And hopefully 2021 will be the year that we gain your trust back.
Even if you don't support us directly, keep tuned on us.
There will be a big announcement in a few weeks, and once Kain returns we are going to intensify our work on the main series.
6 months for a chapter is something that it will not happen again. It must not.
I'll announce once Kain returns, and I ask for you to judge us based on this year.
Thank you for the support you gave us. And I'm sorry we failed you last year.
Good maps and combat weren't SC's house mark, but at least the maps were not completely symmetrical, which is the lowest you can get in terms of design. What I'm trying to say is that judging by the points I wrote in my previous posts, the chapter will be rushed, which is never a good sign. I'm not even gonna go into combat, as we saw from the previous chapter that it's completely broken.I think this paints a much bleaker picture than what's happening. I mean I don't quite get your point about the map design and fight balance for Chapter 5. Combat and and Map Design has never been SC's strong suits. These seem like odd reasons to think Chapter 5 is going to be bad.
As for burn out, I'm not convinced he's totally burned out and trying to milk people's money on Patreon. Reading his posts on Patreon, he's clearly still passionate about the world he's created and the genre. I think if anything he's disheartened his project hasn't been panning out the way he originally intended, and to be fair, that's definitely on him. You're supposed to start and aim small, and if things go well you can grow from there. He set himself up for failure by making big promises like 100 Chapters, 2 Chapters a year, animated H-Scenes, etc etc.
I don't think it's fair either to compare him to TrTr. They're a larger and more experienced team. I don't look at Paradox Part 3 as a shining example of good project management either. While Part 3 will probably turn out great, it's very clear development didn't go as smoothly and as quick as they originally intended. Shit happens. Zion found that out the hard way multiple times, and he definitely needs to rethink and restructure Succubus Covenant into a size that's more manageable for him.
It's one thing to create posts about lore and a teaser here and there, but when it comes down to actually putting the work down to create the game which incorporates these things, I'm just not seeing it.
Also, you're correct, he keeps setting himself up for failure every time he makes an announcement after a chapter is released. In my point of view, he tries to keep up the hype by promising things he can't fulfill. It's ok if it happens once or twice, but people got fed up with the excuses. At least don't announce or promise anything until you have a product near completion.
I think it's fair to compare anyone to TrTr, since he doesn't have a large team behind him. I don't know from where people jump to these conclusions, especially since he mentions he has to bring people alongside him to playtest, since this project can't be completed solely. Even if there were issues with development (like one of his major artists, Xelvy, just disappearing from the face of this planet), he will deliver P3, a game worth of 150+ hours playtime, while SC can be completed in around 8 hours if you focus on the main story. People should compare him to anybody else in this business, since he set a standard for what a truly dedicated dev can do, after which you can see how other people in the business lack these qualities.