Work in Progress Demo

Overview

This is the source code for the demo release of Work in Progress. It is released in the hope people can learn from it and modify it to their needs and wishes.

Requirements

• A relatively modern PC (anything made in the latter half of the 00's will do fine), running either:
  • Windows XP+ (but please do upgrade to a more modern Windows)
  • OS X 10.7+
  • Linux with glibc or glibc-compatible libc and X11
• Ren'Py 6.17.6 with the included patches
• Creativity

Patching Ren'Py

Work in Progress uses a slightly patched Ren'Py to weed out two engine bugs that weren't fixable in time in mainline Ren'Py. To apply them on a system with a sh-compatible command line and patch or compatible equivalent:

cd /path/to/renpy-6.17.6-sdk
patch -p1 < /path/to/wip/patches/*.patch

Alternatively, you can get a pre-patched Ren'Py from here.

Working with the script

Work in Progress uses a semi-custom script system called RABBL. This allows the developers to efficiently manage choice structures and translations.

The game story is handled by the master script file in game/script/script.rpy. This file contains the entry point for RABBL and guides the general script flow. It tells the engine what scenes to perform, what choices should be made and how the results should be handled, centrally.

RABBL introduces the perform statement to perform a scene. Essentially, ignoring all the tiny extras RABBL gives us, this calls the label scene_<name>_<currentlanguage>. Likewise, there is also the choice statement to perform a choice. This, again, gives us some tiny extras, but also fixes the choice so it can't be made again when rolling back. It calls choice_<name>_<currentlanguage> to display the choice, and relies that said label returns a numeric value indicating what choice was made.

RABBL and, as a result, WiP do not support Ren'Py's built-in translation system because they predate it. However, RABBL is internationalization-friendly: to translate, all you need to do is copy game/scripts/en to your target language (e.g. game/scripts/fr), rename all labels from _en to _fr, and add the new language to available_languages in game/script/init.rpy. You then can start translating! Translation requires at least a tiny amount of familiarity with Ren'Py's script format.

All new scenes must be added to the scenes variable in game/script/<language>/init.rpy in order to be registered with the scene replay system and have their title shown in the pause menu. They also need an entry in game/script/sceneshots if they aren't set to hidden in the scene replay system.

All new characters must be registered using the characters and character_tags variables in game/script/<language>/init.rpy. You don't have to define characters manually: just adding them here will initialize them.

All UI strings are registered in game/script/<language>/init.rpy for translation.

For language-specific images, please use the folder game/vfx/<language>. Create it if it doesn't exist.

Working with assets

Assets are automatically defined from the folders: see game/resources.rpy for the exact rules. Currently, they are as follows:

• All images from game/sprites get defined as their base/folder name: game/sprites/caprice/smile.png becomes caprice smile and game/sprites/allison/smile_eyesclosed.png becomes allison smile eyesclosed. They also get adjusted vertically according to the sprite_offsets variable, defined in game/script/init.rpy.
• All images from game/bgs get defined with a bg prefix: game/bgs/apartment/bathroom.png becomes bg apartment bathroom.
• All images from game/cgs get defined with a cg prefix: game/cgs/mekki_intro.png becomes cg mekki intro.
• All images from game/vfx get defined with a misc prefix: game/vfx/phone.png becomes misc phone.

All music tracks must be added to the tracks variable in game/script/<language>/init.rpy in order to be registered in the jukebox and have their title shown in the pause menu.

Working with the code

Work in Progress's code is managed using the git source code control system. A primer on git is available here.

All hacks and additions to Ren'Py are stored in the game/lib folder. Try to make game functionality as non-specific to Work in Progress as possible, and store it there. Then the game code can make use of it.

Building installers

The installers directory contains the source code to the installer scripts used for Work in Progress. There are two subdirectories:

• win32 contains an NSIS 3.0 installer script. To make it work for your purpose, just edit the constants under ; Configuration.
• osx contains a DMG Canvas template. You can open it up in the GUI editor to fit your needs.

License

This release of Work in Progress as a whole will be licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Individual components of this release should be treated as such:

• Art (files in the game/bgs, game/cgs, game/sprites, game/ui and game/vfx directories) is unconditionally released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
• Music (files in the game/music directory) is unconditionally released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
• Sound effects (files in the game/sfx directory) are licensed, at your choice, under either the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license or the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license.
• Writing (files in the game/scripts directory that involve dialogue) is released, at your choice, under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 or the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
• Code (top-level files in the game directory, files in the game/lib and game/scripts directories) is, at your choice, licensed under either the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 or the BSD 3-Clause license.
  • The engine code, Ren'Py, is licensed under a variety of licenses for its subcomponents. See this file for more details.

In addition to these licenses, we would like to make the following specific waivers to further define the wishes of our developers and allow:

• Art: The artwork (Sprites, CGs and background art) of Work in Progress is non-derivative and forbidden to be used in any works other than Work in Progress, except as set forth in the derivation waiver. However, fan-made artwork of characters is allowed, but has to released as-is for the enjoyment of others and not as part of another project or compound work, except as set forth in the derivation waiver.
• Music: It is allowed to make direct remixes, sampling or remakes (further referred to as "derivative music") of Work in Progress' soundtrack, under the following conditions or the conditions of the derivation waiver.
  • Derivative music will not be released in other collaborative works, such as but not limited to: video games, visual novels, or other projects of any scope or scale.
  • Derivative music may be released as-is and as standalone songs (or albums) for the enjoyment of others.

Furthermore, we would not like to impair your ability to modify Work in Progress itself to suit your individual needs or tastes. That is why we add the following waiver for both the entirety of this release and the individual components listed previously (from here on labeled "assets"):

Derivation waiver

Any person(s) (further referred to as "end-user") who wishes to modify and redistribute modifications of the assets involved in Work in Progress (further referred to as "derivative work") are allowed to, providing they abide by the following conditions:

• No credit is claimed or implied by the end-user for assets made by those other than themselves. Note: Modifying any asset does not change who the original creator is. In order to assert that an asset is the end-user's, they must create it themselves. Additionally, creating an asset in the exact likeness of another does not entitle you to claim said asset as your own. Plagiarizing any pre-existing assets will not change ownership of said asset.
• Any derivative work must be transparent about the fact that it is a derivative work of Work in Progress and not claim to be anything else.
• Any derivative work must be transparent about the fact that it is not an official release of Work in Progress by Salty Salty Studios, and mark itself as such.
• All of Work in Progress' original assets (modified or unmodified) will maintain their licenses and clauses when redistributed in a derivative work.

Both the derivative work and all the assets themselves should follow the terms both set forth in the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license, this additional waiver, and be licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license WITH this waiver.

Support

This release comes without any support, warranty or guarantee that your PC won't be set on fire. However, if you have any questions, you can drop by on IRC: #workinprogress on irc.rizon.net. You can also use the webchat. If someone is around they might be able to help you.