I was unsure about posting, but I wanted to share a few thoughts before diving back into development. This is gonna be a long one.
I post bi-weekly updates and communicate regularly on Discord. Some are asking for answers I don't have or that could cause confusion.
I shared this on Discord:
In hindsight, the countdown post may have set unrealistic expectations. Reviewing a single complex scene can take 10+ work hours to finalize (expressions, poses, consistency, re-dos, etc.). This is true for both old content and new content. The hours add up quickly and my time is limited.
Some here understand the development process. The last stretch feels slow, there's a reason this quote exists: "The first 90 percent of the work accounts for 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent accounts for the other 90 percent."
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Thanks to those who pointed out this. The countdown post was accurate but these last 10 percent obviously feel very long and I miscommunicated the expectations. That's on me. I messed up the comms given the complexity of the update.
Predicting doom over the remaster is quite an assumption though. With new mature tooling and story/character changes, a remaster was inevitable. Best to do it now rather than when the game is twice as large. (I don't know of any games still using the older models due to their limitations)
I've always understood if someone cancels their support, even during 0.3.x release. Attacks on this front are misguided. I can't speed up release or change direction this late, and I have no interest in annoying supporters. This is the only solace I can offer. I will not rush out the release like I did for 0.5.0. I will release when I feel it's ready.
Support when you can, and know that your feedback is valued whether you're currently subscribing or not.
I don't like to talk about earnings but you brought it up. Patreon earnings can fluctuate month-to-month and are not guaranteed. You are looking at peak Patreon support to draw misguided conclusions.
People's financial situations and living costs vary widely. What seems like "a lot" to one person could be modest or even tight for another. There are other projects that I could take that are way more lucrative, but this project is about something I wanted to do. Don't get me wrong though. The money is a great support that helps me keep grinding but I made it clear it's not the main motivation by now. Never was.
I know some may not see the value in my decisions, but it feels right for the project and I'm happy with how it's coming out. My focus now is completing the update. For those staying, your patience is appreciated and I'm truly grateful.
As a final note - until 1.0, changes are part of the creative process. This rework aligns aesthetics and fills narrative gaps. Dramatically changed scenes weren't bad previously, they just needed to fit in. It's a one-time process that will actually speed up future development.
I post bi-weekly updates and communicate regularly on Discord. Some are asking for answers I don't have or that could cause confusion.
I shared this on Discord:
In hindsight, the countdown post may have set unrealistic expectations. Reviewing a single complex scene can take 10+ work hours to finalize (expressions, poses, consistency, re-dos, etc.). This is true for both old content and new content. The hours add up quickly and my time is limited.
Some here understand the development process. The last stretch feels slow, there's a reason this quote exists: "The first 90 percent of the work accounts for 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent accounts for the other 90 percent."
======
Thanks to those who pointed out this. The countdown post was accurate but these last 10 percent obviously feel very long and I miscommunicated the expectations. That's on me. I messed up the comms given the complexity of the update.
Predicting doom over the remaster is quite an assumption though. With new mature tooling and story/character changes, a remaster was inevitable. Best to do it now rather than when the game is twice as large. (I don't know of any games still using the older models due to their limitations)
I've always understood if someone cancels their support, even during 0.3.x release. Attacks on this front are misguided. I can't speed up release or change direction this late, and I have no interest in annoying supporters. This is the only solace I can offer. I will not rush out the release like I did for 0.5.0. I will release when I feel it's ready.
Support when you can, and know that your feedback is valued whether you're currently subscribing or not.
I don't like to talk about earnings but you brought it up. Patreon earnings can fluctuate month-to-month and are not guaranteed. You are looking at peak Patreon support to draw misguided conclusions.
People's financial situations and living costs vary widely. What seems like "a lot" to one person could be modest or even tight for another. There are other projects that I could take that are way more lucrative, but this project is about something I wanted to do. Don't get me wrong though. The money is a great support that helps me keep grinding but I made it clear it's not the main motivation by now. Never was.
I know some may not see the value in my decisions, but it feels right for the project and I'm happy with how it's coming out. My focus now is completing the update. For those staying, your patience is appreciated and I'm truly grateful.
As a final note - until 1.0, changes are part of the creative process. This rework aligns aesthetics and fills narrative gaps. Dramatically changed scenes weren't bad previously, they just needed to fit in. It's a one-time process that will actually speed up future development.
