Ren'Py vs Solarus
Ren'Py
renpy.orgSolarus
solarus-games.orgSide by side
| Figure | Ren'Py | Solarus |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Engine Software | 9.0 (#6) | 8.2 (#51) |
| Commercial use | The project states that Ren'Py can be used for commercial games without paying a fee to Ren'Py. | Commercial games are allowed, and game data can use a license different from GPL, subject to the stated requirements for the engine and reused assets or scripts. |
| Founded | 2004 | 2021 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Launcher | The launcher creates, manages, edits and runs Ren'Py projects. | Solarus Launcher lets players browse, download, update, and play Solarus-made games. |
| Scripting languages | Ren'Py script language; Python | Lua |
| Source code model | open_source | open_source |
| Support | Ren'Py directs users to its Discord and Lemma Soft Forums for questions, and to GitHub for bug reports. | The FAQ directs users seeking a quicker answer to the project forums or Discord chat. |
| Target platforms | Windows 10+,macOS 10.10+,Linux x86_64/Arm,Android 5.0+,iOS 11+,HTML5/WebAssembly (beta) | Windows,Linux,macOS; Android port in progress |
| What it does | Ren'Py is a visual-novel engine for combining words, images, sounds and Python to make interactive stories and life-simulation games. | Solarus is a free, open-source 2D game engine for creating Action-RPG and Action-Adventure games, as well as other kinds of games. |
Plans
In their own words
Ren'Py
Ren'Py is a free visual novel engine for making interactive stories and life simulation games with words, images, and sounds. Its script language handles visual-novel writing, while Python can be used for more complex game logic. Default games include menus, automatic saves, rollback, predictive image loading, and mouse, keyboard, or gamepad controls. Creators can customize screens and styles using the screen language and Python. The launcher builds Windows, Mac, and Linux games from any of those desktop systems. Ren'Py also supports Android export and can package games for WebAssembly browsers, though web support is beta and lacks networking and multithreading. It targets Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.10 or later, Linux x86_64 or Arm, Android 5.0 or later, and iOS 11 or later. Building for iOS requires a Mac and Xcode, and that support remains a work in progress. The engine is free for commercial and non-commercial use; most is MIT-licensed, with some LGPL components whose terms distributors must meet.