Ren'Py is a free, 2D, and cross-platform engine that helps you make story-based games including visual novels and simulation games. It uses a scripting language based on Python.
(Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. It combines game mechanics of RPGs, adventure games, and Visual Novels, and you can add it to your wishlist on Steam!)
Greetings, travelers! The game’s development goes smoothly, especially content-wise. Since the last devlog I added 5 large settlements, more than doubling the previous amount, and it’s a delight to see how the areas and quests on my task lists get marked as “finished”.
The break from social media has been a relief. Spending less time on maintaining an online presence took a huge weight off my shoulders, allowing me to focus on what’s going to matter the most to the players. I hope you can forgive me for keeping a few surprises until the game’s release, and for now here are some highlights! : )
The shops are now denser, using fewer buttons and having an option to display more items at once:
The sleeping / resting spots no longer require any memorizing or guessing on the player’s side, instead explaining directly how they will affect the character stats:
What also affected the healing ritual for mages:
Also, the game no longer marks the “distanced” Attitude as the default option during conversations. The player has more freedom in looking at the options they find any interest in, without being pushed to seeing one of them as “the regular one”.
Due to popular demand, the game now highlights the Trade / Rest (Seek shelter) / Travel buttons to make it clear the player isn’t “stuck” in a conversation or interaction.
And while there’s much more, let’s end with this tiny adjustment:
As the game gets more complex, it requires better tools to explain its rules, especially to the players who take longer breaks between play sessions. The character sheet allows the player to learn the rules in greater detail while also keeping track of various actions.
Thanks to the new icons, it’s easier to keep track of various services and opportunities. Unlocking new options and areas adds more icons to the key, so getting used to them takes little effort.
Speaking of icons - how about a glimpse of the current item set from the game?
I recently redrew about 1/3 of them. To those who’ve been following the game since its oldest demo I offer this humble reminder how things used to look like a few years back:
To some encounters, mostly the combat scenes that are not a result of an ambush, I added an option to use the healing potions mid-action. The game keeps track of the possessed potions and reminds the player about them if it sees the PC is currently hurt.
I added a classic lore-explaining glossary to the journal. This way, the player can quickly learn about the setting if they feel lost in their journey. After all, it can be difficult to introduce all this information organically in an RPG with this amount of freedom.
—--------------------------
As the game grows, I find more ways to make its rules transparent and the events easier to follow. I still have to redesign the quest journal and I hope to simplify some of the rules after I thoroughly test the game in its entirety, but I believe that Roadwarden successfully adapts to its new environment. : )
Thank you for taking a look at this devlog, for your support and kindness! I hope you’ll agree the changes are promising, and that they explain why the work takes me so long!
Our sixth update on Crimson Sunrise, a mystery-horror visual novel and dating sim by Esoteric Legacy! Try out the playable Alpha!
Updates on our Identity Trait system, and a first look at the player character suited up.
We are in the last 7 days of the Super/Human Identity Kickstarter.
Hello! Today's devlog will be a bit smaller: I'll talk about another character who is meant to be the protagonist's friend. Hope you like it :3
Ari after a long day falls fast asleep and goes back into wonderland. She has no idea why she is back. A lot has changed and the more she thinks about...
Katawa Shoujo is a bishoujo-style visual novel set in the fictional Yamaku High School for disabled children, located somewhere in modern Japan. Hisao...
Mariuccha, the biggest tycoon the world has ever seen, just died. No one knows why or how, but her domestic cat, Carmella Gattaladra, wants to investigate...
You just arrived back on the 'Berg, your old hometown. It looks like a lot has changed here. Rampant corruption and pollution has really destroyed your...
The nameless hero begins to have gachi dreams and gets into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.
Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm.
It doesn't have a name. The locals simply call it the City. Lilies do not bloom here and the sun does not shine. There is no fresh breeze blowing here...
Zeliria was only a reservation created by aliens. But now the Wall of Rejection has fallen, and Maxx and Humkey have to figure out what is happening outside...
Grendel and her "friend" must work together to find a way out of a strange school, where pupils and teachers alike are being killed
Crimson Sunrise is a mystery/psychological horror visual novel with dating sim elements. Love is in the air!
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
Hey, can someone help me with the Ren'Py engine? It's just that everytime I type new code into the script.rpy, I get an error saying "Tab characters are not allowed in Ren'py scripts." Can someone help me?
Could you show me the code? If it's code that's trying to define an item like "image nblnk = im.Scale("nblnk.png", 320, 575)", that HUGE space you see right there after "image nblnk" is a tab space (EDIT: Okay, so indiedb takes out the space, but the space is as big as when you hit tab in the script editor). Usually it changes tabs into spaces but when defining something if you use Tab it marks it as an error. If it's not that that's the issue, show me a bit of the code and I can work on it for ya.
Make sure every line of code defining something only has one space between each variable, like so:
"variable nickname = "realname.filetype", where variable is the type of file or action, such as image, play music, play sound, or with (EDIT: with is used in other places, NOT with an "=" sign. My bad. the "play music" or "play sound" however are almost like that, just without the "=" sign). If you don't know what those are, the engine itself when downloaded has a tutorial game that explains pretty much everything (except the more complex errors.) This is just an add-on to what I said above, if it still doesn't fix it, I'll gladly check your code.
If this place is inappropriate to say this, please forgive me and delete the comment. If not, I would be very happy if it actually helps: I am planning on releasing a couple of longer stories as visual novels.. games, with this engine. I am a writer mainly, and not the best artist. I would love if, if someone is an artist or has interest and experience in the creation of artwork, would be interested in working with me, they could contact me via PM.
Again, I apologize if this is not the correct place to post this, but on the forums things like that are lost within hours with no results so I figured I would try my luck here.
Thanks in advance. I love this engine :)
I wouldnt mind helping with the artwork! You can reach me at Lucr3tcia.deviant art.com and we can talk about it xD
ren'py engine. Whoever has played a game similar to this engine, please send me a message. It sounds very familiar.
(dark humor laugh)
its a bit saddening to see many ren'py games releasing with a price up to $20, even when the arts, story, and or "gameplay" is not that good.
-not to be compared, look at Katawa Shoujo being one of the greatest, yet totally free
Yes.
how download engines sorry im new cant see download :L
Go to Renpy.org and look at "How do I get Ren'Py?"