You don't need to pay, that's the whole idea.
After the DEV releases an update, he should tell you how long will he take to release the next one, you can stay to watch for posts and polls, or you can come back when the update is released.
And no, you won't play for an hour if the DEV is good, take Lust Theory as an example, dude takes long to release but WHEN he releases there are 3k to 5k new renders and over 100 animations, you can spend an entire day in each update, I usually play it the whole Saturday and Sunday.
The idea is simple, he WILL have the stronger rules to follow, but he will be the one to call a release date and you can choose to keep following him or not until then.
If they miss the release date he made, the money from the next months stay locked until he releases another update so he can claim the money.