pour l'encouragement. C'est dommage que Letty ne parle pas le français. ^_^;

    [Translation for the others] And thank you very much for the support. It's too bad Letty doesn't speak French. ^_^;

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  44. Joe: Though they are currently out-of-stock, I would advise placing an order with Palet Web. Think of their service as making a special order at a video store (or a preorder at EB Games). Be warned, however, that once you place an order, they frown heavily on cancellations; if you cancel on them twice, they will never do business with you again (or so I hear).

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  45. Won't work. I've been on Paletweb's waiting list for RKS for over a year now.

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  46. Well I am somewhat familiar to Ben Croshaw's work since I only saw one on The World Ends with You, that was a long time ago. But I've never anyone get this angry at something since that time where rabid Inuyasha fans complained to Scott Ramsoomair of VG Cats to do a comic on Inuyasha. I'm actually a big fan of Scott Ramsoomair because his comics always make me laugh, especially this one. ^_^ I definitely see where you got "F*CK RIGHT OFF" from.

    I accept your apology and I pray nothing like this happens between us again.

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  47. That bites. My usual source, Himeya Shop, no longer carries the game either.

    I would suggest checking out Yahoo Auctions, though your mileage may vary. My Japanese isn't quite good enough to let me navigate the Japanese version of the site on my own. If it helps any, the katakana spelling of the title is 「ローゼンクロイツ スティレッテ」.

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  48. Yup, we're royally boned when it comes to buying the CD of the game now... T_T

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  49. Viper: Amen.

    Man, I haven't visited VG Cats in ages. I see I didn't miss much while I was gone. Too bad. Scott's strips were hilarious.

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  50. Wow, too many comments here O_o Well, its better to continued play Megamari and wait for English Patch's release. :-$

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  51. hmmm....if I remember right, I saw someone saying that: "I found a game disc and I can share with you",right? who is that? can it be shared now? O_o

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  52. Anonymous: Such information can't be shared publicly (this blog constitutes publicly). The best you can hope for is to leave an email address and maybe someone will email you a link.

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  53. We're good? We're all good now? Great.

    Is there any chance that they'll be selling re-prints of of RKS at comiket? A few doujin and some doujin game artists I know sell off reprints of their old stuff alongside their new product, just at much lower quantity. A big one apparently is 07thExpansion.

    If so, then there's still hope for people to buy the game if they remain patient.

    Tho discussion on this may require another topic.

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  54. Oh Well. Thanks for Trying to help guys. If you guys get any more info on where I can find either the game disc, or if worst comes to worst the ISO, please email me. My email is gamemjoe@gmail.com.

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  55. Good idea... If anyone here has found the .iso, thus I tink there is quite a lot of people actually, here's the email I use:
    gallardov10@hotmail.com

    Thanks for the tip, mates ;-)

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  56. Well, guys, I won't go sharing the .ISO for everyone to see, no. However, I'll "subtly" leave my e-mail here and you can "ask me for tips on how to find the image". I might "give you tips". My e-mail is the URL in my name. Use it wisely.

    I certainly do hope they will be selling reprints-- with Freudenstachel coming out soon, the demand for the first game might skyrocket. I for one am waiting for such a reprint so I can get my hands on my own legit version of the game. <3

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  57. Thanks Dri, that was subtle ;-)

    Same goes for me, if they sell another edition of the original game, it would be a good opportunity to get the game.

    Availability is the true problem, not money... T_T

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  58. I wonder if they will do a translation of Freudenstachel as well.

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  59. Would anyone with japanese skill be able to ask them if they'll be re-releasing at comiket? The way I see it, there's no harm in asking. "If you never ask, you'll never know" and all that jazz.

    If they are then people with comiket access (or Japan market access any time after that week) could likely get it at the very least.

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  60. Dragnfly: That's precisely what my earlier mention of appealing to [erka:es] was referring to. Letty and I talked it over, and we plan to show our completed localization to them as soon as it's done in hopes of encouraging them to reissue the game for those who couldn't get a copy of it the first time around. That, or grant us permission to redistribute the rest of the game. I hope you understand why the localization is being released in the current manner: it is much easier to release a little and add to it later than it is to release too much and retract a large portion (think of it as underbidding on an auction and increasing your bid later).

    I should note that though Akira, one of our lead translators and a Japanese resident, was (unfortunately) not a part of these deliberations, he approached me of his own accord on a separate occasion and volunteered to do exactly as you described. Great minds think alike?

    Anonymous: We hope we'll eventually be able to work on Freudenstachel, but it's too early to give a definite answer. While [erka:es] has given us permission to work on Rosenkreuzstilette, we don't yet have the go-ahead for RKSF. Also, Akira has noted in advance that he may be busy with university in December and that he may not be available when RKSF is released. As I noted earlier, I will not be releasing a localization based on a single translation, however talented s/he may be (and Tanin certainly has the skills to do the job). Lastly, though I would like to release a translation of the Trial Version ASAP, the current source material is far too buggy and unstable to warrant a release. With no apparent release date for the Web Trial in sight, we're holding our breath every bit as long as you are.

    Once we have permission to do so, a stable set of files to work with, and either confirmation that Akira will be returning to the project or someone talented enough to fill his big shoes has stepped forward, we will begin work on Blades of the Rose Cross ~The Sting of Joy~.

    This morning, I released what should be the final version of the English Trial. The download is much smaller than the original release since the files for the incomplete Extended Preview have been removed; the EP will be superceded by the full localization. The archive is only slightly larger that original Web Trial since it integrates the Freudia Voice Enhancement patch and it's a full executable rather than a self-extracting 7zip. I have also made what I feel is an important announcement on the main page, so I encourage you to have a look.

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  61. @TDOMMX: I really don't know why you feel the urge to translate EVERYTHING. The game is called Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel, and I intend on keeping it that way. Blades of the Rose Cross ~The Sting of Joy~ sounds incredibly silly.

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  62. Okay, I think that might have come across a bit harsher and more exasperated than you intended, Letty. I was only playing around with the different ways of referring to the name of the game (RKSF, Freudenstachel, The Sting of Joy, etc). I just used a fully English name that time since I didn't feel like typing "the English localization of Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel" again. Or did you see a title graphic for "Blades of the Rose Cross ~The Sword of Spite~" somewhere in the beta build? ^_^

    I take it this is partially in response to my comments on your podcast? In that case, I simply used the English names of the shows because they actually had official English names. No one refers to Ghost in the Shell as Koukaku Kidoutai, for instance. I was just staying consistent with my own personal standard: using Haruka Nogizaka's Secret and The Garden of Sinners instead of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and Kara no Kyoukai. No offense intended to anyone, but I think it's a little pretentious to insist on using the Japanese names when an official, accurate English translation is available from the get-go and actually makes sense (Spice & Wolf, Honey & Clover, You're Under Arrest, etc...). In cases where the name is intended to sound exotic or foreign (Rozen Maiden, Clannad, and, of course, Rosenkreuzstilette), I'll naturally stick with the original. But there's no harm in playing with the names from time to time, is there?

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  63. The harm comes from being misleading ^.^

    And yes, that was my "smartass" smile:)

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  64. @TDOMMX: I'm going to be ridiculously nitpicky since I just woke up. This is meant as no offense to you, as I am fully aware of the pettiness in the following statements.

    I have heard you refer to "Zero no Tsukaima" as "Zero's Familiar" when "The Familiar of Zero" is the official translation of the title. "Kara no Kyoukai" does not translate to "Garden of Sinners," which I'm sure you know, as it literally translates to "Boundary of Emptiness." "Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu" translates better to "The Secret of Haruka Nogizaka," much like "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" translates officially to "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and not "Haruhi Suzumiya's Melancholy." "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" has an official translation of "When They Cry," chosen by 07th Expansion himself, though in translating it that way, you remove all instances of the cicada.

    Sometimes we refer to things by their Japanese titles because we either feel that something is missing or because it feels more familiar. I would never called RKS "Blades of the Rose Cross," officially or otherwise, nor will I ever refer to the Grollschwert as "The Sword of Spite." Blah blah blah blah blah blah!

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  65. Hahahah (^.^). You're right on a number of counts there. I'll address these one show at a time.

    1) Yes, I'm aware of the fact that Zero's Familiar / Zero no Tsukaima has been licensed as "The Familiar of Zero". Both are acceptable translations; I just haven't gotten around to adopting the official one since "Zero" is Louise's nickname. Saito would more naturally be "her familiar", instead of "the familiar of she", if you follow my logic. I'll probably end up using all three interchangeably, though.

    2) I use "The Garden of Sinners" since that is the English title shown in the logo of the theatrical version, and, given what I have seen of the series, it's a fitting one as well. I may change this if the meaning of the title is addressed in the films themselves (or in the novel, when I finally get around to reading it).

    3) The English lines "Haruka Nogizaka's Secret" and "Haruka's Secret" appear literally hundreds of times during the show's opening sequence, so I think further discussion of the show's intended title and syntax is moot.

    4) When referring to the franchise as a whole, yes, I'm inclined to use "When They Cry". However, when I'm referring to the first series, I'll use either "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni", "Higurashi", or "When the Cicadas Cry" (to distinguish it from Umineko no Naku Koro ni / When the Seagulls Cry). Incidentally, the game has recently been licensed by MangaGamer, so that's something we can all look forward to.

    Of course, I have no intention of following along with arbitrary renames such as Case Closed (Detective Conan) or Knight Hunters (Weiß Kreuz); I don't think it's appropriate to alter a show in order to make it more marketable, even if the change is just its title. Like I said, I'd never replace Rosenkreuzstilette with Blades of the Rose Cross, but one really should acknowledge a name's meaning if they want to be able to properly appreciate it (case in point: the subtle hints RKS gives you whenever Thanatos / the final boss whips your butt).

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