Ren'Py The Headmaster [v0.17.1 Beta] [Altos and Herdone]

[torpedogoat]

Discord would be best, I believe, for sharing this

Unfortunately, I am almost too stupid to use Discord, and certainly too stupid to understand why anyone would want to use it for support or publicity other than to torture their users. As far as I can see, Discord is not fit for any other purpose. Which was a roundabout way of saying I am boycotting this abomination. So maybe someone else would like to let them know?

And we had dozens confirming that it's fine.

Sure, but there is no contradiction. The vast majority of decompression programs handle this file just fine, with no comment. 7-Zip also handles it just fine (I think), but pedantically points out that the file doesn't follow the standard without saying how. Which has become a problem because 7-Zip is so widely used and its users make a lot of noise about the 'broken' file. Part of the problem is that if you google for the text of the warning, you are told it's typically a symptom of a corrupted download. So many of these users try to download it in various different ways trying to fix the perceived problem. If I was the developer of the game, that's not the kind of situation I would want my game to be associated with.

 

[TheDevian]

Sure, but there is no contradiction. The vast majority of decompression programs handle this file just fine, with no comment. 7-Zip also handles it just fine (I think), but pedantically points out that the file doesn't follow the standard without saying how. Which has become a problem because 7-Zip is so widely used and its users make a lot of noise about the 'broken' file. Part of the problem is that if you google for the text of the warning, you are told it's typically a symptom of a corrupted download. So many of these users try to download it in various different ways trying to fix the perceived problem. If I was the developer of the game, that's not the kind of situation I would want my game to be associated with.

Except that the people who are having problems are using 7zip and WinRAR just like the ones who are not having problems. The same versions of the same programs. There seems to be something else at play here.

 

[torpedogoat]

Except that the people who are having problems are using 7zip and WinRAR just like the ones who are not having problems. The same versions of the same programs. There seems to be something else at play here.

If someone using graphical 7-Zip on Japanese Windows has a problem with the file and I can reproduce it on US Linux using the Linux console version of 7-Zip and a completely unrelated program, then it seems almost certain that something is actually wrong with the file. Maybe we should compare check sums?

But while I wrote this I had another idea: Could it be related to a weird CPU bug? My CPU is an AMD Ryzen 7, and it doesn't run entirely stable.

 

[TheDevian]

If someone using graphical 7-Zip on Japanese Windows has a problem with the file and I can reproduce it on US Linux using the Linux console version of 7-Zip and a completely unrelated program, then it seems almost certain that something is actually wrong with the file. Maybe we should compare check sums?

But while I wrote this I had another idea: Could it be related to a weird CPU bug? My CPU is an AMD Ryzen 7, and it doesn't run entirely stable.

Odd, since I am also using an Ryzen 7 on this PC, though I don't seem to have any stability issues with it. I run a heavy load on it daily.

But that is what I was thinking, there seems to be some other factor at play, but I am not able to track it down so far. It's one of the strangest things I have seen in a while. It seems pretty rare, whatever it is.

 

[SuperMaxo]

Unfortunately, I am almost too stupid to use Discord, and certainly too stupid to understand why anyone would want to use it for support or publicity other than to torture their users. As far as I can see, Discord is not fit for any other purpose. Which was a roundabout way of saying I am boycotting this abomination. So maybe someone else would like to let them know?

OK. I posted your bug on discord

Here's the reply I got, and the checksums mentioned in that reply

EDIT:
I stepped away for a bit, and came back with more discussion, so attaching another screenshot

 

[TheDevian]

OK. I posted your bug on discord

Here's the reply I got, and the checksums mentioned in that reply

EDIT:
I stepped away for a bit, and came back with more discussion, so attaching another screenshot

Interesting, so are the people having that issue all on Linux?

 

[devonY7]

Interesting, so are the people having that issue all on Linux?

linux users can always use proton as a workaround . i can confirm this game runs just fine with it on steamos .

 

[TheDevian]

linux users can always use proton as a workaround . i can confirm this game runs just fine with it on steamos .

The issue seems while extracting, a handful of people are getting checksum errors, but why, I can't figure out, since most of us are not having that problem.

 

[torpedogoat]

OK. I posted your bug on discord

Here's the reply I got, and the checksums mentioned in that reply

EDIT:
I stepped away for a bit, and came back with more discussion, so attaching another screenshot

Thanks!

Interesting discussion. It went in a very strange direction with this silly (and potentially dangerous) digression about Linux. I hope the fact that a Linux user (me) is trying to help fix a problem that is usually reported by Windows users doesn't lead to the perfectly good Linux support of the game being removed for no good reason.

It does in fact seem to be a problem with itch.io not serving the original ZIP files, unless someone else is interfering further down the line (unlikely). I downloaded the PC version from home and now also the Mac version from work, and both have incorrect checksums:

$ sha256sum the-headmaster-*
46f0b3b6ca1010e7d385d39583a7b44fe0196f11240487a846e2e4d16fe6d00b the-headmaster-mac.zip
32188fef8b586661c1ea0b8d7f113dc62d60e19ed2ae7ab9c04b2da027ff8b10 the-headmaster-win.zip

Both were downloaded with an up-to-date Firefox-based browser direct from itch.io. Both cause the following diagnostic message when tested using the advanced diagnostic tool unzipada.exe -t:

raised ZIP.ARCHIVE_CORRUPTED : Bad (or no) end-of-central-directory

(This is followed by some extremely technical information.)

That wouldn't be a problem, but the fact that 7-Zip gives out an obscure warning ("Headers Error") while successfully extracting the files is causing some confusion.

PS: I also downloaded the Windows version from Gofile, and it is the same semi-broken version that I got from itch.io (same sha256 checksum).
PPS: The file sizes are also slightly different. My PC version ZIP file has a size of 8,072,505,099 bytes. The screenshot says it should be 8,072,455,859. So the file I got from itch.io is 49,240 bytes (48.1 KB) larger.

 

[torpedogoat]

Now I also tested the Windows version of Mykock's Manor (again as downloaded from itch.io) with unzipada -t. It found no error.

However, the Windows version of Stormside, as downloaded from itch.io, produces exactly the same error!

Potentially, itch.io is manipulating the archives of some games, presumably only doing it for the most popular downloads, and probably adding a payload of about 48 KB.

There is an alternative explanation: There are actually two official versions of The Headmaster V 0.16.4.3, and the checksums in the screenshots from Discord are of the other one.

A third explanation (least likely IMO): It could be done by Cloudflare, potentially targeting users in some countries only.

PS: I tested two other popular Ren'Py games that have download options direct from itch.io. That New Teacher does not have this problem. Cosy Cafe does.

PPS: See below. It turns out that itch.io is serving an older variant of 0.16.4.3. It also turns out that the problematic ZIP files are created by Ren'Py, which uses a faulty Python library. The Ren'Py games without this problem have probably just been extracted and then zipped with a different tool. So nothing nefarious is going on.

 

[SuperMaxo]

torpedogoat

Posted your last two comments on Discord, got this reply.

(I'm just the messenger, the go-between, please don't shoot the messenger_

 

[torpedogoat]

torpedogoat

Posted your last two comments on Discord, got this reply.

(I'm just the messenger, the go-between, please don't shoot the messenger_

Thanks a lot for doing this! That's actually an almost perfect resolution of the matter. Evidently the problem is with Ren'Py, which uses a Python library that doesn't follow the ZIP standard correctly. Some Ren'Py games don't have this problem, which is apparently due to either patching their Python to fix the bug, or (much more likely), unpacking and repacking their ZIP files for some manual changes. You can tell that a lot of developers do that, because when they are using Windows it typically leads to the executable bits required by the Linux version getting lost because they don't exist on Windows filesystems. I have to fix that for every tenth Ren'Py game or so that I download.

Apparently there are unzip tools other than unzipada that refuse to extract these files. Which is why CythereanDay recommends using 7-Zip, which extracts with a warning.

 

[SuperMaxo]

Thanks a lot for doing this! That's actually an almost perfect resolution of the matter. Evidently the problem is with Ren'Py, which uses a Python library that doesn't follow the ZIP standard correctly. Some Ren'Py games don't have this problem, which is apparently due to either patching their Python to fix the bug, or (much more likely), unpacking and repacking their ZIP files for some manual changes. You can tell that a lot of developers do that, because when they are using Windows it typically leads to the executable bits required by the Linux version getting lost because they don't exist on Windows filesystems. I have to fix that for every tenth Ren'Py game or so that I download.

Apparently there are unzip tools other than unzipada that refuse to extract these files. Which is why CythereanDay recommends using 7-Zip, which extracts with a warning.

I'm a on Mac, and I also get this executable error thingy all the time, but I never knew the reason (not saying I understand all that you're saying, tech-wise, but I kind of get it, in an elusive, just-out-of-my-reach kind of way)

I'll relay your latest comment over, but I don't really expect more on this matter, until maybe next version build of this game: who knows, maybe all this back-and-forth will result in some improvement in the future, right?

 

[TheDevian]

torpedogoat

Posted your last two comments on Discord, got this reply.

(I'm just the messenger, the go-between, please don't shoot the messenger_

The only issue with that is that it is happening to only a handful of people, on a lot of games. I am seeing this error on many pages here.

 

[torpedogoat]

The only issue with that is that it is happening to only a handful of people, on a lot of games. I am seeing this error on many pages here.

I think that's probably due to the amount of variation:

• A lot of people unzip with tools that ignore the problem and don't even warn. Presumably that includes the built-in zip/unzip functionality of Windows, which should take care of most people.
• Most other people use 7-Zip, and most of those will just ignore the warning.
• Some developers repackage the ZIP files (presumably usually for unrelated reasons), which fixes the problem.
• Some developers know about the problem and patch the Python zip functionality, or used a pre-patched version of Ren'Py. (This option is pure speculation.)
• (Added later) A lot of people download compressed versions. These are always repackaged and so don't have the problem.

 

[TheDevian]

I think that's probably due to the amount of variation:

• A lot of people unzip with tools that ignore the problem and don't even warn. Presumably that includes the built-in zip/unzip functionality of Windows, which should take care of most people.
• Most other people use 7-Zip, and most of those will just ignore the warning.
• Some developers repackage the ZIP files (presumably usually for unrelated reasons), which fixes the problem.
• Some developers know about the problem and patch the Python zip functionality, or used a pre-patched version of Ren'Py. (This option is pure speculation.)

In my experience, of doing tech support on here for about 7 years, is that the people who use windows to open the files, are the same ones who try to play from inside the archive. ...Even when the game has a special warning for people who try it, telling them not to do that. Then they come and ask us why they game won't work, even showing us that message. In fact, a lot of times it will fail to extract the files anyway.

I use 7zip for most, and never saw any warning, they are pretty noticeable, many of us have tested this on the same files. I have also had one person tell me they got it with WinRAR as well.

I see, so it is something with how Ren'Py does the zipping? That makes some sense. I will ask around about that. Thanks.

 

[Sploooogerrific]

The latest version seems broken on macOS, even if I run the game folder from the macOS or Windows downloads in the RenPy SDK. No matter what I do, this is what it is throwing up on. I saw a Windows user have this issue too, not sure if it is related. Where is the entry point for this project?

I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

While running game code:
  File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 291, in script
    python:
ScriptError: could not find label 'start'.

-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------

Full traceback:
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/bootstrap.py", line 359, in bootstrap
    renpy.main.main()
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/main.py", line 652, in main
    run(restart)
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/main.py", line 148, in run
    renpy.execution.run_context(True)
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/execution.py", line 958, in run_context
    context.run()
  File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 291, in script
    python:
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/script.py", line 1103, in lookup
    raise ScriptError("could not find label '%s'." % str(original))
ScriptError: could not find label 'start'.

macOS-15.3.2-arm64-arm-64bit arm64
Ren'Py 8.3.7.25031702
 
Mon Apr 14 17:01:08 2025

 

[Madmoiselle Chiffre]

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I'm having a bit of trouble accessing Discord at the moment, something's been messed up in the login, my password suddenly isn't valid anymore.

So let's see where and how to get the pictures of the ‘headmaster's study’.


All in all, it's starting to seem to me that Altos is gradually opening up too many new ‘barrels’ (subplots) which, for me

almost superfluous for the actual story (i.e. normal school life/lessons and the usual events with the girls or, at some point, the final test announced by Ruth Tomas) and, in my opinion, are moving further and further away from the actual basic idea of the game.


Well, Ruth can be outvoted in the Friday sessions when new school rules are introduced, but normally it can't be ruled out that she wants to put a premature end to the developments in the school, which are moving more and more in the direction of a brothel or BDSM club. After all, she could always ask the Ministry of Education to close the school for immorality.

 

[PBS666]

The latest version seems broken on macOS, even if I run the game folder from the macOS or Windows downloads in the RenPy SDK. No matter what I do, this is what it is throwing up on. I saw a Windows user have this issue too, not sure if it is related. Where is the entry point for this project?

I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

While running game code:
  File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 291, in script
    python:
ScriptError: could not find label 'start'.

-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------

Full traceback:
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/bootstrap.py", line 359, in bootstrap
    renpy.main.main()
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/main.py", line 652, in main
    run(restart)
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/main.py", line 148, in run
    renpy.execution.run_context(True)
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/execution.py", line 958, in run_context
    context.run()
  File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 291, in script
    python:
  File "/Applications/renpy-8.3.7-sdk/renpy/script.py", line 1103, in lookup
    raise ScriptError("could not find label '%s'." % str(original))
ScriptError: could not find label 'start'.

macOS-15.3.2-arm64-arm-64bit arm64
Ren'Py 8.3.7.25031702

Mon Apr 14 17:01:08 2025

On my M1 MBP, running Sonoma, it works fine.
You're using Ren'Py 8.3.7. If you want to run it from the SDK, I think it's best to use the same Ren'Py version as the one the game was made with, in this case Ren'Py 8.2.3.

 

[_Kiyoshi_]

very complicated game