I can understand why you would say that and to clarify - I do agree with you.
For a year now, I have been roaming this forum, Discord, Patreon - and I find the audacity with which most people are expecting a developer to churn out releases to be disgusting. Now, if you are a $9/month (or more) subscriber, there is something to be said for you wanting timely updates because taking six months will (at least) take an extra $54 from your account. The dev has been working on this for over five years, which would amount to roughly a minimum of $1125 paid in support to the developer for this game. For that money - since regular AAA+ games tend to cost anywhere between $75 and $100 - I think you are entitled to requesting the developer to stick to the content calendar. Then again, it is a pledge after all and you can't ROI on pledges.
If I may add my two cents:
- The developer has a great mind of grand ideas, but grand ideas take time and are complicated. If something along the size of CoBD should ever be attempted again, it's almost a given I would recommend additional team members. Either that or AI content, which isn't up to par as of yet. Mind you, Telltale games (arguably the biggest company ever in these types of products) had upward of 275 employees. Yet it still went bankrupt in 2018. These products take a lot of time and aren't necessarily that profitable.
- Second - create small concepts and build them up really well. While the CoBD and DA stories are huge, I think the developer would benefit from smaller stories within a universe. Possibly impacting each other. It makes sure you will miss those big pay-off moments in the end, surely. But it also means development can be faster and storylines more controlled. This was Telltale's biggest problem, they could never compartmentalize. They arguably took on some of the biggest hit franchises in the world and still didn't make it because the ideas were just too damn big.
- Third - please your subs, but don't forget your goal. Most creators with double digit subscribers on Patreon focus on pleasing subs, which is only logical. My idea would be to employ someone who interacts with you subs - even if once a week - so you can keep working on the project. It's all about scheduling ahead, which no doubt this dev has done a tremendous job of.
- Fourth - If people don't pay or at the very least are respectful, their opinion really doesn't matter. A destructive mindstate about 'Where the hell is that update?' isn't going to make it release any faster and in fact, it's probably why some developers decided to leave their game abandoned. Someone should really round up some of the best AVN developers imaginable and start some sort of union where their needs and wants are catered to. I've had the idea, but my company isn't exactly breaking the bank so I can't put in the hours to make such a thing happen for them. We all want these beautiful games to release and do well, so we get more of them. Let's create an environment which is supportive (both in energy and in finances)
And yes, I realize that last post might be a bit on the nose on a download forum - but at the very least I am trying to help the devs I can't support through Patreon by thoroughly reviewing their game and thinking of ways they could improve their product to sell more.
As far as Philly goes, his Patreon posts are still going and he's in the Discord. Nothing to worry about, some games get delayed for six years before they come out. Just don't release an Anthem, Marvel's Avengers or a Forspoken. In ten years, no one will remember the good things about these games. That's why it's important to take your time with products.
