I think the guarantee that such a thing will not happen again is that the dev accepted that it had been a mistake and eliminated it. He's supposed to be learning from his mistakes and I don't think he's going to try to kill the game again. Nobody in their right mind would do something like that. So I think at least I'm going to give it another chance. Everyone has the right to be wrong
I totally agree that everyone can make mistakes, and this Dev did apologize & fix the mistake.
However, as a big supporter of multiple projects on both Patr & SS (I love f95zone for finding projects, comments & humor), I can tell you that I still have several concerns.
The primary one is trust in the developer, to make a game that I will enjoy. Let me be clear here, the developer SHOULD make the game that they plan/envision/want. I am totally for that as a BIG ($$ & Otherwise) supporter of independent creators.
However, I do not want to contribute to a project, especially one that goes several months between updates, to find out that the Developers game is not something, or (has become something) I will not enjoy. That's just a waste of money on my part (money that I could put towards a project I will enjoy)
This boils down to a basis of trust in the Developer;
Do you trust a Dev that makes such a 180 move to not do it again?
Do you risk that your contributions will be put towards a project you will enjoy?
I'm a firm believer in contributing to Developers whose projects you like (if able). But why would I contribute to projects that focus on content I don't want to see? Personally, I suck it up and bite the bullet if the game is good enough and if this content is avoidable (not skippable).
This is why I think a Dev should have a clear plan and be upfront with what content will be in their project. It sets a clear bar for the baseline of trust with your $$ backers and allows those who do not like your planned content to move on.
In this case, the Dev made a mistake. They fixed it, in as much as they removed content that went against their original project expectations as established by their description. Hopefully, in the future, they stick to both the original vision they had and the promises they made to backers (which really should be the same thing).
Personally, I will download and try the game as the Dev has shown a want to 'make things right' with their target audience. However, given the severity of the mistake.. I don't know if I can trust them enough to support the title. Maybe this is one of those cases where a donation after the final release is the best way?