No, the answer is much simpler and more banal (benign, even, depending how charitable you want to be) than that. Simple fact is DC feels no pressure to change the speed of development in either direction, be it slower or faster, so he doesn't change it. No external pressure from the audience, and no internal pressure from his own reasoning. Why would he? The audience get the game for free, and pay him as a gesture of goodwill. He earns enough money that he's financially secure, and I doubt his home expenses have increased to the point he needs constant patreon growth to sustain his lifestyle. His finances are solid, no-one bothers him, he's his own boss after a career of wageslaving, he gets to spend plenty of time with his family and he can work from home on this goofy little side project that unexpectedly became a self-sustaining diversion. He's got it made, really, and -- on a person-to-person level -- I'm very happy for DC. I like him and it gladdens me to see people I like do well for themselves.
If you're actually paying money to the patreon with the expectation of receiving content in a timely manner as a result, then I sympathise. It must feel like you're eating shit for months on end waiting for this stuff to come out. But there's an easy solution. I stopped my pledge many years ago because I was uncomfortable with the increasing gaps between updates. You can do the same, it's not a big deal at all. If you're not paying money for the game, then I'm not sure why it's worth getting riled up or taking potshots at the guy -- just accept the production is slow as shit and say a silent prayer for the fools who are still happy to finance this hodgepodge development quagmire
