Thanks for your feedback! (Patreon)

First and foremost, thank you for posting your comments regarding the status update and planned release. I ALWAYS would rather you give me feedback instead of quietly seethe. I take all your views seriously.

I'll state up front that the tiers and rewards for Patreon have not changed significantly since my Patreon started. Beta access has always been the primary perk of pledging $10 dollars or more. I have gone back and forth in how beta access would work over the past two years trying to find the right balance, but I've pretty much always planned for a short beta period for each release. We're not talking weeks here, we're talking a short testing period for major bugs (around 48-72 hours).

On releasing it to successfully pledge patrons, that is really the only way I have to enforce pledged tiers. Patreon only allows monthly artists to run instant pledges upon pledging, so that is not an option. I don't have any method setup to accept single donations, although I do plan on looking into that in the near future. That is just not a viable option at this point. I promise, I will run a poll in January to get a handle on how everyone feels about pledges, updates, etc.

I also want to address delays, development time, and my Patreon in general. Aylia's Story started as a hobbyist project. I did not come up with an idea, open a Patreon, and start working on the game. I began tinkering with Aylia's Story early 2014 and spent months learning RPG Maker, learning parallax mapping, asking questions on boards, etc. I never even planned to make money off of it, it was simply my attempt at a game like Adventure of Garnet, Violated Herione, etc.--games I found on Hongfire.

I actually released a very early version of the prologue in August 2014 and received a warm reception. As I worked on it in my spare time, people started offering to donate money towards the project. This was also quite early in the h-game Patreon scene, and games like Malise and the Machine were beginning to build up a fan base. I also found Akabur at this point and started playing his stuff (then pledged and followed Witch Trainer relentlessly). I remember checking his Patreon daily, praying it had release information (sound familiar?).

I opened my Patreon in December 2014 as a way for people to pledge and donate to a hobbyist project. I never anticipated the level of support and the $4,500 goal was more of a joke (who's laughing now). I knew up front though, that I wanted people to have trust that their money would not be wasted. I tried to set up a Patreon that was monetarily fair, that you only pledged when I felt content would be coming. I also felt that the prologue was a bit too short for my liking, so I promised Chapter 1 would be an unpledged update. I would like to note that despite all my failed promises, I do plan to keep my word where you money is concerned and still put Chapter 1 out free. I take your money extremely seriously.

I have (had) a good, well paying job. There is a reason, even with the level of support I've received, that I've been reluctant to shift from hobbyist to full time developer. It is a huge risk. I'm giving up a good job, to risk that this may not pan out. That I might not have the ability or dedication to see this through. So, I've maintained a fairly hobbyist work schedule over the past two years. I don't know if people can truly appreciate what that means unless they try to build a game in their spare time. It means you never get as much as you'd like done. I've mentioned this more than once, but I reiterate, for the first year, I'd estimate I worked an average of 4-6 hours a week on the game. Those early release dates were based on my belief that I'd maintain my motivation and work far more than that, I didn't.

Fast forward to this month. I said I'd release it on the 28th. I turned in a month's notice at work that I'd be leaving in January. I planned things out with the Man in Black on what I'd accomplish each week. I planned to be slowly lessening my workload at my job and shifting to Aylia's Story. In early December, my boss asked me to head up an installation that had originally been planned for late January/February. He offered me double and triple (last week) overtime pay. Since I knew I was not getting paid for Chapter 1, I simply could not pass up that kind of money. I'm sorry about that, but those kind of opportunities do not occur often, and that money will go a long way to appeasing my worries next month when I DO go full time. It also looks damn good on my resume if this development thing fails.

I was probably not clear enough in my prior posts about all of this. I tried to mention it, but I should have clearly, boldly stated that I was working 10-12 hour every day on this installation. Literally, damn near every day aside from Christmas (when I worked 4 hours in the morning), I've been overseeing what is a "rush" job to ensure that I get it done before I leave in January. I'm tired, spent, and sorry that it has had an adverse effect on Aylia's Story. My preference has always been a full chapter release, but I understand that it has been two long years (over a year since the last release), and people really want to see something. 

In my last message, I tried to not make excuses, but to simply state that I'd send something out this week. I wanted to be clear what to expect and to explain how the release would work. This is technically my FIRST true release, so it is not a well-oiled machine. There were things that were unclear for people, and I'm sorry about that. I went that "silent" beta route with Hunter's Quest and that ended up screwing things up and left some $10+ supporters really upset. I'd rather be open and transparent, especially where pledged money is concerned.

The update will not be as much as I'd like, it will not be as much as you'd like, it will not be the full chapter. I get that. When I went part-time in May, I talked about how it would improve the work speed. It did, I finished Hunter's Quest and moved Chapter 1 along. Going full time should exponentionally increase things further. My hope in saying all this is not to justify the mistakes I've made, I fucked up. I acknowledge that. Instead, I want you all to know where I was coming from. This was not me laying the groundwork for a business or a job when I started. It was literally a naive, first time developer sticking his hand in the bee's nest of game development. I appreciate the support, the kind words, and even the criticisms. You've helped me better myself and you've supported my even when I fucked up. Thank you.

YT