photonflowers* FAQ

[76561198814142626]

Link to main Muv-Luv FAQ here
Link to Muv-Luv Alternative FAQ here

1. What’s the current policy for content creators and streamers?

The details are still being discussed by the team. We'll be posting an official announcement soon regarding this. Please do not upload any [No Commentary] videos.

2. What are the differences between 「photonflowers*」 and「photonmelodies♮」and other existing collections? Why did you leave out other stories with 18+ content?

Both「photonflowers*」 and 「photonmelodies♮」that got listed as a stretch goal for the Muv-Luv community during the Kickstarter campaign were PS3 release versions of the side stories. They have been localized as is, and did not originally contain any 18+ content.

The side stories contained within「photonflowers*」are the following:
1. Before the Cherry Blossoms Bloom (“桜の花が咲くまえに ~Muv-Luv After Episode~”)
2. Atonement (贖罪)
3. Rain Dancers (レイン・ダンサーズ)
4. Confessions (告白)
5. Inheritance (継承)
6. Chicken Divers (チキン・ダイバーズ)
7 - 12. “Muv-Luv ～Another Episode Collection～”
- Best Friends Forever!
- Never Judge a Book
- The Case of the Missing Tail
- The Yakisoba Festival
- Learning to Love
- Learning to Lead

While the side stories of「photonmelodies♮」 are:
1. Altered Fable: A Shimmering Shard of Spacetime (かがやく時空が消えぬ間に)
2. Adoration (憧憬)
3. Resurrection (再誕)

We understand some fans wanted the 18+ card game that was originally included in the 2004 fan disc, Muv-Luv Supplement, titled “Duelist”. Some fans also wanted “The Day After” from Muv-Luv Alternative Chronicles, but those stories have never been a part of the Photons collections.

Backers gave their full support to localize the Photons collections. Now that the localization team and developers have finished「photonflowers*」PC port as promised, work on「photonmelodies♮」is underway.

3. So, which stories of photonflowers or photonmelodies have 18+ content? Will there be a Director's Cut patch for it?

The only title with 18+ content in the fan-disc version is "Altered Fable: A Shimmering Shard of Spacetime". In the process of creating the PS3 release version, it was remade and had the 18+ content removed. As for having a Director’s Cut patch, there are currently no plans to create one at this time. We’ll complete all remaining Kickstarter stretch goals first, as we still have backers who have been waiting for the Android port of the trilogy for a long time. We have to prioritize them after「photonmelodies♮」localization is completed.

4. Does Sekai Project have any influence in our decision-making for the patches?

The monetization of the patches, the creation and retention of the mosaics in the images for Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative were purely internal decisions.(more about this below.)

So what does Sekai Project do? Apart from helping us relaunch the Muv-Luv Trilogy on Steam, Sekai Project promote the games on events, and made a system where original owners of the trilogy can have product keys for the relaunch version. More details can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/802880/discussions/0/1640918469761263170/

5. Are you moving away from 18+ content entirely?

In the recent official visual novels of the Muv-Luv franchise such as Total Eclipse and Schwarezmarken, no 18+ content were present in the stories. Thus, as we continue to localize the existing titles, there will not be any 18+ content to begin with.

We’ve also learned that western Visual Novel fans prefer to buy patches with the mosaics fully removed. We can’t simply remove mosaics from HCGs, because there is a law in Japan that prohibits fully uncensored artwork. It is true that there have been very few cases related to this law, but we have an established name in the industry and have many fans in Japan. Should they discover we’re releasing fully uncensored artworks for Steam release and blocking Japanese customers, it’ll become a very complicated issue.

We hope that fans and supporters of the franchise who have enjoyed our stories will understand our circumstances.

[Shylaar]

As for having a Director’s Cut patch, there are currently no plans to create one at this time.

As an $800 backer, all I have to say is this: Go to hell.

We’ve also learned that western Visual Novel fans prefer to buy patches with the mosaics fully removed.

People prefer not to buy patches at all. Making the uncensored content a paid patch is a cancerous practice that Sekai Project introduced and is another thing to hate them for. Personally, I don't care about mosaics at all, I just don't want content to be missing. Your argument about mosaics is completely idiotic though, because other VN localisers such as JAST and MangaGamer have no problem with releasing uncensored versions for the west. You don't even need to block the Japanese from Steam, just create a different release for them with the two versions being regionally separate.

Edit: I also find it disingenuous that you say "Backers gave their full support to localize the Photons collections." as though it was an approval for there to not be any uncensor patch for them. You were asked for this repeatedly over several years and it's why ML and MLA got them and you yourselves said in the January 2018 update that you were considering it for the photon releases before you went completely silent on the matter. Had I known that we wouldn't be getting uncensored releases and that it was even a matter of consideration whether you were going to release ML and MLA uncensored in the first place, I would never have backed the Kickstarter.

[Zodiac]

Honestly the kickstarter felt like one giant scam that I'd love to get my money back from and genuinely regret backing and would have never touched if I'd known Sekai Project was going to get involved. You removed various music tracks without any warning to your backers, cropped the CG's without notifying anyone, and not only has your "Directors cut" patches failed to restore all the cut content (upskirt CG's are still replaced with different ones and fortified suit sprites are still censored), it didn't even bother removing the mosaics which means when you mentioned that a patch that would uncensor and restore various content that was lie. Oh and don't forget, you charged money for that half-assed patch which is not what any other major VN publisher does to my knowledge.

Somehow with over $1,000,000 in funding you managed to create a version of the muv-luv trilogy that is content wise inferior to the 15 year old original release version, so much so that I actually recommend people skip the remake and go with the original even with its inferior translation and engine. The very least you could do is put in the effort to ensure western fans can enjoy ALL of the Muv-Luv series with the content it originally had in it rather than the censored console releases but apparently that's asking for too much even though a group of people were doing that EXACT thing before you stepped into the west and they were willing to do it FOR FREE. Then you DMCA'd them and told them to go official or stop working on muv-luv.

[Hundley]

Guess there really isn't a universe out there where Marimo-chan can avoid getting her head bitten off :(

[Shylaar]

Originally posted by Zodiac:

You removed various music tracks without any warning to your backers, cropped the CG's without notifying anyone, and not only has your "Directors cut" patches failed to restore all the cut content (upskirt CG's are still replaced with different ones and fortified suit sprites are still censored)

I still haven't touched the new versions of the games so I didn't even know about this. What a joke.

[Ralen]

Originally posted by Hundley:

Guess there really isn't a universe out there where Marimo-chan can avoid getting her head bitten off :(

The sense of entitlement never ceases to amaze me. Duelist, The Day After, etc., we’re never included in the Kickstarter.

It was abundantly clear that Anchor was localizing the PS3 photon collections. Anyone expecting otherwise simply wasn’t reading.

While I’m still hoping Anchor considers a Director’s Cut for melodies, I fully acknowledge they never promised it. At least they aren’t ruling it out entirely.

I’m fine with mosaics. I understand Japan’s laws towards censorship, and obviously Anchor needs to do what’s best for its company. Their main market is still Japan.

It’s just nice to hear an interest on Anchor’s part to continue localizing ML VN’s. I’ll keep buying these games as long as Anchor localizes them.

Lastly, thank you Marimo-chan and the entire Muv-Luv Team. Some of us really do appreciate what you are doing for us. We wouldn’t have access to these brilliant games you’ve made otherwise.

[Viscera]

It's disappointing that you make some things completely unavailable, with no attempt to bring them over in some form or fashion. It's fine and all that you use certain versions as basis, but that doesn't change the fact that you withhold content. I didn't exactly have much interest in Muv-Luv spin-offs and now it's doubtful I ever get any of them.

Which brings me to the real big issue: The lack of an information regarding Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. Like, I get it, Muv-Luv is a cash-cow, which is why it has so many unnecessary spin-offs and why those are prioritized for localizations, but it's not exactly pleasant to see that yet another one localization has started, while there's still total silence when it comes to Kiminozo.

If it's straight-up canceled, then just say so.

[76561198814142626]

Hi all,

This thread was meant to be locked, but we decided to address a few more concerns raised before doing so.

Originally posted by Kamille Bidan:

Lastly, thank you Marimo-chan and the entire Muv-Luv Team. Some of us really do appreciate what you are doing for us. We wouldn’t have access to these brilliant games you’ve made otherwise.

Thank you very much, we're very glad to have your support!

Originally posted by Viscera:

If it's straight-up canceled, then just say so.

Please don't lose hope yet, we just have to finish the remaining Kickstarter stretch goals.
We'll also share news of our projects in Japan to western fans when the time comes!

Originally posted by Shylaar:

I also find it disingenuous that you say "Backers gave their full support to localize the Photons collections." as though it was an approval for there to not be any uncensor patch for them. You were asked for this repeatedly over several years and it's why ML and MLA got them and you yourselves said in the January 2018 update that you were considering it...

Backers following the campaign and updates knew both Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative Director's Cut patches were promised before the Kickstarter ended.

Even though we're not entirely ruling out the possibility of making a Director's Cut patch for Altered Fable, it'll be a lot more difficult compared to ML/MLA because it wasn't part of the Kickstarter campaign. This means we need to convince several companies to make the Director's Cut patch happen, and we can only make the proposal after the campaign stretch goals are completed. We can't really promise anything yet.

Originally posted by Shylaar:

...other VN localisers such as JAST and MangaGamer have no problem with releasing uncensored versions for the west. You don't even need to block the Japanese from Steam, just create a different release for them with the two versions being regionally separate..."

Rephrasing what we said in the FAQ, we have a huge fanbase in Japan, so we can't make an exclusive version for the western audience only. Muv-Luv is also well-known in the Japanese Industry, so there's a big difference in popularity/genre to the works you might be referring to, and we can't take any risk with the censorship law. We are our own company, and we aren't also forcing anyone to support our business decisions.

Originally posted by Zodiac:

Honestly...

1. We have never removed "various" music tracks like you claimed - we only replaced one BGM because there were potential legal issues, and we even added a new BGM for Muv-Luv Unlimited.

2. We used the latest version of Muv-Luv available to us at the time, because we were porting the trilogy to PS Vita and Android.

Making the original PC versions work on PS Vita and Android is unrealistic, and we already have the PS3 port. And in order to make the Muv-Luv PS3 versions display uncropped artwork, we need to extend all the Background art and CGs. If that were to happen, we have to redo a lot of the scenes, which is impossible with the given timeframe. It's not simply the same as adding a display resolution slider.

3. We have never given any cease and desist order to fan translators. The members of Alternative Projects working with us are being paid for their work. Amaterasu Translations were paid for their fan translation, and had a free trip to Japan + office tour as our way of saying thank you. We never asked them nor anyone to stop fan translating.