u/Mie_Kita

And this is exactly why one should never neglect the importance of backing up everything important :P

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Credits:

1. GanstaKingofSA - for DDLC Mod Template that I used to create this little skit;
2. Chronos, Yagamirai, Terra and DiabloGraves - for Mood Pose Tool (used for custom Monika's expressions);
3. SovietSpartan - for Monika's casual clothes;
4. Alex ORG - for the nighttime bedroom background;
5. and, of course, Monika - for the acting :)

I tried to avoid asking about it, thinking it's just me being dumb, but attempting to run Doki Doki Impossible Remastered and getting the error was the last drop for me.

Basically, this problem happens in one of two possible cases for me:

1. if I attempt to test-run a mod project based on Mod Template 5.0.1 in any version of RenPy 8 (in other words, it can appear on 8.0.0 or on 8.5.3 - the version of SDK doesn't matter) without making any changes in the code of the template - so, it appears "right out of the box". 4.2.4-Py3 version of the template also presents the problem, btw;
2. if I try to launch a mod built in RenPy 8 with one of the most recent versions of mod template. Most recent example is Doki Doki Impossible Remastered, which was built in RenPy 8.5.2, and from the files that come with the mod, I'm assuming 4.2.4-Py3, 5.0.0 or 5.0.1 version of template was used; however, this isn't the only RenPy 8 mod that refused to launch. I always double and triple check about following installation instructions, so I'm absolutely positive an incorrect installation isn't the cause here.

Now, for the problem itself... Look at the screenshot for the description of the error itself. It appears both on Windows 10 and Windows 11; I don't have any Linux OSes installed, so I can't confirm or deny if it happens on those systems, and, sadly, my Mac needs maintenance, so I can't test on macOS either for now.

Python 2/RenPy 6 & 7 mods and templates don't throw this kind of error (which is huge part of the reason my own mod is currently on a bundle of RenPy 7.8.7 + Mod Template 4.2.4-Py2; otherwise, I'd be on the most recent versions and on Python 3 branch instead).

What causes this error to appear? What do I need to do to eliminate it?

Any pointers will be much appreciated!