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Host Love

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:40 pm
by Mokenju
Hi! I've finished my first renai game with renpy. It has awful art (poor bishounen :oops: ) and no music but maybe you'll like it (yes, it's difficult, I know it :roll: ).

I don't have a site so I've send the game to Rio and I hope it can be hosted in the Renai Archive (it would be great 8). I tried to upload it to upload.com but it seems they also need a page where the game is hosted in order to upload the game to their own page ( or I'm so dense that I didn't understand the whole thing :cry: ).

I'll be waiting your constructive criticism ( that thing really exists? :? ) and comments about the many flaws of Host Love when download is possible (if it's possible):wink: .

Ummm... maybe the attachment button :idea:
Edit

I'll edit again the attachment when the game is ready. :roll:

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 3:10 pm
by lordcloudx
hehe I think you're selling yourself too short.
getting the game now. I'll give my review after I've finished it.

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:20 pm
by PyTom
Hm... it seems that this game was released a bit early. There are a few flaws in the code and packaging.

Code flaws:

- There are times when images do not span the full screen. This leads to weird artifacts.

- Not cutting character images out is a strange choice, and one that makes the game look fairly amateurish. It might be possible to retain this choice by putting the character images in frames, however.

- The game doesn't pass lint.

Packaging Flaws

- The installer does not point to the correct game executable, making it impossible to start the game by clicking on the link on the desktop.

- The license file is a Ren'Py license, not a game specific one.

- Many directories, such as tools/ are being shipped even though they do not need to be.

I think all this points to the game being released before it's ready. I'd suggest that we move this thread over to the GMC so you can get feedback, and then re-post in completed games when the game is complete.

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:11 pm
by Mokenju
OK!...
But is strange in my pc there was no problems with lint ( except something about Mac...).
Thank you for testing it! :wink:

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:38 pm
by mikey
Welcome to the forums! :wink:

I'd say one of the problems, except the technical ones is also the interface.

The character illustrations are okay, but since there are no full body graphics, it looks a bit strange. Also, the photographs don't follow any artictic line.

Maybe some filters and a bit of color, plus rearranging things could help? It's just a suggestion though, I think that this game deserves a bit more attention, because otherwise many people may be quickly put off.

Something like this... or something else :P
EDIT: I removed the screenshot now.

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:38 pm
by PyTom
Yes, the only problems I had were filename problems as well... but problems are problems. Mac users are people too!

Edit: Oh, and before I forget: Mokenju, welcome to the forums!

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:58 pm
by Mokenju
Thank you for your help!!!

Yes, It looks better with these changes (althought the art is still weird :oops: ).

Solved problems:

- Lint problem solved. Mac users can play it ( if they want, of course :roll: )

- Unnecesary things out of the package.

- Two backgrounds changed to avoid artifacts.

- License text fixed.

Unsolved problems:

- I don't know what the exe file isn't working. :cry:

I'll post the new file in the GMC.

And again, Thank you very much!

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:36 pm
by PyTom
The problem with the exe file is that in nsis.txt you have the EXE file set to "Hoslove.exe", but the exe file you use is named run_game.exe. You have to make them match.

Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:37 am
by Glasskitten
So, um, is the current status of this project "Technically complete but experiencing internal technical difficulties that prevent it from being released at this time"?

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 3:12 pm
by mikey
Glasskitten wrote:So, um, is the current status of this project "Technically complete but experiencing internal technical difficulties that prevent it from being released at this time"?
I understood this as a complete release. Granted, it's not polished, but it's been updated and things have been altered (mostly graphics). It would probably need a makeover or so, but then again, it's a game and it's complete. And, it has really quite a lot of choices. Somehow, it'a a shame that it's been left in such a state, because it has potential. I would even put it in the Archives.

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 3:16 pm
by ShiraiJunichi
If someone uploads it again, and PyTom and the author give me the go ahead, I can add it

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 3:22 pm
by mikey
Hmmm, the thread from which you can get the latest known version is here: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1102

The game has my vote for RAA, but of course, this is entirely up to the webmasters. I don't know about the author though, s/he wasn't hanging around here lately :(

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 6:03 pm
by PyTom
I'd give the author a little more time to respond (it is a holiday weekend after all).

I'm trying to decide what standard there should be for including games in the archive. I think we probably want a minimal level of... um... completeness, just so people who download a game at random, or the first game on the list, get a reasonable game.

I may put together a new area for demos and incomplete games.

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 6:37 pm
by ShiraiJunichi
*downloads and plays*

hmm... I played through once, and it seems... kind of complete. It wouldn't be the shortest game at the archives, and it does have a lot of choices.

It does have quite a few mechanical issues that need to be worked out- the game menu choices are halfway off screen...

And it's got some serious, serious language issues. It's disappointing to see it, because I knew I probably would've laughed like crazy at some parts, if only the grammar wasn't so halting. I'm half tempted to go through the game and fix all of it's problems- technical and grammatical. Perhaps even artistically (it would've been nice if the filters used on backgrounds had been consistant).
A fun little project with 13 endings... I'm sure other people would be willing to expend a little effort to improve this game as well. I feel like we should set up some kind of human grammar check system for games like this or something. Perhaps enlist volunteers who could help non-native English speakers release a game with good English

As far as archive standards, I do think one requirement should be for the game to be free of excessive grammatical errors- which would exclude this game as it stands

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:28 am
by lordcloudx
Ooh me too. For lack of inspiration to write and with most of my stories stalled (indefinitely) for the moment, I'd volunteer to redo some of the art. I like drawing new characters, though BCS or TMBpower (assuming they're not busy) would probably be better choices for this.

Working on improving this already complete game might even be a good test of what the collaborative efforts of the english ren'ai game-makers community can do in a short amount of time.

Of course, the author's approval is essential here.