Poll- where do you want to get updates?
Real quick- there's not a lot to talk about on the game dev side of things this week, so I'll wait until next week for that.
TL;DR
Major platforms are unreliable. I want a long-term home for my community. Somewhere I can make release announcements and general updates that I think all players would wanna see. My regular blog-style posts will still live here for fans that want to be more informed about the dev process.
I'm not gonna do salesy stuff with this. Y'all already support me beyond all my expectations <3
My question: What would be the most convenient place for this? Like, somewhere you'd actually see the announcements? My instinct is just a basic-ass email list. I've seen peeps use Telegram channels or similar, but don't know if that's something anyone really likes using. Please vote or comment to help me decide ;-;
I'm not gonna do salesy stuff with this. Y'all already support me beyond all my expectations <3
My question: What would be the most convenient place for this? Like, somewhere you'd actually see the announcements? My instinct is just a basic-ass email list. I've seen peeps use Telegram channels or similar, but don't know if that's something anyone really likes using. Please vote or comment to help me decide ;-;
Optional reading
Everything past this point in the post is optional. I'm gonna talk about the what/why, but it's not necessary information for voting in the poll.
What I'm going to post
So it's two main things- announcements of exciting releases, and general updates.
Announcements are for actual releases, project reveals, etc. I figure this is the main info everyone would wanna hear about.
General updates are a condensed version of what gets talked about here. So, a month's worth of progress might get summarized into a gif. If you don't read the weekly posts here, these would act as a sneak peak of upcoming features. I'll only post these when there's something substantial that I think all players would want to know about.
I'll be active on social media once I start posting playable builds, but that's just for reaching new players and won't be the central place to hear about new stuff.
Read before you comment:
I'm gonna talk about censorship. No political nonsense in the comments. This topic is wrapped up in culture wars, but this post isn't about that. No ranting, no instigating. I'll delete any comments that seem even vaguely tribal/political.
Why platforms are unreliable
If you're here on my Substar, you're probably aware of the unstable situation for NSFW creators on Patreon. Though if you're curious, I talk about it in the Patreon version of this post.
Substar is better for NSFW creators since it actively resist censorship, but there are other issues that make it potentially unstable. Its stance on censorship draws all forms of extreme content creators here, putting it in a perpetually vulnerable position with payment platforms and outside funding. Platforms like this historically don't survive in the long run without caving to outside pressure.
Substar also has a history of slow/unstable management. If something goes wrong with my account here, I can't be sure if/when the problem will be fixed.
Why not a more social option?
I want a direct and stable link to fans. But I'm not really a "host" or community manager. I want to be able to talk to people, but am not interested in having a town hall-style community like the old Discord server. I just want a way to let people know "hey there's a new public build" or "yooo I just paired up with this cool artist", etc.
Since my content is kink, and is set to become far more queer-inclusive, it's hard to rely on the usual channels long-term.
Alternatives I'm not gonna use
Social media.
Major social media platforms are subject to sudden bouts of NSFW censorship (see Tumblr), volatile management decisions that make it hard to stay connected (see Twitter), or just straight up dislike NSFW content. Creators and followers are at the mercy of whatever the platform decides that day.
Discord.
Same problems as other social media.
edit: peeps are pointing out that Discord can be used as an announcements-only platform. I'm not super opposed to the idea.
Mastodon/fediverse options.
Niche social media platforms on the fediverse are neat, but are simply too far out of the way of ordinary users to be convenient.
...and yep, I think that covers it!
<3
I understand your concern, but I personally think that it's a little too early to be worrying about this. For now it doesn't seem like Subscribestar is going anywhere.
I agree with Delfine F95Zone would work it already has page for the game already and I know a bunch creators use that as means of getting the right crowd (I wouldn't be surpise if a bunch them end up subscribing too once that new build comes in hell it's how found your work in the first place)and getting imminent feed back like bugs etc, they also have a lastest update board (honestly pretty neat how it works) that will show that a build has been updated for anyone to see. for us yes the subscribe star automatically email's us updates anyway but yeah mail list would also work if not comfortable using F95zone
Oh yeah, F95zone is a good idea
I honestly think Telegram might be the best option with SubStar/Patreon in the background. Channels are controlled and you don't need to have a chat alongside it so it can be used specifically to post updates without worrying about conversation and people subscribed to the channel can be set to anonymous. I believe you can also turn on comments within a channel as well. The only thing I don't believe you can do is monetize directly through Telegram but i'm sure they may add that as a feature eventually.
I can imagine many people following your work has a telegram as well.
Unfortunately though, for a subscription based platform you can monetize and post updates, Substart might currently be the best available.
SubscribeStar works great for me, and while I do agree with Billy in that SubStar doesn't seem to be goinf south anytime soon, having backup plans would be a really good idea as well. Email would work for me, and I'd be willing to get a Telegram account ascwell.
I have no telegram and if possible i would rather not get one so for me a site like f95zone or loverslab would be a good option.