Katawa Shoujo Forums

I just finally finished downloading and installing Katawa Shoujo after spending almost the entire night torrenting it, and to be honest with you I am having a problem with the full release. Katawa Shoujo starts up fine, but as soon as I get to the first scene it begins to lag if I have the sound effects or music on. However, by the time it gets to the second scene in the introduction part of the game, it freezes right as I get to the EKG machine.

The video stops and if there is audio on it loops the same part repeatedly in a choppy sort of fashion. If it helps with diagnosing the problem, my specifications are as shown.

• Operating System - Windows XP Home Edition SP 2
• CPU - Pentium 4 1.5Ghz
• RAM - 768 MB
• GPU - Nvidia GeForce 6200LE 256MB

If this also helps, the processes I have open on average have a commit charge of around 511M/3796M, and consist of my antivirus (Avast Free), my antimalware (Spybot S&D's Teatimer), Windows Live Messenger, my Nvidia Control Panel, and whatever processes are used by Windows XP. I don't have any other programs actively running while I try to get Katawa Shoujo to work, but after I finish this post I'm going to try a few things and see if I can fix this problem myself while I wait for a reply.

Also, before you offer any advice, it is not possible for me to upgrade my operating system or my computer itself at this time. I myself am disabled (Asperger's Syndrome, Multiple Personality Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and most of my money goes towards rent so any upgrades would be impossible. I cannot upgrade my operating system either due to a broken Windows Update program that refuses to run under any circumstance even after the offending malware was removed over half-a-year ago. What I want to know is if there is anything I can do that will fix this problem with the game freezing right at the second cutscene in the introduction.

I appreciate any help that is offered. Thank you.

-EDIT- Alright, after getting a good night's rest and trying to trigger the bug again, I noticed that when Katawa Shoujo gets to the second scene in the introduction, right at the second pip on the EKG machine, the game freezes again. I opened Task Manager and from the looks of it, Katawa Shoujo stopped using the CPU. During the first scene it is using around 90% of my processor, but right when it freezes it drops down to zero in a matter of seconds and does not return.

So either way, I hope this problem can be resolved somehow. I would appreciate any help or advice given.

Also having this exact problem, but on Linux

OS: Arch Linux
RAM: 1 GB
CPU Pentium D processor 3.2 GHz
Any Window Manager.

I could have next to nothing running, and it will still act slowly. What's the System Requirements for the game anyways? It's not on the FAQ or manual...

I talked to a friend of mine from /jp/ about this and he said with his 2.5GHZ and 256MB of RAM that he's getting the exact same problem. And from the looks of it almost everyone is getting weird crash or freezing errors with Katawa Shoujo. Now, my friend is also an experienced programmer, and when I remarked that I can run visual novels with similarly intense graphics like Chaos;Head with no problems he said that, and I quote...

Amaranthea wrote:Katawa Shoujo is made in Ren'Py, which in turn is made in pygame, which in turn is made in Python. Python is just slow.

What's more, he said that Ren'Py also doesn't take advantage of things like DirectX, which from my understanding in many cases help with this sort of thing in other games. So I've come to the conclusion thanks to my friend and my own research since the opening post that if anyone who is having these problems is wanting to play Katawa Shoujo, you'll basically need a beefy machine that doesn't need to rely on DirectX, which seems to be kind of a unfair and unrealistic demand for wanting to play a dating sim, when most work damn well on computers from 2005 and prior. This computer I'm on is from 2001 and it can run games like Katawa Shoujo (dating sims/visual novels with intense graphics such as Chaos;Head) fairly well because of upgrades to RAM and GPU.

I'm sorry to say this but I'm not spending hundreds on a new computer just to play this game. Unless if some other solution can be brought onto the playing field where the graphics in Katawa Shoujo can be lessened somewhat, I don't think that anyone who is having problems with graphics lagging or freezing could play this game satisfactory. Though, that's just my opinion.