Considering making a VN framework with 3D renders

[PinkArdillaDev]

I already have my game rendered and I'm deciding for an engine but I found these issues

Issues I face with Renpy:
- Very slow to load in old devices, the whole game with every file has to download instead of downloading as you play
- Browsers have broken it before making it unusable (patches could take a long periods of time)
- No 3D rendering at all which means everything has to be an image/video

Issues with Godot:
- You have to code literally everything (image zooming for example)
- The UI builder is far less intuitive than CSS in web development

Do you think enough people would be interested in a VN framework that fixes these things and is primarily executed in the browser?

 

[Living In A Lewd World]

No, probably not. Not to think about how much time you would probably have to invest to realise an engine that only offers equivalent basic functions to devs and players that ren'py does.

 

[anne O'nymous]

Do you think enough people would be interested in a VN framework that fixes these things and is primarily executed in the browser?

Not really because the public is relatively limited since, globally speaking, only iOS users would be interested. Yet as long as Apple do not filter the content.

For Ren'Py, there's the size limits imposed by Android, but it's possible to work around that if one pass enough time working on his CGs. For the rest, if a game can not be ported on Android due to the functionality it use, it will also not be portable on WebGL, and your engine would not compensate this.
As for Godot or Unity, if someone choose them, it's because he know how to deal with their limitations. Anyway I'm more that certain that, for Unity, the WebGL offer is already consequent.

Anyway, what do you mean by "VN framework" ? Or, more precisely, a framework for what ?
Godot ? WebGL (therefore more a Twine clone than anything else) ? Ren'Py (after all, the original WebGL feature was a framework over its core) ?

 

[PinkArdillaDev]

Not really because the public is relatively limited since, globally speaking, only iOS users would be interested. Yet as long as Apple do not filter the content.

For Ren'Py, there's the size limits imposed by Android, but it's possible to work around that if one pass enough time working on his CGs. For the rest, if a game can not be ported on Android due to the functionality it use, it will also not be portable on WebGL, and your engine would not compensate this.
As for Godot or Unity, if someone choose them, it's because he know how to deal with their limitations. Anyway I'm more that certain that, for Unity, the WebGL offer is already consequent.

Anyway, what do you mean by "VN framework" ? Or, more precisely, a framework for what ?
Godot ? WebGL (therefore more a Twine clone than anything else) ? Ren'Py (after all, the original WebGL feature was a framework over its core) ?

With VN framework I meant VN engine
But I'm thinking specifically for browser as I dont like Renpy in the browser at all

 

[PinkArdillaDev]

No, probably not. Not to think about how much time you would probably have to invest to realise an engine that only offers equivalent basic functions to devs and players that ren'py does.

Thank you for your input, I'll see if I can implement what I want in renpy before moving on

 

[Mr_Ainz]

I feel like the question is bit useless. If you make a good tool that has a great UI/UX and is convenient then people will use it. Do you like coding? If you don't know know much about engines and coding it's going to take a lot of effort and time. I'll always tell people that have an idea to go ahead and develop it. Even if you drop it off you are still learning on the way.

Me personally idk a lot about the graphical aspect of game development so I can't give you a good answer to your question.

 

[Mr_Ainz]

My good sir could you explain what you mean by this?

globally speaking, only iOS users would be interested.

A browser tool is useful on every platform. Even if there are better products there's a merit to publishing another alternative, though I may be looking at it with a really positive lens.

 

[anne O'nymous]

But I'm thinking specifically for browser as I dont like Renpy in the browser at all

Well, don't use the WebGL version of Ren'Py then
Or use it correctly, because unlike what you said, the CGs are downloaded while you play, and benefit from the prediction, what mean that they are cached prior to their actual needs. It's not different than any other software, if you want an optimized result, you need to have an optimized content.

 

[anne O'nymous]

[sorry for the double post]

My good sir could you explain what you mean by this?

Of course I can, it's really basic and relatively obvious.

Ren'Py games can be natively available on Windows (starting to Vista), MacOS X, Linux (and with the linux compatibility mode enabled, BSD), Android and iOS (but Apple forbid adult games), plus it have a WebAssembly/WebGL support. This while Godot games too can be natively available on Windows, MacOS X, Linux, BSD, Android, iOS (same limits than above) and WebAssembly, plus XBox and Windows CE.

Said otherwise, they can be natively played by more or less 90% of the public. The sole issue is with Adult Games, because Apple forbid any adult content on iOS, what force iOS users to play them through a web browser.

A browser tool is useful on every platform.

It need to be really sadist to force people to play your Godot or Ren'Py game on a browser, when you could provide them the same game native to their platform without much work (just compile it for the right target for Godot, and build the right distribution for Ren'Py). And it need to be really masochist to play the said game on a browser, when there's a version native to your platform.

 

[Erosoft]

Looks like all of your criticisms could be solved with one of the several VN frameworks created in Godot. I particularly recommend

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which attempts to emulate Ren'Py functionality. The

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is a good starting point.