Don't "apologize" for doing so. You deserve it.
Seconded, and thirded, if that's allowed. Or, in the parlance of our times: VERY THIS.
Do you know when I last made a suggestion that ended up in a game, or even saw someone else make a suggestion that ended up in a game? Let's see, it was about a week before last .. NEVER. Certainly, these experiences are side-benefits of blundering onto the scene of an up-and-coming product/developer before either hits it really big. Still, they're also direct evidence of how hard you've been working, and based on the speed and smoothness with which you've implemented some pretty major updates and additions I am confident in my conclusion that your design and coding is Really Damn Good(tm).
Anyway, kind words are fine and dandy but they don't pay your bills, so I've ordered a second copy of the game, and I hope other readers here will consider doing likewise. I bought my first via Impulse - on sale, which is vaguely ridiculous considering the amount of enjoyment I've gotten from it.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for that, Velox, that really means a lot.
Truly. I'd write more, but I'm not certain what to say that wouldn't be self-praising or kind of pat. I hope you put that second copy to good use, and have a blast playing with friends or family.
The community here is just amazing, and the amount of support that Arcen has from its players is really a sight to behold. To be honest, when I put the game out I had a vague worry that I'd be constantly coming up against angry, griping, adolescent-minded people constantly (I have had experience with this in past gaming-related ventures that were hobbyist related), and so the maturity and kindness of the playerbase -- regardless of age -- has been really amazing to me. I couldn't be luckier. This road hasn't been anything like what I thought it might be, despite all the plans and preparations and advance reading I had done, but it's looking ever more feasible that this is going to be a very viable business to support myself, Pablo, Lars, Phil, Calvin to the degree he is interested (as he has another career that I think is his primary goal), and hopefully another game designer I know, Zack -- a truly awesome guy whose expertise I so want for Alden Ridge and Cayenne. You guys are helping make it happen for all of us, and we're all incredibly grateful.
P.S. -- On a side note, I've decided that once work really gets going on the expansion, I'm going to open that for preorder through the Arcen website. That will allow anyone who preorders to gain access to the public beta of the expansion and help shape it if they are so inclined. For others who do not preorder, they can of course get it once it comes out for real, or they will be able to play the expansion beta in a time-limited demo mode if they so desire. That way, even after the 2.0 version comes out, you can help to shape the expansion and get your ongoing "AI War fix" as it goes.
I may well also do something similar with other games, such as Feedback and Alden Ridge, but only once they are getting further along in their process since they are new products and not riding off a huge existing codebase. I think that will be a good way for Arcen to get early feedback before release on products, as well as a way for players who would buy the final products anyway to get involved earlier and help to shape them, which seems popular.
