i unlocked the post, gonna share some of the info but not anything about content:
imo the reason that you're dropping patrons is because the game infrequently has informative Patreon updates Moolah. I love the game and have fun playing it and even subbed. and the render count is huge! they're really gorgeous renders and there's a ton of them. But, I think the content you provide on patreon between game updates is unsatisfying. I wish it was a weekly update on patreon instead of a monthly. or if there were even biweekly preview pics. if you dont use discord, i don't think you're really getting anything from subbing on patreon for Deviant Anomalies. there's no progress bar or anything either; there's a percentage bar on the 'about' page, but i don't think it's accurate, since it's been at 5% forever. i think you need to take a leaf out of Killer7's book (who has a weekly PUBLIC post with 1 non-spoiler, very vanilla render and some info) or look at what Caribdis does (almost weekly progress bar update on discord for Eternum, also available to the public). currently, DA doesn't even have posts about game progress even for patrons.
again, i really like the game. one of my faves. but i think there are some clear flaws with communication. tho i think that moolah is actually very active on discord, so i don't understand why there are issues with putting that info on patreon. ppl basically will have to ping him or PM him on discord to get info which will probably end up just being harassment and annoying him. a move to monthly updates def seems like a huge step in the right direction
ALSO, i wanna rant a little about the last few points you made MoolahMilk:5.0 Progress Update, News and Announcement!
Helloooo peeepo! It's close to release time again! Okay, here's a quick update post.
Okay I know many of you don't want to read so I will do a TLDR of frequently asked questions. Please read this part at least!
TLDR:
1. For the next release(0.5) Every one has to replay the game which means save files won't work! This is pre-planned some time ago.
2. 0.5 will be ready this month! I was aiming for mid august but I predict it should be ready around 20 ish. Regardless, it will be ready this month August so get hyped!
3. Ok, many have asked what was the 0.4+++ episodes about. Those are mini updates that I was releasing to patrons as a sneak peak. The major update is 0.5. I have released 3 episodes so far but I've decided not to release the other 3 for reasons that I will outline in the full post.
4.Yes! These special episodes are all within 0.5!
5.Yes, SOL content is in this update which push main event forward.
6. Please link discord and patreon and chat with me on discord! If you have any questions about update or whatever, drop a message or even DM me. I hang out every single day and reply to all messages. I will still reply on patreon or whichever sites but it will take longer. (I've been muting discord every time we get closer to release as it is a freaking timesink and I end up surfing the web and chatting nonsense with discord peeps, but if you dm me, I will always check in throughout the day and reply you.)
7. Yes I will make a subscribestar account. But after update is over. That is my full focus at the momento!
Okay! Now down to the full post.
Wazzup! Progress on 0.5 is great. I'm working on many things which will make the game much better I believe. But first, I will address the mini episodes.
I won't release the next 3 episodes and instead release the whole 0.5 as we are near release time already. After releasing the first 3, I realized the impact isn't great. It takes me much extra time to sort out all the different versions and also, much of the feedback was it is very underwhelming as some contain no lewd scenes. As such it is quite pointless to download and some peeps feel disappointed. Just to clarify for new peeps, all the bonus content is released on top of what is in 0.5 and it will be together! It is not a separate arc.
Also, the last episode included more than 200 renders! (For comparison, most devs do 2-300 renders per main update with maybe 5 stock animations? We do the same amount for a mini bonus episode)
After the underwhelming feedback (majority feedback was story is interesting but no lewds so its frustrating. I also need to push Moon story line as it is so important later on!), I decided to work on a new side storyline which includes a feminist arc. The objective was create simple throwaway event so that I can rush a lewd scene for every mini episode.
... [Information about upcoming content that I removed] ...
Also, one last thing. I've been quite dismayed with our patron drop out rate as it is very very important to hit our target by the end of the year! However, we are still ranking very high on various websites so that is awesome. I have no doubt that once we put out a good update, we can hit the target
I've been checking out many games as well as interacting with many other devs to see how much content they put out and I can confidently say you will not find a single dev that will put out a 3000 render update like we do out of 10's of thousands of games. (If you find one, pm me and I will check it out. If it is true, I will set out to outwork him when we hit our fulltime target
Majority of the more active devs probably put out 400 render updates. Let's not even talk about less active ones. There are those that take a year to put out 400 measly renders (no kidding). While number of images is not everything, you can compare the complexity and image quality for yourself.
Also keep in mind that DA is a relatively complex game when it comes to renpy visual novels!
So please manage your expectations and stay with us! 1k patrons by end of the year and we will finish Deviant Anomalies. A free game for everyone to enjoy!
In terms of release schedule, I think I have a very good idea on what works best now. From a dev perspective, I need to find the best release schedule that will garner the most patrons! As such I've been testing monthly schedules, 3 months schedule and weekly mini episodes to see which has the most impact. For example, would a 3 months lag time entice people to patron as they are more looking forward to it? Would a monthly release get more attention as it ranks more often etc, etc.
As of now I think the monthly-ish release schedule works best! So look forward to that once 0.5 is out.
Alrighty, no more lengthy posts from now till release time. It's grind city. Speed is my energy,
Expect a couple of spoilers from now till then! Peace out!
Much love
Moolah Milk!
imo the reason that you're dropping patrons is because the game infrequently has informative Patreon updates Moolah. I love the game and have fun playing it and even subbed. and the render count is huge! they're really gorgeous renders and there's a ton of them. But, I think the content you provide on patreon between game updates is unsatisfying. I wish it was a weekly update on patreon instead of a monthly. or if there were even biweekly preview pics. if you dont use discord, i don't think you're really getting anything from subbing on patreon for Deviant Anomalies. there's no progress bar or anything either; there's a percentage bar on the 'about' page, but i don't think it's accurate, since it's been at 5% forever. i think you need to take a leaf out of Killer7's book (who has a weekly PUBLIC post with 1 non-spoiler, very vanilla render and some info) or look at what Caribdis does (almost weekly progress bar update on discord for Eternum, also available to the public). currently, DA doesn't even have posts about game progress even for patrons.
again, i really like the game. one of my faves. but i think there are some clear flaws with communication. tho i think that moolah is actually very active on discord, so i don't understand why there are issues with putting that info on patreon. ppl basically will have to ping him or PM him on discord to get info which will probably end up just being harassment and annoying him. a move to monthly updates def seems like a huge step in the right direction
