I got a couple questions, if you don't mind?
So it's pretty obvious that these recent updates have so much more effort and polish in the cutscenes than the earlier updates. What was the deciding factor that allowed you to do that? Does the game's fanbase financially make it viable to focus more on the game (as in you don't have to have a separate job outside of the game, or at least not as much of one?) Also, do you think the effort is sustainable for the long haul, like do you have a pipeline figured out for the animations to streamline the work?
It'd just be a shame if with all this effort you're putting you experienced burn out before the project got to a good ending point. It's really impressive how much content you pour into each update, even if the impatient crowd says otherwise.
Okay, gonna try to give a full answer to your questions so apologies for the wall of text
Around 05.5 I increased the size of the canvas I create the art on, which enabled me to add more detail to the work and that makes for better looking art. I'm also improving as we go along, just drawing so much so often is gonna do that haha - but really the last 2 updates have been slowed by two factors: my shoulder injury in October of last year and the amount of art in the updates (the latter being more of an impact on time than the former at this point, but the injury is still an issue). 06.5 was an anomaly in the sheer amount of art as it was planned for a very long time and had a lot of important scenes to me that I needed to give justice to. Future updates will not have that much art.
This game has been my full-time job since early 2022, and while the support we get allows me to pay my bills and make this my job (which I'm eternally grateful for), the perception that substar creates and the narrative that a few folks decide to run with is not the reality of the situation. There have definitely been people speculating that we're well-off, but once all the math is done, that's very much not the case. We simply just refuse to compromise quality haha
For example regarding substar, the number that is shown on the site is and has been off by quite a bit for a long time. Their algorithm says we make around $12,000, but in all the months between last update and this one I averaged around $8,500/mo. It's absurd to me that their estimate can be off by +30%, but in all the times I reach out to their help desk the explanation I get about their algorithm makes less sense, but I can't exactly just pack my shit and go somewhere else. Either way, I know this could still seem like a lot to some, but living in an expensive state in an expensive country, paying ~40% taxes, trying to pay down debt, and having 2 other people to pay as well, I, like a lot of people I think post-pandemic, am simultaneously making more than I have in my life and am still constantly broke.
If it's any comfort, we have a solid plan for the game and how the story will progress. Zakko gets closer on his catch-up on my old code all the time, and eventually I will be able to focus wholly on art, which again will not reach the numbers in 06.5 so should go quicker. As long as I can keep working on Leslie this project is my passion and I'll be here for it.