Date Ariane HD
In honor of Renpy version 7 finally being released, I’m releasing Date Ariane, one of the most downloaded Renpy games ever (5.9 million downloads all versions combined), in Renpy 7 and in HD.
The images are all 1500×900, originally rendered when I did the graphics update in 2017. Add in the 180px black bottom part and the total resolution is 1500×1080. It looks really good blown up on a full sized monitor. The Renpy engine automatically changes the fonts when you change the size so they always look sharp and crisp.
I know some questions are going to come up so here are my answers:
What versions of the game are available in HD?
For now just the English PC, Mac, and Linux versions.
What has changed?
The section which used to be called the gallery moved to the main menu and many of the gallery sections have been rewritten to work better in Renpy 7. This includes a new animated credit sequence, and a help sequence that points out the key binds of Renpy better, allowing play via Keyboard, Mouse, or Gamepad.
I’ve taken advantage of Renpy’s background/foreground tools to change the look of some scenes, primarily the bad endings. This reduced the number of images, but because foreground requires images in larger png files, it did not reduce the size of the download.
I’ve gotten rid of the “button” look of the player choices. Larger screen means the buttons don’t have to be obvious.
How do I download it?
You download it from the same download page as before. When you pick to download the Windows, Mac or Linux versions, you get the HD versions instead.
How big is the download?
Download size has increased from 180MB to 340MB due to larger images, many of which are in png format instead of jpg.
Are you going to release it in other languages?
I would love to if I can figure out a way to move the translations to the new version. That’s actually very difficult.
Are you going to release it in android?
No. The game is already a challenge on android at 200MB, the increase to 350MB would make it unplayable on most android devices, and the smaller screens cannot take advantage of the increased resolution.
Is there any new material in this version?
Yes, but you’ll have to find it yourself.
Why do some of the walkthroughs not work with the HD version?
To make the game a little challenging, there is a rule that if you engage in intimacy too early, like open with a kiss, or try for second base while dancing before eating, then Ariane might reconsider her opinion of you later and change the outcome of the walkthrough. I have updated “Pizza Dinner”, “Steak Dinner”, and “Start of a romantic evening” to avoid early intimacy.
UPDATE: For Mac Users
If you use a Mac to play I added an icns file which should replace the generic Renpy icon with a proper Date Ariane icon. If it worked, leave a comment.
Date Ariane Games 
I have already downloaded the 2017 version on Febuary 20, 2018. Would I need to have it updated or uninstall and reinstall or do nothing.
If you want the HD graphics you will need to re-install. There is no “update” feature. This HD version has been up for a week, dated September 9th. I only announced it in the blog today, Info was in the build notes this past week and nobody noticed, though there were 2000 downloads this week.
I just made the download, but when I try to unzip a message saying that the archive is corrupted shows up. Please help, friend!
Some people experience this, I have not been able to pin it down, unless there is something wrong with the download servers. I just now tested it and it is fine.
Could also be the program you are using to extract the zip file with. I use the native Windows 10: Just right click the DateArianeHD-win.zip file and select Extract All… and tell it what directory to put it in. “7-Zip” likes the file, too. https://www.7-zip.org/
Still not working here 😥
I tried the 7-Zip, but when the extract completes, some error message appears there:
1 C:\Users\…\DateArianeHD-win.zip
Headers Error
Unconfirmed start of archive
Warnings:
There are some data after the end of the payload area
2 Data error: DateArianeHD-win\game\archive.rpa
And the .exe don’t work too. Any clue?
I am having the excact same problem. Can you please look into it further?
In my case, the download inexplicably cuts out early at 339 mb… if the file is 340 mb, then a cut-off download will register as corrupt.
I have the same problem, the download cuts off at 339mb and I can’t unzip the files
The fix for “archive is corrupted” errors is to update your unzip program to the latest version. More details here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dateariane/comments/9y40a0/i_cant_extract_datearianehd_for_windows_because/
When would you release Ariane in paradise
I was getting the “archive is corrupted” error while running the last version of WinRAR, also tried with the native windows 10 unzipper and it says that the folder is empty. I’m pretty sure it’s something about the download client.
Nice to see this game in HD! Looking forward to Ariane in paradise.
I was hoping this would be updated to let you play as female.
So this isn’t the “play as female” update? 😀 Can’t wait for that one, lol!
Ariane will be forever in my heart and she opened my VN/Dating Sim era!!
Nice to have a new upgrade to the game!
I play all photo in game?
Some photos are missing
Will test it tomorrow fully but right now one of couch photos is absent.
If you are comparing old pictures to new via directory, there are many that aren’t there anymore, if you get a missing image error while playing, I want to know about it.
Yeah, the missing image error while playing
I’ll try to come up with a list of those when I get more time to play which will be next weekend probably.
Has the game play changed with the new version? Following the walk-through I developed with the old version does not work on the new.
The Mac icons are working.
Thanks!
I can’t even open the folder because my computer keeps saying “the compressed folder is invalid.”
por favor lance uma versão em hd para android isso seria ótimo, faria com que o
aplicativo fosse mais notado e deixaria os fans mais felizes
What about the new content in the HD version? Is it possible to get that on the Android version?
Can you please make some sort of install wizard to download? I’m having issues installing and I don’t know whats going on…PLEASE HELP
When is the new game going to be released .
Hey Ariane, just thought I’d point this out.
If Date Ariane has been downloaded tens of millions of times by hundreds of millions of people, I have no idea how my friends have never heard of this visual novel. Just felt like I wanted to let that out.
Peace,
Mason
Will be also a Android HD Version appear?
Please release a Android Version for newer devices like the Samsung Galaxy S9/Note 9 or for Huawei P20/Mate 20. I think there you can make a game with 350mb.
Would it be possible for you to also put a download link for the previous version? for the people (like me) who cant play the HD version because of corrupt files? (updating unzipper doesnt work for me, neither do 2 other unzippers i installed just for this, if i restore the zip file using winrar, it will unzip but when i want to play this message appears: “could not execute //lib/windows-i1686/DateArianeHD.exe. is it missing?” Please put a download link for old version or update this fault please. i love your game and really want to play it again since i heard of a new HD version.
For the last version, download the German version, then go into settings and change the language to English.
Is there a way to transfer save files from the old game to this one?
Both games use the same save directory. Should work fine.
Hmm, that’s odd. My save files were wiped clean, but maybe that’s because I trashed the old version before downloading the HD version. That’s OK though, this game is a joy to play through.
happy new year…..the download link is broken/corrupt, please help
Tried to download the PC version but got this message
“We could not retrieve this file because the link is invalid.” on the Online Storage page
😦
Seems to be an account issue, I’m trying to fix it now, might not be fixed until tomorrow.
Hi! I have a problem.. I can’t extract the file. I use winrar and when I try an error message appears and say “this file is corruput”..
May someone help me please 🙂
thanks
Try updating Winrar, if that doesn’t work, try something else.
I’m another fan of your work, who’s just been hit with “unexpected end of archive” error. Tried WinRAR 5.60, then updated to 5.70, no effect. I’ve also used 7zip with a similar outcome. There’s clearly something wrong with the file on the server, not with the software. Can it be looked into, solved somehow? Kindly please.
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