omg
omg
Yep, has to be this.
I do want that, too. The biggest impossibilities we have no intention of attempting are English voices and Steam integration.This really sounds like we're going to get near official release quality on PC though. Really exciting stuff, I can't wait.
The weirdest thing is that outside of having a WeChat account, it's basically impossible to get a digital version of it. From a purely technical perspective, they could provide the same improvements to the Ao version as well (once the DRM is removed, I assume)Sounds amazing but that leaves people with an awkward choice to make regarding Ao, doesn't it?
Korean hackers already modified the executable to remove DRM and implement Korean and Japanese scripts in the Chinese version years ago, so DRM shouldn't pose a problem.The weirdest thing is that outside of having a WeChat account, it's basically impossible to get a digital version of it. From a purely technical perspective, they could provide the same improvements to the Ao version as well (once the DRM is removed, I assume)
Korean hackers already modified the executable to remove DRM and implement Korean and Japanese scripts in the Chinese version years ago, so DRM shouldn't pose a problem.
Well, there seem to be ways of paying via WeChat that aren't totally shady. They ask for like 15% fee on top of the actual transaction, but by god I'd be willing to jump through all the hoops to get myself a legit copy of Ao.Real problem would be that they'd have to tell people to pirate the game if they wanted the patch.
Tbh, I also think there may be a better than 0 chance we hear something official about Crossbell before we need to start worrying about how to purchase a copy of Ao for that game's Geofront localization.
Of course, now that Xseed has lost CS3 they can finally start working on the Crossbell games, right?...Right?
If XSeed had any incentive to take on Crossbell before, that's certainly gone now that NISA's taken the second half of the Erebonia arc. Would NISA be willing to take a probable financial loss for long-term maybe/possible benefits? I don't know, but my hunch is not any more than XSeed. I'd love to be wrong, but for the time being, I'm not really taking NISA's vague comments about being "aware" of the Crossbell problem as anything other than PR talk.
that cretin did not stop xseed from licensing xanadu next or zwei's fan translationsHonestly I think fan-translations for anything getting licensed anymore is basically dead at this point after all of Nightwolve's tirades.
No one cares about Nightwolve's tirades, they don't affect the industry.Honestly I think fan-translations for anything getting licensed anymore is basically dead at this point after all of Nightwolve's tirades.
There are several hurdles about the Crossbell games that combine to make them a pretty unappealing commercial project for any localizer, be it XSeed, NISA or other party.
- For one, they're PSP games in an era where even the PSP's successor is no longer considered a commercially viable platform, which means they'll need to be ported from scratch. (Joyoland's ports are old, not particularly high quality and the ones who programmed them and would be relied on for technical support only speak Chinese, which is why XSeed commissioned their own ports for Ys Seven and Memories of Celceta instead of trying to adopt and provide support for Joyoland's work) Obviously this can be done, but it significantly raises the costs of the project.
- Both Zero and Ao have very large scripts. It would require a long and thorough translation and editing effort. Which also brings along costs.
- These raised costs for the project are a problem because neither of the games are what we'd consider visually appealing these days. Even if the publisher put whatever high-def assets Falcom has into the game, it'll look on par with the Sky games at best. Trails in the Sky FC had the good fortune to release on Steam back when JRPGs were very rare on the platform, but that's no longer the case these days. Zero might just sell about as well as Sky SC did and Ao about as well as Sky the 3rd did if we're lucky. That might not recompense the costs of both the mammoth translation plus the porting job.
- Another factor that will drive the sales down is the fact that both games have fan translations, which drives their commercial viability down further. While die-hard fans will still buy the games full price on day 1, more casual players who really wanted to know what happened in Crossbell but who already played through the fan translations might not want do that since they barely replay games anyway and will either wait for a 50% off sale or not buy them at all. Companies can't dismiss the absence of the "I want to know what happened"-factor in their cost-benefit analysis.
Back when 3rd was being localized, Brittany already pointed out these factors and why they were a major hurdle. That was when XSeed was still considered Falcom's only western publisher. There was one argument that could be made for XSeed taking on the Crossbell games and that was long-term viability and the idea that the sales of each individual Trails game would slightly boost the sales of the others. If Falcom had said: "We really want you to localize Zero and Ao and if you do, you can have first dibs on Cold Steel III, IV and eventual future Trails games", an argument could be made that even losing money on Crossbell would be compensated by sales from more recent titles with more modern appeal.
Falcom, however, has shown they have no plans to keep the Trails franchise with one particular publisher and will simply auction it off to whatever party offers the most money. This also means there likely won't be any incentives for western publishers to take on high-risk/low-reward projects for long-time benefit, since Falcom's eyes might start wandering again a few years down the line.
If XSeed had any incentive to take on Crossbell before, that's certainly gone now that NISA's taken the second half of the Erebonia arc. Would NISA be willing to take a probable financial loss for long-term maybe/possible benefits? I don't know, but my hunch is not any more than XSeed. I'd love to be wrong, but for the time being, I'm not really taking NISA's vague comments about being "aware" of the Crossbell problem as anything other than PR talk.
That last Geofront update is epic. God bless them.
And yeah, I'm not holding my breath for an official release.
Still playing Trails in the Sky FC. Just started chapter 2 at 15 hours played.
I'm enjoying it, but I'm still amazed that this game gets away with virtually nothing happening. There's barely even a hint of a villain at this point, and there's no conflict.
I was kinda expecting the sky bandit/lost dad angle to propel Estelle and Joshua forward but at this point their motivation to go to Ruan was literally like "let's go just because!"
I'm enjoying the experience as more of a "lean back" story - treating it like a visual novel. But it's wild that this game gets away with this.
I was kinda expecting the sky bandit/lost dad angle to propel Estelle and Joshua forward but at this point their motivation to go to Ruan was literally like "let's go just because!"
Stuff is happening. Just subtly behind the scenes and you failed to notice the hints. Trails villains generally don't make their introduction with guns blazing and hammy speeches. (well of them do, but most don't) Like you've seen with the youngest sky bandit sibling, Trails villains know the credo: "if you're gonna shiv someone, make sure you're behind them all the way first".
What's there to "get away with"? It's giving you hundreds of NPCs to talk with, lots of small quests to solve, and slowly builds the world and hints at a larger story.
I would love more games to do this
That's just it. Those 15 hours already have a lot of interesting world building. It's not as fast paced as a Game of Thrones episode, and frankly, I'm glad that it isn't. If there is one issue I have with modern story-telling, it's that everything has to be so rushed. Having this really, really slow build-up is amazing to me.I already said I like the game. It's relaxing. It's pastoral. But what it's "getting away" with is hanging 15+ hours of gameplay onto a (so far) extremely paper-thin scenario.
"Let's go on an adventure" is enough for me. It worked for the first half of Grandia, too. But let's not pretend it is above comment or reproach.
No need to be defensive, friends. I'm not a dummy and it doesn't take a genius anyway to pick up on the very-frequently-repeated references to something clouding the Don's mind in Chapter 1, and him not acting like himself after "he" showed up.
You literally can't miss it. There's a whole boss fight about it, and an extended denouement about it afterward.
I already said I like the game. It's relaxing. It's pastoral. But what it's "getting away" with is hanging 15+ hours of gameplay onto a (so far) extremely paper-thin scenario.
"Let's go on an adventure" is enough for me. It worked for the first half of Grandia, too. But let's not pretend it is above comment or reproach.
The only way I wouldn't be down on an NISA PC Port is if they hired Durante's new company to do the job for CS3.
Some of us are decent, moral people, others put Pineapple on their pizza.
Sky FC's Chapter 1 is a goldmine of foreshadowing.
1. Joshua gets defensive when Estelle wonders if other Erebonians are anything like Olivier. #NotAllErebonianMen
2. A sentry at the Haken Gate tells you that there should be an Erebonian village called Hamel near the border, but all contact with it was inexplicably lost a decade ago (IIRC, to get this line, you need to talk to him after you are told that Bose's southern district was robbed the night before, but before you go there to investigate and meet Richard).
3. Joshua reads a book on the Hundred Day War, which mentions that Erebonia has never given their reason for declaring the war, calling it a result of a misunderstanding.
Combined with Lorence reproaching Alicia for keeping the Hamel events a secret in Sky FC's Finale and with Lorence clearly having some sort of connection to Joshua, this is pretty much all you need to piece together Joshua's backstory, including the parts that don't get formally revealed until the middle of Sky SC.
Feb 3: Start of Sen no Kiseki IV merch sales in 15 of the A3 MARKETs in JapanYesterday, Falcom released a February 2019 calendar: https://twitter.com/nihonfalcom/status/1090880251633127424
The 4th of February (exactly 3 days after the icon altering patch) is circled, and the Japanese text says something about XSEED and Steam. Could anyone translate the rest of the note?
Thank you! Now we wait and see if Tio survives the weekend and if there's a special occasion for the upcoming sale.Feb 3: Start of Sen no Kiseki IV merch sales in 15 of the A3 MARKETs in Japan
Feb 4: Start of XSEED Games' sale on Steam (US time)
Feb 13: Last day of the Asia PlayStation Store sale (Chinese/Hangul versions)
So, sorry for possibly dumb question but I saw today someone playing Sen IV with english subtitles and does anyone know if these subtitles include everything or is this just main plot?
Probably the remote play workaround. You stream the game via remote play and you open up a text program to stream Kitsunes spreadsheet translation over. There's no official version with English subs iirc. Asia versions run CN subsSo, sorry for possibly dumb question but I saw today someone playing Sen IV with english subtitles and does anyone know if these subtitles include everything or is this just main plot?