BLVN + Otome General FAQ 1.4

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BLVN + Otome General FAQ 1.4
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This thread is for the discussion of BL (Boy's Love, aka. yaoi) and otome games. We're including bara under the BL umbrella too. Basically, VNs that aren't targeted at straight dudes are fair game here. If the game was originally developed in English, please direct discussion to the OELVN thread.

Annotated playthroughs and in-thread translations are welcome and encouraged.

Don't be a douche and use spoiler tags.

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   Translation Status
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For a rundown of projects, BL/otome or otherwise, check out the VN translation status thread:
https://boards.4chan.org/jp/catalog#s=visual%20novel%20translation%20status

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          FAQ
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Q. What's a BL game?
A. Basically, the same thing as a VN only gayer.

Q. What's an otome game?
A. A VN with a female protagonist and male love interests targeted at women.

Q. What games do you recommend?
A. Please refer to our rec chart before asking: http://tinyurl.com/olz82n6
There are tabs for both translated and untranslated games.

Q. What otome games specifically on Steam do you suggest?
A. Please refer to the rec chart above. If it's on Steam, it'll be noted in "Other Info".

Q. Are there any games with [specific interest]?
A. Please use the tag system on vndb.org before asking.

Q. Give me a list of everything translated. I don't care about quality.
A. https://vndb.org/g542?fil=lang-en.olang-ja (otome), https://vndb.org/g2002?fil=lang-en.olang-ja (BL). Some are only partial.
You could also look at our spreadsheet that includes works in progress but doesn't include mobile: https://tinyurl.com/yar3ubex

Q. How do I learn Japanese?
A. Use the Daily Japanese Thread and their guide http://djtguide.neocities.org/ to get you started.
VNs themselves are useful for helping you study and retain what you've learned. There are programs called text hookers that will help you. Go to http://djtguide.neocities.org/resource%20guide.html#Visual%20Novels for more info on these types of programs.

Q. Where and how do I import these games and/or merch related to them?
A. Generally amazon.co.jp and other Japanese websites using a proxy service or forwarder. Check out buyfag.moe for more info.


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    Resource Links
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http://vndb.org/ - Has a lot of general info about VNs. The tag system helps you find really specific things. As you might expect, BL/otome games are kind of neglected and the information may not always be accurate.

http://visual-novels-general.wikia.com/wiki/ - The VN General wiki has some potentially helpful resources.

http://piratepad.net/qP0sKOGum6 - Character Birthday Archive

http://pastebin.com/P9VQajb5 - Various game/CD info

http://pastebin.com/Vz6NsMpe - A list of BL downloads made in 2012 that nobody upkeeps anymore. The list is far from complete or up to date.

http://pastebin.com/SnkfJYnm, http://pastebin.com/HRKrTLj0 - See above, but otome.

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 Installation & Troubleshooting:
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(Stealing this verbatim from the VN General FAQ)

Q. How do I install a Visual Novel?
Note: Some Visual Novels may come prepatched and won't require further installation, otherwise, follow these steps:
1) First of all, make sure you have both the game data and most up to date translation patch from the translator's blog.

2) Acquire and install optical drive emulation software, such as Daemontools Lite, MagicISO, or VirtualCloneDrive. What this software does is create a virtual CD/DVD drive with which to "mount" and run disc images (1:1 copies of the original game disc converted into a large data file). Typically these files have extensions such as .iso, .ccd, .img, .mdf, and so on.

3) Set your system to properly display in Japanese for non-unicode programs. What this does is ensure the game works properly in the environment it was coded for, otherwise you may run into any particular Visual Novel not working properly, such as installation failures, the game engine failing to run, garbled text, and so on. See the question below for specific steps.

4) After mounting, seek out any readmes included with the game and/or patch for installation instructions. Most often the patch will require you to run an application after installing the game or to copy the patch files into the installationd directory. If the translation group allows it, there may be an option to use the translation patch itself to install the game for you (provided you have all the necessary disc images containing the game data mounted of course).

Q. How do I change my system to Japanese locale?
A. On Windows 7, this option can be found in the Administrative tab of the Region and Language sub menu on Control Panel. The option you want to be changing is "Language for non-Unicode programs".
JP Keyboard options (used for typing in Japanese but not necessary for playing Japanese games) can be disabled under the tab "Keyboard and Languages."
In XP, this can be found in the Advanced tab of the Regional and Language options sub menu in Control Panel.

Q. This installer isn't in English, what do I do?
A. Most Visual Novels translated via 3rd party patches will require you to install the raw Japanese version of the game before applying a patch. The layouts are often similar to their English counterparts so you should be able to guide yourself through it using context and familiarity. Often the prompts will have an English abbreviation in parenthesis, ie (B): Back, (N): Next, and so on. If you get an error message, it may help to copy it (ctrl+c) and paste it into an online machine translation service.

Q. Why isn't my game working?
A. First of all, make sure you've followed ALL of the install instructions included with your game and/or translation patch.
▪Check to make sure your system is set to use Japanese Locale for non-unicode programs.
▪Older games may require running in administrative or compatibility modes, or further patching not included with the original translation patch.
▪There may be issues with User Rights Management in Windows 7 involving games installed in the default program files folder. Try installing the game outside of Program Files x86.
▪If a game has issues with video playback it may be because of the default settings of video codecs such as fddshow or LAV splitter. Try installing or re-installing CCCP and disable options relating to MPEG playback.
▪You may need to install/reinstall/update video card drivers and/or Direct X.

Q. Where is my save data Located?
A. Save data location will vary with each Visual Novel, here's a list of possible locations:
▪Installation Folder
  ex: C:\Program Files x86\[title]
NOTE: For Windows Vista/7 users, any game installed into program files x86 that stores saves in the installation folder will be moved to the Virtual Store folder by Windows.
  ex: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\[title]
▪My Documents
  ex: C:\Users\[username]\Documents\[developer]\[title]\save
▪Appdata
  ex: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\[developer]\[title]\save