It's finally time to discuss the results of the AW Release Poll. For me, this was probably the most nerve-wracking poll I've done, simply because changing the 1.0 release deadline is a huge deal. After collecting the results, I took the time to look at the data in different ways and found the results to be rather consistent. That's a good thing, as it means a specific group isn't pushing the poll in one way or another.
Let's go ahead and look at the result graphs first:
A) Shoehorn marriage into 1.0 with no extension
B) No marriage in 1.0, leave for a possible expansion
C) 6-month extension of 1.0 release for marriage content
D) 12-month extension for marriage and other content
It seems that the majority favorite is option D, to delay the 1.0 release by 12 months. Overall, nearly 2/3 of the vote went toward some form of release delay, while a little more than 1/3 went to leaving marriage out of 1.0 and offering it as a possible expansion. During the poll, there was a lot of feedback on the options. Many of the comments boiled down to saying they picked B but would be okay with D, or that they picked D but would be okay with B. A lot of people seemed to focus on meeting more of the original content goals with option D, while some people expressed overall disinterest in marriage and didn't want to delay for it.
I think that the vote supports extending the 1.0 development time by 12 months, so that's what we're going to do. That said, in recognition of the range of desires people have, I think it would make sense to try and schedule development so that we aren't suddenly putting things on hold to work on marriage for X months.
I think we'll continue working on relationships as planned during this relationship expansion, which will include the beginning of marriage in the game. Then we'll move on to working primarily on things originally planned for 2020 in anticipation of the 1.0 release. This will get us closer to a polished game at the end of the year, and then we can start focusing more on adding in content afterward. That will have us focusing on the main story, end-of-game, and style/polish of the UI for most of the rest of 2020.
We won't officially be at 1.0 by the end of 2020, but we'll have a much better game by that point. Then we can continue by adding in marriage and game content through 2021 and arrive at a solid 1.0 at the end of 2021. I think this makes for the best way to represent everyone's desires, but let us know if you have any ideas for how you'd like us to handle things.
While I have to admit that I'm somewhat disappointed that we aren't hitting that 3-year goal because I've worked so hard to reach it... I think that we'll end up with a better game as a result. I'm happy that I'll be able to add in more of what I wanted to, and I think the game will feel a lot more complete this way too. Thanks for trusting us to continue development; that really means a lot to us!
I think this is enough of an update, for now, it's time to get back to work!
Thanks so much as always for your support, it wouldn't be possible without you!
o7
ThaumX
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