DAZ or Ren'Py: Where to start...

[SodiumPoisoning]

I am playing with the idea of making my own Ren'Py game in my spare time as a hobby. I have some backgrounds in both animation and programming but am new to both DAZ and Ren'Py. So my question is, which one do you feel is more important to focus on first?

• Coding the game & polishing off the script first?
• Or, focusing on getting crisp renders?
• Or just figure everything out side by side?

A little background on me:
I was in an 3D animation college course but dropped out before my 3rd and final year because I got disillusioned with it and lost interest in pursuing it as a career. It's been like 6 years but the fundamentals of composition, lighting, posing and all that should be in my head somewhere. ;P
I did do some coding in the animation course and I have also done some coding in other college courses as well as winging it for some short term jobs. I'm pretty good at picking it up on the fly as needed but am in no way an expert at any of it.

I've experimented with some stuff in Ren'Py this last week or so and to my surprise so far it's been smooth sailing for the most part, I can get it to do what I want it to do thus far. Haven't really dipped my toe into DAZ yet aside from installing it and all the free assets.

So anyways, all thoughts, feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Porcus Dev]

Start by testing both programs and asking around when in doubt... but for the creation of the game, I think it's essential to use both at the same time, unless it's a really short game, lol

Some people start creating the text first and others the images... I think the most usual thing is to have a basic scheme of the scene, to know what is going to happen and more or less what is going to be said, to start creating the scenes in DAZ and while they are being rendered (a process that can be long, specially if there are animations) you can go on creating the text and the programming with Renpy.
Then you put it all together and check it out; you can modify the text to fit the scenes or create new scenes that fit the text better... but the two programs go hand in hand in the creation of the game, you can't wait to have everything created in Renpy and then start with DAZ, or vice-versa

 

[polywog]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your project.

spend a week learning renpy make 5 or 6 projects and then after you've mastered that
you'll have a better understanding of what goes into it, what it needs.

you don't buy gas and tires before you own the car, right?
get the car first, get the engine running, then worry abut parts tires and gas


some people might try to tell you, you're going to need gas anyway so you way as well get it first, or at the same time, but that's bad advice, because gasoline goes bad. get the engine going first

 

[Higurashika]

Daz is more complicated than Renpy. Start with Daz.

 

[polywog]

Daz is more complicated than Renpy. Start with Daz.

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[Saki_Sliz]

it can be like a back and forth, I say start with daz simply because, it is hard to code if you don't have an idea of what assets you are going to be working with. making assets, tests even, lets you practice importing real assets and using them. The only issue is for more complicated games (I would say for anything but renpy) you sometimes learn along the way that the code is limited and after learning a bit you get a few ideas on how to improve the art so that your code is easier in the future, but that means trying to do different art or metrics. With renpy your limited in some ways, at least in terms of the style of the game and thus the style of the art metrics, so it would be safe to start with daz at first. I would also use something like gimp to do mock ups of scenes outside of the game code, this way you can figure out what size you want things to be.

 

[polywog]

it can be like a back and forth, I say start with daz simply because, it is hard to code if you don't have an idea of what assets you are going to be working with. making assets, tests even, lets you practice importing real assets and using them. The only issue is for more complicated games (I would say for anything but renpy) you sometimes learn along the way that the code is limited and after learning a bit you get a few ideas on how to improve the art so that your code is easier in the future, but that means trying to do different art or metrics. With renpy your limited in some ways, at least in terms of the style of the game and thus the style of the art metrics, so it would be safe to start with daz at first. I would also use something like gimp to do mock ups of scenes outside of the game code, this way you can figure out what size you want things to be.

write the book first, then the screenplay, make the movie, then use still frames from the movie in the visual novel

 

[Funbag]

Depends what style of game you are going for. If you want a straight up semi-linear VN, then Ren'Py can be learned pretty quickly/easily, it's the more difficult concepts that can be tougher to wrap your head around starting out.

I don't personally use Daz, but from what I've gathered around here it can be a significantly steeper learning curve, however it's something you learn by doing (and you've already got previous experience), so you can get a basic Ren'Py script going and stick the renders in it as you learn, essentially knocking out 2 birds with 1 stone.

 

[SodiumPoisoning]

So by some miracle I am off the next 5 days and have a lot of down time so I intend to spend a chunk of time playing with DAZ. I'm hoping all the time I spent in 3DS Max (main tool we used, my prof fucking loved it), Maya (we used this less) and Zbrush (didn't get to do all that much in it as I dropped out not long after we were taught it but fun) actually left an impression. Also worth noting that my computer is in dire need of an upgrade. Not looking forwards to render times, they were not fun in college and we had machines built to render. >.<

The initial plan is to work on a proof of concept game, I'm thinking the whole game lasts one night. MC goes clubbing, tries to pick up ladies, you choose where he goes, who he talks and what he says. Succeed and maybe you make it home with a pretty lady on your arm or maybe she's naughty and you skip all that and sneak out back to an alley or the bathrooms. Or, you strike out and get a bad end, end up back home alone... Nothing crazy, nothing too complicated. Just dip a toe and test the waters.

My master plan is a choice base VN where every choice has an effect in where the story takes you. (No sandbox, I'm not a big fan of repeatedly searching every room in my house to find someone without a walkthrough or having to either be in my room or exit the house to fast travel elsewhere... =/ Ya.) It's a really ambitious idea and if pulled off will mean that the game would offer a lot of replayability because there is no way for you to see every path in the game. There will be no main LI (love interests) in the game and your choice to go to A instead of B means you meet one LI but lose out of the opportunity to meet another. I always feel really bad playing games where I have one lady thrust at me and I have no real interest in her but that other gal I like only gets to be my side piece unless I convince the first gal to let her join in (looking at you Acting Lessons... God I hated Megan for some reason). But I digress.

Here's some of the things I have been thinking of:

• College setting (super original I know), loosely based on stuff I saw or experienced in my many failed attempts at post secondary. XD
• Updates will consist of 7 days at a time, Monday --> Sunday.
• Part 1 is 16 weeks, so 7*16 = 112 days. Every subsequent part is 15. (Part 1 has week 0 hence why 1 more)
• The goal would be either 4 or 6 parts.
• Each week day you can chose to go to class in the morning or do something else. But miss too much class and you fail out of the program and are kicked out. But worry not, going to class will also give opportunities to meet people.
• Weekends, unlike week days which are fairly structured, will have a bunch of stuff that could happen.
• Certain days will have events that happen every week such as pub nights. Who doesn't like to party with a bunch of hot, drunk college girls? ;P
• In theory, you could play through the whole game, focus on going to class, be an excellent student, and leave a virgin? Or play the other way, bed anything that looks your way and fail out in a term but leave a legacy as the most prolific ladies man to ever step onto campus. Or middle ground it, do enough to succeed in your studies and find your waifu.
• If I can somehow execute my idea, then if wouldn't be that hard to start off with a couple choices for LIs initially then at a later date retroactively add more, if I so desired.

Then again this could all be a pipe dream, who knows what the future holds. But writing this all out has started to scare me so I'm going to just stop. ;P

 

[Saki_Sliz]

MC goes clubbing, tries to pick up ladies, you choose where he goes, who he talks and what he says.

sounds manageable as you get your toes wet, as for everything else... detail detail details, implementing details (such as polishing and fixing, as well as specific game mechanics and encounters) takes the most amount of time (vs games that rely solely on a reused game mechanic).

If I can somehow execute my idea, then if wouldn't be that hard to start off with a couple choices for LIs initially then at a later date retroactively add more, if I so desired.

Are you saying you are looking for a partner/programmer?

 

[SodiumPoisoning]

Are you saying you are looking for a partner/programmer?

I think I'll be OK on the programming side of things. That I am fairly confident in being able to pull off. It's the whole DAZ side of things that is going to be the nightmare. Firstly getting comfortable with the software is no small task. It's fun to mess around in but it's going to take some serious man hours to get to an acceptable level of competence. Also, assets are hella expensive yo.

It would make things a lot easier to team up with an artist who has the knowledge and resources to pull off the whole DAZ side of things but then I would be giving up a lot of creative control over the overall vision. And that scares me so here I am playing around with DAZ. I'm just doing the tutorials and playing around with the included assets for now. I'll get to binge watching tutorials later. ;P

 

[Saki_Sliz]

yeah, it takes a while to master. I don't even use daz to the fullest, I just use it for blocking out character ideas so I can't even help debug rendering issues when people posts questions.

 

[HopesGaming]

Coding for ren'py is easy and no need to overthink that part. Especially with what you're saying about no sandbox.
It seems like it is more a fapping game than anything story related so no need to focus on the script part.
With that said, still a good idea to read up on dialogue writing and character personalities. New people tend to underestimate what it takes to write a character and end up getting 'beaten up' by the playerbase for it.
But, as it is, in the end, a fap game then the main focus should be daz. You already light years ahead compared to other newbies with your background as daz is all about composition and lighting work. You just need to learn the software (eg. where the dof setting is etc.).

Good luck.

 

[SodiumPoisoning]

So does anyone have any suggestions for must have assets to get started in DAZ with?

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

So does anyone have any suggestions for must have assets to get started in DAZ with?

Well, there is billion of asssets, hard to tell without any hints.
-Michael 8 Pro Bundle & Victoria 8 Pro Bundle for vanilla genital elements.
-Iray Light Manager pro, for a cool lights management panel.
-Fit control + its add-on to help with clothes.
-Look At Me 1 or 2 to save some posing time.
-Iray Interior Cam can be helpful.
-Scene optimizer if you need it.

 

[SodiumPoisoning]

Well, there is billion of asssets, hard to tell without any hints.
-Michael 8 Pro Bundle & Victoria 8 Pro Bundle for vanilla genital elements.
-Iray Light Manager pro, for a cool lights management panel.
-Fit control + its add-on to help with clothes.
-Look At Me 1 or 2 to save some posing time.
-Iray Interior Cam can be helpful.
-Scene optimizer if you need it.

RIP bank account. XD