Table of Contents
1. Basics
1.1 What is planetarian, anyway?
1.2 Is this a dating sim?
1.3 Is this an 18+ game?
1.4 What is a Kinetic Novel?
1.5 Who or what is Key?
1.5.1 Who is Yuuichi Suzumoto?
1.5.2 Who is E-ji "CO2A" Komatsu?
1.5.3 What is RealLive?
2. Mechanics
2.1 System requirements
2.1.1 Japanese support
2.2 How to install
2.3 Play mechanics
2.4 How long is this, anyway?
2.5 How to uninstall
3. English localization
3.1 Is this an official translation?
3.2 Are you making any money off of this?
3.3 Why are you doing this, then?
3.4 Will you translate game X or anime Y?
4. Mini-glossary
4.1 APCs
4.2 Carl Zeiss - Jena GmbH
4.3 Flechette guns
4.4 Hedgehogs
4.5 The Final Massacre
4.6 The Great War
4.7 Menschenjagers
4.8 MREs
4.9 PDWs
4.10 The Rain
4.11 Space Colonization Program
4.12 Warmongers
5. Additional resources
5.1 Haeleth
5.1.1 Haeleth forums
5.2 insani.org
5.2.1 insani.org forums
5.3 Megatokyo dating sims and visual novels forum
5.3.1 Megatokyo dating sims and visual novels forum FAQ
1. Basics
1.1 What is planetarian, anyway?
- planetarian is a Kinetic Novel produced by Key, and the first in the Kinetic Novel series. It is a piece of noninteractive fiction with pictures and music, all presented in an engine similar to that seen in Japanese visual novels or some American adventure-genre games.
- This is the home of our unofficial fan translation of both the Trial Edition (demo) and the Retail Edition (full version) of planetarian. Please do not ask us where you can download the full version for free; if you are looking to buy the full version of planetarian, then please head on over to our Get page for further instructions. Do keep in mind that you would be purchasing planetarian directly from Key, and that in order to play it in English, you would have to apply our 100% English patch (which can also be acquired from our Get page).
1.2 Is this a dating sim?
- Short answer: no.
- Long answer: in all honesty, the term "dating sim" is not exactly the best term to use, as a dating sim would, well, be a simulation of a date. While planetarian is a Kinetic Novel and not, in fact, a game, the genre of games to which it is closest is the so-called "visual novel" genre of games. These are most simply described as computer choose-your-own-adventure games with music, sound effects, and pictures. Most of them involve a single male protagonist and a crowd of pretty girls, which is why they are sometimes referred to as "bishoujo (pretty girl) games". In any case, planetarian is no game, as a game by definition is an interactive piece. Even visual novels themselves are only marginally interactive -- and planetarian is not interactive at all.
1.3 Is this an 18+ game?
- It's not a game, as per above.
- It has absolutely no 18+ material in it.
1.4 What is a Kinetic Novel?
- In brief, a Kinetic Novel is a short visual novel without any choices or user interaction.
- It is also the name of a group set up by the creators of Kinetic Novels to distribute their works. In fact, Kinetic Novels like planetarian can only be bought and downloaded from this group. If you are interested in them, you can visit them here (warning: site in Japanese).
1.5 Who or what is Key?
- Key (warning: site in Japanese) is a fairly famous visual novel company that is best known for its visual novels Kanon and Air. If you watch anime fansubs, you might be aware of the existence of a Kanon anime; this is an anime based on the storyline of the eponymous visual novel. Its most recent work, of course, is planetarian, and before that, Clannad.
1.5.1 Who is Yuuchi Suzumoto?
- The scenario writer for planetarian. He was also the scenario writer for several parts of Air.
1.5.2 Who is E-ji "CO2A" Komatsu?
- The art director and the mechanical design lead for planetarian. He was also the character designer for pieces such as Tristia of the Deep Blue Sea and Maburaho. Believe it or not, one of his signatures is that his female characters are rarely, if ever, wearing panties ... thus giving rise to the so-called "nopan" phenomenon.
1.5.3 What is RealLive?
- The name of the visual novel engine that powers planetarian and all other Kinetic Novels. It was most prominently used in Clannad, a visual novel by Key.
2. Mechanics
2.1 System requirements
- Required: Pentium II 300, 48MB RAM (128MB RAM if in Windows 2000 or XP), 200MB free disk space, DirectSound-compliant sound card, DirectX-compliant video card with the capability to display at least 800x600 @ 16-bit color.
- Recommended: Pentium II 600, 64MB RAM (256MB RAM if in Windows 2000 or XP)
- As you can see, the system specs are quite light. However, we would caution you that the RAM recommendations are a bit on the optimistic side, to say the least.
2.1.1 Japanese support
- Unlike many other Japanese games, planetarian does not necessarily require you to force your default ANSI codepage (= language for non-unicode programs) into Japanese. Nevertheless, if you are having problems getting planetarian to run, this should be your first move. If you do not know how to set your default ANSI codepage into Japanese, follow these instructions.
- If under Windows 2000 or XP you continue to have problems running the game -- specifically, if you can start the game but you find that it crashes after 3 lines or so, then you may need to install this font regardless of whether or not you have Japanese support installed. However, we should reiterate that setting your default ANSI codepage to Japanese will solve this problem just as well.
- We do not officially support anything below Windows 2000 EN; however, if you are using Windows 98 EN, and are having freezes upon starting the game, you may wish to try this.
- For free Japanese fonts, try out Konatu (warning: site in Japanese) or Mikachan (warning: site in Japanese).
2.2 How to install
- The following instructions are for the Trial Edition only -- we have a detailed purchase and setup guide for the Retail Edition available at the Get page, so if that's what you're interested in you should head there without delay.
- First, head over to our Get page, and download PlanetarianTrialSetup[insani].exe using a BitTorrent client.
- If you don't have a BitTorrent client, go here and grab one.
- After you've downloaded it, double-click on PlanetarianTrialSetup[insani].exe and follow the instructions.
- Congratulations! You've just finished installing planetarian Trial Edition on your computer.
2.3 Play mechanics
- Please refer to our manual -- which is also bundled with the trial edition package -- for more information on this matter.
2.4 How long is this, anyway?
- The trial edition takes about an hour to read through. The retail version takes anywhere between 4-5 hours.
2.5 How do I uninstall?
- There should be an "Uninstall" icon in your start menu, in the same folder where your shortcut to the planetarian trial edition is. Double-click on that and you'll be on your way.
- Alternatively, you may uninstall planetarian trial edition from your "Add/Remove Programs" dialog in your Control Panel.
- This same procedure works for our English patch of the Retail Edition. Doing so will restore your install of planetarian to its original Japanese state. Do not click on the "Uninstall" button present in the start menu of planetarian -- this uninstalls the Kinetic Novel itself. Uninstall our English patch (via the start menu or the control panel) first!
3. English localization
3.1 Is this an official translation?
- No.
- And there isn't likely to be one, either.
3.2 Are you making any money off of this?
- No.
- And if we tried, that would be a surefire way to draw the wrath of Key and Kinetic Novel.
3.3 Why are you doing this, then?
- Localizing (demos of) Japanese visual novels happens to be our hobby. We do it because it's an interesting challenge, mainly.
3.4 Will you translate game X or anime Y?
- No.
- If you have the time to ask such a ridiculous question of us, why don't you go ahead and learn Japanese yourself?
4. Mini-glossary
4.1 APCs
- Armored Personnel Carriers.
- Armored troop transports used to carry infantrymen into combat zones.
4.2 Carl Zeiss - Jena GmbH
- One of the oldest and most-respected companies in the field of traditional optics, founded in 1846, split into two parts in 1945 after the fall of Germany at the end of World War II, and re-integrated as one whole in the 1990's after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the eventual reunification of Germany. Carl Zeiss - Jena was the company that developed the first modern planetarium, in 1923. The "Zeiss-style" projectors used to power these planetaria were huge, bulky, and incredibly complex; they used two strobe spheres to project the fixed stars onto the dome. Later "Spitz-style" projectors were far less expensive, and only utilized one sphere.
- What is interesting is that when Germany was divided into East and West Germany after World War II, Carl Zeiss itself split into two parts -- Carl Zeiss - Oberkochen GmbH in West Germany and VEB Carl Zeiss - Jena in East Germany. The name Carl Zeiss - Jena GmbH was therefore only used before this split. In other words, the planetarium projector depicted in planetarian could have been installed no later than 1945 -- making it an incredibly old projector by anyone's standards.
- For more information on this fascinating company, one might start here; for a general historical overview of the evolution of planetarium projectors, one might start here.
4.3 Flechette guns
- Instead of firing traditional slugs or bullets, these guns fire myriad small steel arrow-like projectiles. These have the advantages of superior armor-piercing capability, lower weight, and lower bulk.
- The US army did do some field tests with prototype flechette guns, but as of now the guns are smooth-bore (meaning that they have little range and even less accuracy) and there were problems with ammunition jamming.
- In the world of planetarian, flechette guns are highly-accurate, long-ranged weapons; on top of that, flechette cartridges in this world are packed with high explosive that detonates upon penetration, making the flechettes that much more deadly.
4.4 Hedgehogs
- Unmanned, autonomous hunter-killer tanks. Staples of the Great War, these are light tanks purposed mainly with anti-personnel rather than anti-armor roles. Many of them still survive and continue to rove the fallen cities in search of prey.
- There exists a deadlier variant, the Hedgehog-B, which boasts improved stealth, far heavier armor, and heavier weaponry. There have been documented cases of a Hedgehog-B being pitted against an entire company of infantry and surviving the encounter largely intact.
4.5 The Final Massacre
- Little is known about this event other than the fact that it brought the Great War to an end.
4.6 The Great War
- World War III. Touched off by the total depletion of Earth's natural resources, explosive overpopulation, and the failure of the Space Colonization Program. Raged on for 20 years, ending with the Final Massacre. Killed off over 99.5% of the world's human population, and caused the Rain to fall.
- This was the first and last war waged on this Earth wherein autonomous mechanized units (such as Hedgehogs, Menschenjagers, and Warmongers) did the bulk of the fighting. This was also the first and last war that saw the widespread usage of advanced biochemical and nuclear armaments. And with the advent of the Rain, it would seem that this was the final war that humanity would ever perpetrate.
4.7 Menschenjagers
- German for "hunters of men".
- Light anti-personnel drones. Generally seen as an escort complement for Hedgehogs during the Great War. Now can be found roving around the ruined cities in search of prey.
- Despite having a "light" classification, Menschenjagers can only barely be taken down by small-arms fire (such as that from a PDW).
4.8 MREs
- Meals Ready to Eat.
- The primary field rations of the US Army, among others. In this day and age, an MRE can last several years before its contents go bad. However, in the world of planetarian, MREs apparently have shelf-lives of 30 years or longer.
4.9 PDWs
- Personal Defense Weapons.
- These were developed to bridge the gap between sidearms and full-on submachineguns or assault rifles. They generally use ammunition that has more in common with rifle rounds than pistol rounds, and they can generally sustain a high rate of fire. Furthermore, most of them have excellent armor-piercing capabilities. The reason behind their development was the realization that support, rear-guard personnel, and other personnel (such as pilots or drivers) might not have the space to be carrying a full assault rifle around.
- If you have watched the anime Gunslinger Girl, the unusual weapon that the character Henrietta favors is an FN P90 -- one of the first and certainly the most famous PDW in existence today. It weighs about 6 pounds fully loaded, can discharge 900 rounds per minute on full auto mode, and can pierce NATO CRISAT armor at 100-meter range.
- Other famous PDWs -- all with similar characteristics to the FN P90 -- include the H&K MP7A1 and the US Army's XM-8 (in certain configurations).
4.10 The Rain
- The Rain began falling ten years before the time of planetarian, shortly after the catastrophic end of the Great War. However, it was like no other rain that humanity had ever encountered -- for one thing, it has never stopped falling, not once in 10 years. For another, it corrupts and poisons everything it touches.
- While the horrors of the Great War were unable to do the human race in, the quiet threat that is the Rain now all but guarantees the annihilation of mankind.
4.11 Space Colonization Program
- The last, best hope of mankind. An ambitious program that would have seen humanity spreading its wings into the cosmos, searching ever onward for new planets to seed and populate.
- The incredible miscalculation of mankind. A program that failed entirely due to many factors, both political and socioeconomic.
- The doom of mankind. An incredible monument to human hubris that was one of the prime factors in the beginning of the Great War.
4.12 Warmongers
- Fully autonomous battle mechs manufactured in great numbers by all nations involved in the Great War. Many of the later battles in the War were fought solely using these mechs. Few, if any, of these gargantuan monsters of war survive today.
5. Additional resources
5.1 Haeleth
- Home of the ongoing fan translation of Kanon, a visual novel by Key. Peter "Haeleth" Jolly himself served as the lead programmer for our planetarian trial edition English localization project.
5.1.1 Haeleth forums
- In short: English-speaking Key fanboy central.
5.2 insani.org
- Our overarching project website.
- You may also find our other demo translations there.
5.2.1 insani.org forums
- Rather new, but we hope (?) people will use it.
5.3 Megatokyo dating sims and visual novels forum
- Home of a fairly comprehensive FAQ (listed below). Your mileage on this site may otherwise vary.
