Ren'Py 8.4 Prereleased

I'm pleased to announce the prerelease of Ren'Py 8.4, a feature release that includes many new features, fixes, and improvements to Ren'Py.

Some of the new features and improvements Ren'Py 8.4 are:

• Ren'Py now utilizes Python 3.12 across all platforms.

• Performance has been improved in script loading, persistent data management, OpenGL drawing, and Live2D integration.

• OpenGL shader support is enhanced, now including more data types, arrays, separate projection, view, and model matrices. It also allows for displayables to be supplied to shaders as textures.

• Ren'Py now supports the loading of GLTF models. Currently, only static models are supported, and a custom shader is required for rendering.

• The new libs and mods directories allow for the organized placement of libraries and mods with an adjusted loading order.

• The layered images sub-language has been updated to be more concise and powerful.

• Oversampled images—higher-resolution assets for upscaling and high-DPI displays—are now selected automatically. Movies also support oversampling.

• The Shift+A accessibility menu has been redesigned to include options for adjusting text kerning and forcing mono audio output.

• The launcher now supports the organization of projects into folders and allows for the customization of which files and directories are displayed.

• Ren'Py now supports OpenType features, enabling the use of ligatures, stylistic sets, and other typographic enhancements.

• When a traceback error occurs, the game's state is automatically saved. This save file can be sent to teammates to help diagnose the issue.

As well as many other improvements, changes, and fixes. For a complete list of changes, please see the changelog.

Ren'Py 8.4 increases the minimum system requirements for Ren'Py and games. The Windows version now requires Windows 10 or later. Linux now requires Ubuntu 20.04 or later, the Steam "soldier" runtime, or a similar Linux distribution. 32-bit ARM Linux is no longer supported.

Finally, Ren'Py 8.4 is now the sole supported version of Ren'Py - there is not an equivalent Ren'Py 7 release that uses Python 2.

Downloads of Ren'Py 8.4.0 can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/release/8.4.0

A full list of changes to Ren'Py can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/dev-doc/html/changelog.html

A list of changes that may require you to update your game can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/dev-doc/html/incompatible.html

Please also check out the credits and list of sponsors.