VNDS

VNDS
General
Author	Jake Probst, anoNL
Type	Game Engine
Version	1.4.9
License	GPL-2.0
Last Updated	2010/01/13
Links
1.4.9, 1.5.3 Download
Website
Source

DS Visual Novel Reader is a Nintendo DS application used for playing gamebooks formatted with sound and pictures. It is designed to play visual novels created in .scr format.

Installation

Version 1.4.9:

• Extract archive onto the root of the SD card so the path is /vnds/.
• To install a visual novel, extract the tar.gz in /vnds/novels, so it has its own folder (ie. /vnds/novels/tsukihime).
• Sound files should end up in /vnds/novels/<game folder>/sound/.
• For increased file access performance, put the files in an uncompressed .zip file. each folder should get its own archive: background.zip, foreground.zip, script.zip, sound.zip.

Version 1.5.3:

• Take the .novel file and place it in the /vnds/novel/ folder.

Notes:

• Any save prior to version 1.3.1 needs to be ran though the sav2xml.py utility in the /tools/ folder (requires Python to run).
• Also make sure the path is correct. If you run it and you get stuck at a white screen, launch it with an alternative launcher, such as DSOrganize or DSChannels.

User guide

Resources

• Official website.
• VNDS wiki.
• Creating a vnds converter.

List of visual novel ports (freeware)

Title	Author	Port by	Age rating	Format	Link
(AA) Walkthrough VNDS	Gaidai	Gaidai	all	scr	Digital-Haze
Addendum	ShinseiTom	ShinseiTom	all	scr	Digital-Haze
Hurricane R4	ShinseiTom	ShinseiTom	all	scr	Digital-Haze
Narcissu 2 - R3	Stage-nana	ShinseiTom	all	scr	Digital-Haze
Red Shift	Team Extra	Dilt	all	scr	Digital-Haze
May Sky	Scrubbing	mint	all	scr	-
A Midsummer Day's Resonance	Saitou Kagura	mint	all	scr	-
Shooting Star Hill	Ebi Shuumai II	mint	all	scr	-
The Little Prince	P.o.l.c	mint	all	scr	-
VNDS-TEST	ajusa	ajusa	all	scr	GitHub
Yume wo Mita	Arctix Circuit	Holyshin	all	scr	Digital-Haze
The Letter	P.o.l.c.	T-Patch	all	scr, novel	Digital-Haze
Plain Song + Christmas Special	Eno Yamamoto Ten	Dilt	all	scr, novel	Digital-Haze
Adagio	17	CXBlackCatXD	all	scr	Digital-Haze
DDLC	Team Salvato	mint	13+	scr	-
The World to Reverse. Hallucinate	17	CXBlackCatXD	15+	scr	Digital-Haze
The World to Reverse. Flanca	17	mint	15+	scr	-
Ballad of an Evening Butterfly	ZIGZAG	CXBlackCatXD	15+	scr	Digital-Haze
Siren Head Dating Sim	Nekosounds	mint	16+	scr	-
The Best Eroge Ever	Moogy	Hogan	16+	scr	Digital-Haze
OMGWTFOTL	Hanpamania-Soft	Jake Probst	16+	scr, novel	Digital-Haze
Anon's Nice Day	Anonymous	Jake Probst	18+	scr, novel	Digital-Haze
Kira - Snowdrop	Tinsmith	Gaidai	18+	scr	Digital-Haze

Controls

A - Advance text, Select option

B - Advance text

X - Skip

Y/Start - Options menu

Select - Brightness

Screenshots

Changelog

1.4.9 2010/01/13

• anoNL:
  • PNG error handling (ignore spurious warnings/crash on invalid png).
  • "text ~" inserts blank lines again.

1.4.8 2009/10/21

• anoNL:
  • Backported new functions up to 1.5.3 (excluding wifi + .novel fmt).
  • Added support for unpacking .novel files to NovelManager.
  • ASNI color code support in the text renderer.
  • Increased sprite limit from 4 to 9.
  • Waking up from sleep mode was glitchy.

1.5.3 2009/06/22

• Jake:
  • Fixed bug with undefined variables in conditionals.
  • String variables need to be ""`d (setvar/if).
  • Wifi doesn't hang forever if it can't connect.

1.5.2 2009/06/03

• Jake:
  • Fixed problems with music with too high a bitrate.

1.5.1 2009/05/16

• Jake:
  • .novel thumbnail.png select screen crash bug fixed.

1.5.0 2009/05/04

• Jake:
  • .novel support.
  • Download novels directly onto ds.
  • Redid FIFO stuff.
  • 'if var == 0' works with unset variables again.
• Dilt:
  • Cleartext command.

1.4.2

• Global vars were reset when loading a save file.
• Changing the skin via config.ini didn't work.
• Date wasn't saved properly in save files.
• Missing resources no longer generate warning messages.
• Fast reading by holding Y is now a lot faster.
• Background fades more intelligent (fade to black on bg change).

1.4.1

• Graphical glitches in the GUI.
• Backlight control could only turn the screen off on the original DS.
• PNG loading crashed on corrupt or wide (> 256 pixels) images.
• Sound didn't unmute when returning to the main menu.
• Tapping the screen advanced the script even in choice-mode.
• Variables weren't saved properly.

1.3.5 2008/06/02

• Jake:
  • 3 small fixed bugs in loading saves made.
  • Endscript actually do something (returns to titlescreen).

1.3.4 2008/05/29

• Jake:
  • Fixed a bug in loading saves/skipping text.
  • Something happened to make True Remembrance work (diff doesnt explain much).

1.3.3 2008/05/25

• Jake:
  • Fixed problem with time not changing.
  • .sav keeps track of game state to make loading faster.
  • Does nothing when attempting to load an empty save.
  • Loads script in 4k blocks.
  • Left/right moves to first/last option in select screen/choices.

1.3.2 2008/05/23

• anoNL:
  • Bugfix: ArchiveFileHandle.Read() didn't work as expected (didn't update the read pointer afterwards).
  • Bugfix: removed file io from interrupt handler.
  • Bugfix: texture streaming bug in the save/load menu.
  • Rewrote text cache to use freetype's built-in caching system.
  • Added option to interrupt delay commands by pressing A, B or the touchscreen.
  • Skip scene functionality, hold R and press Y to skip ahead to the next scene/choice.
  • Added support for AAC format (for sound effects only).

1.3.1 2008/05/23

• Jake:
  • Fixed linebreaks in choices.
  • String variables.
  • Variable placement in commands.
  • Moved save format over to .xml (converter provided).
  • Less efficient, but more stable sleep mode.
  • Collision detection more efficient.
  • New save theme.

1.3.0 2008/05/21

• anoNL:
  • Support for png formats other than 8bit/channel truecolor.
  • Support for uncompressed .zip format for storing foreground/background/sound, except MP3 music.
  • Rewrote sound/music code which caused ~80-90% of all crashes.
  • Slightly improved text anti-aliasing.
  • Rewrote line-wrapping algorithm, now supports UTF-8 character encodings.
  • New save/load menu.
  • Improved visuals for the in-game choice view.
  • Script loader is better protected against buffer overflows.
  • Bugfix: empty folders show up as valid novels in the main menu, but crash the program upon selection.
  • Performance: text rendering.
  • Performance: savefile loading speed.
• Jake:
  • About screen (after constant prodding).
  • `random` command (see documentation).
  • Slight change in save menu (how it resizes).

1.2.7 2008/03/30

• Jake:
  • Fixed problem with backgrounds not loading and other weirdness.

1.2.6 2008/03/30

• Jack:
  • Fixed saves for real this time, maybe.

1.2.5 2008/03/30

• anoNL:
  • MP3 support.

Credits

Programming: Jake Probst, anoNL.

See also

• Updated VNDS fork by asiekierka (support for DSi mode and .wv audio format)
• VNDS-LOVE by ajusa (vnds port to Windows, Mac, Linux, and the Nintendo Switch)

External links

• Author's website - http://digital-haze.net/vnds.php
• Author's website - http://weeaboo.nl/
• VNDS wiki - https://github.com/BASLQC/vnds/wiki