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Step-by-step walkthrough guide on how to buy (and get freeee!) VIP credit for SFACG (with pictures!)

Table of Contents
(1) What is SFACG?
(2) The Purchasing Model
(3) Buying a chapter
(4) Disclaimer
(5) Daily sign-ins (to read VIP chapts for FREEEEEEEE YAY)


(1) What's SFACG?

It's one of the biggest ACG sites pertaining onto otaku (jpish) webnovels in CN, with events being hosted in CN yearly I recall.
(thanks to bloodya for both images)

Now, there may be some great novels on SFACG, but sometimes the chapters are locked behind a VIP list which you need to purchase chapters to buy. It's model work slightly differently from what you'd might think, and this way also applies to other sites as well, like hbooker / iqing. (:3


(2) The Purchasing Model

(1) You purchase,  for example, 10000 SF credits for USD$20.

(2) You click on a VIP chapter. The rate of SFACG now is 5 credit per every 1000 words, so if that current chapter (rounded down) is a 3k chapter, it will cost 15 credits.

(3) Which means that your 10000 SF credits will last you for a very, very long time indeed, as you're able to buy 666 chapters with it. (and all purchases of that chapter remain permanent with that account used)

As you can see, this chapter is 2033 characters lengthwise long, hence it will cost 5 x 2 = 10 SF credits (火卷).

About what 代卷 (temporary SF credits) is, lemme explain that all the way below later-on~

Now, how do you buy a chapter?


(3) Buying a chapter

(1) You need to have an account created in SFACG.

(2) Simply go to your passport account page, or just simply go to https://pay.sfacg.com/.
(this appears)

(3) Now, you'd want to click on 海外充值 on the left hand side of the menu. (It translates to: Overseas topping up).

There are other means like using QQ messenger / Alipay purchasing, but these process of doing those are tedious, hence I'm just addressing the easiest: Paypal.
(4) Now, the exchange rate is: 1 US dollar = 500 SF credits (火卷). And like what I've mentioned before, for every 1000 words, they charge 5 SF credits.

What you're able to purchase is either in $10 or $20 USD amounts, and to respectively get 5000 / 10000 SF credits accordingly.

So, once you clicked on 下一步, (which means "next"), you'll have a new tab opening up, a paypal payment page.
Simply complete the payment, then go back to previous tab earlier. This will be displayed.
What the black dialog box is asking whether is your transaction is completed or not, so just click on 已经完成 (TL: already done) if it's successful. If there's a problem with payment, the other option, 遇到问题 is for yer! (TL: Met onto a problem)

(5) With your newly assigned SF credits, enjoy yer VIP novels! 


Disclaimer: I ain't paid by SFACG to do this! (but I could be...wink wink to sfacg, now pay me!!!)

I was asked in discord on how to do this (for mtl reasons), but then I thought on, what if others would want to do this as well? And I'm pretty good at writing guides too, I think.....

So now y'all can buy vip chapts around sfacg for all the good novels around, and mtl them >:3 to read -evil dance-


(5) Daily sign-ins

What are daily sign-ins?

Free access to VIP chapters, that's what!

Now, I know that some people can't afford to buy chapters. Which is why there's such thing as a "free" way to read VIP chapts on SFACG! (I'm not too sure on other sites like hbooker/ iqing though)

Basically, what you need to do is to.........

(1) Have an account registered with SFACG.

(2) Go to your own account page and click on the 签到 (Sign-in) options, or just simply go to http://book.sfacg.com/signin/.

(3) Just click on "签到领取代券", which is at the top left upper corner of the page. (TL: Sign-in to obtain temp SF credits)

(4) Notice the calendar style of page. This means that every day, you can do a 'sign-in' once, and this resets daily on china timezone 12AM. (GMT+8 12AM works as well, it resets everyday in that timing)

(5) What do you get for every day of a 'sign-in'? 5 temporary SF credits! (5 代券) These are called temporary, as they expire 1 week after the time of you attaining them, so it's best to spend all your credits on the 6th day of signing in!

(6) Lemme do the math for yer: Assuming you sign for 6 days: you get a total of 30 credits! Which means for every 6 days, you can buy (for example) 2 chapters of "These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy"! (they are about 3k words and more in recent chapters)

(7) It's a free way to read chapters, yeah. But it's a slow way to be able to catch up to the latest chapters with the author though......And did I mention that there is a loophole: You're able to use multiple accounts to do sign-ins to get many temp SF credits? *hint hint*

(8) Last thing I want to mention is that, if you do a constant signing in for 15days, you get extra 10 temp SF credits. And, if for that month you successfully signed in for all of the days, you get an extra 30 temp SF credits too!

P/N: The old method of signing in is way better, but oh well....

Comments

  1. To have an account on SFACG, just simply register on their website, like how yer sign up for google or yahoo emails o-o

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To get verification code it's very hard...

      Delete
    2. How do you get a verification code? Im from philippines i keep trying but didnt receive anything

      Delete
  2. *cheers*
    thank you for sharing

    though I'm not too fond of using mtl

    *translate dance*

    ReplyDelete
  3. This info brings a single tear to my eyes. I will be sure to do this later.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I might try this but I'm bad at daily sign ins..😂😂

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And 20$ is a weeks worth of my allowance.

      It's pretty worth it though as it would last you a longtime.

      Delete
    2. lol :3 just do free daily sign ins :3

      Delete
  5. Are the chapters free after purchase using the temp credit last forever?

    Sorry for my english

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep it's permanently affixed to your account to be available to for reading

      Delete
  6. hmm, is it just me that VIP chapter can't be tl'ed with mtl like google translate ?

    i try using the chrome's build in google tl add on (on the right side of address bar) the option and the chapters title is properly translated, but the novel content isn't translated ...

    or should i use other program or something ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you're using it in web-view, correct?

      SFACG have a unique system in which the novel text is expressed out into image form, which makes it impossible to translate.

      To solve this, use the mobile version!

      Delete
  7. How do you exactly use the Temporary SF credits to unlock VIP chapters?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Um, just press on the 'buy chapter' option in that vip chapter that you want o-o

      Delete
  8. Can anyone help me figure out how to mtl chapters from VIP section?
    Using google translate on chrome did not work and the mobile app is in chinese and so cant navigate around it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the info. but It seems that some people and me is confused how to mtl in the vip section can you give some step by step like this how to do it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. ok guys i do the translation using mtl the hardway, here how i solve the problem

    download the mobile APP for the android
    download google translator app for android (this is compulsory to translate image)
    open the novel in mobile app
    screenshot and translate it using googletranslator app manually

    why you need to open at mobile app instead of website?? because the image quality from the app is better(at least there is no water mark and google translator app will easily scan the picture)

    well i hope someone has better solution, or maybe flare WK can tell us specifically how to google translate from mobile browser
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  11. Im Indonesian, i Want to bind my accounting with indonesia
    phone number +62XXXXXXXXXXX, but the server never give me verification code... How the solution thanks...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Here for want read all SFACG Novel, prepare your Google Translate. Link: http://www.paper027.com/

    ReplyDelete
  13. why it take so long to go thought webpage of sfacg, my wifi is in good condition

    ReplyDelete
  14. How can you get a account in sfacg? Trying my phone number to register but wont receive any verification code
    Is there any other way?

    ReplyDelete
  15. I brought some chapter but you cant google trasnlate it... Help!

    ReplyDelete
  16. hello, i want to ask first before i regretted paying something that i cant do anything with, if you buy a vip chapter does that mean you cant copy paste the text anymore like the free one?? bcause i dont want to spend 10$ for these chapters if i cant even translated it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it's true. You can't copy the VIP text

      Delete
    2. But as other comments have said, u can use the mobile app to screenshot the chapter and use Google translate app.

      Delete
    3. *Sigh*, so much effort for nothing, it doesn't need to be complicated!

      There's an extension that already handles side-by-side translation: ImmersiveTranslate (googling it should give you link)

      If you want to copy/paste, it's not that hard either:
      1. Install TamperMonkey or ViolentMonkey browser extensions for userscript support (google if you don't know what that is)
      2. Add the 'Remove web limits' userscript from the GreasyFork repo (https://greasyfork.org) by the author Cat73, and no one else! Beware of non-functional copycats.

      All done!

      You know have the best of both worlds: copy/pasting and immersive translations!

      Happy new year 2024! :P

      Delete
    4. Previous anonymous here, I have since realized it's an image in the app too, which I didn't think it would be. Fortunately, after 2 days of torture and trying workarounds, I've finally found a non-technical, decent compromise. It's not so dissimilar to the google translate workflow, but it's much more ergonomic.

      Here are the prerequisites:
      - An account with the purchased chapters,
      - (loosely required) Browser,
      - (optional) Text editor,
      - Android emulator (Bluestacks, Waydroid, etc.)
      - and ShareX (an open-source software capture and OCR utility)

      Note: This is a desktop solution, not a phone workflow! If you appreciate being able to do it on a computer, this is for you. If you don't mind being limited to a phone and it's limitations, the app with google translate will do the job good enough. (the phone workflow is also possible on an emulator, but google translate refuses pictures if it doesn't detect a lens, which may require workarounds and digging around forums)

      Setup necessary:
      1. Open ShareX, go to Hotkey Settings ;
      2. Using the 'Add' button, add Tools >> OCR ;
      3. In the new OCR hotkey, press the button on the right of the gear.
      4. Tap an unused key combination, like Ctrl+'Scroll Lock', which is left unused in virtually every modern operating system and application but still present on our keyboards ;

      All set! That shortcut will come in handy later.

      Delete
    5. Continutation due to comment limitations:

      Once you've obtained all of the above, here are the steps:
      1. Download and install the sfacg app apk in the emulator ;
      2. Navigate to the library/novel you want to read, and go to the VIP chapter(s) you want to read. (Bluestacks has an integrated live translation feature to navigate apps, press Ctrl+shift+L to trigger. It's not enough for reading, but it will do for browsing. Otherwise, ShareX works too, more details on that later) ;
      3. Take a picture with the the OCR shortcut assigned earlier, and then you're done! (sort of) There's still some light cleanup left.
      4. Clip the the noisy characters at the top and bottom, leaving only the content. The title is at the top, but due to the tiny font size, there's a very low chance it actually work on it. If you want the title, it's easier to go to the chapter on the website and translate from there, the title's not an image.
      5. Skim through the text to make sure there's not added characters, missing non-chinese characters (like asian numerals/normal numbers, or english letters), or, more often, missing ponctuation, especially when it's on the very left of the screen. Watch out for double quotes and points, and you should be fine.
      6. (non-skippable) Separate the chapters by adding spaces in between.
      7. (important) Put chapters in the same line because they'll be separated on different lines due to the sfacg line wrapper. Double check your paragraphs are separated right, but don't fret over it too much as you'll notice any inconsistencies in the translation stage.
      8. Put them in your favorite translator! (google translate, ChatGPT (only recommended as a backup), DeepL (if you can afford it), etc.)

      Sfacg unfortunately cuts paragraphs between pages, so, you'll have to combine two chapters (by repeating steps 3 to 7) together to get complete chapters and thus correct translation (translation engines can output strange things when they have incomplete phrases. For example, I had an incomplete paragraph which instead of being a marriage proposal, was translated as a... demand for sexual intercourse, which was definitely funny in the comedic context, but might not be so desirable in another.)

      There's also some extra things you can do, and where the benefits of this method really start to shine:
      - You can combine all the chapter pages in a text editor so you can read it all in one go, instead of in segments (and fragmented paragraphs).
      - You can save these chapters (and translations) to your computer, so you can go and access them at any time without having to do all the work again. It also ensures you can still access the novel if it gets taken down, the author acquired a new publisher or signed an exclusivity contract.
      - You have the option to use other translation services than google translate. It's good and does the job, but if you want to pay for the better service of DeepL, or the flexibility of AI/ChatGPT, there's nothing stopping you!

      There might be more, but I lost my train of thought and it's getting long anyway, hope it was helpful!

      Delete
    6. Oh, and, don't forget to go in ShareX >> Task settings >> Capture >> OCR, to set your OCR language. The question mark on the right will tell you how to add more languages.

      Not sure if ShareX is cross-compatible with Mac or Linux, though... I guess one would have to find alternatives on these platforms. I don't think there's any dual screen capture and OCR software in the Linux ecosystem, but who knows! Open source is full of surprises.

      Delete
  17. If you guys don’t mind purchasing through an intermediary, I can assist you in buying or getting text of VIP chapters on most popular Chinese novel websites at the following link:
    https://tieuxuyen.com/buy-copy-vip-chapters-from-chinese-novel-sites/

    ReplyDelete

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