VN Ren'Py Completed Leap of Faith [Ch. 8 v1.0.3] [DriftyGames]

[deducify]

Been a real busy past week or so and just checking in now, going to leave this post here and start catching up after that... how come B&M always seem to show up again when I'm not around? Anyway...

Lexi Route completed (previously had done Cece)... I laughed, I cried, I got all worked up with anticipation of stuff I knew was coming and I'm not sure if that made it better or worse. The second playthrough made me appreciate the game even more with how well things work, the writing, and how it seems each route gives you a fuller picture and greater appreciation of it all (from different angles). So much happens that I get how people can play this over and over and never get tired of coming back to it. So MANY great little moments. Also, replay is hard not to do as this game just constantly goads you into thinking about all the girls you didn't pick, which is unfortunately extremely relatable to me, lol.

I also used (what ended up being my own highly customized version of) the great original music mod and though there were some songs here and there I either didn't care for or didn't feel fit as well as the final version, it had way more songs that did add a new aspect to the enjoyment and now I have bunch of new songs that I love (ended up making a playlist of all my favorite tracks from both versions that I've been listening to nonstop).

I did choose not to turn on the extras or dev commentary yet as I wanted to experience the first time through the Lexi route without it distracting or biasing me. I did read/view some of what's included in the files for it though and it's great stuff I'll be turning on in a future playthrough.

My personal verdict on the Lexi route: It was decent and she's adorable (and sexy) but it didn't stack up to the Cece route for me.

Spoiler: Brain dump on some of my thoughts from this playthrough(spoilers):

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Up next: Lexi/Holly followed by Holly solo. I'm not sure if I'll take a break or not between playthroughs this time... I do have the feeling of needing to let myself have a cool-down period after playing again but their routes are so connected I kinda want to do them while the Lexi one is fresh in my mind. Regardless, I won't be waiting nearly as long between playthroughs this time.

Literally what I'm planning to do as well. I am gonna try Lexi+Holly's path and then Linda's.

I wanted to take a break after my first walkthrough in order to replay the game again and keep it somewhat refreshing and not having to skip too much.

I haven't used the music mod but it seems like a good idea. Some of the tracks in this game are just outright amazing.
Speaking of...do you mind sharing your playlist? I'd love to check it out..

 

[deducify]

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I've been so busy working on the game this week, I almost didn't register it's Friday, and dev update already.

The whole week went for playtesting through the different routes, doing script changes and variable checking, and oh boy, it's a lot to test.

Script size is almost 18,000 lines of code and dialogue, which is way bigger than any of the chapters in LoF. The render count is less than LoF chapter 8 though, so that should give you some perspective of visual content vs. the amount of scripting going into a new release with new functionality and UI look.

It's been a very tough episode to make, with me upgrading from 3090 to 4090 GPUs early, only to realize it wasn't fully supported in Daz Studio and the current Nvidia drivers. In addition to that, a 3d asset that is used a lot in this release has been confirmed by Daz to be faulty and has been giving constant rendering errors. But playing through the episode now, it was all worth it.

Remember, this isn't LoF 2. It's a completely different game. And although it has its emotional moments, there's no way I'm going to put you through the emotional damage you got from LoF... at least not in episode 1.

But I hope you enjoy the release, and getting to know the girls. There's a lot of fun yet to come.

As usual, there will be no dev diary next week due to the release and the week after, before going back to weekly updates.

All the best, and stay safe out there.

// Drifty


SEVEN DAYS TO RELEASE!!

Man I just hope it runs without any stutters unlike LOF.

Maybe it's due to the poor optimisation of RenPy 8 ?

Summer's Gone ran on my PC smoothly without any issues and it's the best looking VN I have played so far. The renders and cinematics are beyond words.
I remember people being surprised that LOF ran on my PC when I first mentioned the stutters but after playing Summers Gone, thers definitely more to it.

Just hope that I don't have to deal with it in the new game coz it really ruins the moment.

 

[cxx]

Maybe it's due to the poor optimisation of RenPy 8 ?

renpy 8 isn't optimized yet.

 

[deducify]

renpy 8 isn't optimized yet.

Guess there's nothing I can do about it huh ? Any suggestions for improvement ?

 

[cxx]

Guess there's nothing I can do about it huh ? Any suggestions for improvement ?

new computer (made past 2-3 years).

 

[deducify]

new computer (made past 2-3 years).

Plannin on getting one this year nearing Christmas or maybe early next year. Guess I'll just wait and find out.

 

[cxx]

Plannin on getting one this year nearing Christmas or maybe early next year. Guess I'll just wait and find out.

if you get intel then need graphic card too.

 

[talion777]

2 days to go!

 

[deducify]

if you get intel then need graphic card too.

Yeah, gonna get a powerful pc. I need it for VMs and work.

 

[Elhemeer]

if you get intel then need graphic card too.

Are there desktop computers you don't need a graphics card to play games?

 

[deducify]

Are there desktop computers you don't need a graphics card to play games?

Ryzen processors have decent integrated graphics. AFAIK Ryzen does it better than Intel. Although the latest Intel processors hold up fairly well. It really depends on what games you're playing. VNs can definitely run without graphic cards just fine.

 

[Elhemeer]

Ryzen processors have decent integrated graphics. AFAIK Ryzen does it better than Intel. Although the latest Intel processors hold up fairly well. It really depends on what games you're playing. VNs can definitely run without graphic cards just fine.

I would have agreed with this statement (about Renpy games at least) until Renpy 8 games started to show up ...

 

[cxx]

Are there desktop computers you don't need a graphics card to play games?

well yes intel integrated is enuf for many games (even on many renpy games) and amd's ryzen is for many more but if wants to run graphic heavy game with all eyecandies on then will need radeon or nvidia.

 

[funkymonkeyjedi]

Often, a local computer shop can have some fairly decent rebuilt system for a new PC enthusiast to start out on for pretty damn cheap. One does not need to spend thousands of $$ to get the latest builds. Specially if you don't plan on spending all your time using it. This is a good option to figure out if you would really want to start saving for a higher end system a few months down the road.

You can also look into building your own. Generally speaking a desktop computer is like a big Lego set, all you really need is good guidance to buy the correct parts. More often than not building it yourself can save a few hundred $$, especially if you're fine with integrated graphics. Most motherboards will accept CPU's with integrated graphics as well as offer you the option of add a dedicated graphics card later on.

 

[deducify]

I would have agreed with this statement (about Renpy games at least) until Renpy 8 games started to show up ...

Yeah , my thoughts as well. Really annoyed with how RenPy 8 is handling things. Tbf it's not just just RenPy 8 these days. Games that have been released these past couple of years (AAA titles and others big games) have really poor optimisation. With the cost of GPU prices, the last thing we need are games that require twice the amount of resources to run when they could have run just fine with 'not so high tier specs' had they just been optimised well.

Atomic Heart, which was released recently is a great example for a well optimised game albeit it did take them years on end. I heard people were getting 100+ FPS with a decent processor and a GTX 1080 with pretty high graphics.

The last of us (Originally on PS3) which was ported for PC was poorly optimised as well. I played it on my PS3 way back and was absolutely stunned by how it looked and performed on it.

Times have changed....

 

[funkymonkeyjedi]

Yeah , my thoughts as well. Really annoyed with how RenPy 8 is handling things. Tbf it's not just just RenPy 8 these days. Games that have been released these past couple of years (AAA titles and others big games) have really poor optimisation. With the cost of GPU prices, the last thing we need are games that require twice the amount of resources to run when they could have run just fine with 'not so high tier specs' had they just been optimised well.

Atomic Heart, which was released recently is a great example for a well optimised game albeit it did take them years on end. I heard people were getting 100+ FPS with a decent processor and a GTX 1080 with pretty high graphics.

The last of us (Originally on PS3) which was ported for PC was poorly optimised as well. I played it on my PS3 way back and was absolutely stunned by how it looked and performed on it.

Times have changed....

Just an important note though, as much as I 100% agree with your observations on shitty releases and bad optimization, majority if not all Python based games(IE: Renpy games specifically), are accelerated through the CPU and not the graphics card. So having a 4090 founder edition Nvidia card won't benefit anything with AVNs.

Example bellow is a screenie I just took as I'm playing through LoF the kitchen scene where the MC is playing around with the lettuce (which is animated), GPU usage 0% and everything is being threaded through the CPU.

And my Radeon RX580 is a fairly old GPU. But I'm happy with it.

Spoiler

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[deducify]

Just an important note though, as much as I 100% agree with your observations on shitty releases and bad optimization, majority if not all Python based games(IE: Renpy games specifically), are accelerated through the CPU and not the graphics card. So having a 4090 founder edition Nvidia card won't benefit anything with AVNs.

Example bellow is a screenie I just took as I'm playing through LoF the kitchen scene where the MC is playing around with the lettuce (which is animated), GPU usage 0% and everything is being threaded through the CPU.

And my Radeon RX580 is a fairly old GPU. But I'm happy with it.

Spoiler

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Yeah I agree. Most python games heavily depend on the processor. Hence why I thought my old notebook (which was lying around catching dust) would work just fine. I was just ramping on about other games and their graphics requirements.

I was actually going to run these games off of a VM lol. Now, with the way how RenPy 8 is handling things, it is a terrible idea.

 

[funkymonkeyjedi]

Yeah I agree. Most python games heavily depend on the processor. Hence why I thought my old notebook (which was lying around catching dust) would work just fine. I was just ramping on about other games and their graphics requirements.

I was actually going to run these games off of a VM lol. Now, with the way how RenPy 8 is handling things, it is a terrible idea.

Yeh I hear you. Also in regards to games from Sony Playstations. Sony uses their own proprietary game engines, and converting them into something like Quake engines or others doesn't always work out well, as many 'routines' need to be rewritten, and often with many bugs. Not many game studios are willing to spend time and resources making a decent Emulator to run Sony console games..

In my experience the company that has the best optimizations for their games is Rockstar. They're on another level. Sure they're hackable, but same can be said about every other studio.

 

[Elhemeer]

Just an important note though, as much as I 100% agree with your observations on shitty releases and bad optimization, majority if not all Python based games(IE: Renpy games specifically), are accelerated through the CPU and not the graphics card. So having a 4090 founder edition Nvidia card won't benefit anything with AVNs.

Example bellow is a screenie I just took as I'm playing through LoF the kitchen scene where the MC is playing around with the lettuce (which is animated), GPU usage 0% and everything is being threaded through the CPU.

And my Radeon RX580 is a fairly old GPU. But I'm happy with it.

Spoiler

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All I know is that Renpy animations played well on my old computer before Renpy 8 ... when 8 started being introduced, those same animations suddenly became lag quagmires. And LoF froze completely trying to play the post-credit u4ia trailer.

When my computer then started showing signs due to recent power outages that it wasn't long for this world, I decided it was time for an upgrade, and now no more lagging.

Now, that could be the GPU, or the new processor, since they both got upgraded at the same time. But the new GPU definitely is helping with my non-Renpy games.

 

[deducify]

Yeh I hear you. Also in regards to games from Sony Playstations. Sony uses their own proprietary game engines, and converting them into something like Quake engines or others doesn't always work out well, as many 'routines' need to be rewritten, and often with many bugs. Not many game studios are willing to spend time and resources making a decent Emulator to run Sony console games..

In my experience the company that has the best optimizations for their games is Rockstar. They're on another level. Sure they're hackable, but same can be said about every other studio.

Lol yeah. TBH I'd just let Last of Us and other games like Uncharted be exclusive to the playstation. I guess everyone will have eyes on GTA 6 (whenever that comes out !) and hope it doesn't turn into something like CP 2077.