BarbeMCR's The Betrothed

BarbeMCR's The Betrothed is a platformer written in Python with the aid of Pygame.

How do I run the code?

If you just want to play BarbeMCR's The Betrothed:

• Use the BarbeMCR's The Betrothed Launcher (learn about it here)
• Do everything manually

If you chose the second option, here is how you can play BarbeMCR's The Betrothed (don't worry, it isn't very difficult):

On Windows

1. Go on the Releases page and check for the latest stable version (or any other one, if you want)

2. Download the file that best matches your system:

   • The latest Python release for Windows 8.1 and higher: the_betrothed_<version>_py3x.zip
   • Python 3.8.10 for Windows Vista, 7 and 8: the_betrothed_<version>_py38.zip

   All Windows executables are 32-bit, which means they are compatible with both x86 and x64 architectures.

   In order to run on Windows 8.1 and lower, you (in theory) need to have Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 installed (it comes as an update package, or you can get it from here)

3. Extract the .zip file

4. Start the_betrothed.exe

Note: either your antivirus or Microsoft SmartScreen might block the file thinking it's a virus. BarbeMCR's The Betrothed is not a virus. If you don't trust me, check the code for yourself. Please make an exception for the folder you extracted BarbeMCR's The Betrothed in or ignore the Microsoft SmartScreen warning. Thank you!

On macOS, Linux, UNIX or other platforms

1. Download and install Python 3.8 or higher from python.org, if you haven't already
2. Install the right version of pygame for your target version (table below): python -m pip install pygame==x.y.z, if you haven't already
3. Go on the Releases page and check for the latest stable version (or any other one, if you want)
4. Download the_betrothed_<version>_source.zip
5. Extract the .zip file
6. Start main.py

Do you need to upgrade 0.12 savefiles to version 0.13 or higher? If so, check out BarbeMCR/tb012to013.

If you instead want the source code:

1. Download and install Python 3.8 or higher from python.org, if you haven't already
2. Install the right version of pygame for your target version (table below): python -m pip install pygame==x.y.z, if you haven't already
3. Go on the Releases page and check for whatever version you want to run
4. Download the the_betrothed_<version>_source.zip
5. Extract the archive
6. To start BarbeMCR's The Betrothed, run main.py

How do I compile the code?

Note: These instructions illustrate the recommended way to compile BarbeMCR's The Betrothed on Windows. You are free to experiment if you wish!

1. Pick the version of BarbeMCR's The Betrothed you want to compile from the Releases page of this repo and download and extract the corresponding the_betrothed_<version>_source.zip archive.
2. Check if you have Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 installed (either as an update or as a standalone redist) and install it if it isn't.
3. Get the Windows 10 version 2004 SDK installer (from here), run it and copy the C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Redist\ucrt folder to a known location
4. If you want to target Windows 8.1 and later, install (if you haven't already) the ideal 32-bit Python version for your game version, as seen in this table:

BarbeMCR's The Betrothed version	Python version
0.01	3.10.1
0.02 - 0.04	3.10.2
0.05 - 0.08a	3.10.4
0.09 - 0.12	3.10.5
0.13 - 0.15	3.10.6
0.16 - 0.19	3.11.0
0.20	3.11.1
0.20a +	3.11.2

4-bis. If you want to target Windows Vista and later, install (if you haven't already) 32-bit Python 3.8.10 (or compile later 3.8.x Python versions from source)

5. If you haven't already, run <path_to_python> -m pip install pyinstaller==<version> to grab the Pyinstaller version that matches what is used with your target game version, as seen in this table (substitute <path_to_python> with the path to the target Python executable and <version> with the target Pyinstaller version):

BarbeMCR's The Betrothed version	Pyinstaller version
0.01	4.7
0.02	4.8
0.03	4.9
0.04	4.10
0.05 - 0.06	5.0.1
0.07 - 0.11a	5.1
0.12	5.2
0.13 - 0.15	5.3
0.16 - 0.19	5.6.2
0.20	5.7.0
0.20 - 0.21	5.8.0
0.22 +	5.9.0

6. If you haven't already, run <path_to_python> -m pip install pygame==<version> to grab the Pygame version that matches what is used with your target game version, as seen in this table (substitute <path_to_python> and <version> as above):

BarbeMCR's The Betrothed version	Pygame version
0.01 - 0.15	2.1.2
0.16 - 0.20a	2.1.3.dev8 / 2.1.3
0.21	2.2.0
0.22 +	2.3.0

7. Get the icon.png file from this repo and convert it to icon.ico using any tool of your choice.

8. Paste the following command in a .bat file or copy it line by line in a terminal window (do NOT run it, as you will need to modify it later based on your configuration):

<path_to_pyinstaller.exe> ^
--distpath <out>\dist ^
--workpath <out>\build ^
--onedir ^
--specpath <out> ^
--name "the_betrothed" ^
--windowed ^
--icon <path_to_icon.ico> ^
--clean ^
--noupx ^
--exclude-module tkinter ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-console-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-console-l1-2-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-datetime-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-debug-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-errorhandling-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-file-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-file-l1-2-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-file-l2-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-handle-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-heap-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-interlocked-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-libraryloader-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-localization-l1-2-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-memory-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-namedpipe-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-processenvironment-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-processthreads-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-processthreads-l1-1-1.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-profile-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-rtlsupport-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-string-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-synch-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-synch-l1-2-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-sysinfo-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-timezone-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-core-util-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\API-MS-Win-core-xstate-l2-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-conio-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-convert-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-environment-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-filesystem-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-heap-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-locale-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-math-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-multibyte-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-private-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-process-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-stdio-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-string-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-time-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\api-ms-win-crt-utility-l1-1-0.dll";"." ^
--add-binary "<ucrt>\x86\ucrtbase.dll";"." ^
<path_to_main.py>

9. In the command, substitute <path_to_pyinstaller.exe> with the path to the Pyinstaller executable (either <path_to_python>\Scripts\pyinstaller.exe or %appdata%\Python\<py_ver>\Scripts\pyinstaller.exe with the chosen Python version, such as Python311-32, in place of <py_ver>), <out> with the output path (where to put the compiled game), <path_to_python.ico> with the path to the icon.ico file made before, <ucrt> with the path to the UCRT DLLs folder taken from the Windows 10 SDK and <path_to_main.py> with the path to the game's main.py from the extracted archive.

10. Run the command.

If you want to build a 64-bit version of BarbeMCR's The Betrothed, install a 64-bit version of Python and substitute <ucrt>\x86 with <ucrt>\x64 in the command at step 8.

---

Settings

In the settings screen, you'll find various options, listed below.

• Controller: this option lets you change the controller layout used by the game to best match your hardware. You can choose between three options: Xbox One / Xbox X|S / Xbox 360, Dualshock 4 and Nintendo Switch Pro. By default this option is set to Xbox One / Xbox X|S / Xbox 360.
• Music volume: this option lets you change the music volume. You can choose between six options: 0%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. This option only affects the volume of music, not that of SFXs. By default this option is set to 50%.
• VSync: this options lets you specify whether to enable VSync. If VSync is enabled, the framerate will be synced (and limited) to your monitor's refresh rate. This generally reduces screen tearing. Keep in mind that even if the framerate is higher than your monitor's refresh rate, the "extra" frames will not be displayed. VSync also has the benefit to give a more fluid gameplay experience (it is not guaranteed though, as it greatly varies depending on your specific hardware). You can choose between two options: Enabled and Disabled. By default this option is set to Enabled. It is highly recommended to keep VSync on. Changing this setting requires restarting the game in order for it to be applied. VSync may not work on some hardware configurations, even if enabled in the settings.
• Maximum framerate: this option lets you change the framerate cap. You can choose between nine options: 20 FPS, 30 FPS, 50 FPS, 60 FPS, 72 FPS, 90 FPS, 120 FPS, 144 FPS and No limit. By default this option is set to 60 FPS. If VSync is enabled, selecting a framerate cap higher than your monitor's refresh rate won't have any effect. It is HIGHLY recommended to keep the framerate cap lower than or equal to 60 FPS. 72 FPS is considered the highest "safe" framerate. Starting from 90 FPS, you could start to notice some slight glitches in moving sprites. Higher framerates could prevent the slowest sprites from moving at all. Keep in mind that BarbeMCR's The Betrothed was designed with 60 FPS as the target framerate. Playing with a framerate cap set higher than 72 FPS should be considered unsupported. USE WITH CAUTION! Changing this setting requires restarting the game in order for it to be applied.
• Fade effect: this option lets you toggle the fade transition that happens when spawning in and leaving a level. You can choose between two options: Enabled and Disabled. Having the fade effect enabled could cause temporary lag when spawning or leaving. However, it is much nicer having the transition on. By default this option is set to Enabled.
• Autodownload: this option lets you specify whether to enable autodownload. If autodownload is enabled, new versions are automatically downloaded and placed in './data' at startup. You can choose between two options: Disabled and Enabled. If you want an easier way to update the game, check out the BarbeMCR's The Betrothed Launcher. By default this option is set to Disabled.
• Delete Game: this lets you delete a previously generated savefile. You will be asked for the name of the savefile to delete. Keep in mind the savefile will be deleted permanently.
• Reset Settings: this lets you reset the settings to their default values.

---

Extensive Controls Guide

While playing

Keyboard + Mouse

Input	Action
A	Walk left
D	Walk right
Space	Jump
J	Melee attack
K	Ranged attack
L	Magical attack
A/D + Left Ctrl [+ Left Alt]	Run (changes speed)
E	Open inventory
Escape	Pause game
Backslash	Toggle overlay
F2	Take screenshot
F11	Toggle fullscreen

Xbox 360 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S Controller

Input	Action
D-Pad Left	Walk left
D-Pad Right	Walk right
A	Jump
B	Melee attack
X	Ranged attack
Y	Magical attack
RT	Run
RB	Open inventory
MENU	Pause game
XBOX	Toggle overlay
SHARE (if available)	Take screenshot

DualShock 4

Input	Action
Left	Walk left
Right	Walk right
Cross	Jump
Circle	Melee attack
Square	Ranged attack
Triangle	Magical attack
R2	Run
R1	Open inventory
OPTIONS	Pause game
PLAYSTATION	Toggle overlay
TOUCHPAD CLICK	Take screenshot

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Input	Action
Left	Walk left
Right	Walk right
A	Jump
B	Melee attack
X	Ranged attack
Y	Magical attack
ZR	Run
R	Open inventory
+	Pause game
HOME	Toggle overlay
CAPTURE	Take screenshot

In the inventory (when no object is selected)

Keyboard

Input	Action
Left Arrow	Move cursor left
Right Arrow	Move cursor right
Up Arrow	Move cursor up
Down Arrow	Move cursor down
Tab	Go to next page
Left Ctrl + Tab	Go to previous page
Space	Select object
Escape	Exit inventory

Xbox 360 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S Controller

Input	Action
Left	Move cursor left
Right	Move cursor right
Up	Move cursor up
Down	Move cursor down
RB	Go to next page
LB	Go to previous page
A	Select object
B	Exit inventory

DualShock 4

Input	Action
Left	Move cursor left
Right	Move cursor right
Up	Move cursor up
Down	Move cursor down
R1	Go to next page
L1	Go to previous page
Cross	Select object
Circle	Exit inventory

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Input	Action
Left	Move cursor left
Right	Move cursor right
Up	Move cursor up
Down	Move cursor down
R	Go to next page
L	Go to previous page
A	Select object
B	Exit inventory

In the inventory (when an object is selected)

Keyboard

Input	Action
Up Arrow	Move cursor up
Down Arrow	Move cursor down
Space	Confirm action

Xbox 360 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S Controller

Input	Action
LB	Move cursor up
RB	Move cursor down
A	Confirm action

DualShock 4

Input	Action
L1	Move cursor up
R1	Move cursor down
Cross	Confirm action

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Input	Action
L	Move cursor up
R	Move cursor down
A	Confirm action

In the level selection screen

Keyboard

Input	Action
Left Arrow	Move to previous level
Right Arrow	Move to following level
Space	Select level

Xbox 360 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S Controller

Input	Action
LB	Move to previous level
RB	Move to following level
A	Select level

DualShock 4

Input	Action
L1	Move to previous level
R1	Move to following level
Cross	Select level

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Input	Action
L	Move to previous level
R	Move to following level
A	Select level

In the menus

Keyboard

Input	Action
Left Arrow / Up Arrow	Move cursor back
Right Arrow / Down Arrow	Move cursor forward
Space	Select

Xbox 360 / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S Controller

Input	Action
LB	Move cursor back
RB	Move cursor forward
A	Select

Dualshock 4

Input	Action
L1	Move cursor back
R1	Move cursor forward
Cross	Select

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Input	Action
L	Move cursor back
R	Move cursor forward
A	Select

In the text input boxes

Keyboard

Input	Action
Any key	Enter text
Return	Confirm

---

Credits

@BarbeMCR (aka myself) - Programming, graphics, music, SFXs, font, level design, mechanics... (I created the game and since this is a solo project don't expect many people working on development)

But, most importantly, everybody who contributed with testing and various tidbits, like those folks:

• No one for now (contact me if you'd like to be here)