Changes to memberships

After years of development and this Patreon, it is time for the first changes ever to the model on Patreon.

The changes I am implementing will provide stability for the next few years and ensure a consistent experience, just like the old tiers did. With these changes, I hope to increase the value and comfort of the Patreon, not the prices. So you can expect to continue paying the same amount for the same services, just as previously. These changes aim to make space for the new image-generation engine and further development of the engine and the game.

Summarized, these are the changes I plan on doing:

• Effective today, Patreon will be split into "Beta" and "Alpha" testing. See below for details.

• The new image generation engine will be offered to some tiers.

• Significant changes to tiers and/or pricing structure. Details are yet to be announced.

• Changing the "first-of-the-month" subscription model to a classic monthly one in which you pay every 30 days, regardless of when you subscribe. (e.g., you pay on March 7th, you will be charged again on April 7th)

Feedback: Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this. I am always glad to hear other opinions.

These changes will come in two phases:

Phase 1: Today

Gold Members

From today on, Gold memberships become the "Alpha" testers. They will get access to cutting-edge and experimental features, including the new image generation engine, when it is released. Rolling out the image generation engine might take a few more months. There will sometimes be new features that I will ask Gold members to test explicitly, just like I have done today.

Silver Members

As it has been the last few years, Silver members stay the "Beta" testers. New versions that will offer stability will be accessible to Silver members. So, for now, there are no changes to the Silver tier.

All other tiers will stay the same, too.

Phase 2: Somewhen soon

I am very unsure about how to structure the changes. The only part I am sure about is that I will have to change a few things to make space for the new image generation engine. I cannot yet tell what or how, but they will come.

Also, Patreon moves away from the "pay-on-the-first" model to a classic subscription model in which you pay on the same day of the month each month. This page will stay on the "pay-on-the-first" subscription model for now, but when introducing the new tiers, I plan to move to the classic model. This will be much more comfortable for you guys, allowing you to pay on the day of the month of your choice.

This switch will also mean there will not necessarily be new monthly versions. Instead, I will try to develop all the features and then release them in an update instead of creating small parts of the features every month. This will increase efficiency and development speed.

Explanation: The difference between Alpha and Beta

In software development, it is common to split software into "alpha" and "beta" releases. Alpha usually means that the software is on the edge of development. Usually, alpha software is not very stable because it has not undergone much testing.

Beta releases are the more stable version of alpha releases. However, they may still contain bugs, just not as severe ones.

Usually, after an alpha release, the same features are released in beta once it is confirmed in alpha that they work. So Gold members will get experimental features, and once confirmed that they work, they will be published to beta, so the Silver members.

I hope I could clarify those terms for those who are not familiar with them, or at least define how I understand them.