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Android (+iOS) Sundays: Play ANY VN on your Android/iOS Devices (!)

Over the last few weeks I’ve been writing about how to play amazing visual novels on your Android devices.  The list includes Fate/Stay Night, Ever17, Tsukihime, and a general guide to VNDS.

So far, I’ve focused exclusively on running these games in the VNDS App which is obtainable on the Google Play store.  As has been noted, VNDS certainly has limitations (a recent bug in the converter made  a few routes in the Never 7 game unplayable).   Today is the day we break the VNDS streak, and I introduce you to an amazing way to play ANY VN from your Android and iOS devices.

Behold: Splashtop 2 (Google Play) (iTunes – iPad, iPhone)    Splashtop 2 is a FREE app that streams your desktop computer’s video output to your iPad, Android tablet, or phone.  So, what does that mean for VN gaming?

It means I played Rewrite on my iPad, and Fate/Stay Night on my Nexus 7 last night.  And, by the way, the video was perfect, the audio didn’t lag, and I was a happy, happy man.

Working the App

You’re a smart person, so I wont beat you over the head with tutorials (if you do have specific questions, you’ll be able to get support on the developer’s website) .  There are, however,  a few things you’ll need to understand to make this program work:

Necessary Software:

  • The App Itself.  Android =Google Play / iOS=  iPadiPhone
  • The Desktop Client.  You’ll need to install the desktop client for your PC or Mac.  (Link – See “Step 2 – Download Streamer” near the top of the page)  Make sure to check around the desktop client’s settings to set things up as you like/they recommend.  (I’m security-conscious, so I password-ed everything)

Limitations on Usage

  • The app works for FREE when your tablet/phone/device and your PC desktop (or Mac) are on the same wireless network
  • When you’re away from home, you CAN use 3G/4G/other wireless to access your PC, but you need to subscribe to a service (in-app purchase, recurring) to do so
  • ***NOTE!***  In-Game, sometimes the clicking/double clicking doesn’t work on menus.  This is an issue with the game programming.  All you need to do is (1) Move your mouse over the menu item you want to choose, (2) Pull up the keyboard by pressing the keyboard button on the bottom-right of the screen (see my screenshot above), and (3) Press the enter or return key a couple of times.   This will register with the game, and you’ll be able to start/load/save.   Note:  In the actual game itself, just tapping the game window will progress the story dialogue, just as you’d hope. Awesome!

If it’s working slowly for you, the problem is either your PC (see minimum specs), or your wireless router.

 

So! Isn’t that awesome?  Yes, the VNDS (and other, future options I’ll write about soon) may be better for games-on-the-go since you need (1) a wifi/3G/4G/etc. data connection to stream your PC, and (2) a subscription if you want to stream away from home, but, at the same time, if you’re just relaxing at home and want to pull up a VN in bed, this is a great option for  you.

Enjoy the games!  (and get more on Fuwanovel.org!)

 

Tay is a big fan of Fuwanovel and Visual Novels in general.  If you have any feedback/comments for him, you can always comment on a blog article, find him in the Fuwanovel forums, or catch him on twitter: @ArchmageTay

Tay

I'm the Fuwanovel community admin and a big fan of Visual Novels. The easiest way to get a hold of me is via a PM on the Fuwanovel Forums, by twitter (@ArchmageTay), or by email.

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Dashi
11 years ago

Anyone tested with a vpn ?

Ryachu
11 years ago

Simply using this on my home network, I was impressed. Playing Ever 17 on my iPad Mini was easy and there was no lag. Clear video, audio was correct, controls were simple. Thanks for sharing, this is great.

John117
11 years ago

. . . . . y bother playing with the ipad or android if you can just use the laptop. streaming it for the cpu is just a pain.

joyjason
Reply to  John117
11 years ago

Because sometimes, taking your laptop is a bit too much more effort, like going to the bathroom in your dorms.

Thank you for this, Aaeru! I will DEFINITELY utilize this to the maximum.

Tay
Tay
Reply to  John117
11 years ago

Hi John, I’m Tay — the guy who wrote this post. The fact is: not everybody has a laptop. I don’t, for one, and many people simply can’t afford one on top of other gadgets. For those of us who use tablets (or phones), this makes sense, is free, and works well.

Pat
Pat
Reply to  Tay
7 years ago

It’s pointless for those that don’t have a computer in the first place. Some people probably clicked this hoping to find a way to be able to do so and wound up with a waste of time.

Apple
Apple
Reply to  Pat
7 years ago

He never said you won’t need a desktop, don’t be rude just because it wasn’t useful for you

nono
Reply to  John117
11 years ago

“Why bother having more options? Surely everyone has access to everything I have!” I hate ignorant comments like these.

nono
Reply to  John117
11 years ago

I’ve tried this when I found out about Splashtop about 6 months ago and the setup was a bit unintuitive for me to use regularly. For use at home, I’ve just opted to read VNs on my bed from my TV but I’m still waiting(fingers crossed) for a better solution in the future.

KnightBaron
11 years ago

This is actually how I read Hoshizora no Memoria and Little Busters!

mojava
Reply to  KnightBaron
11 years ago

I’m testing this with Hoshizora no Memoria right now. Brilliant solution, although not flawless. There’s some stuttering sound in between, even though the 811n-router is close by. Not VN-specific so I’ll be looking into that some more.

I’m curious whether you managed to get story-progression-by-tapping to work in HnM? I’ve found that I have to use the special keyboard down-arrow to advance the text. That’s with Google Nexus 7 BTW.

mojavan
Reply to  KnightBaron
11 years ago

Same thing with Samsung Galaxy S3 4G – setup and hooking up with the desktop works beautifully. No trouble interacting with Win7, everything works as anticipated.

But trying to advance text in Hoshizora no Memoria? Grrrrrrr. The only viable option I’ve found is showing the onscreen keyboard, picking “more” at the top to reveal the arrow-keys and then progressing with down-arrow. Although tedious, this worked on the Nexus 7 since you could at least hide the QWERTY-keyboard from the screen and just keep the arrow-keys/top bar.

From what I can see hiding the spacious onscreen-keyboard while keeping the arrow-keys on screen doesn’t work on the Samsung Galaxy S3. Here its all or nothing. Which means you have about 1/3 of the screen left for the actual VN… *sigh*

Now if tapping the screen to advance the story only worked there would be a whole less frustration over here for sure. >_>

Right now tapping to register a left button mouse-press works about 1/10th of the attempts. Which means that the reliable way to Quicksave etc is to point at the accoring icon, bring up the onscreen keyboard, and then hit Enter a few times until Splashtop (or the game?) finally registers the intention and proceeds as expected.

Anyone have an idea on how to get that working better…?

mojavan
Reply to  KnightBaron
11 years ago

Hrmpf. Managed to find a way to register a regular left mousebutton after some practise.

1. Tap and release quickly.
2. Immidiately touch again and swipe downwards.

seorang
11 years ago

Incredible find, thanks for the info! Working flawlessly with my android tablet.

x4gottenx
11 years ago

how’s this app compared to teamviewer

x4gottenx
11 years ago

nvm, i can see it’s much better

Jun
Jun
11 years ago

Very impressed, commenting remotely as we speak lol.

trackback
11 years ago

[…] Source: VisualNovelAer […]

Lolo
10 years ago

2X Clienr RDP is free, has all of what this app does and is compatible with most visual novels, I tested it myself. It also has sound support for free guys :).

Jimmy
10 years ago

Anybody know, what is the game’s name in this article picture? Please comment if you know..

The Last Melody
Reply to  Jimmy
10 years ago

ReWrite by KEY. It’s great!

Jr
Jr
10 years ago

Does the computer have to be on for this kind of stuff? I mean after you set everything up can you just walk into your house, go on the app and play without the touching the computer

Nope
Reply to  Jr
10 years ago

Jr – Yes, your computer has to be on for streaming. Your computer is the one doing most of the work; the app is just grabbing the visuals and sound and basically projecting it onto your tablet.

A guy
A guy
9 years ago

No point doing this, streaming VNs directly from your laptop screen is just a waste of time. Like it doesn’t supports long-range streaming and all you do is playing a VN using your computer and you’re just controlling the computer in close range. Was expecting something more like KiriKiroid2.

pie
pie
9 years ago

But if all you got is a phone, with no computer, what then?

Milly
Milly
7 years ago

Heya, I know this is an old article, but I seem to have issues playing Rewrite when trying to use Splashtop, and this isn’t the only game I’ve had trouble with. For some reason, sometimes it doesn’t acknowledge that I’m left clicking in the game. Sometimes I have to hold down the left click button in splashtop so that it stays indented, then click it again to make it stop. There are other times where left click, enter, and other buttons simply don’t register. Have you come across these issues? If so, is there any sort of fix?