Ren'Py on the DS

[Watercolorheart]

Hello, I have a question: is it possible to do a Ren'Py port for the DS, any build after 5.5?

I ask only because I saw a GBA one on this forum ... so ... I wondered ...

I've been trying to get a hold of a good DS drive to run homebrew still, but that's neither here nor there ... (a word to the wise for those considering it, purchase nothing by Datel. They have no tech support to speak of.)

[Watercolorheart]

I ask only because of this topic: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... hlight=gba and because the DS has backwards compatability for GBA games, it made me wonder.

[PyTom]

I've dropped my plans to make a version of Ren'Py for the DS/GBA, due to lack of time. The platform is just constricted enough that it would have to be a rewrite, rather than a port... and I simply don't have time to maintain two version of Ren'Py.

(Now, the PS3, WII, and 360 are interesting. They have enough memory, so it might be possible to run Ren'Py on them as is, rather than having to do much of a port. For the PS3, in particular, it would be trivial since it can boot Linux. Too bad it's way to expensive.)

[Counter Arts]

For the XBox 360 there is the XNA framework which let's you make stuff for Windows and 360 at the same time. You already considered it right?

[PyTom]

For the XBox 360 there is the XNA framework which let's you make stuff for Windows and 360 at the same time. You already considered it right?

Yeah, but it doesn't let you write (unmanaged) C and C++ code. So I would have to rewrite Ren'Py to use it... and I don't have the time or inclination to do that. There's also the fact that MS is charging $99/year to use it... and that rubs me the wrong way.

[NetGenSuperstar]

What about the PSP? That should be pretty easy for earlier firmware; StepMania runs on it, so I know at least SDL works. I'd be happy to test that for you, too.

Please say yes, because the PSP is ultimately useless as of now, unless the thought of browsing the web on a 4-inch screen makes you squeal with glee. I need something to do with it.

[Watercolorheart]

(disappointed)

I wonder if the DS homebrew forums would help me to create a simple program to play sounds, show text and images? ...

[PyTom]

What about the PSP? That should be pretty easy for earlier firmware; StepMania runs on it, so I know at least SDL works. I'd be happy to test that for you, too.

(Stepmania seems quite useless on the PSP )

It's conceviable that Ren'Py could run on the PSP, the specs seem reasonable. I don't have one, though, so I don't have plans to port to it.

[Jake]

I wonder if the DS homebrew forums would help me to create a simple program to play sounds, show text and images? ...

By coincidence, I know a guy who passes [some of] his time hacking about on the DS, and he's already done some significant amount of the work. I'll let him know that demand exists, see if he can be persuaded to go any further... last I saw I think it had the text-and-images parts down fine from a precompiled script, but didn't handle choices.

(I've been meaning as soon as I've got the free time again to catch up with him on this subject anyway, my original intention with the script-tool project was to output to that as well as Ren'Py.)

[Guest]

Waaaaah~!
(Username is Tomoko.T, but I'm going through some login problems right now XD, I found this and I HAD to reply.)

I STRONGLY recommend PS2 if it's possible!
There's lots of Japanese Visual Novels for the PS2, and I'm sure many other fans would love to play a ren'py game on the PS2(besides, not all of us have/can afford the wii,Xbox30, or ps3 x___X)
I'm also sure that you'd get a HUGE positive reaction to a ps2 port from Visual Novel fans, since that would be SO frikkin' cool~

[BigFish]

So I'm not the only one that's thought of this?

Evidently, Python and SDL have been ported to the DS, which would make a port much easier.

[PyTom]

Right now, my policy is that I'm not going to spend much time porting to non-open platforms. Systems like the PS2 or DS that require modding don't seem like a really worthwhile use of my time, as the set of people who will go through with the mod is probably pretty small, especially when intersected with the set of VN players who are willing to hurt their experience by playing on a lousier screen.

As for open systems, support depends on a number of factors:

1) How popular the platform is. I don't see spending much time porting to a platform noone will use.
2) How capable the platform is. I don't really see much need to struggle to fit Ren'Py into ancient systems with limited ram. Especially when nobody uses them. (I'm talking about stuff like cell-phones here, with 4 megs of ram.)
3) How easy it is to port to.

Some of the platforms I'm considering are:

- Linux amd64 - What I actually develop under, this will be a supported platform in 6.7.
- Mac x86 - Will port to this when I save up for a mac.
- PS3 Linux - A really easy port, although I don't really care to spend the money on a PS3 quite yet. But I will get one sometime between now and 2029. (I bet a friend of mine a PS3 on something we can only evaluate in 2029.)
- Windows Mobile - A really hard port, last time I looked into it.

I'll also note that if someone wants to sell a game commercially, I'd be willing to port Ren'Py (or a subset thereof that uses a similar language) for appropriate compensation. But that's a business thing, outside of my usual Ren'Py time.

[DaFool]

How about Symbian OS, assuming that phones that use them would have way more than 4mb in the near future?

Then again, it would be a nightmare to develop on a mobile phone. A slimline laptop running Linux would still be the preferred platform for Ren'Py.

[PyTom]

Symbian is kinda like windows mobile, except I don't have a device that uses it.

[BigFish]

Ren'Py on the DS would be cool... but kind of hard to do as well. Unless it was optimized for the DS, it would be ridiculously slow, and plus the screen size is an issue. Computer Ren'Py deals with low-res extremely badly, so making the original graphics at that size is not a viable option.

Plus, Python commands, such as custom GUIs would inevitably slow the program down on a low-power system such as the DS... also, depending on how much of Ren'Py is actually written in Python, most of it would probably have to be rewritten in C++. Plus, whether it would use bitmap or tiled mode is another thing... Tiled mode offers faster framerate and more effects, but bitmap mode is much closer to the real RenPy program on the PC.

Although, doing a minimal port that deals with just everything that's needed (Choice menus, images, text boxes, rollbacks, variables, and saves. BGM is kinda iffy there.) would work, but games with custom code (including the lip-flap thing, screen shaker) would not work correctly.

So, there's why a DS port would be difficult!

Ha ha ha ha ha... ha.... ha....