Come back after 5 years of AWAM & post this, or similar, after a screed of unfulfilled promises & "might have beens," have done their rounds. Myself & others have made so many suggestions & constructive criticisms over the years, I've lost track of them all. They were well-intentioned, even though they were unlikely to be accepted. Every single one was ignored, as is the Dev's choice & right but don't come back at the few who speak the truth & castigate them for some of the aforementioned "unfounded criticism." We are negative for some sound reasons. This state of affairs has grown over the years & has deteriorated along with the game. That isn't emotion talking, just cold facts.
Personally, I'm tired of having to justify my pirate opinions, especially to relative newcomers who label me "delusional," after so many years playing AWAM, (from PD2). They are pirate opinions, nothing more but as far as I'm concerned, they don't count for less. I leave it to others to think that & it's true, I don't really care what they think but I won't tolerate false information. So the Dev owes me nothing, I get that but so what? Could this be some hideous ingratitude? No, because he doesn't actually supply us pirates with anything. He owes us nothing & he gives us nothing, so that's fair. It's somebody else who does that. He did give us pirates the endearing term of "rats," so that was something, I suppose, because he acknowledged their existence. Most fans, whether Patron or pirate, began playing AWAM with nothing but a large portion of good will towards it & the Dev, along with a self-interested hope for his ongoing success. I really can't stress this point enough.
Nobody expects to like everything about the games/VNs they follow, whether they pay or not, because it's virtually impossible. That gives Devs a lot of necessary leeway. What often happens, however, is that after a length of time, updates reduce in size, writing decreases in quality, enthusiasm wanes as excuses multiply, development progress slows down etc., etc. These are the signs of probable abandonment, which have been witnessed throughout this forum. (They've applied to AWAM for several years now, which may mean it won't be abandoned but carry on until 2050 & beyond.....?!?!?). These factors impact all fans, whatever their preferences, whether they are ecstatically happy with the situation, or in the process of deciding to stop playing.
No-one is claiming to know the Dev's mind or specific thoughts on this. Talk of abandonment is just a reflection of the state of AWAM & the direction it seems to be heading. If the Dev wants to abandon it, fine but I wish he would get on with it & leave it on some sort of a high, rather than whatever it is he's doing. I've even suggested dropping AWAM & returning, (after a decent interval), with a game focussed on the further adventures of Dylan. That's absolutely not what I wish but is the logical next step for a VN in freefall AFAIC, if he sticks with the current title.
Only two concrete facts apply, which is, that nothing the Dev does will be acknowledged as due to pirates. Why post comments at all then, you might ask. Simple, because he occasionally reads this forum & might at some point be influenced, given that it's still not too late to get this VN back to the level of creativity & quality it used to possess. That other fact is that the Dev doesn't need "righteously" outraged defenders because although he, like the rest of us, doesn't care for criticism that he doesn't see as constructive, he's quite capable of ignoring every last paragraph of it, without assistance.
