VN Ren'Py Bad Memories [v0.9.1] [recreation]

[-CookieMonster666-]

You're correct in that it was NOT a classy move on my part. Please accept my apologies and I also apologize to the creator of Bad Memories, whose game I have enjoyed. I deleted my post.

You should definitely put a link to your game in your signature, something absolutely allowed and normal on the forum. I meant no shade to your game specifically, of course.

 

[fleetp]

You should definitely put a link to your game in your signature, something absolutely allowed and normal on the forum. I meant no shade to your game specifically, of course.

Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[cxx]

I must not have stuck with it long enough. After a few in-game weeks, he still looked pretty old to me.

yes he was but at start before getting 1st girl he looked much older.

 

[Sancho1969]

Several things, mostly font and readability related. There's a color picker for the text, a few options for text outlines, etc. I've also slightly changed the code that switches the animations.
I think most shouldn't interfere with your mod, but I've never really looked that deep into your mod, so I can't say I'm a 100% sure about it.

That color picker code, wherever it came from is broken.

Test: Move the swatch selector image down, release the mouse button, then attempt to move the picker up.

It can never select a spectrum north of the current position without going through the reset process then it all borks the same all over again.

That's my experience on a fresh install unmodded. I've looked at the picker code, it's not sound in its current form tbh.

Just thought I'd let you know. If your experience is different I always test on Win10/64b on all benchtesting units for reference.

 

[Smarmint]

Ok first let me just say that it's probably just my "seething hatred" of the way most Devs seem make their MC between 18 tp 23 years old, but the dialog for them makes them look and act like a fifteen year old virgin. This AVN is not as bad as most in this regard. My biggest problem with the MC and the writing style in particular, is the extreme overuse of "Inner Dialog." All stories need it but 90% of the devs I have read must have gone to the same bad school of writng. "inner Dialog" should be used very sparingly when in an actual conversation with another character, but these dev's use it way, way, way too much. As a matter of fact, there have been some games that have more "inner dialog" than actual Dialog. Also, most of excessive "inner dialog" could have been incorporated into the actual dialog very easily. I'm sorry but this is not just MY opinion here, it's most literary schools as well. I know these are not supposed to Pulitzer Prize quality but the level of writing needs to be raised.

Ok. Well, we all of have our pet peeves. For me it's the MC perving on sleeping characters, dream sequences, and especially repetitive sandbox games. If there is even the slightest grind, or having to watch the same scene over and over again to get the next scene (only on Tuesday after 5 PM, if you brushed your teeth before 9AM), it is going in my never play again pile.

I'm fine with the inner dialog. It's not excessive, at least compared to other games. How else would you suggest the MC expressing to the player his thoughts? I suppose there could be a friend character that the MC talks to, rather than internal dialog, but since 95% of games here abhor any other male characters of any kind, that seems a non-starter. With no inner dialog, and only dialog between the few LIs, the game would be rather dry, I think.

I enjoy about 2/3rds of the other games you listed. I am not sure that I agree that most of them have better writing. Plus, many of your examples have just as much inner dialog, or more, than Bad Memories.

Anyway, glad you are specific at least with what you don't like. Every game, no matter how popular or liked by many, will be enjoyed by everyone. Or as a corollary, "you can't please everyone".

 

[Son of Durin]

especially repetitive sandbox games. If there is even the slightest grind, or having to watch the same scene over and over again to get the next scene (only on Tuesday after 5 PM, if you brushed your teeth before 9AM), it is going in my never play again pile.

Absolutely this. I liked quite a bit about Man of the House, but the repetition for barely any progress was just a pure drudge. I was about 30 or 40 hours into playing it, and just couldn't do it anymore. I was maybe at the halfway mark, or less.

If I want a repetitive mission based game, I'll load up Call of Shooty.

 

[recreation]

That color picker code, wherever it came from is broken.

Test: Move the swatch selector image down, release the mouse button, then attempt to move the picker up.

It can never select a spectrum north of the current position without going through the reset process then it all borks the same all over again.

That's my experience on a fresh install unmodded. I've looked at the picker code, it's not sound in its current form tbh.

Just thought I'd let you know. If your experience is different I always test on Win10/64b on all benchtesting units for reference.

I know about that. The easy solution is to just click on the color you like, or click at the top and then drag down.
As you probably guessed, I haven't coded the color picker and it was never meant for what it's used here. My coding skills are barely enough to get it working with text, and it works "good enough" for me to keep it.
If you have a solution, feel free to send me a message or post here if you prefer that.

 

[luwinkle]

Using the outdated multi-mod? When it replaces the script.rpy it'll end at the spot for the version of the mod.

I have it end there when just using the basic gallery mod.

 

[Dragon59]

Okay I couldn't take your post seriously at this
That game comes across as if the dev lived in a compound in Waco.

More of a Manson Gambit than a Mason Gambit?

 

[Deleted member 2093814]

More of a Manson Gambit than a Mason Gambit?

It comes complete with a free Helter Skelter tattoo for the forehead

 

[cager]

Curious

I loaded the 8.5 files, used SanchoModRemoved-SaveFileFix.rpyc, loaded a modded save and played the game.
I got to the kitchen scene and got the Rachel scene with Ellie appearing in the background but no Jada and no Ellie joining in.
I then uploaded the save file provided above and using that as my starting point I got Rachel, Ellie and Jada joining in.

Was there a trigger I hadn't noticed earlier in the game to enable this second version? Or is it a fault of the mod?

 

[Jorund]

Curious

I loaded the 8.5 files, used SanchoModRemoved-SaveFileFix.rpyc, loaded a modded save and played the game.
I got to the kitchen scene and got the Rachel scene with Ellie appearing in the background but no Jada and no Ellie joining in.
I then uploaded the save file provided above and using that as my starting point I got Rachel, Ellie and Jada joining in.

Was there a trigger I hadn't noticed earlier in the game to enable this second version? Or is it a fault of the mod?

I did use the SanchoModRemoved-fix and still got the scene. Not saying it can't be the mod/fix but it wasn't for me.

 

[recreation]

Curious

I loaded the 8.5 files, used SanchoModRemoved-SaveFileFix.rpyc, loaded a modded save and played the game.
I got to the kitchen scene and got the Rachel scene with Ellie appearing in the background but no Jada and no Ellie joining in.
I then uploaded the save file provided above and using that as my starting point I got Rachel, Ellie and Jada joining in.

Was there a trigger I hadn't noticed earlier in the game to enable this second version? Or is it a fault of the mod?

You need to be on harem route and with Rachel and Jade for it to trigger.

 

[Sancho1969]

Curious

I loaded the 8.5 files, used SanchoModRemoved-SaveFileFix.rpyc, loaded a modded save and played the game.
I got to the kitchen scene and got the Rachel scene with Ellie appearing in the background but no Jada and no Ellie joining in.
I then uploaded the save file provided above and using that as my starting point I got Rachel, Ellie and Jada joining in.

Was there a trigger I hadn't noticed earlier in the game to enable this second version? Or is it a fault of the mod?

I concur with recreation above, any scene trigger has nothing to do with the mod as I don't alter scene code other than that included within SanchoGallery. There is a stat for the "harem" choice in all the stat screens so you can see as soon as you load a save if it was previously chosen or not. If you'd like to change that stat without replay then see SanchoCheats for that option. Regards.

 

[Sancho1969]

I know about that. The easy solution is to just click on the color you like, or click at the top and then drag down.
As you probably guessed, I haven't coded the color picker and it was never meant for what it's used here. My coding skills are barely enough to get it working with text, and it works "good enough" for me to keep it.
If you have a solution, feel free to send me a message or post here if you prefer that.

I'll see what I can do but I'm on limited time due to my current work stack. If it were me (and obviously it's not) since you're title is on Steam and an unbuggy experience is the #1 goal especially on that platform, I'd remove the "Text Size Scaling" (it's implemented incorrectly and adjusts ALL text due to it altering the base gui variable(s), not just dialogue text) and the "Line Spacing Scaling" which is really a RenPy accessibility feature but is known to make all text throughout the VN wonky. If you like both then by all means keep them, it's just a suggestion. Then pay attention to the screen balance, sizing and spacing of option text/labels, and graphical images sizes. A quick cup of coffee and some sorting and this is what I came up with as a balanced options (settings) screen. Disregard the mod volume slider, it was not removed prior to making this screen grab:

​

In my opinion (yours and everyone else's may differ of course) this is much cleaner and more balanced to the eye although I'd take it further (this was just a one coffee rough draft)... including that new "picker" which I sorted image and text sizing as appropriate. I also removed all the "return" functions at the end of all your reset actions as those drove me nuts... I don't recommend using return in a button action for the purposes of changing screens... use show/hide if that's your true intention otherwise the action acts differently while in-game versus the Main Menu, etc.

Just some thoughts, and solely my opinions on the matter. Regards.

 

[recreation]

I'll see what I can do but I'm on limited time due to my current work stack. If it were me (and obviously it's not) since you're title is on Steam and an unbuggy experience is the #1 goal especially on that platform, I'd remove the "Text Size Scaling" (it's implemented incorrectly and adjusts ALL text due to it altering the base gui variable(s), not just dialogue text) and the "Line Spacing Scaling" which is really a RenPy accessibility feature but is known to make all text throughout the VN wonky. If you like both then by all means keep them, it's just a suggestion. Then pay attention to the screen balance, sizing and spacing of option text/labels, and graphical images sizes. A quick cup of coffee and some sorting and this is what I came up with as a balanced options (settings) screen. Disregard the mod volume slider, it was not removed prior to making this screen grab:

View attachment 2679380​

In my opinion (yours and everyone else's may differ of course) this is much cleaner and more balanced to the eye although I'd take it further (this was just a one coffee rough draft)... including that new "picker" which I sorted image and text sizing as appropriate. I also removed all the "return" functions at the end of all your reset actions as those drove me nuts... I don't recommend using return in a button action for the purposes of changing screens... use show/hide if that's your true intention otherwise the action acts differently while in-game versus the Main Menu, etc.

Just some thoughts, and solely my opinions on the matter. Regards.

Well, let me be honest with you, and this is going to be a little rant:
If renpy wouldn't make every single change of the UI so goddamn hard, the menu would look completely different, but every time I want to add a feature, or change something in the UI, it feels like I'll have to fight renpy. The way renpy's UI is setup is just awful, unflexible, even stupid in times. So many times I had to spend hours searching for undocumented stuff, even simple stuff that should be included by default.
If I had the time I'd create my own UI like I did with the main menu, but even that already took way too much time.
I'm not a coder, and I have updates to work on, so having to fight renpy every single time I want to change something, or add something, is really annoying and frustrating. That's one of the reasons why it took until last update until I changed the settings menu.
Btw I was actually looking into making a slider for only the dialogue, but I was already struggling with the color picker, so after a few attempts I just gave up. Probably will pick that up again with the next update.
I was thinking about removing line spacing already, but didn't because I didn't want to spend any more time with the UI, and yes, I know it's just one slider.
/rant

That said, take your time, no need to rush, I won't touch the game until I've finished the update for my other game.

 

[Sancho1969]

Well, let me be honest with you, and this is going to be a little rant:
If renpy wouldn't make every single change of the UI so goddamn hard, the menu would look completely different, but every time I want to add a feature, or change something in the UI, it feels like I'll have to fight renpy. The way renpy's UI is setup is just awful, unflexible, even stupid in times. So many times I had to spend hours searching for undocumented stuff, even simple stuff that should be included by default.
If I had the time I'd create my own UI like I did with the main menu, but even that already took way too much time.
I'm not a coder, and I have updates to work on, so having to fight renpy every single time I want to change something, or add something, is really annoying and frustrating. That's one of the reasons why it took until last update until I changed the settings menu.
Btw I was actually looking into making a slider for only the dialogue, but I was already struggling with the color picker, so after a few attempts I just gave up. Probably will pick that up again with the next update.
I was thinking about removing line spacing already, but didn't because I didn't want to spend any more time with the UI, and yes, I know it's just one slider.
/rant

That said, take your time, no need to rush, I won't touch the game until I've finished the update for my other game.

If I may, a way to envision the base GUI variables in every gui script... remember, they are just variables nothing more. That said they are designed to be the baseline for the rest of your VN to build off of meaning if you need a new style/var for any screen/scene (for this example let's randomly use Preferences screen and specifically checkboxes) then one would create new styles that use the gui basline for the initial setup then change any other screen specific as needed. This is why in this example for "check button text" you'd start by bringing in the baseline of the main gui's overall button/text styling:

style check_button_text is gui_button_text

Then you could alter just the specific attribute that you feel needs to be different from the gui baseline, let's say the size for example so after the above parent inheritance you'd need just one additional line added:

style check_button_text size 28

To make it even simpler you can combine the two as well. This way you don't have to keep rewriting the same baseline code over and over (that's why there is gui variables to begin with, to make things efficient):

style check_button_text is gui_button_text:
    size 28

So I don't add confusion, just think of the entire UI variable system is setup like a hierarchy or pyramid. This is so you don't have to repeat code over and over again, you can just inherit from a baseline style/var bank and simply change only the specific items needed. It's actually a clever system once you wrap you head around the inheritance system.

Wall of text, apologies but just hoping to help a bit.

BTW, I have the picker working correctly. Edit: I've even sorted it so if "reset" that the sample color and associated hex/rgb data reflects the reset default color/data. It'll all be okay bud, I know it can be overwhelming at times... I feel that way at times too. When struggling just walk away for a bit, clear your mind, then attack it fresh keeping it basic and simple so you don't get yourself going in circles (which is easy to do, our minds start playing the code problems we face in loops and creating "tunnel vision").

 

[cager]

Curious

I loaded the 8.5 files, used SanchoModRemoved-SaveFileFix.rpyc, loaded a modded save and played the game.
I got to the kitchen scene and got the Rachel scene with Ellie appearing in the background but no Jada and no Ellie joining in.
I then uploaded the save file provided above and using that as my starting point I got Rachel, Ellie and Jada joining in.

Was there a trigger I hadn't noticed earlier in the game to enable this second version? Or is it a fault of the mod?

Thank you for your comments.
Sancho1969 - recreation - Jorund

Bugger me, it was my fault after all!

I have done several restarts to try various options and it wasn't until I started looking back at my saves that I realised I had entitled one "restart - no harem".

 

[recreation]

If I may, a way to envision the base GUI variables in every gui script... remember, they are just variables nothing more. That said they are designed to be the baseline for the rest of your VN to build off of meaning if you need a new style/var for any screen/scene (for this example let's randomly use Preferences screen and specifically checkboxes) then one would create new styles that use the gui basline for the initial setup then change any other screen specific as needed. This is why in this example for "check button text" you'd start by bringing in the baseline of the main gui's overall button/text styling:

style check_button_text is gui_button_text

Then you could alter just the specific attribute that you feel needs to be different from the gui baseline, let's say the size for example so after the above parent inheritance you'd need just one additional line added:

style check_button_text size 28

To make it even simpler you can combine the two as well. This way you don't have to keep rewriting the same baseline code over and over (that's why there is gui variables to begin with, to make things efficient):

style check_button_text is gui_button_text:
    size 28

So I don't add confusion, just think of the entire UI variable system is setup like a hierarchy or pyramid. This is so you don't have to repeat code over and over again, you can just inherit from a baseline style/var bank and simply change only the specific items needed. It's actually a clever system once you wrap you head around the inheritance system.

Wall of text, apologies but just hoping to help a bit.

BTW, I have the picker working correctly. I'm now sorting it so if "reset" that the sample color and associated hex/rgb data reflects the reset default color/data. It'll all be okay bud, I know it can be overwhelming at times... I feel that way at times too. When struggling just walk away for a bit, clear your mind, then attack it fresh keeping it basic and simple so you don't get yourself going in circles (which is easy to do, our minds start playing the code problems we face in loops and creating "tunnel vision").

Thanks, but that's not really what I'm talking about. It's more the simple stuff like for example:
- why does text "..." use the dialogue style
- why does the whole UI need to be refreshed when I want a single variable to change within the menu (I know the answer, but it's one of the reasons I hate the UI)
- why does the UI have to have a static size
- why does renpy generate images for the ui, when it could just use color codes

There's so much more, a lot of illogical things and barely anything documented. I don't remember much specific atm, because it's late and I'm tired, so I better go to bed, otherwise I'll rant the while night.

 

[Kassan06969]

What really sucks is when a variable gets added old saves don't work.