I withdrew my support from Cuddle-Pit. The progress on the game was too slow and I think they shifted into a higher gear in terms of milking money from their patrons. Sorry.
I enjoy reading critiques, as they help me grow as a designer. However, I do take issue with accusations of ‘milking’ patrons. The team and I regularly garner feedback from our patrons and keep them updated on the progress of public versions, despite the fact that our patrons receive special versions of the game earlier than the general release. Every patron can say with confidence, and are reminded on regular occasion, that the game itself is free, that if they wish to spend their money elsewhere they will still have access to Con-Quest. Patrons have, thus far, reacted positively to the strides that we've made for Con-Quest, even as our ambitions have increased. While patrons may get ‘complete’ updates more frequently were I to scale down the game and add minimal elements in order to provide quicker updates, I feel that this would be a greater disservice to our patrons and fans than taking the time to continue making Con-Quest exciting and unique. This is not to mention the fact that we release playable updates to our patrons as soon as they’re playable. Lastly, on a personal level, I don't want to release anything to the public that I'm embarrassed about. After watching Let's Players play through early versions of the game, I couldn't shake the feeling that there were aspects of Con-Quest that didn't hold up to my personal standards, and that's not the kind of work I want to give our patrons and fans. It would not be right of me, or of any member of the team, to release rushed work when time and consideration would give our paying patrons something vastly better.
I don't think that our patrons are expecting bare-bones updates to hit an arbitrary deadline. I think that many of our patrons' pledge money because we create something that is exciting and new with every update. If that's not what they're here for, then they're free to tell us. Again, I like to think that I'm open for criticism and that we, as a team, take criticism into account in our work. I don't believe being accused of 'milking' our voluntary patrons is a helpful or constructive criticism, however, and I, again, take issue with the accusation.