Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Good Tidings We Bring To You and Your Kin

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Sorry that we've been silent for so long.  Rest assured that there's damned good reason for it.  A few among you have already figured out what's been going on given a few hints scattered here and there.  In the spirit of the holidays, I figure it's about time for an official announcement.

That's right, it's official:  Active Gaming Media, whose work you may already be familiar with if you're an anime or video game fan (BlazBlue, Catherine, Demon's Souls, Final Fantasy IV, Full Metal Panic, King of Fighters, No More Heroes, Soul Calibur, and Steins;Gate, to name a few), will be releasing an official English version of Rosenkreuzstilette via its Playism portal!

Unfortunately that's about all I can say at the moment.  There are too many questions that we're unable to answer at this time.  Not that we don't want to answer them, but we can't answer them.  Not yet, anyway.  Please keep that in mind and bear with us for the time being.

That said, which of these do you prefer?  This, or this?  Whichever you choose, in the end, it'll sound a lot more like this.

From Darkside Translations and Schwer and Schwer Alike, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

41 comments:

  1. Mystery solved, and quite the gift indeed. Does this apply to both RKS and RKSF or just the first one?

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  2. I'm still waiting for the day when we get a Mac port of RKS and RKSF.

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  3. Eins has a (slightly) better delivery, zwei has better sound quality.

    That was a serious question, right?

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    1. Yep. A quick comparison between our two candidates for Seyfarth. I was wondering who our readers felt better fit the role.

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  4. I hope it will be possible to have japanese voices with english text.

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    1. I wouldn't dare remove anything from a localization, especially not the original voices. Anything we add will remain optional; we're purists, too.

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  5. Hi, I am wondering something. It's hard to tell from your posts.... but do you have the full source code to rosenkreuzstilette, or just the ability to hack/translate/perform minor edits? I LOVE the characters but I am having trouble getting into the game because its way too hard for me. So I was wondering if you have the ability to make my wishes come true? look here to see what my wishes are: https://www.facebook.com/TouhouFriendship/posts/410715405727663?stream_ref=10

    In case something happens to the post I will copy and paste it here too:

    For the most part, I like Rosenkreuzstilette better than Megaman Unlimited, but there are a few things MMU has that I REALLY wish RKS did:

    - easy mode
    - save game instead of password
    - shop

    if RKS had those three things I'd probably play it a lot more!

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    1. Posting a revised version of my message, making it a little clearer.

      One thing about Megaman games is that they look really cool to me, but because of their difficulty are hard for me to get into. I love Spiritia, so I'm a little sad that Roenkreuzstilette is so hard. However with some not so big changes, I could enjoy the game a lot more, as certain things would make a big difference for me while not making such a big difference for players who don't have trouble with difficulty. The following things I am gonna list all were present in Megaman 10, which played a big difference in whether I was able to beat the game (MM10 is the only classic megaman game I beat).

      Easy Mode
      Shop
      Save Game instead of password
      The ability to go save and go back to stage select and farm for items in between fortress levels, without having to start the fortress over.

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    2. Sorry, but I don't think that's likely. Only WOMI has access to the source code, and I doubt there will be any changes to the mechanics of a seven-year-old game since something like a shop would require a lot of additional programming as well as some new character designs for a shopkeeper. And, part of the point of the story is that Tia / Grolla is effectively on her own with no one she can rely on.

      Still, I'll pass the word along since these options don't sound like a bad idea. I've only finished Grollschwert a grand total of once in my entire life (after days of frustration); I've had to use debuggers every other time since the bonus games are so damned unbalanced. Same with Pamela - I swear, that first fortress stage is a nightmare for her...

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    3. thanks, I am glad you at least like my ideas! to be honest, the password system is the thing I like the least. Even Megaman 9 and 10 have the ability to save, despite being a downgrade to retro graphics. they also have a shop, and in megaman 10's case, an easy mode, so I really don't think these things would take away from the retro feel.

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    4. Also I want to add that I don't neccessarily expect them to do this to the original game. If they made an entirely new RKS game with these things, I would be equally satisfied. Though if they did that, I would really hope to be able to play as Tia. Because Tia is awesome,and I wub her. <3

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  6. I like number 2 better than number 1 as far as the voices go. I can't wait for the english version to come out for this incredible game.

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  7. I blackouted myself out off this site (partly due to moving problems) then I came to see this. Can't wait. Now if only we can get a better localization of Trouble Witches...

    Also, is there a possibly that J-List can restock physical copies RKSF? I tried, I honestly tried to get a copy for Christmas last year but they sold out before I could even buy it.

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    1. Oh, my. What's the third-to-last entry on AGM's Works page? :-P

      Dunno if we can convince them to revisit the game, but it's not completely out of the question. Square and Atlus have revised their translations for re-releases (Final Fantasy and Jake Hunter, respectively), so it might be possible.

      I suggest emailing Nicholas Graham at J-List directly to ask for the game to be restocked.

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    2. Yeah, but I already knew AGM were involved in bringing Trouble Witches NEO! here from the game's credits since I already own it on Xbox LIVE. How else did I find out Junca's role as Mell Mail/Venus Borialis from one of my earlier comments here?

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  8. So, this is still happening? o.o The announcement was posted several months ago. (I suppose there are sound reasons for abstaining from declaring a release window, in any event.)

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    1. I saw on the Facebook page that currently they're still dealing with getting good voice actors. I'd personally like to see a patch similar to what the first game already has for Freudenstachel, but I understand if either the plan is to have the voice acting done before releasing an English patch for that or if work's still being done on the script.

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    2. Sorry for the silence on our end. Long story short, there are a lot of things that need to be discussed by all of the parties involved, and we're far from finalizing anything yet. Some things, we're not even allowed to discuss openly...

      The following, however, I can say for sure:

      - There will be no further fan-translation patches; we are currently working on the official English releases of both games with [erka:es]'s full endorsement.

      - The games will be released in dual-audio format, including both the original Japanese track and our English language version. I wouldn't have it any other way. WOMI approves of our proof-of-concept and has given his blessing.

      - We are currently trying to find a means of financing the voice recording. We are considering doing a Kickstarter with a limited-run physical box set of both games as just one of the many donor incentives that we intend to offer. I can't say any more on that front since we are still brainstorming ideas and figuring out their costs and whether or not they would be feasible in the long run. If you have anything (within reason) that you'd like to suggest as a Kickstarter reward, feel free to let us know.

      - The initial translation pass for Freudenstachel is complete; our translation checkers will be looking everything over to make sure there aren't any errors before we start localizing the script in earnest.

      - I'm revising the original RKS script personally. This version reads much, much more naturally than the original English script Mint and I penned five years ago. That's saying a lot -- you've seen for yourself how polished our original script was, and the revision puts the original to shame. Having more experience under your belt tends to do that.

      That's about all I'm at liberty to divulge right now. Please be patient and bear with us for the time being; not being able to talk about what we're doing is killing us, too. I'll just close by saying we're really excited to be working with people that we had a great deal of respect for even before the idea of going pro ever crossed our minds. :-)

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    3. This is really great news to hear. More than anything, I've always wanted a physical copy of the game. Hopefully with kick-starter or any other particular means, this will be one of the rewards the fans will be able to shoot for.

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    4. Japanese/English VO yayness. If any I can suggest anything for a Kickstarter reward, how about an artbook/guidebook of the series packed with artworks/sketches, and some lore about the RKS series and its characters? Maybe physical CD soundtracks of the games? A Zeppy plushie?

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    5. I would kill for a Tia doll.

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    6. Are the English voices already contracted and recorded or whatever? I mean, I'm not sure the lack of them would significantly deter the kind of audience that would be buying this. If you already worked yourself into an awkward spot, though, it's kinda a different matter, though.

      I'd definitely twenty-forty bucks for a pre-order just to get the game released, but I can't think of any sorta bonus swag I'd be interested in.

      Well, that's kinda a lie, because I'm -painfully- aware that AM3's music collection is about twenty tracks larger than just those used in RKS, but geocities died before I learned that, so I have no way of listening to any of them. Does anyone happen to have them backed up or something?

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  9. I just thought of a really silly idea. There should be a game called "Rosenkreuzmonette" where the stages take place in sorority houses and the main villain is Eliott Rodger and the cross tanks are replaced with glasses of wine.

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    1. Okay, that's enough. That's where I draw the line.

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    2. did I like, do something wrong or something? I was only joking. In an innocent way. I never was mean to anyone.

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    3. Kinda late for chiming in on this, but I agree with Mint entirely.

      Dialga, that was an incredibly tasteless suggestion, and an extremely offensive one at that. I mean: seriously, dude, what the fuck? Namedropping an unrepentant killer, especially one with motives as reprehensible as Rodger's, in an attempt at a joke is insulting to his victims, their friends and families, and anyone who recognizes him for the entitled, self-absorbed sociopath of a manchild that he was. As a graduate of and frequent visitor to Dawson College myself, I am especially appalled that you thought immortalizing a school shooter in RKS might in any way, shape, or form be a good idea. I'll say it again: dude, what the fuck?

      Really, man, think your ideas through before you publicize them. Staging a game in a cat's litter box is already pretty disgusting. This travesty, on the other hand, is an affront to human decency. You really need to learn what is acceptable and what will instantly convince people to have nothing to do with you. If you don't, I'm afraid you'll find yourself losing a lot of friends and having the majority of your ideas ignored...

      I'm not saying this to be mean, and I know you had no ill will in your suggestion either. Even so, you were thoughtless and insensitive. Please, don't ever do that again. Consider this an official warning.

      It only takes a moment of thoughtlessness to cause irreparable damage. This is true in all aspects of life, and it's a maxim no one should ever forget.

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  10. http://www.onlyfactory.com/idea/557/detail
    does anyone want to support this as a possible reward for the rks kickstarter? bear in mind I don't know a ton about how this site works. I simply submitted my idea there. I don't know what's required. But it would be nice if the rks community supported it. if you don't know what this site is, It basically allows desired characters to be turned into plush if enough people support the idea. plenty of high quality ponies that hasbro could never make have been made there. and I think the site might also support other types of merchandise such as hats or cosplay outfits. Please let me know what you think!

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    1. link works for me.

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    2. my apologies, it appears the link only works on my own computer, perhaps only if I am logged into the site. not sure what's wrong. help, if possible, would be appreciated if anyone here happens to know anything about that site. as far as what was on the page, I said this:

      "
      I would like high quality plush of Spiritia Rosenberg made similarly to Funwari/Fluffy Cure Friends: http://prettycure.wikia.com/wiki/Fluffy_Cure_Friends
      I want it to be durable, snuggly, and play with-able. I do not want it to require assembly or come in multiple pieces.
      And just so we are clear, there is absolutely nothing perverted being said there. In fact I want the doll to NOT be sexualized. Sad that I have to say this though due to my age and gender."

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  11. Is anything still happening around here? Been quiet for quite a few months now.

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  12. Yeah, we're still here. I'm waiting to get the go-ahead from above before I let a few more cats out of the bag. I want to be sure what's safe to announce and what constitutes an NDA violation before I get anyone in trouble.

    Please bear with us until we're given the green light. Like I said before, the silence is killing us, too.

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  13. Ah, good to hear everything is fine then.

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  14. So... I heard Darkside Translations was making an english patch for RKSF. Is that true?

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    1. Yes and no. We have already translated the game's script into English and are currently naturalizing and editing the translated script. However, as I said in my June 26 comment:

      "There will be no further fan-translation patches; we are currently working on the official English releases of both games with [erka:es]'s full endorsement."

      In other words, there won't be an English patch. Instead, there will be an official English release of Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel.

      I'm sure you'll enjoy our final releases when they're ready. The revised script for the original RKS is a vast improvement over the original.

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