iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 16/02/2026

My #MVNA project is released! It comes with many art assets by wonderful artists to make immersive particle effects right away. I spent far too much time adding all sorts of movement options and customization to it, so it would mean a lot if you checked it out! feniksdev.itch.io/immersive-pa...

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 11/02/2026

#vndev I'm enlisting your help - what do I name this tool? What will describe what it does + make you want to take a look? It can do falling particles of all kinds, and also smoke, fireflies, raindrop splashes, and more. BG: Vic Alen, Our Life: Now & Forever Leaves: @kigyodev.com (included w/tool!)

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 08/02/2026

I'm having a little too much fun making examples 😂 You can specify "origin points" for particles, which makes effects like smoke and sparks coming from a campfire possible! BG from maciaz.itch.io/14-fantasy-b...

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 08/02/2026

#MVNA preview - an unusual particle effect with bubbles! Particles can float in any direction, and acceleration helps them gain momentum as they move. BG from maciaz.itch.io/14-fantasy-b... Bubbles from cassala.itch.io/bubble-sprites

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 06/02/2026

Another #mvna sneak peek - fireflies! This one takes advantage of fluttering motion + a specific particle lifetime instead of waiting for it to go offscreen. BG from qdanp.itch.io/forest-stage... #renpy #vndev

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 04/02/2026

Sneak peek of the improved SnowBlossom - includes slow_start to add more particles over time & adjust their speed, fluttering motion, better performance, and more! I'm so excited with how the examples are turning out 💖 BG from neeka.itch.io/winter-park-...

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 04/02/2026

#MVNA SnowBlossom improvements are coming along well! Added some unusual features like acceleration 😯 HUGE thank you to those who have gotten in touch to provide images to include - there's always room for more art styles if anyone else is interested in contributing! Info linked in the quoted post 🥰

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 26/01/2026

For #MVNA this year I'm releasing code for improved particles in #Ren'Py like falling leaves, snow, rain, and fireflies, and I wanna include ready-to-use particle art with it. Would you be able to draw leaves or snowflakes? Let me know! Details & Contact: feniksdev.com/mvna-art/ #gamedev #vndev

Seeking Item Artist/Animator! Volunteer position to provide one or more small illustrations used in a free Ren'Py tool for particle effects.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 24/08/2025

While updating my earlier #Ren'Py tools, why not add in compatibility options? Coming soon: an update to the Color Picker tool which adds a few QoL additions, a new example, + a special controller-friendly version (requires my free Controller Support Expansion)! feniksdev.itch.io/color-picker...

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 29/05/2025

I was happily using my new tool and realized, you know what I would like is if it could adjust the line spacing too, since one of the fonts I use has much wider spacing. So, behold, the fastest feature update I've put out 😂 Only update if you want the line_spacing feature! Plus extra explanations.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 28/05/2025

It handles every text formatting method I could think to throw at it, and has lots of ways to customize how it looks. It maintains text sharpness and formatting when resizing and truncating. You write it just like text in screens, too! It also comes with a fun little playground example screen ✨

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 28/05/2025

I've released a new tool, Truncated Text for #Ren'Py! Dynamically shrink and/or cut off text to make it fit the available space. Use it for message previews, adjusting UI for fonts/sizes/translations, search results, and more! feniksdev.itch.io/truncated-te... #vndev #visualnovel #renpy

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 26/05/2025

Me, fumbling around for my scope shovel just before I go to sleep last night: what if it could also shrink the text down to fit before truncating it

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 25/05/2025

Me: this truncated text displayable I made a while back will be easy to clean up for a release Also me: oh it needs to account for text tags and escaped characters and screen variables and ruby text And bonus, I found a #renpy engine bug with hyperlink styles while I was at it 😂

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 14/02/2025

And in case you missed it, here's the other tool from double tool week: feniksdev.itch.io/controller-s... Aka the Only Controller Support Expansion for Ren'Py You'll Ever Need ✨

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 14/02/2025

It's a double tool week: @just-write-studios.itch.io and I are releasing the Sound Disabler & Captions Tool for Ren'Py! Find it on itch: feniksdev.itch.io/sound-disabl... Let players disable sounds on a per-file basis (UI, CTC, dialogue bleeps, loud SFX etc.) + add accessible audio captions!

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 10/02/2025

✨New tool release ✨ The Controller Support Expansion for Ren'Py is out! Find it on itch.io: feniksdev.itch.io/controller-s... #renpy #ren'py #vndev #visualnovel

An itch.io thumbnail that says "Controller Support Expansion for Ren'Py". It has a small phoenix bird on the left and a controller at the bottom.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 09/02/2025

Well friends, we're at 22k+ of words for the controller expansion docs, but it's almost ready for release 😤 What things do you want to know how to add for better controller support in Ren'Py? I've got a FAQ section to help guide you to the right tools for the job - ask away so I can add more links!

An input prompt with an on-screen keyboard that has controller button prompts. It says "Enter your first name:" and is filled out with the name "Feniks".

A button remapping screen that has a column of actions and their corresponding buttons. A button at the top reads "Calibrate Gamepad Buttons" and below it "Change Icon Set".

A settings screen with four tabs, Display & Gameplay, Audio, Controls, and Accessibility. The current tab is Controls. It has options for inverting the left and right stick axes, and bars for adjusting the dead zone and sensitivity of the left stick. A scroll bar shows there are more options out of view.

A load screen. It has several save files in a column. To the right is a screenshot and information about the save indicating the date it was saved at, what time it was saved at, how long it had been played for, and that it's a manual save file. There are shortcuts to load the file, delete it, download a save sync, or return to the previous screen.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 07/02/2025

Can't help but dunk on Ren'Py's bizarre default controller layout a little bit when writing up the docs on remapping 😂 Seriously, *three* buttons for rollback and not a single one for skipping?

A controller shows mappings for different buttons in default Ren'Py. The mappings are:
LT - Rollback
LB - Also rollback
Select - Rollback as well
D-pad - Navigation
Left stick - (Click) nothing. Navigation.
RT - Advance dialogue/Confirm/select
RB - Rollforward
Start - Game menu
Y - Hide UI
X - Alternate button action
A - Advance dialogue/confirm/select (again)
B - Also game menu
Right stick - (Click) Nothing. Navigation
Not included: auto-forward, screenshot, accessibility, skip, save delete, fast skip

A controller layout diagram for the Controller Support Expansion.
LT - (Custom) history
LB - Rollback. (Custom) Page left.
Select - Screenshot
D-pad - Navigation
Left stick - (Click) Accessibility. Navigation.
RT - Toggle skip/input enter
RB - Rollforward/Input Right/(Custom) Page right
Start - Game menu
Y - Toggle auto-forward, (Custom) Extra menu
X - Hide UI, save delete, input backspace
A - Advance dialogue/Confirm/Select
B - (Custom) Cancel
Right stick - (Click) Fast skipping. Navigation
Not included: button alternate

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 03/02/2025

Went down a rabbit hole of figuring out better zoom formulas since zooming from 0.5 to 0.25x feels like way less than from 1.0 to 1.25x. I'll make an update to the zoom viewport tool to add this later! New zoom formula on the left, old on the right.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 29/01/2025

Secondary benefit of writing docs with lots of examples: one of the examples revealed a bug in the virtual cursor code. There was a delay with some of my pinning/unpinning. Had to get out my notebook and draw diagrams to figure out the math 😂 But now it's all fixed and works smoothly!

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 27/01/2025

In effort to make the controller support documentation as understandable as possible, I'm adding a whole bunch of gifs to show what the various properties do. Here are a few of them! It always sucks reading docs and going "wait what would that do" or "when would I use that"

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 27/01/2025

At last I finished updating one of the final screens for my controller template: the history screen. This one shows off viewport scrolling + the special shortcuts for jumping to the start/end. Now I just have to write up a bunch of documentation and examples... send strength for the final stretch 💪

A Ren'Py history screen is shown with placeholder Lorem Ipsum text. Controller prompts are shown above and below the scroll bar, and a back button is in the bottom right corner.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 22/01/2025

Tightened up the animations with controller viewport navigation so it handles holding a direction down gracefully - aka it keeps the focused item in view at the edge. This uses the "center" scroll type, which tries to keep the focused item in the center of the screen. It's almost there! 💪 #renpy

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 31/12/2024

In the next Ren'Py release I made two updates to bars: an update to thumb_offset to take a tuple for asymmetrical thumbs, and a thumb_align property which means you can align the bar and thumb in-engine. The latter fixes a very common issue seen in the images where the bar and thumb aren't aligned!

A bar with a diamond thumb slider centered both vertically and horizontally.

A horizontal slider with a diamond thumb. The bar is thinner than the thumb, and the tops of the diamond thumb and bar are aligned so the end of the thumb sticks out the bottom.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 27/12/2024

Adding all these options to Ren'Py makes it feel like an actual controller game with controller support 👀

A preferences UI screen of a Ren'Py project. The left and right shoulder buttons are used to navigate pages. The current page is "Controls", and the other pages are "Display & Gameplay", "Audio", and "Accessibility". On the Controls tab, the options "Left stick x-axis", "Left stick y-axis", "Right stick x-axis", and "Right stick y-axis" can be toggled between Normal and Inverted. There is a bar to adjust the left stick dead zone and the sensitivity. A scroll bar indicates there are more options below what can be seen.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 20/12/2024

Bonus that this fixed the issue I had with zooming and moving at the same time 👀

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 18/12/2024

Miscellaneous fun fact: the pointer arrow used to be a pixel shovel I had lying around for some other reason while testing (early test video).

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 18/12/2024

New QoL improvement for the controller viewport focus controls - it has wrapping behavior variants for wrapping to the next item (e.g. hitting "right" on the last item wraps to the first item in the next row), wrapping from start to end, or looping columns and rows.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 17/12/2024

Achieved my end goal of making the virtual cursor hook into existing viewports, including custom ones like my zoom viewport! I also made a displayable to handle granular stick events so it can be mapped to things like zoom. Truly this is kind-of-mostly-definitely the last feature. I think 😅 #renpy

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 10/12/2024

2am thought: what if I also made one of those power wheel displayables for controllers? Y'know. Since I've already got the systems to get the angle of the sticks. Surely this won't affect my control pack release date to include.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 09/12/2024

Got inspired by the skill tree in the latest Dragon Age game to make a gamepad cursor version where everything moves around it instead + some cropping and area features to complement it The cursor changes too! It can tap into the usual "mouse" property of buttons, or you can provide a dict #renpy

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 08/12/2024

I updated my controller viewport to use the new information I have on stick tilt and it feels soooo nice ✨ I added a stick calibration screen too to calibrate for deadzones and maximum tilt, in case you've got some drift or other issues.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 06/12/2024

I learned something new today with OBS 😤 Thanks for the tip! This will be helpful in making gifs for the tool page. This gamepad-controlled mouse will be part of a larger Ren'Py Controller Support pack coming out soon on my itch.io!

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 06/12/2024

Now drag & drop and edgescrolling viewports works, too! Behind the scenes I actually just fudge some mouse events, since they're hardcoded into the displayables in Ren'Py's backend I promise I really am using the controller for this; I need one of those on-screen controllers speedrunners have 😂

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 05/12/2024

After a lot of effort, it's working well! I'm controlling the cursor with the left stick of my PS4 controller. You can push the stick farther to move the cursor faster, or slightly nudge it to move it more slowly. There's an optional "snap to center" to help you select buttons, too! #renpy

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 21/11/2024

I probably won't do this sort of thing with regularity, but I've been keeping track of some other tips that may be useful for Visual Novel creators, particularly if you use Ren'Py. Find the first post here! bsky.app/profile/feni... #vndev #visualnovel #renpy #gamedev

A header that reads "Bite-Sized Ren'Py Tips part 2 by Feniks" with a phoenix on the left.

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 13/11/2024

If you want a sound effect to play when the player advances dialogue (like in Ace Attorney), use `config.say_allow_dismiss`. For example:

A code block which reads
init python:
def play_advance_sound():
if persistent.play_advance_sound:
renpy.music.play("sfx-pichoop.wav",
channel='sound', loop=False)
return True
define config.say_allow_dismiss = play_advance_sound
default persistent.play_advance_sound = True

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Feniks - Controller Support Expansion Released! @feniksdev.com · 13/11/2024

To start off my fresh account, I've compiled a few Ren'Py tips into a bite-sized format! I've been programming in Ren'Py since 2018 and spent a ton of time working with it for all sorts of projects. Here are some less-common bits of knowledge ✨ #vndev #visualnovel #gamedev #renpy

An image with a phoenix to the left and text which says "Bite-Sized Ren'Py Tips by Feniks"

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