Defiant Explorer
patreon
Update 1.2
🕑 Added 2023-01-27 04:02:16 +0000 UTCThe update is attached to this post and waiting to be downloaded by you.
Yes, it's 1.2, not 1.3 like I wanted. Why? Because... I'm tired. And a little burned out. I need to rest for a couple of days before I continue. The next update (1.3) will be in February/March.
Changes with game support via Patreon.
When I was working on Chapter 1, I wasn't really worried about time. But after it was released, things changed somewhat. People started waiting for the game. Inner Empire got good reviews. And I was happy about that in itself. But the financial support was, let's face it, modest. I wasn't worried, though. After all, support was growing? Yep. Modestly, but was growing. So I was like, «Hey, don't be greedy, it's okay, give it time and keep working on the update.»
That's how it was until January. When modest support became... um, twice as modest in just one month. What happened? I don't know. Maybe people got tired of waiting for an update? Or maybe they don't like gratuitous support and want some kind of additional benefits? Maybe, they've decided that my desire to release the update at the end of December is a promise and so I'm not keeping my word? Hmm, but I had promised (specifically promised) in January... And here it is - the update. Yeah, I barely made it. Well I'm sorry, it's not as quick and easy as someone (perhaps) thinks.
Anyway, now I'm working on the game full-time. That is just... Well, the current fees just aren't enough to cover my costs. That said, lnner Empire is too big to be just a hobby that I do on weekends. It's easier to put an «abandoned» sign right away. I don't want that at all. I put so much effort and labor into this game, so I just can't give up on its development so easily.
For these reasons, I formulated a series of steps to save the situation.
Step 1: Canceling gratuitous support as unproductive. Yes, right after posting this post, I'll delete all current gratuitous support tiers. Uh-huh, I won't charge you a penny this month. I didn't do it in advance, only so you could get an email notifying you of the update and this post.
Step 2: New tiers will be $1 or $2 more expensive but with benefits for patrons. Standard kit: early access, voting, etc.
Step 3. All subsequent updates will be released within 1-2 months after the previous one. What's the catch? They will be short. I didn't want that. I wanted big updates with lots of content. But judging by my fees, no one wants to wait that long. Maybe people want to, figuratively speaking, keep their hand on the pulse or see progress. Well, so be it. From now on, only short but frequent updates.
Step 4: I set my first goal at $300/month. If this goal is not reached in the next few months... Well, I'll be honest, the game development will be in jeopardy. I will keep the development afloat for as long as I can, but without your help, this just can't last forever.
Step 5. I hope there will be that PROFIT from the meme... Or maybe CRITICAL FAILURE, don't know. All I know is that if I don't do something about it now, stable development will be in danger very soon.
P.S. Everyone who supported my game with at least $1 can find their names in the Credits section right in the game. Thank you all. Hope to see you on the other side.
Comments
Defiant Explorer
Well, the problem with exact dates is mainly the blackouts. I mean, I can promise a certain date and by the time it comes, I'll have another blackout... The solution, in general, is to work in short cycles. No more big drafts. Draft scene - translation - in-game placement - testing - next one. Something like this. This way in a month or two I'll always have something to offer as an update. Another question is that it's not always possible to fit enough content in such a short period. So either reduce variability (quality) or short updates. I chose short updates. Hope this helps the situation.
Boones
I can understand your frustation. The problem is that the community for adult games are so often burnt with devs who deliver a very promising first release, and then never follow up. So, when you break a deadline early in a development cycle, people instantly lose faith. We've seen it so many times (e.g Defenestration). My advice would be to make smaller, steady releases and set realistic deadlines. Only the very top wellknown devs can break deadlines without losing subs. Also - people don't understand estimated deadlines. Overall, I think your plan as published here looks plausible.
userd114
I check my card record, it cost correctly 12 usd. So it might be patreon problems. I would delete the comment before making any misunderstanding.
Defiant Explorer
You even scared me a little :) I double-checked. Maybe the system is still not displaying correctly? I can clearly see that it's $12.
Defiant Explorer
No, it's 12$.
Defiant Explorer
Thank you. About the promotion, I simply do not have enough time for it. Oh, man. I can't even find the "set goal" button here right now. Okay. I'll go update all the game pages on the other sources, then I'll get to it. And I'll add some images to the tiers.
userd114
Defiant Explorer
Yep, Ukraine. Kharkiv to be exact, 50 km to the border. I try not to mention it so much, so as not to burden people with my problems. This is a page about the game, and let it stay that way. And I do not want all this oppression around even a little bit to seep into my game. So far I seem to be able to do that. And yes, thank you for your support.
SilverS
I don't have much advice for getting more patrons, sadly. That's the secret many a person wish they knew the answer to. But I will happily keep with my upgraded tier. It's no problem for me. And I hope this all works out for you, DE! Make sure you're looking into a variety of websites to promote the game on. The more you can get knowledge about the game out there, the better the outcome will be.
userd114
Oh, you mentioned Ukraine before. I like the game. I will support for a few months. Hopes to sightly cover your cost.
Defiant Explorer
Yes, only three so far. I'll be honest, it takes too many people for a $1 tier to make sense. And those people (so far) don't exist. So I put the minimum recommended level by Patreon itself. Anyway, thank you for your support and for your well wishes.
Is there only three tiers possible? I want to support this game, but with 3.50€ as the cheapest option I can't, because I want/can leave only so much money on patreon and I still have some others I want to support, too. Well, anyway I think it's a great game and I hope your situation gets better. Here on patreon AND in the real world.
Defiant Explorer
What? No! Since the beginning of the war, I simply had no other job. That's more accurate.
userd114
What, you quit your job for this game？
