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Mind Drop #13 (02/23/2021) Another long, ranty post about an important topic called releases
Hey guys, first three renders are from the upcoming update and the fourth is part of the day 1 rework.
Got some big boy stuff to talk about so let's not waste any time
Game related stuff:
- Update near the 13th
- Main topic of the rant below so look down there
Dev related stuff:
- Not much to comment on since my week was spent moving and the only things I accomplished dev wise was making the character sheet. (But man, that character sheet took a lot of time. Waaay longer than I thought it would)
- Well actually another thing I've been working on is the organization of my files. But, for your sake I won't really go into detail about that
Personal related stuff:
- We're moved in completely now. Still a ton of work to do with unpacking things and setting everything up but we're over the biggest hurdle
- If I can give a piece of life advice. Always keep a friend who can lift heavy things.
Most of my irl friends are pretty small women and while I'm sure they would've helped out as much as they possibly could've I would've felt bad if they had gotten hurt or anything.
Same goes for the fiancee
I moved as much of the heavy stuff as I could on my own which was all but a few things and fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk I'm so sore and tired
Mind drop:
Okay, big boy topic and it's also a topic that could anger a lot of people especially because of how turbulent I've been with them.
Update schedules.
And before I really dive into it I want to say that I'm bringing this up now because I want feedback on it. Nothing is set in stone and it's merely just me talking about where my head has been at for a bit now.
So, why do I want to talk about update schedules?
Because even after all the changes I'm still having issues.
It's not a work issue, it's not a life issue, it's something with me.
I'm not sure what changed, I'm not sure when it changed but I do not feel right with the current update schedule of bi-weekly releases.
(Pre-emptive apology if my rant gets confusing or jumps around a bit. None of this is planned out and my goal is to be unapologetically truthful and that pretty much means I'm just gonna write down wherever my head goes)
So what's wrong?
A few things. All of them need some elaboration but to put it plainly. I do not feel efficient, I don't feel very satisfied, and I feel like things could be better.
Inefficient:
The reason why I feel inefficient is mainly because of the render cap. I think it fucks with my expectations of myself and while it's great for consistency and my personal life it's just not great for my work ethic. I think I'm teaching myself bad habits.
It's honestly hard to explain as it's really just a mental block and I'm really not sure why it's happening. Like I said the new schedule has been great for everything except my workaholic brain and I could always just remove the render cap but at that point why not just return to weekly releases? Well, I'd just be returning to the old problem of any issues = delay.
And it's not an effort issue. I work just as hard but there's a mental block where I spend more time second guessing things and going over already done stuff and for some reason I just hate holding back on my releases. It's the most flat feeling to have an update that's only 200 renders when you have 600 more renders you could show already.
Not satisfied:
I started this game with weekly releases. It was always how I envisioned working on it and there were always people complaining about "small updates". It's always been a complaint that bugged me because of how much time and effort I put in but I never let it effect me to a point of trying to make changes because I liked having weekly releases. I loved the instant feedback and gratification that came with it. I looked forward to release days and even when there were issues they didn't bum me out too much... until delays and stuff at least.
But lately I have not felt very excited or much satisfaction from releases. I think it comes back to the render cap and knowing what I have to show and not putting it all out.
While unique I think there are some major downsides to bite sized updates.
The biggest one being that they can be well... unsatisfying.
No matter how great a piece of entertainment is, it can be infuriating when you only receive it in small chunks.
Imagine if the finale of your favorite show was broken into 4 parts? It'd be much less smooth and way less satisfying.
But you're a fan and you're going to watch even if you know it'll be a lesser experience overall.
That's basically where I think I find myself now. I think a lot of people including myself have sort of gotten fed up of small updates. I at least have.
The more thought I put into it the less I can justify continuing on with them.
Things could be better:
There's an answer to my problems but it'd be a tough choice to make.
Update when it's done. When a day / week is finished I upload it.
It would fix my inefficiency issue because I could work my ass off with no repercussions if there was an issue in my life as there would be no deadlines.
It'd fix the satisfaction issue for me and a lot of players because you'd be getting the full thing, both the set up and the payoff as it's intended to be experienced without annoying pauses.
I've weighed the pros and cons so many times in my head. And it really boils down to the fact that "Update when its ready" has all of the pros of what would make for the best game and experience. And the pros of the "bi-weekly" release is mainly me fulfilling expectations.
Drawbacks:
Now there is one big issue that would arise if I took that route and it's pretty much what's holding me back from pulling the trigger on changing the schedule.
My patreon and tiers are all set up for bi-weekly releases. You guys pledged with those in mind. I feel like it'd be fucked up to just change them completely without at the very least getting feedback from you guys first.
My ideas are pretty basic to try and accommodate the tiers a bit. I would love suggestions or ideas on more.
-The first being early access. Higher tiers play sooner. Prob by 3-4 days each tier.
-Weekly polls for all patrons and some tier exclusive polls (Mainly Rachael client polls)
-Monthly render sets that would function the same as releases with rolling out to other tiers later on.
-Polls for those monthly sets
-Random individual renders (Not sets. But more singular pin-up style renders)(also polls for them)
Yeah, mainly images and polls. I don't want anything too crazy as I do want 95%+ of my focus to be on the game itself. But like I said I'm very open to suggestions.
Fuck... where do I go from here?
I guess I could address any potential worries.
You won't use this as an opportunity to work less right?
There's always been a feeling of "less work" around larger release windows. But you guys know how fast I work and what my goals are for a week. Usually it's 1 week = 100-120 renders. So if an update took 8 weeks then you'd expect it to be 800-960 renders long. And that will still be the case.
I thought the new work system was going well?
It was and I'm not happy that I feel the way I do about it because it honestly made a ton of sense and worked in every way except one that is very important to me. But there's a part of me that knows deep down that this is the right move to make.
How will we know when the release will come out?
I would still talk about the update and progress in mind drops. And I'd give heads up to when it's close to dropping.
This post is so weird. It's so fucking hard to write. I feel nervous and my stomach is in knots. I ordered food and it's been here for 15 minutes and I haven't touched it yet because I'm just writing this.
I hate making changes... especially large ones like this. It feels like I'm going back on my word and I don't like it. But I know it's the best thing for the game. I know it's the best thing for me. I especially hate having to fuck with the tiers but it's what would have to happen.
Sometimes I hate that I care so much. It'd be easier if I was the kind of person that could be like "Yo, I'm changing this because it's better. lolokbye"
Instead I'm the kind to write up a thesis on my thoughts.
But I'm not here to take your money, I'm here to give you a good game. And I think this is the best way to do so and that's all that should matter right? Everything else will work itself out and we'll figure it out.
Once again none of this is concrete. I'm definitely leaning towards this change but I'm not all the way there yet.
Nonetheless you can still expect that 400 render release on / near the 13th. (I say near just because the move is taking a bit longer than I thought it would, but it'll be close to that date)
The 300 render one planned for after that is in limbo with this change though.
Also just to quickly clarify. A lot of people always express concern for me whenever I express myself and my own concerns this way. I'm fine, I'm happy and life is going the best it ever has. I just really care about being honest with you guys. You guys mean the world to me and I don't take changes like this lightly. I know in the grand scheme it's not a big deal, it's the way most games are developed for good reason. But it never feels good to change and shift expectations.
I know the majority of you will be fine with this but I also know it's a big change that is coming soon after another big change. But I also feel those changes were always leading to this point. I also talked about how we'd try a few different things.
I considered going to monthly's but it'd just be the same issue over a longer period of time.
Maybe I should've structured this out more. I feel like I have a lot left to say. Maybe I'll elaborate further later on.
I know if I go this route I'll need to have more concrete plans for it. I'll probably pause for March as well just in anticipation for changes.
On a complete side note just because I was thinking about old me from the comments above but I feel like a different person than when I first started WVM. I was broke af, living in a broken home, not much going on.
Now I make more than I ever could have dreamed even with the pauses. Living in a home I never dreamed of living in, I have a beautiful healthy family and if things work out the way they should then I just might be a father soon. Life moves fucking fast.
And I'd never be where I am now without you guys. I'll never let you forget it.
I know some people are going to be really bummed out by this and that sucks. But the more I think and write down the more clear it becomes that it's where WVM needs to go.
I'm going to call it here. I don't need to information overload you guys. There'll probably be another post about this topic this week.
As always thank you all so much for the support.
Love you guys <3
(Would poll about the changes but with the post being public it feels a bit odd. Plus a different lighter topic is always welcomed.)
POLL: In your main playthrough, are you pursuing a relationship with Zoe?
