Adding games

A game’s normal PC download is what Renplay installs: a zip, 7z or rar of the Windows, Linux or Mac release of a Ren’Py game, or the zip of an HTML game. Get it from the developer (itch.io, Patreon, Steam and so on).

Two ways to add a game

• Upload. Open Add games and choose the file. Large files are sent in chunks, and an interrupted upload can continue.
• The archives folder. Copy the file into /games/_archives/ (on the host, the _archives folder inside the folder you mounted at /games). It shows up in Add games. This is the better way for big files or a file already on the server.

Renplay does not install from a link. File hosts tie a direct link to the browser that opened it, and stores need your login, so the file has to come from you.

Add games lists every download with what Renplay found: the game, its engine and whether the catalog knows it. A download that cannot be installed shows the reason, for example an engine that does not run in a browser.

What happens during an install

Press Install. A background job runs, and Settings → Activity shows its log.

1. Renplay reads the archive in place, without unpacking it to disk, and finds the game and its Ren’Py version.
2. It matches the catalog by checksum, file name and size, or a pattern. A recipe can pick the engine, files to keep or leave out, and small patches.
3. It picks the engine and downloads it on the first install (about 16 MB), checking its checksum.
4. It splits Ren’Py’s .rpa archives and converts PNG and JPEG images to WebP under the same names. The game’s code is never run.
5. Files the game streams (images, audio, video) go into one assets.pack; what the engine needs at the start goes into game.zip.
6. The finished build appears at once. Installed builds never change; an update makes a new one.
7. The download is deleted, unless RENPLAY_DELETE_ARCHIVES=false. A failed install keeps it.

A big game takes minutes, mostly for image conversion. You can leave the page.

After an install

• Uninstall removes the build. Saves stay. So do your mods, the library entry and favourites.
• Reinstall from the kept archive makes a fresh build, and saves stay.
• Updates. When the catalog lists a newer tested release than the one you have, Renplay says so. Download the new file and add it the same way.
• Mods. Open a game’s files to edit scripts in the browser or upload a mod. Your changes live next to the game, not inside it, and survive updates.

Several games and sequels

Sequels find the previous season’s saves, as on the desktop. Copy saves between games from the saves view when a game keeps them in a different folder.