Soundless AAA: Coding the Art Switcher
Today is an under-the-hood-look at what goes on with the art switch option!
There was art progress. However, the art progress is 1. spoilery and 2. not really all that show-able, regardless. So, instead, let’s go through the process of programming in the art patch!
Intended Function
When you start up the game, whether you already have a save or you’re starting fresh, a new screen will pop up asking if you’d like the new artwork or the old artwork for your playthrough. You can change it back at any time through the settings screen, and it’ll instantly toggle back to your choice, just like with images that are caught in the violence filter.
Behind the Scenes
Every single expression and clothing variant for all the sprites got their own file in the original Soundless code, and this was maintained in the port for ease of implementation. As such, every single unique sprite must be redefined as a ConditionSwitch() displayable.
In Ren’Py, ConditionSwitch() is a type of displayable that changes depending on what the values for variables are. The condition for whether or not it switches to the new art is very simple, and merely depends on whether or not you’ve elected to toggle on the new art, save for violent imagery which requires a longer set of conditions.
You can see a snippet of what this code looks like in the image at the top of the article. I put aside all of this code into its own .rpy file for organization purposes. The code is further organized by comments that denote character and outfit. If you’re wondering how long this takes…well, it takes a bit, but for the most part it’s a copy-and-paste job. A neat feature VSCode provides is the ability to put the text insertion point at multiple places in the file, so I simply have to duplicate the point in front of the relevant parts of the filename/directory/etc. and backspace and change it.
Why let us use the old art?
If Higurashi and Umineko’s re-releases are of any indication, sometimes people just like playing with the original art for the soul of it. I also enjoy my faces in 00s moe style and rendered in an old edition of Photoshop. So, this option is for everyone out there who doesn’t mind a lack of polish and technique!
Art Patch Progress Summary
Sprites
Main Sprites: Finished
Special sprites: 1/5 completed (2 in progress)
CGs
The CGs that appear in the opening will be the first CGs to be worked on.
As this phase is about to be entered, the very very first CG is going to be a particular Clara one.
Implementation
All main sprites implemented.
You can download Soundless for free right now with its original artwork on Itch.io!
