Slider, thank you for this and my apologies for the delay in getting back to you due to being away for a few days. But before I respond there are two things I'd like to say.
Firstly, thank you for taking the time to make such a constructive set of points. It's appreciated.
Secondly, and more importantly, you say that this thread is quite intimidating - and I dare say you're right. You knew, for you're an intelligent man, that offering a critique of the thread behaviour could well result in some negative comments and yet you still did it. For sure, you did it in a polite and constructive manner, but we all know full well how some people on other threads can react. Yet despite that, you did it anyway. You could have kept silent - yet you didn't. That took some degree of courage and for that I admire you. Thank you.
As to the point itself, it's a tricky one. Yes, it does veer off to the chatty sometimes and I'll confess I'm as much to blame for that as anyone. Indeed, I suspect the chatty nature of the thread is largely down to me for the tone is set at the top, no?
My take on it though is threefold.
Firstly, chattiness aside, this is the best place for me to tap into feedback into what is and isn't working with H5. I don't mean plot points etc for those are set. But patreon and discord would only really let me see what people who liked the game thought. Now that's all very nice of course, but what about peeps who didn't like it? Why? Mebbe, for this is my first game, I'm doing something wrong? Also with the user base of these pirate scamps it also allows me to see (for I am a tiny dev on her own) how things such as the easter egg mechanic works. I'll confess I thought the Trisha one was easy - I was wrong. So from a perspective of tapping into the widest possible user base it's fantastically useful.
You make a valid point in respect of discord tho. The trouble is I just don't like it. It has that "text" message feel about it and having recently joined another discord channel I have to say it's not a comms method I like. It has that "reply now" instant feel to it which I just wouldn't be able to stay on top of especially given the size of my little game. Someone later in this thread remarked that this felt like an old school forum where one was using an "email" format to make points and I concur. That format I can handle, being able to salt and pepper responses or, indeed like this one, reply at length as required. This does not negate your point however, it merely reflects my own preference and ability to be able to respond.
But none of that addresses the traffic issue. I took some time yesterday travelling back to have a peek at some other threads of similar size. I wasn't impressed. The content was largely "Update?"; "Save Plz"; "Dev is shit"; "Dev is great!"; "Who's best girl?"; "How do I fuck...". No. No thanks. So, yes, this thread is intimidating, on that I agree. But it's also good humoured, informative, (incredibly when Ava behaves herself it even largely sticks to the game!) and I like to feel welcoming. If I spot a new player/poster I do my best to make them feel welcome and, although perhaps limited in it's effectiveness, I do try to mitigate the issue as best as I can.
So, is this a perfect thread? No. Of course not. But it's, in my opinion now of course, the best thread on the forum for both players and dev.
Having said that tho, your point has some validity and I will think on. For example...
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Thank you so much for taking the time to make your point known. It really is appreciated and, indeed from my perspective, admired.
Notty
