Somnova Studios

Fifedrum wrote:And finally, how thorough is the research in this, medicinal or otherwise?

I hope I'm wrong here, but it doesn't seem well researched, at least in terms of what I'm about to bring up.
Since it's a "Somnova Pls" thread, I'd like to say "Somnova, please research thoroughly."

Ok, here goes.

I just discovered that the twins are planned to be named Natalya and Natasha. Somnova please don't. It doesn't make sense. It's the same name. As someone who actually knows the language and has some distant relatives in Russia, I can tell you this. Natasha is an affectionate form of Natalya (Natalya is an official form).
If you have 2 children you just don't give them the same name. It's just like having twins and colling them Jeffrey and Jeff. Or Ebina-chan and Ebina-san. It doesn't work like this.
If you want 2 similar sounding names for Russian twins, call them Masha and Sasha for example. It's "Маша" and "Саша" in Russian alphabet. And btw while Маша is exclusively female, Саша can be used by a guy just as well. It's an affectionate form of Alexandra (and Alexander too, that's why it can be a name of a guy too). And btw Masha is an affectionate form of Maria.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasha_%28name%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masha
Or call the twins however you want, just make sure you give them different names and not just a variant of the same one >_<

Anyway, on a more general note - please do some research before doing ANYTHING. You can ruin a great project with a few well placed stupid mistakes.
You want some Russian characters? Find some Russians who can explain their mentality to you. Want a character with schizophrenia? Find someone who has a condition like this or at least knows a schizophreniac personally. Want to write how human meat tastes like? Find someone who... nevermind, just don't (but seriously, there are countries where they eat monkeys, that might be the closest one could *legally* get to actual human meat).
My point is - research everything. Thoroughly. Actually, when it comes to mental conditions, it would be best to consult some psychiatrists, psychologists and neurologists. They know them best.

P.S. And if you were/are planning to have a psychopath character, make sure it's not a romance'able character. Psychopaths do feel emotions, but in a manner so different from normal humans, there is no way to form any kind of REAL relationship. Best case scenario the psychopath can pretend to be normal, fake all the natural responses of a lover and play a role, like an actor. But he/she would need a good reason to do that. It's really tiring to fake all those human interactions for even a few hours, and to fake a relationship - we're talking about weeks here, maybe months even.
But a psychopath would make for a great comical relief, similar to Kenji in Katawa Shoujo. He/she would be very serious, would do his/her best to pretend to be normal, but every now and again it would show how different and incomprehensible to normalfags his/her personality really is. (I'm not offending anyone here, I'm speaking from experience. The contrast between the mask of normality and psychopathy underneath can make for some really fun scenes. At least in normal life it happens quite often in my experience.)

Feel free to PM me with questions, I know this and that.

sumnova pls maek game

Oh hush you, I'm doing your job for you.

Windreda wrote:Oh hush you, I'm doing your job for you.

You're carrying my hopes and dreams. Pls don't crush them.

Windreda wrote:Oh hush you, I'm doing your job for you.

Me, too. I'm waiting for when it's done. I am expeting this.

Divinewargod wrote:
You're carrying my hopes and dreams. Pls don't crush them.

zaku wrote:
Me, too. I'm waiting for when it's done. I am expeting this.

No worries friends, the entire team and I are hard at work jump starting this project and working on pushing something out for you all. In terms of what I'm writing I expect to live up to the expectations set before me, and thankfully I have a lot help and support as I go!(I feel bad only just now getting back to the two of you. Hopefully when things actually start getting released we can see a bit more activity on this forum.)

As of now one thing at a time. We're aiming to write up and send out a blog post by the beginning of July just to confirm some recent updates.
I'm happy to be a part of the team and filled with the determination to do the both of you proud!

Som pls maek gme

Swampie2 wrote:Som pls maek gme

Swampie now actually do YOUR job

Windreda wrote:Swampie now actually do YOUR job

I'll do my job if you do yours!

If Natasha/Natalya duo doesn't get their names changed, I'm totally giving up on this VN. They can't have the same name. This is beyond the acceptable level of stupid.
It's like calling them Saki-kun and Saki-chan. Or like Bob and Bobby. The same name, got it? I already posted about it somewhere above, giving a suggestion on how to fix it easily, but my post was completely ignored.
Just saying. Unacceptable level of stupid.

Erundil wrote:If Natasha/Natalya duo doesn't get their names changed, I'm totally giving up on this VN. They can't have the same name. This is beyond the acceptable level of stupid.
It's like calling them Saki-kun and Saki-chan. Or like Bob and Bobby. The same name, got it? I already posted about it somewhere above, giving a suggestion on how to fix it easily, but my post was completely ignored.
Just saying. Unacceptable level of stupid.

I don't know why this would be a deal breaker for anyone. They look like different names to me in English, which is the language it's being released in.

Let's think back to some of our roots if the language barrier is thrown into the picture. Katawa Shoujo had no problem having the entire setting take place in Japan, while everyone in the story spoke Japanese (Except for a few lines from Lilly's mother and Hisao's attempt at English.) Yet, the VN was released in English. I honestly don't see the problem.

Erundil wrote:If Natasha/Natalya duo doesn't get their names changed, I'm totally giving up on this VN. They can't have the same name. This is beyond the acceptable level of stupid.
It's like calling them Saki-kun and Saki-chan. Or like Bob and Bobby. The same name, got it? I already posted about it somewhere above, giving a suggestion on how to fix it easily, but my post was completely ignored.
Just saying. Unacceptable level of stupid.

It was? I'm very sorry about that, I was actually going to respond to your post but being new I had imagined it was already addressed. It's actually a little bit of old news but that names HAVE been corrected, and while I'm not entirely sure I have the permission to release them this is actually a major reason why Kuiper was hired on to revamp the "twin" route.

From what I've seen everyone is doing their best with developing characters that are not only interesting, but accurate with how we're introducing them. If any other concerns pop up for the future please do not hesitate at all to mention them!

Divinewargod wrote:
I don't know why this would be a deal breaker for anyone. They look like different names to me in English, which is the language it's being released in.

Let's think back to some of our roots if the language barrier is thrown into the picture. Katawa Shoujo had no problem having the entire setting take place in Japan, while everyone in the story spoke Japanese (Except for a few lines from Lilly's mother and Hisao's attempt at English.) Yet, the VN was released in English. I honestly don't see the problem.

This is in some part one of the hardest jobs as a writer for this. It isn't just the monster of "what is and isn't" acceptable to mention with certain mental conditions, we're talking about characters who are in an entirely different culture from our own comfort levels. I'm so grateful that we have team members all over the world to help with any questions we have, but as someone who is American writing for someone who is European it still is difficult to wrap my head around how and how they wouldn't act. I can't tell you how many times I've presented an idea or situation, only to realize I'm coming at it from my very biased way of living(Which is something all writers end up doing in some way or another).

An English VN at a European institution where a multiple languages and cultures are intermixing in this one place. Throw in a lot of medical research in the mix and you have a project that is a lot more challenging than how I had originally anticipated it. It's unfortunate that there might always be some mix-up, or mistake, or misinterpretation that falls through the writing cracks simply from where we all are coming from - BUT it's a little more refreshing because of this to see everyone take their care and time with writing and editing.

Yes this is a VN that will be released in English and yes it probably wouldn't destroy the world if we released something that was akin to the early few drafts of this project. However to be writing about a very important topic and not put any care into it would be an absolute atrocity. If not to anyone else then to us.

We appreciate you guys sticking with us along the way, and while it has taken 4+ years to get to this point it makes me very happy to see how far everyone's writing- art- music- concept- project has come.

Natasha and Natalya having the same name was an intentional and deliberate move by their author at the time. Those characters now have a different writer, who is not obliged to stick to any in-universe justification for the names.

As for your post being ignored, I'll let it be known that i read every post on the forum at least once. Just because nobody replied to your query immediately doesn't mean the issues brought up were ignored. The twins' names were an active and touchy issue in the dev channel and we opted not to address it publicly until a new writer and/resolution was found.

Erundil wrote:If Natasha/Natalya duo doesn't get their names changed, I'm totally giving up on this VN. They can't have the same name. This is beyond the acceptable level of stupid.

...

Unacceptable level of stupid.

You know what, screw you. 21 day ban.

kosherbacon wrote:You know what, screw you. 21 day ban.

Oh my.

Oh my, I was banned... some time ago.
Temporary ban may not be a very efficient punishment against someone who visits the forum 2 times a year, wasn't registered most of the time and have a post count of 3 (this reply makes it 4).

Anyway, I'm glad the issue I pointed out is known to devs. That was my main intention. What to do with the information I provided is up to them, ofc.

Let me explain - I tried being helpful. Strong words were used to emphasize how severe the problem is, in my opinion.
I tried to help you avoid one of the mistakes that Katawa Shoujo made - bullshit names (e.g. Yamaku or Iwanako, to name a few, aren't even correct Japanese words, and when they already noticed, they attempted some crazy kanji patchwork to write them down, instead of changing them earlier, when there was still time). It breaks immersion, but not many people speak Japanese all that well, so it's gone mostly unnoticed. Sadly the issue I mentioned with Natasha and Natalya, would NOT be overlooked. And would hurt the game's and writers' reputations. The number of people who knows a little Russian is stunning, compared to the number of people who speak Japanese well.
Little proof (kind of) that I didn't make up Yamaku and Iwanako: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/V ... tawaShoujo (scroll down, "open all folders", then Ctrl+F for "As Long as It Sounds Foreign")

Let me say it again, I'm not trying to force changes. I just point out where they might be needed. Nobody is able to know EVERYTHING, and that's why I believe it's important to share information and point out problematic areas EARLY in development.

And I have no hard feelings about that ban. I'm not a fan of sugar-coating and I'm used to the fact that I trigger people. I think kosherbacon's reaction was 100% justified. By his feelings and emotions, but justified nonetheless.

Edit:
@below
Yes, it wasn't meant as apology. And I do indeed regret that they felt that way.

Your post looks like a non-apology. Sorta like "I'm sorry you feel that way." Anyway where are those backgrounds I've been wanting to see so much Sumnoovi plis

Visiting missing-stars.net/ display "Authentication Required" message. I accept cookies and fill the required bar but the "User Authentication" request keep coming. Is it not suppose to be visitable by new member?

Cholena wrote:Visiting missing-stars.net/ display "Authentication Required" message. I accept cookies and fill the required bar but the "User Authentication" request keep coming. Is it not suppose to be visitable by new member?

Hi there! That website is password-protected right now and only accessible by the developers (like myself). We'll make it public soon!

somonvoa pls maek gaem

demo when