Changes: Tiers & More

Hey, it's only been a few days since we spoke. Get used to it. Nah, I wish I could write a post daily, but I think it's better to invest that time in doing some work.

In any case... The other day, I said I would make some final changes here on Patreon, so I did. The changes to the tiers are now made and include new benefits, changes to benefits for others, and more. You can find the details in each tier's description here.

These changes are final, and I won't be adding or removing any more. However, could I add new things in case new projects or benefits arise? It could certainly happen.

But as I say, no more changes. I should rename all this madness ‘definitive version’ or something like that...

Anyway. Over the next few days, I'll work on the new benefits (packs) as they bring new stuff (images/loops). And while I'm at it, I'll make this month's wallpapers and check if the animation pack (loops) post is updated. For some reason, the post where all the paintings from the game were has disappeared, so I'll have to re-upload all that...

I don't have much more to add regarding this point. I hope you like the new benefits, especially the higher tiers. I will add details about each pack in the next few days as I finish them.

This means that next week, I will start working exclusively on the first reborn version... "Definitive version" sounds better, honestly, so I'm gonna call it that from now on.

‘Bruh, you could get to work on the new version already and leave this nonsense for when you've finished the BETA...’ That's what I thought you'd think when you read all this. It's even what I felt when I replied to Canadian's comment in the previous post. But... there's a reason for everything:

• Tomorrow, I will spend the whole day thinking and posting polls for all tiers, members, non-members, etc.

• All polls will last for a week.

• In the meantime, I will be working on the benefits/wallpapers.

• Next week, I will be fully implementing everything you have decided.

• When I have finished all that, plus all my implementations, I will do more polls, if appropriate.

That's going to be the dynamic of these definitive versions. Although I'd like to post a lot of polls, I can't be waiting for the results to make a final decision on everything I want to implement/change.

There are some pretty crazy polls coming up, especially one I have in mind right now, because now that we're at the re-start of everything, I can implement changes that would have been crazy before... Can you imagine deciding that Glenda should have more freckles all over her body? Improving/changing Tali's outfit? Making Yuna's hair a little shorter (the front ponytails or whatever are called)? These are just a few random examples that don't have to be decided by anyone, or maybe we can decide all that. We'll take it one step at a time, together.

Having said that, I'm going to change the subject drastically: AI. AI is helpful in many ways, but since it's become a trend, it's also generally hated. I experienced the rise of AI used for art, and, well, I ended up fed up like everyone else... Still, there is art made with AI that is quite good. Why do I mention AI? Well... I've wanted to implement some extra content for a while now, but using a different style, 2D instead of 3D. Specifically, I wanted to use it for paintings (MC's room) and to offer merchandise made with 2D art. What's the problem? Several points lead me to the same place. It's a short but intense story:

About two years ago, I tried to hire two artists to make different custom art pieces to use in-game. Well, actually, it was three, but the first one didn't end up doing any work, first because he wanted to charge me a lot of money for one piece, and second, I'd had to pay more money (fee) to be able to use it in LA...

The first artist I hired... I got scammed. He assured me that he didn't use AI of any kind for his art (which was pretty good art) and that he did everything for a ‘cheap’ price; I fell into the trap... After spending a few bucks, he did the drawing, and although it wasn't 100% perfect, I was happy with the result. But then... I showed it to several people, and they helped me realise that the artist had used AI to make the drawing. As you can imagine, I ended up very angry when I realised that, so I reported the user, and luckily, they refunded my money, but +1 in bad experiences in that field.

The other artist, everything was fine; there was good communication, we even spoke in Spanish, which made everything easier. The problem was that all the portraits he had, although it was an art style I liked, he was not able to replicate it in the LA universe. I didn't understand why he had very complete and complex drawings, but to make an almost 1:1 of a Lisapi's render that I shared with him, he couldn't do it... Unfortunately, I was unable to recover the money I invested there. I don't consider it a scam, but come on, he promised similar results... I guess just ‘similar’.

So, I promised myself that if one day the AI advanced enough for me to be able to make ‘art’ myself, I would do it, even if it was simple content. I say advanced enough for it to be ‘easy’ enough so I can do it myself, as I don't have much idea how to work with AI prompts.

That day has arrived:

Unfortunately, this AI is not very good at doing NSFW content, although perhaps it is more my fault for not spending time correctly detailing the prompts.

I really like the result of all this, but I'm not dumb (sometimes); I know how much people hate art made with AI; there was even a wave of hate posts on Pixiv a while ago. I still think that AI can't replace the human touch and that it's a matter of taste, but I'm not going to get into that; that's not why I'm here.

So... You all are the ones who will decide if AI becomes part of the definitive stuff. Soon, I will make a poll so you can decide if you want me to implement AI-generated art here on Patreon (benefits/merch) and in the game (paintings for the MC's room).

If the result is no, I will respect your opinion. If the result is yes, I will add this to the list of things to implement in the final version, and I will also look at the merch section to see if it is worth making that extra investment. The merch would be what Patreon offers, no external sites. I have no idea what result to expect, so let's move on to the next point!

Goals, goals... Does anyone remember that? No? I do. Patreon decided to remove them, even though I thought it was an interesting feature. When they removed it, I said that goals would be back someday (not because of Patreon but me), and that day had also arrived. In the next few days, I will make the active patrons visible again, and I will make a post explaining the ‘community goals’. I won't add any cash goals as I used to be able to do before they removed the feature because, honestly, over the years, I like talking about money less. Above all, I've learnt to be happy with being able to dedicate myself to this professionally, pay my bills, and that's it. Well, being able to save some extra money to invest in improving my work in general is always a good thing. Anyway, you know what I mean.

And speaking of investments, when the goals existed, one of the goals was to have X number of patrons or earn X amount of money per month to invest in making my own website. Over time, I ruled out the idea and forgot about it, but honestly, both here and on Itch, the posts' images break after some time, and I have to keep reuploading them... It's a pain.

I'd like to have a place where I can post a cool overview of the game. Or a site where introduce all the girls with different images, and all that stuff. I had thought of a wiki site or something, but huh, I'm not sure. And although, due to my break over the past year, the margin for investment has been affected, I might end up making my own website about the LA universe. I'll give it more serious thought as we progress through all the work on the definitive version.

Oh, and something I haven't mentioned about the goals: For the first time, there will also be goals on Itch and so on Twitter. More details on this soon! Let's take it one step at a time.

That's all for today, see you soon!