Potential Development Changes
Added 2018-01-02 17:29:21 +0000 UTCWhen we first started monthly builds our idea was to create value for all of you. We felt the need to give you something month over month. We continued with our monthly builds and haven't missed a single update (outside holidays) even in the face of sickness, and set backs we showed our work. Recently we have been seeing a trend in our development, and this trend is mirrored in the support we have been getting. What is happening is we have a very strong build, followed by one or two months of weak builds (*community, and our sentiment of the builds). The weak builds are creating a negative image for a month or two, and people only see 4 strong builds a year! The weak builds are due to the difficulty and time required to add new content to the game due to its size (content is literally ready to go and be implemented). In addition we have a couple periods of time during a month in which we bug test/housekeeping (hd pack). What happens is that during the course of a month we literally use 1.5 weeks to non content adding development. We have also been seeing a growing trend in other developers leaving the monthly model behind and moving to new and improved workflows.
What we are proposing is that we move towards bi-monthly builds. So for example, the next build will release January 31'st and then the following build will be March 31'st. We then gain an additional 1.5-2 weeks of time for content addition. An additional benefit is instead of getting 4 strong builds a year we can delivery 6 strong builds of SU.
I also want to remind you that there is another project currently in development for Newgrounds that will have a Patreon exclusive build. We are hoping to release upwards of two of these this year! Also we will be running more polls and tournaments for content addition to SU and to our Newgrounds games. So we shouldn't have any lulls in activity while waiting for the next build to come out. So with 6 SU builds a year, and 2 potential Newgrounds games, we have 7-8 months where builds come out.
We want to hear what you have to say. Please Vote below and I will message this every week till the poll ends. There is also a public straw poll that will be out on all the boards/threads where we are being discussed, feel free to vote in those also.
https://strawpoll.com/6sffbz9p
tl:dr: Want to move to bi-monthly builds vote below
Comments
Ok I will bring this up with SR7. Thank you -SmokeShank
Gunsmoke Games
2018-01-05 15:11:12 +0000 UTCI'm ok with the updates every 2 months. What I would love to see though (perhaps it's already existing?) is a roadmap of progresses...i.e. on which content you plan to be working on for the coming months. Also, I would love if we could, to some extent, influence what the next developments will be.
2018-01-04 21:51:09 +0000 UTCNoted, thanks for your honesty ennetsu. Helps get us better. -SmokeShankk
Gunsmoke Games
2018-01-04 19:28:38 +0000 UTCI'm for it. You guys could have just dropped the whole game when Patreon changed it's rules. But you didn't. You kept going and even small additions are better than nothing. I don't plan on stopping my support of you guys anytime soon, I love the art and I love your work. So whatever you guys think is best for not just us but for yourselves I say go for it :D
Crowsims
2018-01-04 18:15:29 +0000 UTCI would just like to see new content that month if I'm paying for that month. It's mostly just me wanting instant gratification if I'm putting the money in. Regardless I'll continue with the $5 A month because the game is of a good quality.
T Dawg
2018-01-04 14:18:56 +0000 UTCI would like this very much this potential new workflow to be the occasion for the game to be more stable and "recenter" on the "original" characters (before it extended to Teen Titans and Young Justice). In the last months, I was less and less enthusiastic downloading and testing the new versions, because some big bugs kept happening from one build to another, and I was fed up of having to restart the game from scratch all over again.
ennetsu
2018-01-04 10:12:35 +0000 UTCI really don't understand this point of view. If Sunset and Smokeshank wind up putting out more content, but just releasing it on a different schedule, why do they deserve less money? You're getting more content, they're making more content. Why should they take a pay cut? I'm not trying to be rude, but I just don't understand the logic behind your idea.
Omelet
2018-01-03 20:02:19 +0000 UTCI'm all for it, also saves some bandwith lol
Timeyy
2018-01-03 17:22:38 +0000 UTCIf you have have the idea that for $5.00 you get access to a download then this is a valid option. Rather we have been doing monthly downloads in order to build good faith in a world of scammers and milkers (not my terms) on crowdfunding sites. If your $10.00 means 2 downloads for you then this isn't a good option. But if your $10.00 means 2 months of development support, then there is really no difference on your end besides not getting to see the technical update. -SmokeShank
Gunsmoke Games
2018-01-03 15:59:03 +0000 UTCThey could always just send out hotfixes outside of the regular cycle to fix any gamebreaking bugs.
Mike Eric
2018-01-03 07:07:21 +0000 UTCI would prefer if it went to a system where we are charged when an update comes out if we won't be getting monthly updates. Every patch does not need to be huge, but if I'm paying that month I would like to see content, big or small.
T Dawg
2018-01-03 04:10:23 +0000 UTCDon't expect to get that entire skipped debug cycle back. If you have twice as much content in each release, you'll have twice as much content to debug. That being said, I'm voting for this. The main downside I see is if there are nasty bugs, we have to wait longer for them to be resolved and it might be harder for you (since it could be twice as long since you made the change that introduced the bug, which makes it harder to go back and figure out.)
Dubsington
2018-01-03 04:08:52 +0000 UTCHappy New Year
LongDongSilver
2018-01-03 00:42:47 +0000 UTCWe should just move to semiannual updates. There'd be so much time to focus on things. And think how great the backlash would be. It'd be like everything exploded like it's the 4th of July.
2018-01-03 00:11:28 +0000 UTCi've always been a fan of release it when it is done, rather than a set schedule. the push to release every month has to do with the payment model. if you charge every month then people expect something every month, hence why i think that pay per release is a better model (at least in this regard) as it doesn't set false expectations. in the end what i look forward to is the final product, though i do like seeing how things progress along the way, and i do like being able to have some input. navigating the balance between consumer and producer is the great art that is business, so what ever you decide i am cool with.
james steele
2018-01-02 22:51:33 +0000 UTCI'd be for the bi-monthly builds, but maybe on the off months you can slip us a little bonus with peeks at some of the art content we'll have to look forward to in the next build? It might make the waiting a little easier to take.
Kevin R Conk
2018-01-02 22:13:04 +0000 UTCI agree. The community completely laughed at me when I demanded equal representation for the futa community in SU. The community's kinkshaming needs to stop.
2018-01-02 21:05:50 +0000 UTCSounds good to me.
Strenif
2018-01-02 20:16:24 +0000 UTCI would be for it, but I am not comfortable consistently donating a higher amount to something less often offered. I reduced my amount because I felt I was getting less from it over the past few months and the community for the game is toxic as fuck.
Charles House
2018-01-02 19:32:55 +0000 UTCMy two cents would be to release quarterly, so 4 releases a year.
Duke Snugglez
2018-01-02 19:18:25 +0000 UTCHaha I’m keenly awaiting your next update. Very exciting news.
Melvin Hermill
2018-01-02 18:59:25 +0000 UTCSounds like a good idea, while I do enjoy the monthly releases, I skip them sporadically if there hasn't been much content added, this should help make the replay value more enjoyable.
fyrewolf
2018-01-02 18:58:00 +0000 UTCThank god i've been asking this for months
vedeh
2018-01-02 18:05:52 +0000 UTCThank you for the transparency and the for being considerate of what your patrons want. These little things like the surveys really help us feel like we have input and I just wanted to thank you guys for that
Jared m Mosley
2018-01-02 17:55:04 +0000 UTCWe are open to suggestions and I will note this one and bring it up with SR7 -SmokeShank
Gunsmoke Games
2018-01-02 17:47:20 +0000 UTCWould it potentially help to do both a 2 month stable release cycle, and have a restricted access fast loop with nightly/CI builds for those that care to consume it to get faster feedback and bug insight?
Snek
2018-01-02 17:46:36 +0000 UTCThe waiting will be horrible, but I think it's worth it
The Black Pharaoh
2018-01-02 17:45:01 +0000 UTCthat sounds good i am all for it
2018-01-02 17:44:09 +0000 UTCWe will start with more content polls, and the Newgrounds game in development. But we are also open for more suggestions and will look to implement more as we progress. The concern will always be about the strength of the upcoming build. We want to deliver you something substantial. -SmokeShank
Gunsmoke Games
2018-01-02 17:41:24 +0000 UTCI usually wait two months to play anyways because I's rather see more new stuff instead of little snippets. Right now I havent played any new content. So whatever you decide I'm game.
Justanx
2018-01-02 17:41:21 +0000 UTCI'm good for a slightly longer wait between builds seeing as content is always coming out.
Elliphaz
2018-01-02 17:37:57 +0000 UTCIf you do the bi-monthly releases, what will you do in the months between? Perhaps work more on the Asset Packs and make GIFs of scenes?
Reviper
2018-01-02 17:33:25 +0000 UTC
