Defiant Explorer
patreon
...jingle bells, jingle all the way… - *Cough-cough* - Oh, what the fuck! I’m not good at singing at all!
🕑 Added 2023-12-24 05:34:09 +0000 UTCFirst of all, I apologize for my long online absence and infrequent replies. I got the flu at the beginning of the month, and a nasty one at that. It ended (I hope) only a couple of days ago, so I've been sick for almost the whole damn month. Game development, as you may have guessed, has been... slow. No, surely, I tried to work under the medication, but not that I was too productive. So the progress is there, but it's so modest that it's even embarrassing to mention it.
All in all, illness has thrown all my plans into a trash can. I was counting on December. I really wanted to release an update for the new year. For very... practical reasons. During the holidays, people are on vacation, relaxed, and visits to adult game sites are elevated. All of this together would have meant that the update would have gotten more attention, and I would have gotten a few or three new supporters. But no fate. Especially since I've lost almost 20% of my paid patrons over the last month...
Oh, well. Okay. What to do, with a month of work screwed up, the update still far from complete, not even the fact that I'm finally recovered, and some of the patrons are as those dolphins from the famous Douglas Adams book, like "so long and thanks for all the fish".
And I'm gonna do a pre-update is what I'm gonna do! Yes, yes. It's like an update, but not the whole thing. Part of it. For the patrons only. Tentatively in January (I definitely won't be able to make it sooner, thanks flu - you suck!). Pre-update will likely cover half of the planned update and at least resolve the cliffhanger at the end of the last update. Of course, I'd recommend waiting for the full 1.7 update, but given the circumstances, that's clearly going to take a lot longer now. So, those who can't wait will be able to play the pre-update.
Key points on the pre-updates concept:
- All saves there will be working saves, it's not a test build or anything, it's a full-fledged part of the game, just... a short one.
- For patrons only. Pre-updates won't have public versions.
- Regular updates aren't going anywhere, and will still have the same two-week difference between the patron and public versions. Except that there may be a few months of development in between.
- Pre-update will have a third number, for example, the next one will be labeled 1.6.5 while the full update will be 1.7
- I'll also add a notice to the game itself on the front page that this is a pre-update, not a full update. So that no one gets confused.
- If the experience proves successful and there are no complications that are not yet obvious, the practice of pre-updates will become permanent and I will add it as a benefit to all tiers. But for now, it is too early to do so.
So once again, flu, you suck, burn in hell. Dolphins don't fly away! This planet's not so bad...
And to all of you, have a good New Year's Eve and Christmas!
Comments
Chien_perdu
Great that you are better again! Sounds good. And yeah, sometimes things take longer.
Defiant Explorer
Thanks! And welcome! And thanks again! Yep, I feel fine and have been working with redoubled efforts for 2 weeks now. Draft 1.6.5 has grown to 150 pages. I'm not even sure it's worth making it into that "pre-update" I wrote about. Every day it's looking more and more like a full-fledged update, not the biggest, yes, but definitely not the smallest either. Quite a lot of interesting (I hope) situations, lots of free movement (actually, more than in any other update before it, although the location itself is not big, but eventful). All in all - work in process. I really want to release this update before the end of January. But my plans and reality often slap each other in the face, so we'll see.
Chien_perdu
Happy New Year! I hope you are better now. Just pledged, I hope it helps you a even a tiny bit in continuing to work on this amazing game.
Defiant Explorer
You're not a "cheap Patreon." Don't even think so! You give a lot of feedback, and that, I'm serious, is very important. I sometimes miss the live comments. The fact that you support development on a minimal tier isn't a bad thing either. I intentionally did not set crazy tiers like 50-100$; it's better if people support me on a long-term basis on the amount they can afford than if under the influence of emotions immediately after playing they throw at me a bunch of money and then regret their decision.
DamnedFrog
Well I don't know one-person game team who manage to deliver monthly update. And I'm also very understanding about delays indie developers can encounter. So I'm always a bit shocked when peoples drop support because a dev can't released update as fast as they expect. But also true I'm a cheap Patreon :-) who's pledged on the lowest tier. Maybe if I'll spent 50$ monthly for a game, I would be more demanding. Anyway, I hope you will regain more Patreons soon.
Defiant Explorer
Well, considering that I just physically can't stuff a decent amount of content into the game in 1 month and updates come out every 2-3 months (at best)... The situation is expected. Usually, developers just release updates every month, even if they're tiny and don't add anything much. I, on the other hand, am stubborn and want every game episode that comes out to be something noteworthy, something memorable. Maybe I should stop with this stubbornness and do like everyone else. But so far my stubbornness hasn't given up yet, so pre-updates as a compromise. At least this time, anyway. We'll see if it causes any unexpected problems. After all, I can always go back to the old update schedule.
DamnedFrog
A bit late, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It sucks that you lost Patreons the last month :-(. I wish you to get more this year. About the pre-update, I think I will wait to the full release. But if it give your game more attention without too much work to do it, it could be a good move.
Defiant Explorer
Thanks! We don't really celebrate Christmas here, though. New Year's Eve is another matter!
HarleyQueen
May you have a quick recovery. Also merry christmas! 🥹❤️🎄
