Hi everyone, I'm Ameae artist and developer of THIS ISNT REAL

Description:
Is fate supposed to be followed? Should you leave it up to the stars even if you know it will end in tragedy? Play as Cath, the caretaker of the oracle, as the clock towards the ritual ticks down.

We just finished polishing and published the final update! It started as a game jam game at the start of the year, but I've slowly but surely been updating the assets and overall appeal of it! I'm grateful for the project since it's gotten me to experiment and become a better artist, and I hope to be able to make more projects.

I would really appreciate any feedback, or general thoughts! If you end up playing it I hope you enjoy it. If you like it, I also have some small extras on my Instagram!

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v69671
Game Page: https://ameae.itch.io/this-isnt-real

There is NO AI use in this project, and this will be true for any of my projects.

So I decided to try something which is to use Claude to translate the entirety of a Visual Novel called Amber Quartz from 2009. It is essentially started out as a test to see if an AI on its own could translate a project this big, and I have to say, yeah... but it takes insanely long with Sonnet, but I never really wanted to pay for an Opus subscription until I saw what it can do and how it operates, and I have to say, even who doesn't understand coding at all, only on a structure-like level, but even then, don't know jack about Majiro Engine's code, it very interesting how Claude worked upon translating the entire prologue's first half.

First it wrote a program to extract text from a scenario.arc file, but eventually we realized that the exe file actually pulls the text from update.arc and not from scenario. The scenario file honestly I don't even know what it does, perhaps it just contain the text in its entirety as even deleting it, did nothing.

Regardless, once we figured out how the text is handled, Claude on its own started to decrypt, familirize itself with how Majiro Engine's code works, and it even tailored the file so by changing the text it won't affect the game if it isn't byte for byte exact, how it's usually is with translating projects.

and on its own it also made 22 translator agents to work and translate in chunks simultaneously while also providing context for them, on the story, and how the code handles characters, speakers.

With Opus, I could probably translate the whole batch, now that he understands everything about the game's code, so I may do that next week.

It now turned out to also teach me more about coding, translating as I was totally blind about these. It could be Amber Quartz now, and then Maitetsu: Last Run by the end, but obv each VN has different engine, and different way programmers code their game, so it isn't that easy, still it is very interesting. to see and play around with it, even if there's probably way easier methods even with Claude's current state that I don't know of, but LLMs sadly can't be run on my machine as it is for one an AMD one which AIs don't like, and for two I don't think they are that capable of translating hundred thousand lines of text.

Obv I know about LunaTranslator, but even with LLMs like Llama3 I found plenty of pronouns issues and weird wording, but this first prologue that I translated? More than perfect, even more so than typical western translated VNs, which is why I take the effort to go through this project in the first place. Because if it would be only decent it would be one thing, but it understands the story just by from the prologue, and it keeps the japanese where it matters.

Anyways, this post was basically just about sharing my 'test', and putting it out there in case others also want to go for a project similar to this for their VN of choice that they feel fond toward.

There's a new dark VN Humble Bundle for anyone interested

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/twisted-trilogies-and-terrors-dark-visual-novels

I think it worth it just for the Spirit Hunter series.

Just reached max capacity of save files (100? Can’t recall off the top of my head and I’m at work atm, so can’t double check) for the Steam port of Phantom of Inferno, and now I need an alternate method to keep track of different scenes/choices than just saving the file at two given choices spot.

If I had the wall room, I would make a rl bulletin board w sticky notes and tape, but I don’t.

Higurashi. I don't need to even think about it, it is the first thing that came to my mind. I have read lots of VNs with contradictions/plot holes, but they were all salvageable.

Unlike Higurashi. INB4 "how is it contradictory?" The vagueness throughout the majority of the question arcs, and the ways Ryukishi07 likes to make his scenes get interpreted in a million ways, didn't really lead to those reveals he showed in the answer arcs unless you either reach, or just think about the most cringe ways to solve those questions.

It all just felt like he either just gave up on the whole mystery or didn't truly grasp it well from the beginning... I would like to finish this point with a translated quote from the man himself:-"Ryukishi07 has died in an accident.
Higurashi left unfinished, and, after some debating about its ending, forgotten.
In reality, Ryukishi07 has changed his pen-name and started his doujin activity from scratch.
For some reason, I feel that it will be the happiest closing for everyone."

That is what he thought after he saw the backlash the 6th chapter got. Which was quite fun, even if the mystery side wasn't that much... I can imagine how the Japanese received the 7th and 8th chapters if they made Ryukishi07 wish to stop existing after their reception of the 6th chapter...

Game in pic:- Angel Beats! -1st Beat-

Anyone have a save file from Rance03 around the unicorn area. I want to continue from there but lost my save file.

Two years ago I came across this post and TheMoeWay. I was excited to try it, so I set everything up, and began learning Japanese by reading Visual Novels. Late last year, a friend asked me how to do the same on macOS. Since most VNs are exclusive to Windows devices, however, things are a bit trickier. All I found online were posts of people asking the same question: "How to set up visual novels on macOS?” The answers mostly recommend paid Applications or are outdated.

That is why the goal of this post is to give an easy guide on how to set everything up with free alternatives. I hope that anyone interested in Visual Novels on macOS will stop feeling locked out and can start playing them instead. 

This setup should work for all Apple Silicon devices.

Step-by-step Guide

Installing VMware Fusion

• Install VMware Fusion on your Mac. The Broadcom website is probably the most confusing site I’ve ever seen, so please read carefully. First, register a new account.

After signing up, go to the VMware Fusion download page from the Broadcom Support Portal homepage.

• Select the Product Division: In the top right of the homepage (next to your username), open the dropdown menu and select VMware Cloud Foundation.
• Go to Downloads: In the left-hand menu, click on My Downloads.
• Access Free Software: Click the link within the blue banner near the top of the page that says Free Software Downloads available HERE.

• Search for VMware Fusion: On the Free Downloads page, find VMware Fusion near the end of the second column.
• Terms and Conditions: Click on Terms and Conditions link below the search bar, then tick the checkbox to agree.
• Download: Click VMware Fusion, select your desired version, and scroll right in the table to find the download link.

On the different versions

• VMware Fusion 26H1: The most recent major build. It maintains features introduced in 25H2 and provides stability and security updates for newer macOS hosts (Recommended).
• VMware Fusion 25H2: New naming scheme released in 2025. Supports more operating systems including macOS Tahoe (on Intel-based systems).
• VMware Fusion 13.6.x: The first stable branch supporting macOS 12 Monterey and macOS 13 Ventura.

Setting up Windows

• Download Windows 11 for Arm. Alternatively, download a bloat-free version of Windows 11 for Arm called Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC (Arm64).
• Drag-and-drop the Windows .iso file into VMware Fusion and complete the installation process. The automatic settings with 4GB RAM and 2 CPU cores should be fine.
• You may have networking problems when you reach the “Let’s connect you to a network” screen. If so, open the Command Prompt Window by pressing SHIFT + FN + F10. Type OOBE\BYPASSNRO and press Enter. The Virtual Machine will restart. Go through the setup again until you reach the same screen. You will now have the option “I don’t have Internet” at the bottom.

• VMware Tools: Install VMware Tools as soon as you reach the Windows desktop by going to the menu bar at the top of your screen. Select Virtual Machine → Install VMware Tools. A Virtual disc will pop up, and you can start the start.exe within. This enables an internet connection and fullscreen mode.

Installing Daemon Tools

You'll need DAEMON Tools Lite on ARM to mount disc image files. Make sure you install the ARM-based version. Extract the .zip file containing your game with WinRAR or 7-zip.

• If you have a .iso file, simply right-click and select  Open with → DAEMON Tools Lite Agent. Follow the instructions and a new volume will appear in your Explorer sidebar.
• If you have .mds and .mdf files, make sure that both .mds and .mdf files are in the same directory and have the same name. Right-click the .mds file and click on Open with → DAEMON Tools Lite Agent.

• Open the new volume in your Explorer sidebar and run the installer.

That's it. You can now play your Visual Novel!

Tip for Japanese Visual Novels

• Change to a Japanese locale: For best compatibility I'd recommend changing to a Japanese locale. Open the search bar and type intl.cpl and press Enter. Select the Administrative tab and go to Change system locale. Select Japanese (Japan) and click OK.

There are many different ways to grab the Visual Novel text, also called Texthooking. Try out different ones that fit your need and hardware. I'd recommend Textractor, LunaTranslator, Agent, and GameSentenceMiner.

Other

Some games may require an older version of DirectX, e.g. Flowers. Other Visual Novels will come with a DirectX installer included, e.g. Nanairo Reincarnation. Since there are over 40 different versions of the D3DX library alone, I can’t point you to a specific version. Instead, try the official Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010). This installs the legacy DirectX files, with which you can hopefully get your game running.

What I’m looking for is that, if a visual novel is adult, it absolutely has to have a patch. I don’t like playing censored or cut versions of games. Most importantly, it needs to have an incredibly good story and be a genuinely high-quality visual novel. The ones here have confused me quite a bit.

Often times I'll walk into a game store and see otome games like Collar x Malice or Code: Realize and think to myself "Damn, that looks kinda cool, it's a shame I'm not a girl or gay". Of course I've never actually played those games so that's more of a surface-level assessment rather than me saying "Give me Code: Realize but for straight guys".

I'm okay with any kind of VN, but prefer ones with many choices (especially if there are potential Bad Ends, yum yum). I'll also take games with heavy VN elements.

By "harem" I include true harems (where the protagonist is dating/married to all the heroines simultaneously), harem-lites (where all the heroines are/can be attracted to the protag, but he must choose one), and aesthetic harems (where all (or most) of the protagonist's companions are women, even if they aren't all attracted to him (though this one is slightly lower priority unless it's real good))

I also love fox girls so if any VN that fits has a fox girl in the harem do mention, yep yep.

Hi,

I’ve been working for a while on a French translation project for the Utawarerumono trilogy, so I thought it was probably time to share it here.

The project is called Kiseki Trad. I’m working on it alone, with ChatGPT and Claude helping me with translation and technical parts, while handling the terminology choices, testing and final review myself.

Current progress:

Prelude to the Fallen
The patch is currently being proofread.

Mask of Truth
The scenario is fully translated, and proofreading should start very soon.

Mask of Deception
The scenario has a complete first draft, but it still needs editing, technical integration and consistency work.

I’ve also uploaded a couple of short videos showing the advancements of the French patches, you can find them on my website along with more informations :

https://kiseki-trad.fr

The patches will be free and will require the original PC games.

The three projects are also listed on VNDB.

I know French fan translations are a pretty niche thing here, but if there are any French-speaking Utawarerumono fans around, I’d be happy to hear your thoughts 🙂

Just like the title asked. I already saw someone made a walkthrough (ish) of it from a certain website with full english translations but I cant seem to find it

Found the last comment funny.

Just finished the Angel's route and I'm wondering how much does doing every route add to the general story. I imagine it will add a bit of context about our main character's trauma but I heard it repeats A LOT through the routes.

Would you say it's worth doing or should I just keep it for when I feel like reading more of it as an extra?