Light.vn VN Engine

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hsdk.bd
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Light.vn VN Engine

#1 Post by hsdk.bd »

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Hi, I'm the author of Light.vn - a visual novel engine I've been developing since 2012.
It's currently free for both commercial, non-commercial use, and I've been releasing
regular updates every month since 2013.

I've mainly been developing for a Japanese audience up until this point,
but I've recently started considering the idea of either providing an English patch,
or making it possible for / joining hands with a 3rd party to release one.

Considering I'm currently the only person maintaining the engine, I wanted to get an idea
of how many people might be interested in such an idea before diving in.

Here's some basic background information:

High level focus

To bring out the "Light" in all visual novels, providing the tools
needed to minimise time in repetitive tasks so that developers can
invest in the tasks that make their worlds unique.

Engine characteristics

* Editor included: Realtime preview of scripts
(Click on a script line and the editor displays the display result up at that point)

* Graphic display
* Sound play (bgm, sfx, voice)
* Movie play
* User input
* Entity state change (alpha, colour, position, rotation, etc.)
* Variable usage
* Shaders
* Customisable UI
* Lua support for full user customisation

* Editor: Windows only (XP onwards)
* Executable: Windows only (XP onwards: currently considering OS X)

Light.vn's main focus is in accelerating development and providing full customisation abilities.
Hence, the engine is script focused, and I've been working to absolutely minimise / automate
monotonous tasks required to produce sufficient length, high quality VNs.

Thus the engine is not like various other platforms where GUI comes first, as I've seen that
while it might lower the hurdle for initial entry, this quickly becomes a nuisance and
consumes too much time when creating longer, more expressive experiences.

In the same light, I want to state that Renpy's a great engine and I'm aware there are also others.
Regardless, I like VNs, and I like developing - which is most likely why I'm still here.
Considering how I'll be continuing for many more years to come,
I'd just like to see if Light.vn might fill in any interesting spaces.

I'm very much open to questions, feedback, and if you happen to be around east asia: offline dinners, etc.
I also make my own VNs, and interaction with the VN community is one of the primary reasons I've been able to continue building.
Please also email me if you happen to be interested (/know anyone interested) in translations, etc.

Homepage: http://lightvn.net
Download: http://bit.ly/2nOqtVT
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lightvn_online
(me: https://twitter.com/daegon137/)
Email: daegon.dhsk at outlook.com

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fleet
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Re: Light.vn VN Engine

#2 Post by fleet »

You said "Hence, the engine is script focused,"
Does that mean it requires coding like Ren'py, or will it be similar to Visual Novelty or Belle which do not require coding?
Some of my visual novels are at http://www.the-new-lagoon.com. They are NSFW
Poorly done hand-drawn art is still poorly done art. Be a Poser (or better yet, use DAZ Studio 3D) - dare to be different.

hsdk.bd
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Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:16 pm
Github: hsdk123
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Re: Light.vn VN Engine

#3 Post by hsdk.bd »

Depends, the script (right side of the editor screenshot) sure is code,
but the buttons on the left allow you to insert code for graphic insertion, etc.

Being able to check the script results right through the editor
also seems to accelerate the process in which people come to understand
how the script flows.

So quick answer - You don't need to know code, but you'll be inserting / reading it
at the very least since that's the core of the system.

Out of the examples you've given, a simple way of putting things would be,
it's similar to Novelty, except that the list of commands you've put in
are inserted as code instead of GUI list elements.

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fleet
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Re: Light.vn VN Engine

#4 Post by fleet »

Thanks for the quick reply.
Some of my visual novels are at http://www.the-new-lagoon.com. They are NSFW
Poorly done hand-drawn art is still poorly done art. Be a Poser (or better yet, use DAZ Studio 3D) - dare to be different.

hsdk.bd
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:16 pm
Github: hsdk123
Contact:

Re: Light.vn VN Engine

#5 Post by hsdk.bd »

No problem, let me know if there's anything else.

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