Why do you (and many other devs) keep news hidden behind a paywall?
I do understand to keep latest update and maybe some extra content for Patrons etc.
But for the life of me I never understood why any dev would keep update news hidden.
Those update news if kept up to date and continously going on actually are a big part of what makes me decide to back a dev as I don't wanna back a dev that goes awol at version 0.2 of their game. And I won't pay money just to find out that there is nothing more.
So in my opinion update news are as well appetizers that attract new backers.
Just to be clear to avoid any snarky comments from anyone, I'd really like to understand why there are so many devs hiding simple update news behind paywall. The way I see it is if there is something in the news that peaks my interest I would be more inclined to back to get my hands on the update.
Well, apply that same methodology to food.
Would you not buy a cookie from the baker if they did not explained to you the ingredients they put into it?
Imagine they came out with Version 2 of this cookie now, do you need to know what improvements they have made to the cookie to buy it? This is a very simple answer but this can apply to any product or company.
I personally am not a fan of paywalls but I understand why they exist and why people need them.
Would you spend hundreds of hours developing a game for free if no one was interesting in the game or backing your project? Meanwhile your rent is over due, living of ramen, bills piling up, etc but since no one is backing the project, you have to stop working on this and get another job to pay bills etc and your game dies then and there coz there was no interest or financial interest in the game/project. Even huge companies like EA or Ubi take on investment from somewhere to work and develop on a game and pay staff.
I can't speak for every developer out there and why they do what they do but it's very easy to understand reasons why. Personally, if I was to full time developing a game and did not have finances backing me or the game, I would not survive and nor would the game.
In your opinion "update news are as well appetizers that attract new backers." Seems a little short sighted. Updates are what you get for your investment in something, you want to know your investment in someone or a project is being worked on and not being used for something else. Your appetizer was the Demo of the game, or version 1 of the game etc.
Much like for movies, you watch a trailer before purchasing a ticket to watch the movie in the cinema no? You have your demo before investing in the project.
I apologise for the lengthy post but I think we should get back onto the topic of this discussion, the game?
Personally I can't wait for the 0.2 update to come out. I'm not sure what the news was in the patreon but I have not paid for the information as others have so I'm okay with waiting for whatever it is. I hope Maelion is well at the very least!
Very excited for 0.2 I've not felt this happy about something since I first played COL tbh with you.
Good luck and stay safe.