Ask the Devs!

[ProNice]

edit: Oh, and here's another question for the devs: what are Jeanne's opinions on the Simcity games post Rush Hour? (Of course, you might be putting the answer in the game, but I thought that, in case you weren't or felt like answering early anyway, I'd go ahead and ask.)

Thats quite specific - maybe we get Hama to answer that

[Reese8]

@Gloom:
Ah, thank you.

[Anxa]

Any kind of update to the blog would be appreciated - over two months, some of us are starting to get antsy. We need care and watering... although none of that really matters so long as development continues!

[TonyTwoFingers]

Any kind of update to the blog would be appreciated - over two months, some of us are starting to get antsy.

Worry not, friend. Blog updates have been absent recently because we're trying to be more selective in our posting, in terms of what does and doesn't make it on there.

Rest assured, progress is being made, and we have not totally abandoned the blog.

[TheLastMelody]

Rest assured, progress is being made, and we have not totally abandoned the blog.

Yet...

[sky]

Any kind of update to the blog would be appreciated - over two months, some of us are starting to get antsy. We need care and watering... although none of that really matters so long as development continues!

I'm a ditto. Please don't abandon the blogs. I really enjoy that stuff.

[ILY]

Calm down you hooligans! They've just decided to put more time into production and less into PR for now.
(cba to find the post, but I remember an important person in the world of Somnova saying something like that)

also this
[19:48] <slightlyillabaster> I wrote a blog post

[TheLastMelody]

Well, some people is just impatient it seems ^_^

EDIT:
Damn typos...

[Anxa]

That's enough of an update for me, I am sated.

[Reese8]

Aye. While of course I would prefer more (up to and including the entire finished game ), it's enough to know that progress is ongoing.

[Al Capwned]

How's the new artist doing?

[ScottyWired]

So I read the CreativeCommons you chose and saw

No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Is there a particular reason for not allowing modifications to it? I was chatting with the person who runs the 4LS twitter page about why they do not want their own work to be modified and gave a relatively vague answer.

@ScottyWired Not having the license set up like it is would open up possibilities to exploit KS in ways we are uncomfortable with.

Since you are working under an identical CreativeCommons License, I guess my question is What is your stance on fan-made modifications to Missing Stars?
because a star wars reskin would be AWESOME

[kosherbacon]

Back when this was "Mentaru Shoujo" we encountered an enterprising individual squatting on a URL bearing the Mentaru Shoujo name. (Didn't link to site, since apparently the guy is/was known for phishing passwords.) With the domain provider unresponsive and us unable to decisively prove who and who alone had the name first, there really wasn't much to do about it.

Even though the title was never meant to be a permanent one, that early conflict motivated us to be more protective of our name, our project's name, and the image associated. While many of us have/had a "screw you, I'll do what I want!" attitude about making ourselves look like idiots, we'd still like any negativity associated to be our own fault, not of impostors and hang-arounds.

What is your stance on fan-made modifications to Missing Stars?

Speaking only for myself, I really don't know as of yet. I've never had anyone modify my work in that manner. I imagine I'd be amused by well done mods, but especially miffed by poorly done or ill-motivated ones. Still, I'm only me, and there are dozens of us. Something that I would see as an awesome homage could be seen by someone else as an insulting misrepresentation.

[whiic]

CC BY NC ND would make altering the installer to install malware not just a crime against the one being phished to also a crime of breaking copyright. It would however deny people the right to make localizations to the game. Not just pre-patched game installers but also patch files themself: a translation that is in a another language requires the permission of the copyright holder of the original language. Hence, even if it was just altering the script to fix errors or offer a new language, CC BY NC ND doesn't grant such a right.

I do think however that with a license that has "ND" you can however retain the right to individually decide which translations/mods/fanfics you approve. They're just not automatically approved via Creative Commons you've chosen. Technically, fanfics that aren't even in the same format (i.e visual novels) can also violate the copyright... though I doubt any of the devs have an interest to control what fanfics are written of MS, at least as long as "BY" is honoured (i.e any fanfics are acknowledged as such, rather than claimed fully original).

EDIT: I -> It. I hate those typos that completely alter the meaning of the sentence.

[Hamadyne]

CC BY NC ND would make altering the installer to install malware not just a crime against the one being phished to also a crime of breaking copyright. I would however deny people the right to make localizations to the game. Not just pre-patched game installers but also patch files themself: a translation that is in a another language requires the permission of the copyright holder of the original language. Hence, even if it was just altering the script to fix errors or offer a new language, CC BY NC ND doesn't grant such a right.

We would certainly approve the addition of translation patches, but those would have to be overseen by us - possibly added later as a version update. While we wouldn't approve of any illegal modifications (say, if a beta of our VN was leaked and people wanted that to be the REAL story), stuff like making it accessible to the blind would be something we wouldn't raise a fuss about. Bugs and other problems can be reported to us as well for a future update.

I do think however that with a license that has "ND" you can however retain the right to individually decide which translations/mods/fanfics you approve. They're just not automatically approved via Creative Commons you've chosen. Technically, fanfics that aren't even in the same format (i.e visual novels) can also violate the copyright... though I doubt any of the devs have an interest to control what fanfics are written of MS, at least as long as "BY" is honoured (i.e any fanfics are acknowledged as such, rather than claimed fully original).

This was one of the reasons we made the licencing this way in the first place - we wished to keep fanfiction and the official visual novel separated. However, when it comes to CC and software, CC states that software isn't covered by the way the legalese is set up (thus making the actual text of the VN licensed under CC instead). Most likely, we'd move to a GNU license (or similar) for the software itself.

[whiic]

HAA!


I see what you did there, Hamoe.

You dodged the question.

what are Jeanne's opinions on the Simcity games post Rush Hour?

[Reese8]

Well, perhaps that's being saved for the game.

[whiic]

Well, perhaps that's being saved for the game.

It's official.

[Hamadyne]

HAA!


I see what you did there, Hamoe.

You dodged the question.

what are Jeanne's opinions on the Simcity games post Rush Hour?

:3

Dodge...successful.

:3

[alabaster]

How's the new artist doing?

Artists. They're ducky. I'm even more thrilled than before now that I've seen the first samples of the new art assets show up in the Dropbox.