Yaruge Girl Triona (eta February 9)

[Jake]

If I reduce any unnecessary code and keep comments to a minimum, I might be able to keep the game under 5mb.

...shouldn't comments not add any size at all to the compiled code, 'cause they're not compiled?

[DaFool]

If I reduce any unnecessary code and keep comments to a minimum, I might be able to keep the game under 5mb.

...shouldn't comments not add any size at all to the compiled code, 'cause they're not compiled?

Well I have to open-source the game code (because I'm proud of the system I came up ^_^), and comments in the rpy file do add up.

Question: Since this is an ero game, I'm not sure... but would people want a fully-open-sourced game (not using rpa archiving)?

PROS: For those who've thought 'how was that small size achieved in Nettestadt', they now have an answer with an even more advanced palette-switching technique (PyTom's hue function) and use of ConditionSwitches (which are more adapted compared to DynamicDisplayable umbrella function), as well as see how the resources are put together like the ultimate jigsaw puzzle.

CONS: I don't know if you'd be freaked out by pieces of breast and vagina, even if they're just image components.

[Jake]

...shouldn't comments not add any size at all to the compiled code, 'cause they're not compiled?

Well I have to open-source the game code (because I'm proud of the system I came up ^_^), and comments in the rpy file do add up.

Well, suit yourself - but if you're really worried about file size, it might be prudent to do that as a separate release! Compiled code is pretty much universally smaller than source, comments or no.

[PyTom]

I'll encourage leaving good comments in the code. There's little point in releasing the code if it's not commented well enough for people to understand it.

Also, code compresses very well. The compressed version is often less than 30% of it's original size... sometimes even less than that.

If you really care about size, unzip the windows zip, and recompress it with 7zip. Even with sfx mode, which generates a self-extracting exe, with the recommended options for max compression, 7zip shrinks Ren'Py 6.4.0 down to 8376k.

7z 8376
bz2 9852
zip 10572
uncompressed 40340

This is in solid mode, with the best compression options. You could also use nsis to make an installer, as it uses the same compressor as 7zip.

[DaFool]

Update: I will need to compose another music track, due to the need to have a little variation during the extended scenes. People can tolerate staring at the same picture / background for a long time if they're reading, but not at hearing the same tune for half an hour.

I expect the final zip to be 5.5 megs-ish. Maybe try 7zip even. When I hit 4.8 megs, the resources were on the borderline of low quality. I therefore replaced more select images with their original pngs to keep up the impression of quality. Even on dialup, the difference of 700kb is negligible.

Something I noticed with music, if you don't use strings, 64kbps is just fine. But with strings, the distortion starts when you go lower than 96kbps.

I've been tweaking the gameplay a lot, so there will be a variety of sexual things to do (in the ero portion). If it weren't for the fact that this game is highly erotic, I might actually advertise that this game has achieved yet another milestone in pushing Ren'Py's boundaries. This is essentially the dollmaker / "Superdoll" / Alice-like implementation I've been talking about all these months, and I can now say with certainty that making such a doll actually makes your graphics more specific to your game and actually less versatile. That's because when the possibilities for multiple poses gets out of hand, you have to prioritize the poses you'll actually use -- and that quickly becomes very 'characteristic' (a trademark) for each character.

Since I'll be out of town starting the weekend after this one, I am trying my utmost to get this finished this weekend. But I cannot guarantee it, since I'm still finding more things to tweak during playtesting -- things ranging from timing to the volume of the current music. And I haven't finished plugging the script and acting yet. So, basically, if this game isn't out by December 20, it won't be out until middle of January 2008.

Though I reused some raw materials because of time and budget contraints, rest assured this work may be my magnum opus.

[Samu-kun]

*awaits with much anticipation* :3

[MoonlightBomber]

DaFool, you're thinkin' of releasing this eroge right smack on my birthday (Jan. 20)?!

Man, my upcoming birthday will never be the same again.

[DaFool]

Looks like your wish might just come true then...

I'm like, sick now from lack of sleep.
But I've gotten the idea to put at least one cosplay ero scene. Then, assuming the results of this poll still prefer fully-open-sourced, players can do stuff like draw their own costumes (like Star Trek uniforms for example) matching the standard dimensions I came up with.

I suddenly realized that this game is extremely expandable. I plan to implement a few more features and scenarios I feel should be default, that way I won't release something and go "Rats! I should have added an oral scene in it!" Then have to recompile and release a second version / update. I prefer to release things just once, so that there is only one version of anything in circulation.

I would like all games from dafool.visualnews.net (well, assuming the site would be back up LOL) to be tweaked and trace-back-proof, and even if they need improvement, they wouldn't be drastic enough to warrant a re-release. In other words, I playtest everyday to make sure the experience is as good as can be.

[monele]

and even if they need improvement, they wouldn't be drastic enough to warrant a re-release.

Well... if there *are* bugs, there *will* be a new patched release... right? ^^;

[Jake]

Then, assuming the results of this poll still prefer fully-open-sourced, players can do stuff like draw their own costumes (like Star Trek uniforms for example) matching the standard dimensions I came up with.

To be honest, I'm not sure why you're bothering with a poll in the first place. I mean, it's great that you're even considering open-sourcing your hard work, but surely you should open up exactly as much of this as you feel comfortable doing, no more and no less? If you want to open the whole thing up so people can edit in Star Trek uniforms, then do that. If you want to just give away the code so that other people can use your techniques but not your graphics, then do that. Why does the opinion of other people matter?

For what it's worth, I did vote - for "just the code" - because I suspect that while I'll be interested in how you did it from a technical point of view, I'll not have much interest in expanding your game. I mean no offence, I just have one of those do-everything-myself-when-I-can personalities. That doesn't mean I think you shouldn't open-source your game assets, it just means that I don't personally have any specific interest in those parts. Realistically, I think you "should" open-source whatever you're comfortable open-sourcing!

[DaFool]

Whew... this past weekend was insane work, as I attempted to get a lot of things done before heading to vacation.

Anyway, this is the last status report of the state of the work in progress, since I just finished making a full online backup.

In the old work in progress, the format was as follows:
One Main Story --> Choices to Customize --> Substories --> Ero Scenes unlocked at the end depending on Substories completed.

I've decided to rearrange things so it will be more player-intuitive. This way I was able to get rid of in-game menus. Preferring instead to have pure user interaction from the main menu, as well as separate 'reading' modes.

New format (using the same plots):
Choices to Customize --> "Main" Substories --> Ero Scenes unlocked which are linked to the particular story completed. In addition, a sort of Epilogue will be the essential clincher for the Main Story once all stories are read.

In total, there are 3 substories and 4 erotic scenarios. Through the doll system, there is a minimum of 5 fully-different girls you can 'build'. The other customizations are tweaking things like skin tone and clothes.

The Erotic Scenarios include:
1.) a hostage in the cellar
2.) a nurse in the hospital
3.) a princess in the palace
4.) a wacko inside your car

I'm in the middle of programming the 3rd erotic scenario (it's very tedious, since I want all the possibilities to be included already with nothing lacking, and that makes for a very very huge State Machine. Perhaps I should release the State Machine diagrams for all the scenarios... didn't ya know sex required a schematic? LOL)

Graphics -- I decided to do two more all-new backgrounds, and those I can do in the company of my relatives if I remember to bring Photoshop along. I can't exactly work on other aspects of my game in their presence, but I'll amaze them with my improved BGs. I'm also tweaking BGs from other previous projects to reuse in this game. So 50% of BGs should be all-new.

Music -- I decided to do just one more opening song. This game has the most graphical assets of all my solo works so far, so I can technically make an opening intro for it. Especially since I can change postures just like the Ever 17 Opening. I mean, I'm already this far, so an OP would be a no biggie. (However, an OP is not recommended for a game where you don't have much graphical assets.)

Admins >> you can move this to LHH if you are inclined, but regardless I will post the final game in there. And I won't start any explicit discussions in this thread. I don't think mentioning 'ero' or 'sex' or 'erotic scenarios' or 'vagina' or 'breast' calls for a thread to be automaticaly non-worksafe.

That's it for now... will rest up, work on some more, be out of town, then expect an update next year.

[rocket]

Exciting, exciting! Go for it! (^_^)

[Hentai Senshi]

If I reduce any unnecessary code and keep comments to a minimum, I might be able to keep the game under 5mb.

...shouldn't comments not add any size at all to the compiled code, 'cause they're not compiled?

Well I have to open-source the game code (because I'm proud of the system I came up ^_^), and comments in the rpy file do add up.

Question: Since this is an ero game, I'm not sure... but would people want a fully-open-sourced game (not using rpa archiving)?

PROS: For those who've thought 'how was that small size achieved in Nettestadt', they now have an answer with an even more advanced palette-switching technique (PyTom's hue function) and use of ConditionSwitches (which are more adapted compared to DynamicDisplayable umbrella function), as well as see how the resources are put together like the ultimate jigsaw puzzle.

CONS: I don't know if you'd be freaked out by pieces of breast and vagina, even if they're just image components.

Good comments are going to be appreciated; if you're worried about them making the download bigger, your best bet would be two separate releases - a binary-only one that doesn't include the rpys at all, and a source
one that does (or is just the rpys).

While some people might be disconcerted by imagecomponents, anyone who makes a habit of digging around inside gamedata may well have come across them before (although perhaps in a less-naughty context), and programmers who are actually considering _making_ something using the system are going to have to be able to deal with image components without freaking out.

I made Phoebe's sprite into a stack (By default, three images - base, clothes, and expression, though a handful of places use more) of components, and CHS said 'Eek! It's a FACE!' when I'd left the gimp windows full of components up and my screensaver was busy distorting them, but she's yet to run away in terror.

As for what to open-source - open-source whatever you want people playing around with, close whatever you don't? It'll probably help coders learn their way around your dollmaker if they can see the component images as well as the code to put them together.

[DaFool]

Good comments are going to be appreciated; if you're worried about them making the download bigger, your best bet would be two separate releases - a binary-only one that doesn't include the rpys at all, and a source
one that does (or is just the rpys).

While some people might be disconcerted by imagecomponents, anyone who makes a habit of digging around inside gamedata may well have come across them before (although perhaps in a less-naughty context), and programmers who are actually considering _making_ something using the system are going to have to be able to deal with image components without freaking out.

...

As for what to open-source - open-source whatever you want people playing around with, close whatever you don't? It'll probably help coders learn their way around your dollmaker if they can see the component images as well as the code to put them together.

Thanks for the advice.

The system I have set up is now too customized to be easily ported as a Framework. I think what people will see would be the overall design philosophy which they then have to replicate using their own code.

Therefore I will have 4 package downloads for release day:
1,2,3: Windows, Mac, and Linux closed-source packages, with only rpyc code and rpa archive.
4: Fully-opened source zipped game directory, which includes rpy and unobfuscated components. I thought about whether to separate them into directories, but decided to just have a naming convention so it's easy to see the bigger breakdown when you view the folder in Thumbnails mode.

That way I control distribution in such a way that only those really interested will see 'everything'.

The project is delayed because 1.) I'm still on vacation and 2.) while on vacation I've thought of several improvements to make which will take a couple more weeks to implement. I originally intended to have something like a 'basic' package which can be easily modded, but now it's like I'm even including an 'Expansion Pack' with the first (and most probably only) release. The option to customize will still be there, but it won't be as if players will feel as if they only got the ingredients and will have to cook their meals by themselves.

I've been inspired by the structure of the 'Sexual Fantasy Kingdom' series so decided to just keep things simple by having multiple accessible scenes. In addition, some scenes will be locked until you've played other scenes first. I wanted to cut down on the menu overhead of having separate story and ero modes, preferring to combine them into complete vignettes that obey the 5-minute rule. This meant that the story would be cut down to be more concise.

[DaFool]

I'm seriously fighting back the urge to release teaser pictures or even a short summary about what the heck the game will be about (it does have a unifying story, you know ^_^ despite it being a hardcore rompfest) It will play like a stripped down 2D version of Artificial Girl combined with Sexual Fantasy Kingdom (in terms of mechanics and overall structure).

I'm almost finished with the final graphic and will still need to program it in. The gameplay is 66% programmed, and story is going to be made concise from the long-winded original.

Stats:
Wordcount: n/a -- have to replace filler script with real words, so really, no idea until the very end.
Music Tracks: 6
Backgrounds and Sprites: n/a -- Everything in this game is a dynamic event CG. Like I said, just one more set and maybe a little bit more bells and whistles.

I have a question regarding hosting. Googlepages seems to be working fine. It does have an allowance for adult content, but I am forced to use these corporate templates, and I don't see a way of monitoring my stats. Plus I have no idea how much bandwidth I'm allotted although I will only use up 24mb/100mb webspace total. Will it be okay to just upload the game to Let's Hentai Hentai subforum directly, since it will be the discussion forum anyway.