Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

Forum organization and occasional community-building.
Forum rules
Questions about Ren'Py should go in the Ren'Py Questions and Announcements forum.
Post Reply
Message
Author
asami.clam
Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 7:18 pm
Deviantart: cosplaykowaii
Contact:

Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#1 Post by asami.clam »

Hello! I've been meaning to get a laptop for the longest time, and my family finally decided to get one, but I need to pick it out.

My two options are the Macbook Air and the Macbook Pro.....but the Pro is way more expensive than the Air. I wanted to know if the Air can even hold and process the program successfully, and store my games so I can edit them later, etc... Otherwise I'd just get the Pro.

Does anyone here own a Macbook Air? What's your opinion?

User avatar
Fox Lee
Veteran
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:46 am
Completed: Where Ages Go [NaNo2015]
Projects: Swan x Swan [YuriJam/NaNo16], ♥ON, Guilded Age
Organization: Invincible Ink
Deviantart: foxlee
itch: foxlee
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#2 Post by Fox Lee »

I don't know what the specs on Macbooks are like, but my laptop is a sub-$1000 Win7 notebook from about five years ago with no dedicated graphics card, and it has never had the slightest difficulty running Ren'Py for dev or games. I suspect either of your options will work just fine.
Fox Lee: The Girl Your Mother Warned You About
CleanDirtyFurryPro

LVUER
King of Lolies
Posts: 4538
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:57 pm
Completed: R.S.P
Location: Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#3 Post by LVUER »

Why Mac? Why not the usual Windows laptop?
"Double the princesses, quadruple the fun!" - Haken Browning (SRW-OG Endless Frontier)

DeviantArt Account
MoeToMecha Blog (under construction)
Lolicondria Blog (under construction) <- NSFW

User avatar
ketskari
Veteran
Posts: 296
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 6:22 pm
Completed: Asher, Sunrise, Tell a Demon
Projects: Asher Remake, TEoA
Organization: Sun Labyrinth
Tumblr: sunlabyrinth
Deviantart: sunlabyrinth
itch: sunlabyrinth
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#4 Post by ketskari »

I have a relative who uses a MacBook Air, and I've tested my VNs on her computer with no problem. So, it would depend on what else you wanted to do; I've found Ren'Py works on everything I've had access to over the past few years (netbooks, some older desktops, etc), but if you ever want to use something like Photoshop or manage higher-resolution art assets, you might want something better.

User avatar
Atomic-Invasion
Regular
Posts: 111
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:55 am
Projects: Short Story, Project BEAT
Tumblr: atomicinvasion
Deviantart: atomic-invasion
Skype: atomic.invasion
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#5 Post by Atomic-Invasion »

I think in my opinion it is best you don't go for any macbook if you're focused on working on Renpy / Visual Novel Work / Game designing. Majority of the support such as great game applications (Unity / RPG Maker / Renpy / GameMaker) is in Windows OS. Sure they may have MacOS version but the crucial updates will be coming first in WinOS then second priority Mac. If you're into designing, a powerful Windows laptop that is the equivalent price of a Macbook is better I assure you. But just to put a positive in Macbook, I think they're still excellent in video editing (I don't know why but I feel comfortable with a mac when it comes to that). Document, research and all the basic activities you do on a computer is good in a mac butttttt....

There's also the price, those damn macbooks are expensive and due to how exclusive they seem to be, repairs and replacement if you don't have the extended warranty is high. If you're from the US or first world countries, you may have SOME luck in getting it cheap but if residing in developing countries? You better have a ready budget/emergency money with that.

Lastly is the reliability, just like I said in repairs, with Windows laptops you get a better chance to budget the repairs due to a huge number of pc repair shops and individuals who could fix it. If you think you're still leaning for a macbook check the tech specs and compare to a Windows laptop with 1000USD price, you be the judge. Also difference in SSD and HDD is obviously crucial for speed/performance

Conclusion: Renpy will work but if you're just focused on that go with an WinOS laptop

Source: Your truly. I have an Imac that cost 2k USD but busted after 3 years (!@#@%$@#$!), 2009 macbook pro laptop worth 1000USD that lived for 5 years after upgrading (+400 USD) and replaced it 2014 Macbook Pro which I only use for minor editing, document, light activities such Renpy and coding). The real meaty / heavy stuff I work on an Alienware (lol what? I like gaming as well) for around 1000USD

Hope this helps

User avatar
trooper6
Lemma-Class Veteran
Posts: 3712
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 10:33 pm
Projects: A Close Shave
Location: Medford, MA
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#6 Post by trooper6 »

The other side would be that I've been on Macs for ages and I find their customer service excellent, their stability also excellent, and I find them great for audio work, and I've had no problem doing renpy stuff with it.
A Close Shave:
*Last Thing Done (Aug 17): Finished coding emotions and camera for 4/10 main labels.
*Currently Doing: Coding of emotions and camera for the labels--On 5/10
*First Next thing to do: Code in all CG and special animation stuff
*Next Next thing to do: Set up film animation
*Other Thing to Do: Do SFX and Score (maybe think about eye blinks?)
Check out My Clock Cookbook Recipe: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 51&t=21978

User avatar
PyTom
Ren'Py Creator
Posts: 16088
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:58 am
Completed: Moonlight Walks
Projects: Ren'Py
IRC Nick: renpytom
Github: renpytom
itch: renpytom
Location: Kings Park, NY
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#7 Post by PyTom »

Has anyone here opened their heart to Linux?

(ducks and covers)
Supporting creators since 2004
(When was the last time you backed up your game?)
"Do good work." - Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom
Software > Drama • https://www.patreon.com/renpytom

User avatar
Fox Lee
Veteran
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:46 am
Completed: Where Ages Go [NaNo2015]
Projects: Swan x Swan [YuriJam/NaNo16], ♥ON, Guilded Age
Organization: Invincible Ink
Deviantart: foxlee
itch: foxlee
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#8 Post by Fox Lee »

PyTom wrote:Has anyone here opened their heart to Linux?

(ducks and covers)
Actually, I have Linux Mint as a dual boot on mine (Ubuntu didn't like my hardware, but Mint was okay after a bit of driver editing). I use it mostly for programming classes, and I find it very satisfying! I was considering switching over to it completely (since I was already using Linux-native programs like GIMP and Libre Office anyway :p), but I rely on a couple of Windows programs for my D&D campaigns that won't run, even under WINE. Pity :\
Fox Lee: The Girl Your Mother Warned You About
CleanDirtyFurryPro

User avatar
Atomic-Invasion
Regular
Posts: 111
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:55 am
Projects: Short Story, Project BEAT
Tumblr: atomicinvasion
Deviantart: atomic-invasion
Skype: atomic.invasion
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#9 Post by Atomic-Invasion »

PyTom wrote:Has anyone here opened their heart to Linux?

(ducks and covers)
I did but I feel incompetent and scared when I tried it.

It's a whole new world

(and I feel a song is coming on...)

synedraacus
Regular
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 8:10 am
Github: synedraacus
Contact:

Re: Which laptop is best suited for Ren'Py?

#10 Post by synedraacus »

PyTom wrote:Has anyone here opened their heart to Linux?

(ducks and covers)
Mint 17 on a five-year old laptop, renpy and games made in it working perfectly.
OP, renpy will probably work decently on anything above a toaster, so choose your machine based on whatever else you may need for your games. Photoshop or whatever is the Mac equivalent, for example, or your sound-editing soft, have significantly more demands.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users