VN Ren'Py Completed A New Beginning [Ch. 1-12] [JJsworld]

[The Big Fat Panda]

Keep in mind that in Renpy, no actual models are loaded. It's all pics (.jpgs, .pngs, etc.) or an animated sequence of pics in some cases. So there aren't any 3d model meshes being used by the engine.

So if there is an issue, this'll tie in to how the settings are dialed in by the config files. I'm guessing that JJsworld is using 'default' Renpy settings, so the only thing I can see being an issue here is maybe the pic sizes, and if they are optimized, and how big the 'pic buffer' is. Pic sizes are on the smallish side though (989x720 or so, 96 dpi), so they aren't full HD or even full 720P.

Anyways, looking at the game config files now for ideas... it looks like the game default size is set at 1280 x 720 in gui.rpy, so if there is any stretching going on, that could account for a bit of lag on lower end systems maybe.

In config.py, I'm seeing the rollback length is set to 128. That is in the ANewBeginning/renpy folder btw. Dropping that number to 64 or 32 or even 16 might be something to consider.

You may need to use unren.bat to extract the files first. Then, go to the folder I indicated above, and open config.py using a text editor such as Notepad 2. Scroll down to Rollback Length and lower the number from 128. There's also a Hard Rollback limit of 100, you can try lowering that as well. Then save and start up the game and see if it helps. My laptop has 16 GB of ram, so I'm not going to see a difference, but you guys might...

You could also drop the framerate (same file) below 100. Really 24-30 FPS should be perfectly fine for still images, heck even at 6-12 FPS with still images you probably won't notice a difference.

All that being said, I'm just guessing here. Experiment at your own risk of course!

I tried all those. Yet the game is still getting stuck midway. I cannot even opne the save games.
I set the rollback and hard rollback to 10. FPS was reduced to 24. I even tried running it in Linux (Elementary OS); Still won't work.

 

[OhWee]

​

I tried all those. Yet the game is still getting stuck midway. I cannot even opne the save games.
I set the rollback and hard rollback to 10. FPS was reduced to 24. I even tried running it in Linux (Elementary OS); Still won't work.

Well I suppose that it was worth a shot. It was a shot in the dark anyways.

So, I did some reading on the lemmasoft forum trying to figure out what might be relevant. I came across this thread (this is for JJsworld to consider, expecting y'all to fix this is probably asking too much)

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Short form, the way the script is written if I'm understanding correctly, the 'shows' are stacking on top of each other. With over 400 images in the images folder, all of these are being 'kept'.

To correct this,
show pic49
should read
show bg pic49

bg id's the image as a background image, which Renpy only allows one of at a time. So doing a quick find/replace of the script
of
find: show
replace: show bg
would be the fastest way for JJsworld to edit the script, which could then be released as a separate patch, as well as rebundled into the full game. script.rpy is a tiny file, and people here could just drag it into their game folder to replace the existing script.rpy.

Just be careful to not replace the 'shows' that are part of an inline conversation. Thankfully, the show/replace function also has a 'skip' button usually so you can skip those instances. Worst case, "Hey baby, show me your tits" would now read "Hey baby, show bg me your tits"....

To test this, one of the posters in the thread I linked said:

While running your game, shortly before where it normally lags out, press Shift + D and then press F4​

This should bring up a small screen telling you how much memory you are using.​

​

This method could be used to check the memory usage before and after the fix. Another way to check this would be to look at the size of the saves as the game progresses, to see if they are steadily increasing in size.

In any case, this sounds plausable to me, so it might be worth trying out. I'm not a Renpy expert, but it makes sense to me.

edit: So, I tried it, I didn't have it right... show should be replaced with scene. bg actually doesn't do what was explained in the thread. show should be replaced with scene

A faster way to do this (and avoid messing up the places where show appears in the dialogue:
search:
show pic
replace:
scene pic

There are 406 instances of show pic in the script, which corresponds with the 406 pic images in the images folder. So you should be able to do this with 'replace all' safely.

I also tried reducing the cache size in config.py (renpy folder from 300 MB to 75. it capped textures at 75mb instead of 300. A quick way to check this is to hit tab so that the game skips through the dialogue automatically at a rapid clip.
image_cache_size_mb = 75

I also tried 25 here. Seems to work OK. Where we don't have an 'overlay gui' since it's just a story, 25 is probably just fine...

That's the setting in config.py that I'm talking about here.

 

[Deleted member 2928457]

Enjoyed the game so far, Though i've noticed a few spelling mistakes and some places where different wording would've worked better.

Can't wait for chapter 3, Any idea how long the wait between updates is?

 

[OhWee]

OK, The Big Fat Panda , and others with low system specs.

Try these. Unzip this into your ANewBeginning2V2-1.0pc folder (This is for chapter 2).

If you are talking about Chapter 1, the patch is for Chapter 2. If anyone else wants to test this for Chapter 2, I'd like to know if it's working for others before taking the time to patch chapter 1...
JJsworld has been PMed about this potential patch.


Patch changes:
1) Adds a White to Black to White background behind the story pics, getting rid of the 'checkerboard transparent' pattern
2) 'Show' calls are now 'Scene' calls, which should 'fix' the 'stacking images' issue.
3) Reduced image cache to 25mb. The VN is only using about 10MB of the cache at a time, but still stores the previous images in the texture cache, up to the limit. The limit was 300MB before, now it's floating around 22-25MB. This won't affect how the story is displayed, but will reduce the ram overhead slightly...

 

[JJsworld]

Enjoyed the game so far, Though i've noticed a few spelling mistakes and some places where different wording would've worked better.

Can't wait for chapter 3, Any idea how long the wait between updates is?

I try to keep updates as quick as I can... I also try to get a full chapter done as an update. I don't like updates that are finished in 15 minutes, then have to wait 6 months for another... I have been running about 2 months per chapter. I hope that everyone understands I do this to keep the interest of the story... I was told by a few that my first 2 chapters have as much as some that has been out for years... OhWee is also helping me out as I go, so thanks a million there... I already started chapter 3, and about 100 renders into it...

 

[seamanq]

Singing: Let me tell you about trouble, that's right trouble. Trouble right here in River City. Trouble that starts with a "T" which rhymes with "P" which stands for Pool (borrowed liberally from the musical hit The Music Man).

 

[seamanq]

OK. Apologies in advance, but 'your' is possessive and belonging to you. On the other hand you're is a conjunction and it means "you are". I think that in most cases where you are using your, you are actually intending to say you're.

 

[The Big Fat Panda]

OK, The Big Fat Panda , and others with low system specs.

Try these. Unzip this into your ANewBeginning2V2-1.0pc folder (This is for chapter 2).

If you are talking about Chapter 1, the patch is for Chapter 2. If anyone else wants to test this for Chapter 2, I'd like to know if it's working for others before taking the time to patch chapter 1...
JJsworld has been PMed about this potential patch.


Patch changes:
1) Adds a White to Black to White background behind the story pics, getting rid of the 'checkerboard transparent' pattern
2) 'Show' calls are now 'Scene' calls, which should 'fix' the 'stacking images' issue.
3) Reduced image cache to 25mb. The VN is only using about 10MB of the cache at a time, but still stores the previous images in the texture cache, up to the limit. The limit was 300MB before, now it's floating around 22-25MB. This won't affect how the story is displayed, but will reduce the ram overhead slightly...

Hey,
Sorry for the late reply. Just tried your suggestions. The script edit worked for chapter 1. Your patch worked perfectly for chapter 2. Thanks a lot man!!

 

[JJsworld]

Update is almost done... Note: We as in OhWee and myself, are working to shorten and reconfigure the chapters in the story, so that they are not as long. We are also adding a little bit to the layout in Renpy. The story itself WILL NOT change. It is just gonna be shortened chapters, so everyone can pick up where the next chapter begins.
I think this will be a great thing, as so many have asked for it. It will also allow me to do updates more often, as to the 2 or 3 months.
I hope everyone enjoys what is going on, and extend a Thank You to OhWee for his help on this story...

 

[Deleted member 2928457]

Update is almost done... Note: We as in OhWee and myself, are working to shorten and reconfigure the chapters in the story, so that they are not as long. We are also adding a little bit to the layout in Renpy. The story itself WILL NOT change. It is just gonna be shortened chapters, so everyone can pick up where the next chapter begins.
I think this will be a great thing, as so many have asked for it. It will also allow me to do updates more often, as to the 2 or 3 months.
I hope everyone enjoys what is going on, and extend a Thank You to OhWee for his help on this story...

Can't wait, Also looking back the skip between chapter 1 and 2 where Shay finds out what Brian looks like, how come that's not really shown in the story it's kind of skipped by.

 

[JJsworld]

It actually is... When her and Gail are talking about him, she tells her that she did see him while they were fucking in the gym...

 

[Deleted member 2928457]

It actually is... When her and Gail are talking about him, she tells her that she did see him while they were fucking in the gym...

ah must've missed it.

 

[OhWee]

I handed off the changes to JJsworld yesterday, and am now awaiting the next chapter.

To clarify, what has been done is to divide the first 2 parts into a prologue and six chapters, so that people that are new to the story can use the chapter breaks as logical places to save their story progress for now, if they want to take in the story in multiple sittings. You can still save anywhere, the chapter breaks are intended as 'logical' end points.

The chapter breaks have some quotes that sorta kinda relate to the story, and I added a mechanism to the beginning of the story that will allow people to skip to the beginning of any chapter if they so wish. Also, you'll be able to choose the name for the MC towards the beginning of the story. The name selection happens at the end of the prologue, so that people can get a quick feel for the story before deciding on a name. For those that will be skipping chapters, you'll get the chance to choose a name before skipping to the chapter you choose.

Part 1 is Prologue to Chapter 3. Part 2 is Chapters 4-6, with one minor change - Chapter 4 picks up at the tail end of Part 1 (the boat trip). For people that have read both parts that have been released so far, you will get the option to skip to Chapter 7 if you so choose...

The only other change is adding a background behind the story pics, so that the weird transparent checkerboard pattern isn't there anymore. I also adjusted the rollback side area to correspond with the border of the story pics, and as mentioned in previous posts we solved the memory issues for those with lower spec systems. Thanks again to The Big Fat Panda for testing that out.

Oh, and the upcoming release will combine all 7+ chapters into a single release. It's my intention to help set up subsequent chapters as 'full' and 'patch' releases, so that people can just add in the new pics and added script to the story folder with future updates. HOWEVER, for this next chapter, due to the changes under the hood, you'll need to download the entire package this next time around.

My role here has mainly been just introducing these 'quality of life' improvements. Now that I've accomplished that, in usual 'modder' fashion, my role here is more or less finished for now. It's still JJsworld 's story, he's doing all the hard work. I just put in maybe a day's worth of work, putting my limited knowledge of Renpy to good use.

Like y'all, I'm looking forward to the next chapter! I'll see it long enough to check the code before release, so atm I have no idea what's going to happen next...

 

[Deleted member 2928457]

Any chance there is an eta for chapter 3? pretty excited for more of the story.

 

[JJsworld]

Monday at the latest... But chapter 3 will now be chapter 7... As everyone can read above, OhWee and I are working on splitting the chapters up and setting them up differently... Same story, that won't change, just instead of 450 renders per chapter, I am gonna drop to about 150 to 200... No I'm not slowing down, this will enable me to put out chapters about every month instead of every 3 months...

 

[JJsworld]

 

[JJsworld]

Ok people... Here are a few links in the thread to the new chapter as well as the old ones... They are all together and seem to be working fine... I had sent the links to a moderator for posting on saterday, but you know some people have lives outside of here, so be patient with the main page update as I know they are probably busy with their real lives...

Mega

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Anon

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[BaasB]

Ok people... Here are a few links in the thread to the new chapter as well as the old ones... They are all together and seem to be working fine... I had sent the links to a moderator for posting on saterday, but you know some people have lives outside of here, so be patient with the main page update as I know they are probably busy with their real lives...

Mega

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Anon

You must be registered to see the links

just report your links, as a update

OP updated, you can edit your page

 

[OhWee]

just report your links, as a update

OP updated, you can edit your page

Thanks for adding the new links!

Not sure if JJsworld is at work ATM or not, but for those that like such things, here's a suggested changelog for the OP. Note that Chapters 1 & 2 were split into smaller chapters, and that there is a new chapter, 7...

Changelog:

Chapters 1-7:
- Consolidated the entire story so far into a single release.
- Split Chapter 1 into a Prelude and Chapters 1-3. The old Chapter 2 is now numbered as Chapters 4-6. No changes to the story itself were made.
- Added a seventh chapter to the story, with over 150 new renders.
- Added a chapter menu at the start of the story, which will allow people to skip ahead in the story to the chapter of their choice.
- Readers can now choose a different name for the protagonist after starting the story, which occurs before the added option to jump to later chapters.
- Minor changes under the hood to improve performance on low end hardware.

Chapter 2 v2 1.0
(snip)

The title should be edited as well to reflect Chapters 1-7. The old chapters probably should be relabled as parts 1 & 2 instead of Chapters 1 & 2 to clarify things, and to give Muttdoggy(?) the opportunity to remove those links from his upload accounts since they are now deprecated by the consolidation of the entire story so far into a single package with Chapters 1-7.

I helped JJsworld with the Renpy coding for this particular update, but of course it's his story, not mine.

 

[4Finger]

Mc:
Body of a 35-40 year old man who has injected so much steroids, that at any moment he will explode. On top of this body has been placed a face of a 13-15 year old boy. In other words he looks so ridiculous, sorry but that's unfortunately the truth.
And the women we should not talk about, they do not look like a day over 15 years