VN Ren'Py Shattered [v0.21] [Yeda Games]

[RabidSloth]

Every time I see a new update for this game, I get excited. As soon as it's finished, I'm going to dive back in head first and balls-deep

I don't know what the best solution would be for a workable walkthrough mod/feature, or a more streamlined external one (I don't think I've seen the new/current version yet). I love that the game is as long and branching as it is. But that does also make you feel stressed and like you need to keep several dozen backup saves if you're looking and hoping for a particular outcome, and then aren't sure where and on what decision in your 30+ hour and counting playthrough that you "messed up".

It's been quite a while since I last played, but I remember always thinking that what the game really needed the most (imho) was some kind of gallery or scene replay feature. Whether the dev makes one in-house, or consults with one of the many modders on here to make one, there are just too many hot scenes that I'd love to be able to just pull up again from a menu anytime after unlocking them.

 

[Jash83]

The size of the uncompressed version of this game just blows my mind. Almost 20 gigabytes?! (And this is a game WITHOUT sound or music, mind.) That's the size of a decent major AAA game release (for example, did you know that the Steam version of Bayonetta is less than 13GB?)! NO game on this site, no matter WHAT it is, should even APPROACH that size! Certainly not a freaking Ren'Py VN! Especially since the compressed version is less than 10% of that size, and if you expect me to believe that it makes THAT much of a difference in actual quality, I'll file your assertion under that offer to buy the Brooklyn Bridge I received yesterday. It's just... daft!

 

[Avaron1974]

The size of the uncompressed version of this game just blows my mind. Almost 20 gigabytes?! That's the size of a decent major AAA game release (for example, did you know that the Steam version of Bayonetta is less than 13GB?)! NO game on this site, no matter WHAT it is, should even APPROACH that size! Certainly not a freaking Ren'Py VN! Especially since the compressed version is less than 10% of that size, and if you expect me to believe that it makes THAT much of a difference in actual quality, I'll file your assertion under that offer to buy the Brooklyn Bridge I received yesterday. It's just... daft!

See, some of us like to view our images with a high amount of quality.

I didn't spend thousands on my rig, buy a 4k monitor and invest in fibre broadband to view my games in peasant vision.

The compressed version is there for a reason. I don't see why I should lose on quality when an alternative exists already.

 

[RPDL]

The size of the uncompressed version of this game just blows my mind. Almost 20 gigabytes?! That's the size of a decent major AAA game release (for example, did you know that the Steam version of Bayonetta is less than 13GB?)! NO game on this site, no matter WHAT it is, should even APPROACH that size! Certainly not a freaking Ren'Py VN! Especially since the compressed version is less than 10% of that size, and if you expect me to believe that it makes THAT much of a difference in actual quality, I'll file your assertion under that offer to buy the Brooklyn Bridge I received yesterday. It's just... daft!

 

[RoxTheVile]

See, some of us like to view our images with a high amount of quality.

I didn't spend thousands on my rig, buy a 4k monitor and invest in fibre broadband to view my games in peasant vision.

The compressed version is there for a reason. I don't see why I should lose on quality when an alternative exists already.

Could you maybe show a side by side comparison? I'm on the fence about giving the full version a try (limited space smh)

 

[mondy159]

the patches could be compressed and paste it in compressed game

 

[Shelscott50]

Okay. How does THIS work? I have Never tried it before.
(I have ALWAYS just Saved, then deleting prev version before DL'ing New version)
-I do not mess with "update" patches.
I currently Have version 15 DL'd.
- what do I do with the v0.16 update patch.
(please, skip the DL and unzip portion. assume I have Already done THAT!)

 

[Master of Puppets]

I will gladly hear your thoughts on how I could improve this walkthrough, considering that:
— I have to keep it relatively short;
— I have to explain what consequences your choices might have in the future.
Do note that the game has 2.3 million words, five main love routes, two secondary main routes, four big routes that define Blake's personality, and a ton of other stuff that sometimes confuses even me. I'm all for improvement, and this is actually the second iteration of the walkthrough, but it seems like I can't make it better without your advice.

Maybe adding a quick section after the main section that just goes through each character in turn, and summarises the choices needed to get through each of their routes? Might be more digestible for some people than the main walkthrough. Though the game is complicated enough that the walkthrough has to be pretty complicated too. I don't know if you've ever thought of adding an in-game walkthrough too, might make it a bit easier for some people to keep track of if it's on the menu options in game. It's easy to do from a technical standpoint, though deciding exactly what to put in limited space is another matter, and adding in hints to all the old choices would be quite time-consuming.

 

[Avaron1974]

Okay. How does THIS work? I have Never tried it before.
(I have ALWAYS just Saved, then deleting prev version before DL'ing New version)
-I do not mess with "update" patches.
I currently Have version 15 DL'd.
- what do I do with the v0.16 update patch.
(please, skip the DL and unzip portion. assume I have Already done THAT!)

Patch should just copy and paste into your existing game folders.

 

[Avaron1974]

Could you maybe show a side by side comparison? I'm on the fence about giving the full version a try (limited space smh)

Seems I may actually owe an apology on this one.

So I checked images in the compressed and normal but unlike a lot of compressed games I didn't see any difference.

So I ran the images through both FastStone and IrfanView and there was no difference in quality.

After checking my other games because there is usually a very noticable difference with my set up, it seems the others are native or upscaled 4k which is why the difference can be seen.

Both images here are 1920 by 1080.

So, for the very first time (please don't verify) since joining this site, I was wrong. Compressed version looks just as good as the normal. I sit corrected.

 

[RoxTheVile]

Seems I may actually owe an apology on this one.

So I checked images in the compressed and normal but unlike a lot of compressed games I didn't see any difference.

So I ran the images through both FastStone and IrfanView and there was no difference in quality.

After checking my other games because there is usually a very noticable difference with my set up, it seems the others are native or upscaled 4k which is why the difference can be seen.

Both images here are 1920 by 1080.

So, for the very first time (please don't verify) since joining this site, I was wrong. Compressed version looks just as good as the normal. I sit corrected.

Thank you my good sir.

Guess I'll stick to the compressed version then. I was worried that the compressed version didn't have any sounds since the game can be so quiet.

 

[TedMaul]

Oh damn, I really liked the earlier versions of this game. I guess there was always a slight issue with the kind of over extended inner monologue of Blake and conversations with other characters. I'm probably alone here but I don't really care too much about the dystopian sci fi story. I'm finding myself clicking through endless internal Blake thoughts about whatever, in different poses and clothes. I'm not sure the author knows where the fuck they are going with this story, which is a shame.

 

[Avaron1974]

Oh damn, I really liked the earlier versions of this game. I guess there was always a slight issue with the kind of over extended inner monologue of Blake and conversations with other characters. I'm probably alone here but I don't really care too much about the dystopian sci fi story. I'm finding myself clicking through endless internal Blake thoughts about whatever, in different poses and clothes. I'm not sure the author knows where the fuck they are going with this story, which is a shame.

Story is going fine. Just beacause it isn't something you are interested in.

 

[jackfuckthissitemanson]

is there a gallery where you can replay any scene from any route? if not thats something that should definitely make it into the final cut of the game

 

[YedaGames]

The size of the uncompressed version of this game just blows my mind. Almost 20 gigabytes?! (And this is a game WITHOUT sound or music, mind.) That's the size of a decent major AAA game release (for example, did you know that the Steam version of Bayonetta is less than 13GB?)! NO game on this site, no matter WHAT it is, should even APPROACH that size! Certainly not a freaking Ren'Py VN! Especially since the compressed version is less than 10% of that size, and if you expect me to believe that it makes THAT much of a difference in actual quality, I'll file your assertion under that offer to buy the Brooklyn Bridge I received yesterday. It's just... daft!

There actually is music, and there are sounds, although scarce.
But by default I render my images in png, which isn't the most lenient of formats. I then compress them into webp with ~50% drop in quality, which gives you this 90% difference.
There are more than 6k images in 1920x1080 resolution in my game, and given the average size of roughly 3 Mb for each png file, I think you can do the math yourself.

the patches could be compressed and paste it in compressed game

I fail to see why would you do that, considering that those patches are three times the size of a normal compressed version that already includes everything you need.
Plus, you will have to modify the script files to make sure the game searches for webp files instead of png, and delete all music triggers. It's not exactly hard work, but why would you want to do that?

Maybe adding a quick section after the main section that just goes through each character in turn, and summarises the choices needed to get through each of their routes? Might be more digestible for some people than the main walkthrough. Though the game is complicated enough that the walkthrough has to be pretty complicated too. I don't know if you've ever thought of adding an in-game walkthrough too, might make it a bit easier for some people to keep track of if it's on the menu options in game. It's easy to do from a technical standpoint, though deciding exactly what to put in limited space is another matter, and adding in hints to all the old choices would be quite time-consuming.

Well, in order to get on a love interest route you rarely need to do more than one or two correct choices, and they're already highlighted in the walkthrough by this character's specific colour.
I don't know how to make an in-game walkthrough, as my coding skills never actually progressed since the moment I started making my game. Perhaps I will try to dissect the walkthrough mode at some point, but it won't happen until I'm finished with the main story.

So, for the very first time (please don't verify) since joining this site, I was wrong. Compressed version looks just as good as the normal. I sit corrected.

Interesting. For me the difference is VERY noticeable, as I can clearly see pixelisation on character sprites, for example. As I said, my webp conversion has 50% quality retained, which is about as low as I can get without completely turning everything into blurry mess. I am happy that it's not as apparent as I thought, though

 

[Blood58]

Is there a route that can give the MC breasts? If so, how can i get it?

 

[m3jez]

Is there a route that can give the MC breasts? If so, how can i get it?

not yet, although I could be wrong as I haven't played all routes

 

[SuicideByTaco]

Is there a route that can give the MC breasts? If so, how can i get it?

Yeah i tried looking for that route as well or even a full transition route. Didn't see anything in the images folder regarding those routes though which is actually shocking. I feel like at this point i'm just watching a manly dude change his hairstyles all damn game. At least make the MC look feminine is all i ask at this point. I mean even the side characters look amazing, what happened to the MC??? 0_o

 

[YedaGames]

The fact that people keep ignoring my comments on this subject, which I write on almost every page, actually starts to aggravate me.

 

[Patchez]

I will gladly hear your thoughts on how I could improve this walkthrough, considering that:
— I have to keep it relatively short;
— I have to explain what consequences your choices might have in the future.
Do note that the game has 2.3 million words, five main love routes, two secondary main routes, four big routes that define Blake's personality, and a ton of other stuff that sometimes confuses even me. I'm all for improvement, and this is actually the second iteration of the walkthrough, but it seems like I can't make it better without your advice.

Honestly your best choice would be asking those professional walkthrough guys that post on F95 and actually have their own Patreons, like Lain, Joker, shaddy, scrappy and so on.

Imo you need to get creative, because you are honestly right about it being so big. This is also made because there is no walkthrough mod and no in-built game system that helps see the choices, meaning that the entire game rests on that 456 page pdf, especially for people that want to replay. Off the top of my head the therapist visits you need to get FULL points and lack of in game saying [+1] makes it more difficult and having to switch between pdf and game is distracting and I think made me fail more than once, and I have 2 monitors, I can't imagine how bad it is with 1.

Personally I think it would be best if you literally cut the game the into multiple pieces, like multiple walkthroughs for 5 main paths (or similar). You can also try adding some help system in game, a possible html style walkthrough where it's possible to collapse large parts of texts because of paths/choices and another highly important thing that I noticed you missing in pdf, bool variables like [VanTold] = True for use in future scenes. Those bools make it much more trivial to find effects of choices by using ctrl F and seeing where they appear down the line see what you missed. They are used by said professional walkthrough modders because it doesn't require in depth understanding of game and takes no text/explanation