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Current Tiers/Potential Rework
🕑 Added 2020-07-22 05:13:16 +0000 UTCI've been getting questions regarding certain features and things that come with certain tiers. On top of the addition of tax to pledges I've been thinking about what exactly equates to value for money along with what people might want.
Straight up, I'll say that regardless of what happens, the $1 Bronze tier is staying as-is. I like having accessibility to the new stuff every month for that low for a lot of reasons, so we don't need to worry about that so much.
This is the current breakdown as of this post as far as where the tiers sit and how many of each there are. I feel that I'm justified in that the Bronze Tier is the most important to keep as-is but the others are a bit all over the place. Especially given how frequent/infrequent certain things are asked for and what sort of comments I get in the exit surveys from people as far as why they stopped pledging.
Silver tier is a good one, although you only get voting as irregular as it is. For those that have been able to vote when the polls come out, I'd like to think you understand why they're not a monthly thing as much as I'd like to let you guys have more of a sway in what content you want updated next (even if it's just Tyson most of the time).
Gold is more interesting as a lot of people join, typically (at least as far as I can guess) because of the password list on the Discord server. I could be wrong, and it could also just be a comfortable level of money for people to throw at a project. The one thing I've been lax on is the launch schedule as for the most part everything's been consistent outside a few hiccups and it's become increasingly less stable as far as saying when things are coming out both with the current global climate and a few unfortunate interactions with potential new team members.
Platinum and Diamond are the most 'problematic' as far as what I've noticed. Either people just wanting to pledge more money but can't (for no additional rewards), or the slots just not existing, or hell just not even using their perks. While in the minority of patrons as a whole, and I expected this given the higher money requirement, there's something about the whole thing that bothers me. Maybe it's nothing major but essentially it's a lot of bloat that I think that can be streamlined in a somewhat fair manner.
So here's what I've come up with as a possible alternative:
Essentially we fuse Silver and Gold together and drop it down a dollar, and then fuse Platinum and Diamond together and meet in the middle again. More people get access to the builds early and the chaff is culled from the perks that aren't being utilized. Then we can have a new Diamond tier or something if people want to pledge more and I can tentatively hold it open for merch discounts when things become a little more stable on that front. Names and colors and all that can change too, this is just a mockup of where my mind is at. I've spoken about it off-handedly on the server as far as who would be impacted most (notably Diamonds with their scenario creation being taken away, but I've informed most that they'll have an alternative to that or have that perk grandfathered in for them specifically if they still want it).
To simplify:
Bronze -> Bronze
(Unchanged. You get access to WIPs and new patron-only builds on the 15th of every month.)
Silver -> Silver
Gold -> Silver
(If you're silver currently you get more perks and if you're gold currently you're saving a dollar)
Platinum -> Gold
Diamond -> Gold
(If you're platinum currently you get even earlier access to builds, and if you're diamond you save 5 dollars.)
So what do you guys think? Nothing's binding and likely won't take place straight away given I want to time it right so no one gets double charged. Until you hear otherwise, assume the tiers aren't changing. But I'd love to hear what people think or want be it in DMs or on Discord or even down below.
Comments
I'm at Platinum, but would probably drop down if changes went through. I pay more than $10 for my pledges as UK VAT is applied to my pledges, and with my income changing quite recently I wouldn't be able to justify more out of my monthly budget. :(
BlackWolf007
Agreed with you on this. “Early access” is the patreon only builds that come out before public is what we been paying for.
Grizz
If you're currently Gold per the current setup, you'd be SIlver under the new system and be saving a dollar per month.
Shutter
Does "early access" there in the Gold section mean the new monthly Patron-only builds? Those are the primary reason I'm a Patron, and I'm getting those now for $5, but I definitely wouldn't be capable of giving $15 a month. As much as I love the project and want to support it, I don't think I'd have much incentive to remain a Patron if I lost access to the monthly builds. Or does "early access" mean something else?
BlackWolf007
I fall under the gold tier here and I’m actually comfortable with the payment amount as it is. I do love your VN as it’s progressing, but I wouldn’t pay 15-25 a month for it knowing that it’s not a complete game as of yet. Combine that with other visual novels that I am supporting I just don’t have enough money to try and support more than what I’m used to already.
