Date Ariane HD

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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.

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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.

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