6.0 - Evaluating Expectations
Added 2018-11-28 07:01:46 +0000 UTCGreetings everyone!
So today's devblog is going to be a little different than normal as I want to focus on the project as a whole rather than the impending release which, to the surprise of no one, will not be meeting its November 31st release date.
Actually, that's a pretty good place to start this conversation. Let's talk about release dates! No more release dates, good talk! Seriously, I'm going to start moving away from announcing any kind of release dates for upcoming content unless it's ready to ship. All it does is add extra stress to my plate, and inevitable disappointment to yours. So why do I give tentative release dates? Great questions, and that leads us to...
Managing My Anxiety (And Your Content!)
Look, I just... I just want you all like me, okay?
No but seriously, you're a fantastic, supportive, amazing community, and when I haven't put out content in a while, it starts to eat at me. I know I don't have to explain to you that development takes time, and that the majority of you are incredibly understanding of that... But I still think I can do better.
Starting this December, I'm going to try a different approach to content release. There's a chance it'll backfire, or at the very least increase the flow of bug reports, but I think the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks for everyone involved. I don't want to leave out any details, so I'm going to break down the incoming adjustments before laying out a bulletpointed TL;DR.
Pre-Alpha Releases
The pre-alpha phase is as good as it's ever been, I believe, and I don't intent to make any changes here. None of the following changes will have any major impact on the rate of pre-alpha releases. Thanks everyone!
Patron Releases
This is where I feel I really have room to improve, and where I'll be targeting my changes. Currently, the situation is this: Patrons at the $5 tier and up get completed releases (story and content) once they've been polished through the pre-alpha phase, and they get them one week ahead of non-patrons. This system works well enough when content is flowing, but when it's not, we run into a sort of content drought where being in the $5 tier can feel less than stellar. My intentions to help with this are as follows:
• Monthly Releases
Starting in December, I plan on releasing monthly updates for patrons in the $5 tier and up. These releases will not necessarily be content-complete or story-complete, but will instead be relatively tidy updates with whatever new content is ready at that time. For example, getting part of an in-progress chapter instead of waiting for the completed chapter.
• Hard Stops For Everyone
While originally the hard stop on the story was intended to be a pre-alpha only feature, I've decided to implement it in all releases. I understand there are people who like to play the game to infinity and also beyond, but there's really little benefit to pushing the system like this. Adding the hard stop, by which I mean a message that says "Save here, the story's over!" once you've reached the end of the current content, means I can build all future releases around this stopping point, and that means...
• Better Save Support
Broken saves are always going to be something we'll have to deal with during the development process, but being able to work around common stopping points means these should occur less. With the majority of the game's mechanical systems reigned in, most new content will be story-based and by working this way I should be able to move forward and break fewer saves!
Public Releases
Public releases will more or less stay the same as they are now, with the public receiving new story-complete and content-complete updates about a week after patrons. The public will not receive the monthly incremental updates as detailed above, however. Weekly development posts will, of course, continue to be free.
Release Availability
Another change I'm going to be making will affect everybody, and that is release availability. Specifically, I'm referring to online vs local releases.
Starting with the first patron release in December, I will no longer be linking to the local download files directly from the post. Instead, only the Play Online link will be available. Additionally, the online version of the game will be updated to provide links for the local HTML and image packs if this is something truly desired. This will also be the case once the next public release is posted to TFGameSite.
It's not my intention to cut out people who like to play locally, however, it is much easier to support the online version of the game and that is what I'd prefer to push. The links to the local files will still be available from the game's title screen.
I'll Take That TL;DR Now
Right, so, a good few changes to take in. Here's the key points:
- Patrons can now expect monthly releases
- All future releases will have a hard stop at the end of the current content
- Save support between versions "should" start to improve
- Public players can still expect non-incremental releases one week after patrons
- Links to local files and image packs will be moved to the online version's title screen
Patrons can expect the first of these incremental releases to drop in the first half of December as Alpha 5.5.0, which will contain about 75% of the new story content for Chapter 3.
That about sums it up. I'll have more to say on actual content next week but for now I'm happy to report that I've been having a great time writing! Hopefully those who have seen what's to come agree that things are getting interesting in the world of The Company, and I can't wait to start sharing with more and more people.
As always, thank you all for your continued feedback and support!
Comments
Maybe don't do billing monthly if producing monthly is too much stress. IDK.
Paul
2018-12-04 02:40:35 +0000 UTCKeep up the good work!
Offshore - Adult Games Developer
2018-12-03 08:19:23 +0000 UTCI don't get it, why not add a warning saying "content's over, save here, if you continue to play after this you should not save your game" to get around the save issue? You don't need a hard stop, in fact I think it's one of the most annoying things in the game. This wouldn't be as big of an issue if you weren't already pressed for time on a lot of events for the various characters, especially when specific character/story events forces you to lose more of it.
2018-12-01 06:41:49 +0000 UTCI think I have to agree with DJ Quinn. Dosing Dakota is tough enough as it is but adding a hard-stop makes it even more imperative that a "perfect" game be played. I suggest adding a night in chapter 2 where Dakota can be dosed. Other than that one issue, the idea of a hard stop is rather attractive to me - I know when I'm done and I don't have to beat a dead horse. Also, I'd like to say I'm an "off-line" player as it allows me to play when I'm not connected to the internet or (more often) my connection is already saturated due to other things taking up bandwidth.
2018-11-28 23:42:28 +0000 UTCStand by, emailing you my home address...
Westane
2018-11-28 21:56:22 +0000 UTCWouldn't it be easier if you let me sit behind you with a cattle prod and poke you in the ass with it whenever you do anything other than work on the game? :3
Echo Hollow
2018-11-28 21:54:09 +0000 UTCI agree. If you constantly talk about the release date - then you can not make it.
Hot Bunny (Adult games 18+)
2018-11-28 20:06:23 +0000 UTCFor me, at least, I don’t think that releasing on a forced schedule is going to change much for me. I like to wait for a section of content to be fully (or at least functionally) complete before playing it, so I’ll probably still wait for chapter ends or other major updates. So don’t stress yourself out over that. Especially since big coding work sometimes has very little to show for the user. You keep us informed, and your quality of work is very good, so that’s all I need from a creator.
2018-11-28 19:49:41 +0000 UTCTo be completely honest with you, you are probably the developer I feel most comfortable contributing to due to not only your transparency but how in how I see your project improve each update. Or in that you try to keep us in the loop if you don't and are not simply silent for a month or two. So at least in my case I can say don't worry so much and just keep doing what you are doing.
Terra Blade
2018-11-28 19:43:37 +0000 UTCI second this, but I also get wanting to support saves through multiple versions. So I’ll make 2 suggestions: I think I saw this below, but you should still be able to make a “hard stop” for supported saves while letting someone keep playing afterwards with saves that won’t be supported. You could even add a variable that gets triggered after the hard stop so future builds can know if a save is unsupported. There’s also always the sandbox option, but that might be more work.
2018-11-28 19:38:55 +0000 UTCI think you're doing fine. Release dates ae as you said, most likely a way to disappoint the audience and stress out developers like you and I. It's probably best to back away from those whenever possible unless your audience demands it and in your case I don't think they do. Best of luck and I look forward to more!
2018-11-28 17:19:34 +0000 UTCThat's more or less all I'm doing.
Westane
2018-11-28 15:51:09 +0000 UTCYou can download your saves locally, even on the online version. You'll still be able to download the game locally as well.
Westane
2018-11-28 15:50:38 +0000 UTCThinking about it, this is something I can and probably will do.
Westane
2018-11-28 15:49:48 +0000 UTCYou'll still be able to download the game locally, the link will just be in a different place is all.
Westane
2018-11-28 15:48:25 +0000 UTCAs long as you're comfortable and happy it fiine, everything else should come into place :)
noted
2018-11-28 14:04:15 +0000 UTCI don't like the idea of a hard stop. Completing all story events doesn't mean all non story events are completed. Maybe a soft stop warning that saves beyond a certain point are not supported and a restart will be required next version if you continue?
2018-11-28 13:57:14 +0000 UTCI don't see any issues with you releasing when you can, especially if it takes away anxiety and stress. I am going to be sad that we can no longer receive image files, but if anything, when you have new ones, why not pack it with the game? or have a image pack mega for those who don't have the images, so that they can download the rest separate from the game? That would mean you don't have to pack the images every time, and only have to send out the updated content, and when there is a new image or gif, then pack it along with the game, or at least let your fans know when there is an updated image pack they need to get. That would take off a lot of stress, and save space, kind of like what you have right now, because that is part of what makes the game so special, beyond it's exceptionally good story line, is the graphics.
Pansexual Designs by DarknessGod
2018-11-28 13:24:32 +0000 UTCIf you add the hard stop, I suggest adding a way to dose Dakota during the week. As it stands it takes forever to dose her, especially if you don't realize you don't have enough lust until you try to dose on the weekend or there's an event the makes you basically skip a weekend day.
DJ Quinn
2018-11-28 12:42:16 +0000 UTCWhat you have created far exceeds most Twine games, and you have done exceptionally well with it. You have nothing to apologize or even feel bad for. I am only in the $5 tier, but have continued to support you even in the "between-release" periods. You deserve it and more (my own $$ is the limit here). I definitely understand you wanting to mainly keep the online version updated, and this isn't a complaint, but I want to say that I (like Juicysteak117 and many others I'm sure) prefer to play locally. Also, if you are continuing to use a file upload site like Mega, you won't be able to directly link the file in the downloaded copy, as the file changes URL on upload. So you upload the file, get the link, change the link to include that, upload the new file, change the link, upload, get, change, upload... yeah. Way around that I suppose is to not include the link in the downloaded version (which makes sense, really, since you already downloaded it lol). Next, a note on the "hard stops". I suggest every now and then releasing versions that don't include this. Maybe add a -NHS (No Hard Stop) to the file name and/or file version. Again, I understand why you're doing this (and from a programmer's viewpoint this is excellent for compatibility between versions), but many people (myself included) sometimes wish to just explore the available dialog and smut without starting a new character, and having the hard stops makes that quite difficult. You could also disable the save button somehow after those points. I haven't looked into it, but I assume the save button has a JavaScript ID you can reference and .disabled=true works wonders (Or .button("disabled"), if it's using jQuery I believe). -edit- $("#menu-item-saves a").on('click',function(){$("[id*=saves-save]").attr("disabled",true);}); This will disable saving (leaves "load" as is). As for how to put that JS in a Twine macro, you'll be better suited to that area than me. Twine can be a pain which is why I can't use it. I can't wait to get my hands on the next version, but as a fellow programmer I have the patience to wait until it's done. Well, "done" anyway. No programmer will ever be truly happy with their work lol. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see what ideas you have in store for us all!
TheRealShroud
2018-11-28 11:35:47 +0000 UTCThis was a really good post, cheers for the update! :3
ExDee
2018-11-28 11:35:17 +0000 UTCI haven't tried it so I can't say for sure, but my worry about a hard stop is that previously you can't even get to a lot of the content until you get into the 'free play' part and unlock the tier 3 dose. So whatever hard stop you are going to put in will have to allow enough time to see all the content, in which case what is the point of adding the hard stop. So either the hard stop is somewhat pointless, or it's gonna be blocking content.
Vysirez
2018-11-28 11:11:00 +0000 UTCDon't care much about release dates, whatever you decide is fine with me. But please please do keep infinite playthrough in game. I like dragging out TFs, it's interesting that way.
NuclearGandhi
2018-11-28 09:46:08 +0000 UTCThis is great stuff, but I also feel like you should make sure you realize how shoddy most Patreon release schedules are. The fact that you honestly give updates weekly and release pre-alphas consistently mean you’re basically the most consistent and professional developer on this platform already, so I wouldn’t worry too much about expectations for the cycle.
Dunx
2018-11-28 08:11:48 +0000 UTCAs a software developer.... Yep, fuck release dates. Good on you, I hope this helps your mental state.
Goctionni
2018-11-28 07:40:59 +0000 UTCA little unclear on the release availability. If you are still linking the local version on the online version, what is the change here? I'm not too worried as long as the local version is still available(because I 100% would rather play locally), I just don't fully understand what you actually doing other than moving the link from Patreon/TFGS to the online version.
Katherine Tightpussy
2018-11-28 07:38:43 +0000 UTCAn important thing about keeping it online is giving the players a means of having control over the saves, browsers are pisspoor savegame managers!
waffel
2018-11-28 07:29:07 +0000 UTC
