Renpy or TyranoBuilder?

[Richard]

^

[jay_rab]

If your looking for some quality feedback there is a thread here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/345370/discussions/0/611701999526948592/ that has talked about the merits of each program.

As for our official answer it can be found in the FAQ on our website but I will post it here for ease of access:

Let us start by clarifying that we have nothing but MAD respect for Ren’py and its community. It’s an amazing tool and has contributed immensely to the visual novel genre and creators outside of Japan.

Presently, the major differences between Ren’py and TyranoBuilder are ease of use and accessibility. Ren’py is a purely script-based engine aimed at programmers and presents rather a steep learning curve for anyone without an understanding of Python, while TyranoBuilder is made to be accessible to anyone, from people with absolutely zero programming experience to experienced visual novel creators.

The visual editor really does make a HUGE difference in terms of eliminating the technical hurdle and creating games rapidly and easily. Besides easily building visual novel games, the visual editor also allows easy management and use of available assets such as characters, music, backgrounds, etc., and tracking and using branches is made easier due to the easily distinguishable component colors. This kind of efficiency translates very easily into time and cost savings.

One other functional difference between Ren’py is that TyranoBuilder allows games to be exported and played as browser-based games. This is arguably the best way to get your game played by many people immediately.

[Richard]

Originally posted by jay_rab:

If your looking for some quality feedback there is a thread here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/345370/discussions/0/611701999526948592/ that has talked about the merits of each program.

As for our official answer it can be found in the FAQ on our website but I will post it here for ease of access:

Let us start by clarifying that we have nothing but MAD respect for Ren’py and its community. It’s an amazing tool and has contributed immensely to the visual novel genre and creators outside of Japan.

Presently, the major differences between Ren’py and TyranoBuilder are ease of use and accessibility. Ren’py is a purely script-based engine aimed at programmers and presents rather a steep learning curve for anyone without an understanding of Python, while TyranoBuilder is made to be accessible to anyone, from people with absolutely zero programming experience to experienced visual novel creators.

The visual editor really does make a HUGE difference in terms of eliminating the technical hurdle and creating games rapidly and easily. Besides easily building visual novel games, the visual editor also allows easy management and use of available assets such as characters, music, backgrounds, etc., and tracking and using branches is made easier due to the easily distinguishable component colors. This kind of efficiency translates very easily into time and cost savings.

One other functional difference between Ren’py is that TyranoBuilder allows games to be exported and played as browser-based games. This is arguably the best way to get your game played by many people immediately.

i see and thank you for the info lol.

[Leo Grün]

Is there a more comprehensive thread that doesn't devolve into internet tough guys arguing over the finer points of Programming vs. Scripting?

[jay_rab]

Originally posted by Leo Grün:

Is there a more comprehensive thread that doesn't devolve into internet tough guys arguing over the finer points of Programming vs. Scripting?

Functionality wise the two programs aim to do the same thing just generally for two different audiences and in part it is about programming vs scripting which is why that thread took the direction that it did.

Ideally tyranobuilder aims to take programing out of the mix and deal with limited scripting as our goal is to make things easier for you to just jump in and start the creation process while renpy does focus on teaching the programing aspect of the visual novel making and that is were the meat of renpy is at is in learning how to create a VN in python.

[Leo Grün]

OK wihout the marketingspeak it seems that...

It seems to me that the two major differences are that Tyranobuidler has a UI baked right into the crust and offers HTML / Web distribution options as well as offering mobile distribution without the requirement that it be built on a moble platform -- which are good selling points for someone already used to RenPy.

[zeus]

I don't see what jay_rab said as just marketing speech, it clearly summarizes what one would expect when deciding between either program. tyranobuilder has drag and drop functionality, renpy requires more coding to achieve what you want.

for me personally, the biggest reason I bought tyranobuilder is the fact that it is built on web technology, with node webkit at its core. Since I know more about javascript, html, css, it was a better option for me with more potential in the future than renpy. Although not explicit, one could also dive deep into the coding of tyranobuilder projects for additional tweaking that you can't do in its editor, an example is that I added mailing list signup and can include live update messages from my server, even when the project is exported into various platforms. And the ability to easily export to various platforms is another nice feature. I also think that it is nice to have the tyranobuilder editor there to easily add components to the visual novel.

I know it comes off as bias, I mean this is the tyranobuilder discussion forum, but I recommend to just take into consideration your own needs and expectations then see which program can better fulfill those needs. If you're a python wizard and prefer to use your own text editor such as notepad++ or sublime, then perhaps renpy might be a better choice. Take into consideration what platforms you plan to export to as well, as that could bottleneck how you reach potential players and is dependent on the program you choose.

keep in mind that tyranobuilder is new, but I have seen it receiving good updates and you can expect more from it in the future. Tyranoscript recently added live2d functionality and tyranobuilder was quick to incorporate that into their editor.