Latest revision as of 07:42, 18 October 2022

Most commonly asked questions and their answers, search for keywords to find your issue quickly. These FAQs have been in large part taken from the Koikatsu Discord server. If your question isn't answered here or you can't seem to fix your issue, visit the #help channel on the server. Note that if you just want to get the game working it might be easiest to install HF Patch (search below for more info). Check the Koikatsu FAQ as well, since many of the answers also apply to KKS.

If you have found an answer to your question and it is missing from here, please consider adding it! You can do it by clicking on the "Edit" tab in the top right part of the page.

General FAQ

• Q : Where can I buy the game?
  A : You can buy The Japanese version at DMM\FanzaGames: https://dlsoft.dmm.co.jp/detail/illusion_0035/ (only base game) https://dlsoft.dmm.co.jp/detail/illusion_0038pack/ (base game + EX expansion) or at the Official Illusion Online Service: https://dlshop.illu-member.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=245 (only for customers in Japan). There's no information about an eventual western/Steam release, but one is likely sometime next year.
• Q : How do I buy/download the game from DMM?
  A : Check this guide: https://youtu.be/WLoY5WCqTSw
• Q : How do I install the game?
  A : Check this guide: http://wiki.anime-sharing.com/hgames/index.php?title=Koikatsu_Sunshine/Install_Guide.
• Q : How do I get/install the EX expansion?
  A : Check this guide: https://youtu.be/SJ9OXedO3qI You can buy just the expansion here: https://dlsoft.dmm.co.jp/detail/illusion_0036/
• Q : Where to download the latest updates, mods and translations?
  A : You can use HF patch here : https://github.com/ManlyMarco/KKS-HF_Patch/releases/latest (make sure you don't download the source code by mistake, follow the Download link around the center of the page). You'll need a torrent client to download torrent link. qbittorrent is an example of free and good ones, but you can use any other client. For Direct Download, you need to be a patron.
  If you want to find latest mods not yet included in the patch, check the mod release channel on the Koikatsu discord server.
• Q : What is HF Patch?
  A : HF patch is install wizard, helps to ease you to install translations and mandatory mods and also can attempt to fix broken installs. Check the readme for more info: https://github.com/ManlyMarco/KKS-HF_Patch
• Q : What versions of Windows will Koikatsu run on?
  A : Koikatsu will only run on 64 bit versions of Windows 7 and above due to the use of DirectX 11 graphics API. If you have a 64-bit processor but are running the 32-bit version of Windows, you will need to switch to 64-bit Windows.
• Q : Do I have to use a locale emulator or change my system locale?
  A : You don't have to do anything with system locale to run the game (might only apply to modded games). You might need to use a locale emulator or change system locale to install/extract the Japanese release and updates, however.
• Q : What engine does Koikatu run on?
  A : Koikatu uses Unity 3D game engine v2019.4.9 (instead of Illusion's depreciated Yayoi engine). Check properties of the .exe file or read the log file for the exact engine version.
• Q : How to change the game resolution or make the game full-screen?
  A : Open up the launcher (Initial Settings.exe or InitSetting.exe), there should be a dropdown to change your resolution and an option to run in full-screen. You can also toggle full-screen in-game by pressing Alt+Enter (might only apply to modded games).
• Q : Can I run lower than 1280x720 for full-screen?
  A : Yes, as long as your Graphics Card supports widescreen with a lower resolution (e.g. 640x400) however you might need to manually edit setup.xml file located under the UserData folder in your game directory, otherwise you will have to opt into windowed mode. To Enable windowed mode, uncheck the box just below the resolution dropdown
• Q : Where do I go for more comprehensive help?
  A : If this FAQ has not provided you with the tools or information to help you help yourself and you have exhausted absolutely all your options, please feel free to bring your problems to #help channel on the Koikatsu Discord server. Have your output_log.txt file ready (it's in the game root if your game has recent mods, or in /Koikatu_Data/output_log.txt, if you have some technical knowledge you might be able to use to to get a clue what your problem is). There are also many guides available on the server in the #guides channel on the server for many parts of the game, mods and modding.

Issues installing and starting the game

• Q : My game is broken/won't run, what do I do?
  A : Try installing HF Patch, if that doesn't help ask in #help on the Discord server.
• Q : When installing the game I get a cab/corruption error?
  A : Move the installation files to a simple directory like "D:\setup\" and run the .msi file.
• Q : I am trying to install the HF patch, but I have a .zip file with a bunch of small files and folders inside. Which of them do I use?
  A : None of them. You may have downloaded the source files from GitHub instead of the compiled patch. HF Patch is an executable (.exe + a few .bin files) and can be found by following the link on this page here: https://github.com/ManlyMarco/KK-HF_Patch/releases
• Q : My game won't start, and I use Citrix software?
  A : Citrix can crash the game on startup, check this for a fix: https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/1743358239830363122/
• Q : My game hangs on start after installing mods!
  A : Wait for a while, first start after installing mods can take a long time, especially if the game is installed to a slow HDD. If you want to see loading progress you can turn on system console in the BepInEx/config/BepInEx.cfg file.
• Q : My maker starts very slowly!
  A : Normally it varies between PC specs too, can took around 40-50 secs for average PC. Make sure you run the latest BepInEx and plugins, also check if you don't have too many cards in the root of character folders as it is also has impact in maker load times. You can put them in subfolders instead and use the browser folders plugin found here : https://github.com/ManlyMarco/KK_BrowserFolders/releases . Putting the game on SSD will also help to cut the load time a bit.
• Q : Mods/translations aren't loading!
  A : Try moving the game to a simple directory like "D:\Games\KK", special characters in the game path or very long paths can cause issues.
• Q : The game won't launch with WINE on Linux, what do I do?
  A : Try running KoikatsuSunshine.exe directly.
• Q : The game runs in WINE, but no mods/translations will load. How do I fix it?
  A : Run 'winecfg' in a terminal. Select the Libraries tab. Under "New override for library:" type or select "winhttp (native,bulitin)". Add it, and hit Apply & OK.
• Q : Gray boxes are missing text/are empty when the game is run with WINE, how do I fix it?
  A : Run 'winetricks corefonts' in a terminal. You need to have winetricks installed.

Main game / Character maker FAQS

• Q : Are there any official manuals?
  A : To check thein game manual, press F5. It covers a lot of the gameplay. There is also a separate manual inside your game directory, you can open it through the game launcher.
• Q : How do I save the game?
  A : You can save the game in your room, or from the middle-click menu on the right when walking around.
• Q : How do I end the day quickly?
  A : Press Middle mouse Button and chose the option to go to your room, or progress time in top right corner.
• Q : What are Character cards?
  A : Character cards are special images in the format .png that contains data from the character to be loaded in the game. With this system you can pick up character from internet and load on your game and vice versa. Put cards in the appropriate UserData folder. Note: Be sure to download the original card image file, not a miniature or a photo of a card, otherwise it will not work!
• Q : Where do I place character cards?
  A : \Userdata\Chara\male or female
• Q : Do Koikatsu cards work on Koikatsu Sunshine?
  A : Koikatsu cards can be converted into Koikatsu Sunshine cards. When you place a Koikatsu card on "UserData\chara\female" it will be converted into a Sunshine card in the next time you open the game. WARNING: The other way around does NOT work, that is, Sunshine cards does NOT work on the old Koikatsu game. Also cards with mods may have issues.
• Q : Where can I get more girls cards?
  A : Other than the built-in network share feature there are many sites that share cards. Here's a brief list:
  • #card-sharing channel on the Koikatsu Discord server
  • In-game network option (only works for unmodded games, your IP needs to be located in Japan)
  • https://db.bepis.moe/koikatsu
  • https://kenzato.uk/booru/category/KK
  • https://illusioncards.booru.org/index.php?page=post&s=list&tags=koikatsu
  • https://yuki-portal.com/uploader/koikatusunshine/ (Japanese)
  • WARNING: These sites have cards for lots of games, be sure to download for Koikatsu or Koikatsu Sunshine! (EmotionCreators cards won't work)
• Q : Why I can't connect to the servers to check out/download characters through ingame menus?
  A : The official server blocks non JP ips. There was a mirror server for westerners, but it's been down for months now, most likely forever.
• Q : My maker starts very slowly!
  A : Normally it varies between PC specs too, can took around 40-50 secs for average PC. Make sure you run the latest BepInEx, BepisPlugins and IllusionFixes. Also check if you don't have too many cards in the root of character folders as it is also can impact maker load times. Putting the game on SSD will also help to cut the load time a bit.
• Q : The card I downloaded isn't loaded correctly?
  A : This usually means you don't have the correct mods for the card, it's hard to determine which mods the creator use so to save your time you can download either latest HF Patch (link above). Alternatively, you can manually update modpacks from game launcher > Update (assuming your game is already modded). If after updating the card still does not load correctly it might have been made in old version of the game or with conflicting hardmods. In either case you will most likely need to fix the card yourself in character maker.
• Q : How do I take a screenshot?
  A : Take a screenshot with background by using F9, and a transparent background shot with F11. To change the settings for better screenshots and see more features search for "Screenshot" in Plugin settings window (press F1). Screenshots are by default created inside \Userdata\cap
• Q : My card/scene isn't loading, what should I do?
  A : You might have a thumbnail of the card with the character info stripped out. This can happen when posting the card on some websites and on Discord - make sure that you download the original png file (on discord click the "Open Original" button). Check if the card/scene you are using is a .png and about the same size as the cards/scenes you have that do load (if not, it might be missing the character data). If it has a logo, it is most likely a screenshot. Make sure you have your game updated to the latest version too.
• Q : The card I downloaded isn't loaded correctly?
  A : This usually means you don't have the correct mods for the card, it's hard to determine which mods the creator use so to save your time you can download either latest HF Patch (link above). Alternatively, you can manually install the Sideloader Modpack through KKManager (refer to Modding FAQs below for more info for installing mods manually). If after updating the card still does not load correctly it might have been made in old version of the game or with conflicting hardmods. In either case you will most likely need to fix the card yourself in character maker.

• Q : The game breaks when going to different maps or characters are in fast forward
  A : You need to install IllusionFixes (specifically the CultureFix). Saves made without the fix will have corrupted character data, so after installing the fix you will have to start a new game or remove all girls and re-add them.
• Q : Why I can't connect to the servers to check out/download characters through ingame menus?
  A : The official server blocks non Japanese IPs. There was a mirror server for westerners, but it's been down for months now, most likely forever.
• Q : My character's skirt is acting weird in character maker (boxy/sticking out corners)! Is this normal?
  A : Skirt issues can happen when you set your character hips slider too thin, (usually below 0), you need to test to see what the exact limit is (or wear pants instead). Skirt issues can also be caused by outdated BetterPenetration, make sure you are using the latest version.
• Q : My character's skirt is vibrating rapidly?
  A : You can fix this by turning off vsync and limiting your FPS to 60.
• Q : How can I change the height of my male character?
  A : There is no way to change the male height without using the ABMX plugin, but be advised that changing male height commonly leads to breaking certain animations.
• Q : My game crashes every time this cutscene finishes/at the same point at the start of the day!
  A : Certain badly configured mods don't handle loading into cutscenes properly and will crash the game. Get latest version of IllusionFixes to fix this.
• Q : My game freezes whenever I add certain girls to my class. What's causing it?
  A : This is probably caused by the girls using a modded personality. These modded personalities can only be used in Free H, and will break the story mode. Get latest version of IllusionFixes to fix this.
• Q : My menu UI is messed up, what do I do?
  A : Your UI translation might be outdated. get the latest HF Patch to fix it automatically. Check if your game resolution / window size is in 16:9 aspect ratio.
• Q : Why is the translation so poor? / Why did the translation get so bad all of a sudden?
  A : The vast majority of the translation is done automatically through machine translations, rather than a human. If you don't use a translation pack then you will get even worse translations since a worse machine translation service will be used. Get the latest HF Patch to make sure you have the latest translations.

• Q : How do I access 3P?
  A : Both girls must be in lewd state or higher. Begin H with one girl while the other is in the same room. The option will appear in the bottom left. Alternatively, you can find two girls engaged in lesbian sex and ask to join in.
• Q : I kept H her but I don't see her sex state changing from Unfamiliar/Inexperienced state?
  A : Max out all her sensitive parts (chest, nipple, pussy teasing, vagina-piston, butt, anal teasing, anal-piston, service), she will instantly become a nympho. Familiar state is used when she is not horny (H<100) otherwise she went nympho.
• Q : Duh! I accidentally made my waifu refuse anal on creation and after I do a lot of grinding with her without knowing. Will she give up soon?
  A : Don't worry, friend. Max out her other things beside anal teasing and anal penetration, after 1-2 periods or the next day, she'll let you do her anal play. But before you can penetrate her anal, you must max out anal teasing first. That way you will able to create your nympho waifu (who refuses anal play at first). Visit H Guide section.
  Additional note: even if at first anal is not available, later on it will become selectable for caressing. After a few more H sessions it will become possible to insert as well.
• Q : How to grind fast for her sensitive parts?
  A : Look for Special H locations (library, pool, rooftop) you can get her addicted fast without having her exhausted for each school period. Having her cum outside the special H locations counted as a total (4 cums in total), she will be exhausted and no longer feel horny in having "intimate relationship" thus receiving less exp on maxing the circles. You will still need to normally H her to grind for anal-piston, cumming together inside anal twice increase the anal-piston by 45%. With Afterschool update you can increase H exp gains at the bottom of the settings.
• Q : How to get quickly around the map? (e.g. avoiding horny girls)
  A : Press F3 to instantly access any locations. You can disable girls bothering you with options at the bottom of the settings.
• Q : If I change her chest size (or butt, or fatness.., or height) while she's already in my class, will the dialogue change if she asks for her size?
  A : Yes! It will change. Make sure to answer accordingly (I like it big for big chest.. etc.) Cherish! Banzai!

• Q : How to get a scene when they are having showers or taking a pee or masturbating?
  A : The easiest way is to follow her. Girls will masturbate alone when they are feeling horny (H<100). Three types of masturbation, they can masturbate using the corner of a table, standing masturbation, and sitting masturbation. (What a lovely sight to behold upon!) More students = more chances to encounter them to do the manly tradition of peeking at girls.
• Q : How to make her do H with me in the morning?
  A : (Unverified!) First house visit is always a memo, second house visit she takes a shower, third house visit she wakes up with you, fourth house visit - you get what you want.
• Q : How to get the Yuri Scene? Girls go at it?
  A : Much like masturbation, the girl needs to be horny (100% H) and one of them should have "I like Girls" trait for the scene to trigger. Follow the girl, if she enters a room, and another girl comes in, the yuri scene will be triggered. Some girls are going to be embarrassed when found out, so use that handy new update sneak button. (default is CTRL) Good luck.
• Q : Some of the clothes, accessories and hair don't appear in the game world, but they are there during one-on-one conversations and during h-scenes?
  A : Make sure to enable showing of all accessories in game settings. If that doesn't help, try turning on high poly mode in plugin settings (needs the ForceHighPoly plugin). This can also be affected by async clothes loading and clothes persistence settings, try turning them off if the previous doesn't help. After changing any of these setting you have to restart the game to see the effects.

Uncensor FAQs

• Q : How do I uncensor the game?
  A : Download UncensorSelector from https://github.com/DeathWeasel1337/KK_Plugins#readme and make sure to carefully read the instructions. Once it's installed, you can select individual uncensors on a per-character basis in the character maker body tab, or select an uncensor (or random uncensor) for all characters to use in the F1 plugin settings. This is the best uncensor because you can choose the genitals as it fits to each character compared to the classic way to uncensor, which you need to choose one from some selections and be satisfied with it. For best results, install the BetterPenetration plugin as well to get dynamic uncensors with better animations. You can get the latest uncensor pack from KKManager updater (BetterPenetration uses separate uncensors that are bundled with the plugin).
• Q : What are my options for uncensoring only one gender, or both at once? (Without Uncensor Selector)
  A : A number of single gender uncensors are available for both genders, as well as a few that uncensor both at the same time. You cannot mix hardmod uncensors, but some sideloader uncensors are compatible with uncensors of the opposite gender. For instance, you can use the KK_LO pussy uncensor with the "whatsadick" dick uncensor, assuming both are sideloader.
• Q : Is it possible to make the dick match the body colour?
  A : Yes, UncensorSelector will automatically match body color of all parts.
• Q : Why does the dick stretch so strangely during animations?
  A : Due to the way Illusion programmed the game, they didn't plan for it to ever be uncensored, so the underlying animations look weird when the censor is removed. The BetterPenetration plugin fixes this issue.
• Q : How to make a Futa?
  A : UncensorSelector allows you to select a female body for the male character in the character maker body tab or select a dick for a female character.

Modding FAQs

• Q : What does plugin x do? Where can I download it?
  A : Look here: https://github.com/Frostation/KK-Plugins-Compendium/
• Q : What is KKManager?
  A : KKManager is a card, plugin and mod manager. It includes an automatic zipmod updater that downloads latest Sideloader Modpacks (clothing/accessories/textures/items/maps/animations/uncensors) into your "mods" folder within your main game directory.
• Q : How do I update my mods with KKManager?
  A : If you have a custom game launcher, click the Update button. Otherwise open KKManager and click Update in the top menu.
• Q : Where do I place zips and zipmods? How are they different from hard mods?
  A : Zipmods, or any zip with a manifest.xml in it, are specifically for the use of the Sideloader, and belong in a mods folder in the game directory. Please create a mods folder if not already present, and do not extract zipmods unless you know what you are doing! If you have a zip file, check if it has a manifest.xml file inside of it, if it doesn't then it is not a zipmod and does not go inside the mods folder!
• Q : Where do I place plugins / dll files?
  A : Most plugins are made for BepInEx 5.x and go inside the BepInEx\plugins folder in your game directory. If you don't have it, you have to install BepInEx and BepisPlugins first.
  Some plugins (mostly from Japanese makers) might be made for IPA - an obsoleted mod launcher - they are most likely for KK and will not work in KKS at all. Usually the download page will mention if a plugin is for IPA, otherwise it's most likely a normal BepInEx plugin.
  Some old plugins might be made for BepInEx 4.x - they are most likely for KK and will not work in KKS at all.
• Q : Are there any recommended plugins? Where do I get this useful plugin?
  A : Check the mod release channels on the Koikatsu discord server. At the moment, it's recommend to get mandatory core plugins that basically everyone uses to be able to load shared characters and scenes, which is : BepisPlugins, IllusionFixes, KKAPI (framework for modded UI), KKABMX, KSOX, MoreAccessories, KK_GUID_Migration, and KKPE. You can automatically install all of the recommended plugins and mods by getting HF Patch, which is recommended for beginners over manually installing separate mods.
• Q : Where do I put Overlays?
  A : You don't need to put them anywhere specific (as long as they aren't in a .zip/rar etc). When you press load overlay, it will open a Windows Explorer window and you can navigate to the file yourself. Then, the overlay gets saved to the card data, so you don't need to keep a copy of the overlay after saving (unless you want to reuse it).
• Q : Is there a way to load male character on female maker or vice versa?
  A : You can use the Drag and Drop plugin. Drag a Male card from your windows explorer and drop it into the game while female maker is running, windowed mode recommended. The reverse is just the same process.
• Q : Where do I find a POV mod?
  A : Get RealPOV from https://github.com/IllusionMods/KeelPlugins.

Studio FAQs

• Q : What is Studio/CharaStudio?
  A : Studio/CharaStudio is a separated application from the main game that let you create a totally unrelated scene and get screenshot that you can't achieve in main games. You can pose your characters, create gundams, or whatever limited only to your imagination (and the game engine). Screenshot functionality is the same as the main game.
• Q : Where do I place scenes?
  A : Koikatsu\Userdata\Studio\scene
• Q : My downloaded scene doesn't load?
  A : Read answer above about character cards not loading, it's the same deal.
• Q : Can I replace a character in scene with my character?
  A : Yes, Choose the character you want to replace on the Work window on the right, and then choose the character you want as replacement on Add>Girl or Boy, and click Change Character
• Q : How do I make character dance/moving?
  A : You can load a stock animation provided with the game by selecting the character first, go to Anim>Animations, and select one of them.
• Q : How do I create custom poses?
  A : Choose the character first, and then you can turn on one of the two methods available on Anim>Kinematics>Forward Kinematic (FK) or Inverse Kinematics (IK). You'll see adjustable bone point and start working from there. IK is easier to control, but FK can get a better detailed result. you can work on both of them by using the Copy to FK/IK menu. You can instantly copy poses from current animation loaded with Animation Reference menu.
• Q : The scenes only contains items? Can I add that to my current scene?
  A : Use Import Button menu instead of Load while loading scenes. It will add all object of chosen scene to the current work.
• Q : The initial graphic of Studio is bad!
  A : This is because the default of the Studio setting somehow turned shadow density to 0. you can change it from System>Scene Effects>Shadow Density and see the difference immediately. There's alot of thing to tweak there too! Experiment with it for best results.
• Q : The scenes I loaded is static!
  A : Most of them are, main studio purpose is to take screenshot. Only a few scenes are animated and it will need a lot more advanced skills to create one.
• Q : Is there any way to get characters out of scenes?
  A : You can use the Character export plugin or the MakerBridge plugin to extract them.