View source for Emotion Creators/Install Guide

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This page covers the installation of Emotion Creators and its official updates. These updates may be referred to as downloadable contents (DLCs) or just updates interchangeably. Installation of mods or unofficial updates are not covered by this guide. Please note that these instructions assume you are running Windows 7 64-bit or later with US English (en_us) set as the locale format.

Before installing anything, make sure you have at least 8.8 GB of free space for the base game and 1.4 GB of free space for the updates. Install the [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35 DirectX End-User Runtime] and [https://www.microsoft.com/en-sg/download/details.aspx?id=22 .NET Framework 3.5 SP1] as well, since the game may encounter errors or not even run if they are not installed.

If you intend to install all updates, make sure you have at least 10 GB of free space.
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==Installing the game==
Two versions of Emotion Creators exist: DVD (physical media) and DL (digital media). The DVD version is a box with a DVD-ROM containing the installer and its files. The DL version is a download link hosted by DMM that leads to several self-extracting executables containing the installer and its files. They do not have the same installation steps, although they are somewhat similar. Follow the steps below that matches your version.
===DL version===
Extract the files in the '''illusion_0029.part*.exe''' self-extracting executables to a newly created or existing folder located in the root directory of any storage drive, for example '''C:\ecsetup''' or '''D:\ecsetup'''. As a precaution, the folder's name must not contain non-ASCII characters and spaces to prevent any possible errors.

Afterwards, run '''ILLUSION エモーション・クリエイターズ.msi''' and keep clicking (N) until the installer prompts for the game's installation path. It is strongly recommended to use the default installation path. If a different installation path is required, make sure the installation path does not contain non-ASCII characters and spaces or goes through folders that have special access permissions.
===DVD version===
Insert the '''ILN111''' DVD-ROM into an optical drive capable of reading single-layer DVD-ROMs, then run the installer when prompted by AutoPlay. If you have the digital copy of the '''ILN111''' DVD-ROM as an .iso file but don't have an optical drive or a DVD-R to burn it on, you must use the mount option to mount the .iso file. Please note that you require at least 2.72 GB of free space for the virtual DVD-ROM to mount successfully.

Afterwards, keep clicking (N) until the installer prompts for the game's installation path. It is strongly recommended to use the default installation path. If a different installation path is required, make sure the installation path does not contain non-ASCII characters and spaces or goes through folders that have special access permissions.
==Installing updates==
The game's updates are stored in CubeICE self-extracting executables that may not function or extract correctly on Windows systems with a non-Japanese locale format set. To fix this problem, file archivers such as [https://www.7-zip.org/ 7-Zip] or [https://www.win-rar.com/start.html?&L=0 WinRAR] can be used to extract the updates manually by opening the .exe files like a .zip file. This can be done by renaming the .exe to a .zip or opening the archive via the context menu option.

When the update is opened with 7-Zip or WinRAR, there will be a folder in Japanese which must be accessed. Once accessed, there will be either multiple folders in Japanese or a single setup folder with other non-essential files present.
===With a single setup folder in the update ===
Access the folder and extract the setup folder's files (not the setup folder itself) to the game's root directory. For example, if the game is located in '''C:\EmotionCreators''', the correct operation would be to extract everything in the setup folder to '''C:\EmotionCreators'''. Allow any overwrite/replace operations if prompted.
===With multiple setup folders in the update ===
Access the folder and extract the setup folder's files (not the setup folder itself) to the game's root directory. For example, if the game is located in '''C:\EmotionCreators''', the correct operation would be to extract everything in the setup folder to '''C:\EmotionCreators'''. Allow any overwrite/replace operations if prompted. Repeat the steps above for the other folder in Japanese.

If a '''koikatsu''' folder is present, ignore it and only extract the files meant for Emotion Creators in the '''emotioncreators''' folder. Content for Koikatsu will not work in Emotion Creators as they do not use the same version of the Unity game engine; installing them will only result in shader errors and a pink model with no textures.
===Update installation order===
It is strongly recommended to install the updates in chronological order to prevent errors, except for the Darkness DLC due to the 1st edition's late bug fix. The Darkness DLC has to be installed from the 1st, 2nd, and then to the 3rd edition. Shown below is the update list, starting from the top (oldest update) to the bottom (latest update). Please note that all updates are cumulative, which means they contain the data of older updates. This means older updates can be skipped.

The pre-order bonus updates can be skipped as they are not required by newer updates to function properly. All updates can be skipped as well if you don't want to update the base game, as they are not required for the main game to function.

# (04/12/19) emocre_sexy_souki.exe - Pre-order bonus, micro bikini and sexy sweater outfit (Compatible with Koikatsu)
# (05/08/19) emocre_yoyaku.exe - Pre-order bonus, Chinese dress outfit (Compatible with Koikatsu; adds all Emotion Creators-specific outfits, hair styles, and accessories to Koikatsu)
# (07/11/19) emocre_dkn_01f.exe - Pre-order bonus, Darkness DLC 1st edition (Compatible with Koikatsu)
# (06/04/19) emocre_dkn_02mo.exe - Pre-order bonus, Darkness DLC 2nd edition (Compatible with Koikatsu)
# (06/20/19) emocre_dkn_03pu.exe - Pre-order bonus, Darkness DLC 3rd edition (Compatible with Koikatsu)
# (07/22/19) emocre_01_plus_oh0705drd_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0705

Older updates shown below should be skipped since their data is already included in the newest update.
# (04/25/19) emocre_01_plus_fs0426.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set'
# (05/10/19) emocre_01_plus_fs0510gd_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0510
# (05/16/19) emocre_01_plus_ss0517sxw_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0517
# (05/23/19) emocre_01_plus_pd0524fgr_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0524
# (05/28/19) emocre_01_plus_pd0528agr_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0528
# (06/06/19) emocre_01_plus_sx0606bgt_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0606
# (06/17/19) emocre_01_plus_rd0617cvf_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0617
# (07/05/19) emocre_01_plus_oh0705drg_all.exe - Additional data 'fantasy set' + bug fixes 0705

If all updates are installed correctly, the game should display '''Ver 1.1.7''' at the bottom right corner of the screen. Keep in mind that this only serves as a rough visual indicator that proves the updates are correctly installed. Therefore, it is recommended to test the game's functions before creating a new scene or character.