Vlog #3: Future Starcasting

June 29, 2018 by Tim

Spitballing some thoughts regarding the future of The Starcaster Chronicles and possibly producing more of it.

 

Sound off in the comments below.


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Bryan
Bryan
5 years ago

Patreon with a 3 month time delay for the free access perhaps? Maybe some of it never goes free?

Him.
Him.
5 years ago
Reply to  Bryan

I honestly really dislike the never going free aspect. Sure it insures people getting money, but many people will instinctively stop buying/Patreoning because they don’t want to support people who cut a bunch of people off or something to that effect. My proverbial dying request would be that 1. nothing plot critical is paywalled. Something that hints at stuff I guess but nothing that fundamentally affects the story. 2. None of these take action until after the current events are done. I’m guessing this would be Issue 7 or 8, which should give Tim plenty of time to come to… Read more »

Bart
Bart
5 years ago
Reply to  Bryan

I’m pro the delay idea. Maybe tied to the updates, since they are not regulary updated.

Looks like a good compromise.
This would also avoid people having to pay a lot at once if they want to catch up on the story.

Robert
Robert
5 years ago

I like the idea of it being a annual thing. Breaks it up a bit and not only that gives you more time to plan and write it. If you go too full on with it you might burn it out. Break it up with the other stories and individual pages you do as you have done and i see no problem here ??

Robert
Robert
5 years ago
Reply to  Robert

Nothing to do with not paying for it i might add, i have been reading this comic for years and have loved the variations

Callek
Callek
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I generally like reading in the current ~yearly basis, however I would have absolutely ZERO concerns if patreon/kickstarter got them earlier than me, I’d just love to continue reading your work while my own budget can’t afford more discretionary funding.

(Eventually, when it can, you very much deserve some!)

Tue
Tue
5 years ago

I´m fine with the way it is. If I had regular income I´d vote for any of them, but I don´t so have to go for what seems most realistic at given time – and even if I´m for kickstarter stuff I still can´t take it as a 100% certainty to support.

chris feltner
chris feltner
5 years ago
Reply to  Tue

yea i love to support but when you only get ssi income it leaves you in the negatives in finances to live. if i had it i would have bought a copy of the complete set or 2 one to read and use one to have as a display

Chris
Chris
5 years ago

I like the patron side. But maybe think if it more like partying to vote and effect it. Release it free after each issue concludes. So people still get it for free every few months. Paying just helps support it general and allow you to be a part of the story.

Chris
Chris
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Darn mobile keyboard. Wheres the edit button.

Leonick
Leonick
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

In general people seem to be find with patreon meaning supporting creation and getting some early access,

Plenty of patreons out there for youtube channels.

If you put every update on the site with a month or two delay or waited for completion of an issue plus a delay of a month or two and clearly state this in the patreon I doubt anyone would feel scammed. Specially since they’ll have exclusive access to voting too.

Vlad
Vlad
5 years ago
Reply to  Leonick

Agree with “Patreon means supporting, early access and voting on the story.” The free version should “eventually” go out to everyone else.

That way, those that want/can support you keep doing so, and receive extras (like voting) and those that can’t/won’t just get the final version. They still get excellent free content.

Nadav
Nadav
5 years ago

To be perfectly honest #1: I’ve been reading your stuff for more than a decade probably, I love your style, and I don’t really want to see other artists do it. There are wonderful artists out there, but I think it just wouldn’t be the same. To be perfectly honest #2: I love all the different sections of the site, the sillies, the one-shots, Starcaster, etc. but the one that I care about the most, by far, is the Ethan and Lucas story. If I had to choose a section to get released more frequently, it would definitely be that… Read more »

Nadav
Nadav
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Yeah, I probably should have explained myself better.

From what you described, it sounds to me like there will be a little more of everything, and a lot more of Starcaster, since it’s the one thing that’s getting dedicated funding. If that’s not the case, then that part of my comment is irrelevant.

Paul
Paul
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Nadav’s #1 above is also my main concern. I could tell a difference when you hired a colorist for SC before, so I am sure that art+color would be quite different. We all are used to your style, so I am sure it would take some getting used to. As a Patreon supporter, I would definitely support this and would not mind if it went free as well. Maybe you could run a poll on Patreon to ask the Patreon supporters if they would mind it going free after the issue is done. My best guess is that most of… Read more »

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
5 years ago
Reply to  Paul

Counterpoint to counterpoint, I would reference Erfworld. There have been a large number of artists and colorists for the Erfworld webcomic, and the artist who is largely considered the “TRUE” artist for the series is not the one that started as it’s illustrator. Since Starcaster is so different from the core work that Tim is known for, it is capable of finding a “TRUE” illustrator that is not him. So fears on that front are not as great for me as for some other people. After all, there are people who make a living drawing space stations and aliens. Tim… Read more »

Him.
Him.
5 years ago
Reply to  Paul

Actually, by definition Tim’s Forte is Sci Fi, or perhaps Bass 😉
I mean, sentient robots, time travel, holy bleep its raining lasers, respawn chambers, people with powers being both on the streets patrolling them and as government agencies…that’s pretty Sci Fi.
However, it is a very different type of sci fi than Starcaster, so you have a point.

Mike Eggleston
Mike Eggleston
5 years ago
Reply to  Nadav

I also like this idea. It allows for those of us without regular incomes to continue getting Starcaster (which is a fantastic series, and I love reading them!) by having to wait until the full issue is complete while allowing those who pay the Patreon fee the ability to vote on the outcome of the series, and see the pages as they come.

Out of curiosity, would the goal to be releasing an issue every 3 months?

Nick
Nick
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Maybe more like 2 times a year? That might work. Get to a stopping point, then go back to the campaign. That was always really funny.

Christopher
Christopher
5 years ago

Interesting Problem., I’m not sure what I like more. Long time viewer and ad block user.(I buy merch to make up for it) I think the Patreon idea works best. Building on what was said before, the people on Patreon could be the ones that get to vote how the story goes, pay to play if you will. while as the audience on the site gets to see what happens (Free) Maybe also delay the release on the site until the saga has ended. With that in mind I don’t think any one paying on Patreon will feel cheated or… Read more »

Chad
Chad
5 years ago
Reply to  Christopher

I like your idea of Patreon getting the vote as part of their order. I vote when one comes up but I don’t feel like I’m losing out on anything by not voting either. I also think it’s easier for people to afford a few dollars for a monthly Patreon than a one time fee for a Kickstarter. I had to rearrange the budget to get the tier I wanted in the omnibus Kickstarter and my wife and I agreed I would only do it if it hit the extended ending goal. If I was going to pay for new… Read more »

Mike
Mike
5 years ago

Maybe this would be an unpopular idea, but what about dialing back on the other stuff?

Ethan & Lucas is what brought/brings me here, but I wouldn’t be too broke up if the one shots/Console Wars/Four Players went to the background to give Starcaster a bit more focus.

Ian Kester-Haney
Ian Kester-Haney
5 years ago

I picked keep it the same.
I only get the site via the RSS feed.
Do you have a patreon page for the site as a whole? I’d like to see a patreon page for CAD as a whole with goals for extra issues a year, maybe also for contract work for coloring or other ways to reduce your workload.

Roderick King
Roderick King
5 years ago

Starcaster Chronicles has become my favorite series. I think it has the most interesting, detailed artwork as well. The colorists chosen matter a lot though – and so far Tim’s issue #6 seems to be the best (each issue gets better). I prefer Patreon at this point as I’m Kickstarter-weary after backing over 30 projects and don’t want to worry about add-ons, stretch goals, etm.

Martin
Martin
5 years ago

I fully agree with Roderick. I actually became a CAD patreon BECAUSE of starcaster, and I’d love to see more content more often, learn more about the universe this is taking place, and not have to wait a year each time before a new issue comes out (I dread the fact that we’re close to page 24 in issue 6 already again…). So, I’d be perfectly happy to become a Patreon for starcaster – and I think having (only) the patreons vote but releasing the issues for free after e.g. 3 months would work for me – it would not… Read more »

M3f
M3f
5 years ago

I miss the older storylines tbh. Space opera doesn’t seem to be compatible with Your sense of humour so kinda waiting for it to be over in hope that You’ll produce more Ethan-oriented content that I enjoyed very much 🙂

Eric Anderson
Eric Anderson
5 years ago

I don’t understand why you can’t release them for free provided you tell people what you’d be doing. You could have some delay (x issues behind, or n months) if you want to give people exclusivity. That feels similar to the existing Patreon model where some people support artists and usually get to see the content early, plus sometimes some exclusive content, but the content is made available for free. Similarly, I’ve assumed (maybe incorrectly) that the kickstarters for printed versions of things are priced at somewhat above the production cost so that the artist can make a profit and… Read more »

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

There have been paid support programs where the creator thought they needed the paywall for the sake of the payers. And then the supporters flat out said they wanted it available for everyone. So permanent paywalls with a community as supporting as yours may not be the answer. I’m personally doing a permanent 1 chapter advance reading for my Patrons. But I do my stuff basically on volunteer work, so I don’t expect cash from my suffering, period. But what I’m saying is, you could have Starcaster on a permanent “3 issues behind” or something like that. The Starcasters that… Read more »

Luke
Luke
5 years ago
Reply to  BakaGrappler

Just commenting to throw in my hat on this one, it’s the best solution IMO.

David
David
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I for one would not be happy seeing Starcaster disappear completely behind a paywall. I would be fine with a KS campaign or a Patreon campaign that offered timed exclusive access, followed by an eventual free release. I would be ok with tiers that included concept art or non-story stuff like that being exclusive (paywall). Some people would no doubt love to pay for name / character in the comic, physical prints, etc – not my style, but I’m happy to see stuff like that going to support the artist What I would like to see is the option to… Read more »

Him.
Him.
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Who was the cameo?

Eric Anderson
Eric Anderson
5 years ago
Reply to  Him.

There were 20 of them from the 2015 kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1983987666/ctrl-alt-del-10-the-box-set)

Eric Anderson
Eric Anderson
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I can’t speak for others, but I’d be fine with the support on kickstarter/patreon and it later gets released for free. Maybe do a poll since other people have implied the same thing? I’d personally like there to be a printed tier, but it can be the pretty simple comic-book style of printing (which near as I can tell is also much cheaper to do than the fancy printing used for the box set). I’d expect (given the kickstarter for the box set went 4x over) that you have enough of an audience to support either the kickstarter or pateron… Read more »

Varia
Varia
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I think a model where you release the issues for free _eventually_ is worth a try, simply because you can try it without any long term commitment. By this I mean that by adopting any paywall model, you are committing to it in the sense that you cannot go back to a free model later, without “cheating” those who have already paid. In addition, since Starcaster is an ongoing series, even if you go back to a free model later for future issues only, that one non-free issue will still act as a barrier. On the other hand, if you… Read more »

Drewski
Drewski
5 years ago

Patreon would be my preferred route. I haven’t ever gotten into kickstarters, and having to jump into a new one every time a new issue is ready to come on is more cumbersome than a “set it and forget it” system with Patreon. For what it is worth, Starcaster is my hands down favorite thing you produce today. Ethan and Lucas and the rest of the site are things I come to the site for to check in on, but not with the “must check new page, what happens next?!” involvement of Starcaster. There’s so much story to tell, I’m… Read more »

Tom
Tom
5 years ago
Reply to  Drewski

Agree with the benefits of “set it and forget it” over Kickstarter.

Tom
Tom
5 years ago

Tim, I’ve been enjoying your content for a long time now, but SC is by far my favorite. I would definitely support a Patreon to see a more regular and, hopefully, faster cadence of releases. Drawing paying customers is a tough challenge. I’d like to offer a couple of options. (1) Release SC for free but at a *greatly* reduced and somewhat randomized cadence, meaning non-paying readers fall further behind over time, and can never be sure when they’ll get their next fix. (2) Release some issues for free, but delayed, and not all issues. You might even recycle old… Read more »

J L
J L
5 years ago

The other comments were TL;DR, so I apologize if this has been suggested by someone else already. My idea of a compromise is that you have the paid support for Starcaster through Patreon or otherwise, and you keep the newest stuff available to the paying supporters. For everyone else, you release the last or 2nd-to-last issue for free on this or another website. You get paid support to expand and accelerate production. People wanting to keep reading for free still get to even if they have to wait. You still have material freely available to gather support for new readers… Read more »

Jason
Jason
5 years ago

Either option would be fine, as long as the cost is kept low (i like the 1/2$ a month)

you could then release them at Christmas time as a present to everyone else 🙂

Another benefit for the paid option (apart from the choice of direction) might be to suggest names for things (all suggestions go into a pool, one chosen at random).

at any rate – good luck!

Lesley
Lesley
5 years ago

I’d happily pay for more issues but I dislike Patreon (too easy to over commit) and Kickstarter (I’ve found it difficult to keep track of what I’d “earned”.) I don’t suppose there’s an option somewhere between “free” and “buy the issues when they’re completed via some online method”?

Dblank
Dblank
5 years ago

To be frank I don’t think either models do the franchise justice. I’ve been following CAD since nearly the beginning and love most of what you do. Currently, I think Startcaster is head and shoulder above anything else. That’s partly because it serves a niche that I’m very partial to (action adventure/sci-fi), and partly because I dig the characters far more. I think that Starcaster has great potential, and anything you do to increase the volume of it sounds good to me. I would also go as far as cutting other content in favor of it, as long as you… Read more »

Egil
Egil
5 years ago

Of all your stuff I am mostly interested in the Starcaster and the Analog and D-Pad comics, so my preference would be to produce more of those funded by the patreon.

dan
dan
5 years ago

In the poll, I selected “stay the way it is,” mainly because I’m not at all dissatisfied with how things are. From my perspective, it ain’t broke, so don’t fix it on my account. I actually like your release schedule. With the other artists whose series I read, even though they’re good, I periodically get tired of them. You keep changing things up, so I’m always excited to read whatever series is going on at the moment. In terms of the two paid options: I’d be a little worried that either option, but probably more the Patreon approach, could result… Read more »

Josh
Josh
5 years ago

Personally, when the Starcaster Chronicles are going on is the only time I check the site regularly (probably in the minority there, I know). I wouldn’t mind if the site was all Starcaster, all the time (well, maybe with a break for console war).

That said, I think the Patreon is the best option – seems to be most likely to be consistent while providing flexibility. I’d definitely throw in on that.

Lauren
Lauren
5 years ago
Reply to  Josh

+1 for all Starcaster, all the time (with maybe a break for Console War) 🙂
(Though I too think we’re definitely in the minority!)

Frank Altpeter
Frank Altpeter
5 years ago

I would like to vote for both options 2 and 3 please 🙂

adam
adam
5 years ago

I support what I’ve read here a few times – early access and voting for patreon, and then delayed access to the website for the public.
(But I would still release it as a page every day or two; not as an entire issue. That way it’s a similar experience, and each voting stage can be released as a ‘teaser’ – tune in next week to see what they do!

Thanks for years and years of brilliant content.

David
David
5 years ago

I really don’t like paywalled content. I’ve been supporting you via Patreon for years, and I bought the box set on Kickstarter and other merchandise in the past. I do this to support you, so you can make a living creating great comics as a full time job. But I prefer those comics to be available to as many people as possible, for free. I won’t feel cheated if content I paid for will be freely available. Quite the opposite, I probably won’t pay for online content if I know it will never be released to the public.

David
David
5 years ago

I think try the kickstarter option but have stretch goals that cover multiple issues.
That is, $4k per issue but maybe $7k for 2 issues, $10k for 3 issues, and so forth.
This enables you to hire an artist for more work upfront. and make good progress on this. It is just regularly released throughout the year based on the number of issues available.

Lauren
Lauren
5 years ago

Just wanting to put another voice in the mix – Starcaster is definitely my favourite of your series, and I will gladly pay to get more of it. I don’t know your demographic so can’t speak for everyone, but I wouldn’t mind paying a set amount and getting access to a whole issue as it becomes available. I suppose it’s like your patreon approach but more one-off-cost than subscription. Patreon gets my vote in the meantime. 🙂 And though it would be kind of a shame that you weren’t the one doing the drawing/colouring, so long as the style is… Read more »

Rob
Rob
5 years ago

I’ve been a reader of the comic since pretty much the beginning. I’m also a Patreon supporter. Of all the stuff you do on the site, Starcaster is my second favorite behind the Ethan and Lucas stuff. The players stuff is OK. I don’t personally care for the Console Wars stuff at all, and tend to skip them. If you cut both of those things out completely, I wouldn’t mind. However I understand the importance of you wanting the variety of options and not just be stuck doing 1 or 2 things all the time. I’d probably be OK if… Read more »

Rob
Rob
5 years ago
Reply to  Rob

Oh and if you did Patron/Kickstarter to make Starcaster, I’d be fine with you eventually making it all freely on the site after some period of exclusivity. I support you via Patreon not for any of the benefits of being a supporter but because your work has been part of my life for over 15 years.

James Rye
James Rye
5 years ago

I voted the first option, because while I do like Starcaster Chronicles I also like your other comics, the Xbox vs PS war, the Superhero story with Ethan and Lucas, your comics about new good or very bad games and I think that paying for SC would hurt all those other series in the long run as you would spend more time of SC and less on them. I’d rather see SC per year, it gives you lots of time to plan ahead and draw accordingly and it is up to you how long an issue will be whereas with… Read more »

Shaun
Shaun
5 years ago

It’s been said a few times, but I doubt you’d have problems with using Patreon for funding and then later releasing it for free (as people have suggested, having the voting be Patreon-only and the content only being free much later, are both good ideas). That’s pretty much the case for most things I support, with maybe a few small Patreon-only bonuses, but nothing integral to the comic. I mean, I wouldn’t expect high payments per person, but for a dollar? Sure. I personally am not particularly keen on the Kickstarter option, as it would require a larger payment at… Read more »

Randall
Randall
5 years ago

More importantly, when is the kickstarter for the Setting book for this for Starfinder (or Savage Worlds I’m not picky).

Brent
Brent
5 years ago

I voted for the first option, partly because I only work part time and can’t exactly afford to donate on top of everything else, and partly because with all your different series, at the current rate it’s basically more or less one episode of each series per year, which I’m fine with. Also, and I might have misunderstood this part, but the explanation in the video made it seem like the comic would get posted but the voting would be patreon exclusive? I must have misunderstood that, right? Because that’s seriously cutting down on votes received if I’m not.

Simon
Simon
5 years ago

I don’t know how long I’ve been reading your site. A long time. I’ve enjoyed all of it and appreciate your sense of humour. I think you should go Kickstarter. Patreon is nice because it is a small commitment but with Kickstarter you might be surprised who would come out of the woodwork and drop $10-20 or more on you. You would probably find yourself funded for significantly more than one episode per Kickstarter. Then run another later. I also think you should give the comic away for free once each episode is done. Maybe later than that, but certainly… Read more »

Isturma
Isturma
5 years ago

I’d love to be able to support via kickstarter or Patreon but I’m pretty broke at the moment. The Starcaster Chronicles is neat in the fact that it’s a non-linear narrative, but i’m not so invested in the story that I’d pay for it. Sorry.

GUNnibal
GUNnibal
5 years ago

I usually don’t make comments, but ef it, let’s break some rules. My vote went for patreon and here is why: I’m absolutely fine with the idea of you, Tim, taking my money so that you could produce something for everyone to see (and potentially enjoy). The pure storytelling on display here is nothing short of amazing and most definitely deserves to be paid for. And that is without putting the interactivity in the equation. With it – well, I’ll need to consult the thesaurus for synonyms of ‘amazing’… Now, I certainly can’t speak for everybody. Not everyone can digest… Read more »

Adam
Adam
5 years ago

As a current Patreon supporter, I’m in favor of any additional money needs being moved to Patreon. One of the pros of Patreon over Kickstarter (that I don’t think was mentioned) is that if the starcaster Chronicles Kickstarter does NOT get funded, then it’s dead, and how do you make a next issue? With Patreon, we all get to drip-feed into the Starcaster bucket and it will guarantee that another issue will be produced from time-to-time. Also, Patreon doesn’t have to be a permanent paywall, and I also don’t think it should. I think that those of use who CAN… Read more »

JimMiller
JimMiller
5 years ago

I like what others are saying about holding the voting for patreon users. I also like the idea of releasing the material after some set amount of time/releases. I did have some thoughts to expand on that. Crazy idea time.. Move to patreon, with the $1/2 interval w/ voting. Release the pages two issues back for free, but space it out such as 1 page a week. Allow someone to purchase the PDF of the currently releasing issue on the website immediately for $1 per issue once they start to be released. The funds go to pay for more issues… Read more »

Him.
Him.
5 years ago

I see two options. First of all, keeping it as is is fine by me. However, switching to Patreon…basically cuts off the plot from a portion of the fanbase. If it was like Dr. McNinja where there are unrelated stories going on, that would be amenable but the current state of Starcaster is incompatible with this set up until the end of the story arc unless its just Speck and Cort trying not to blow everything up. That said if Patreon members get something early and everyone else gets it released of all a sudden at some other point (say… Read more »

Him.
Him.
5 years ago

Side note: Given that you might have half of the people willing to do Starcaster Kickstarter style deciding to choose “the way it is” because they don’t want to have a lost vote or something, there should really be 3 charts, each of which should be voted on separately. So each question can be voted on individually as opposed to having to make a single decision. Each chart’s number of votes are tallied and the one with the most is used, as opposed to having people wanting to participate in two camps resulting in scattered votes instead of a clear… Read more »

kwerboom
kwerboom
5 years ago

I voted for option #1 because I like free and I’m fine with Starcaster being a once a year thing. That said, my feelings wouldn’t be hurt if you went for a paid option. I do understand that as a content creator, you do have to eat and sleep. I already have a Kickstarter account. But that said and with the way Starcaster is produced, I think Patreon would probably be the better/saner way to go for a paid option. To grow the community, you can always release each finalized issue for free as page-by-page, 2-to-3 times a week update… Read more »

Rajani Isa
Rajani Isa
5 years ago

I’d be fine with a delayed free release (Say up to three months after it’s finished, release pages on your off days during the week possibly). I’d pay for patreon or kickstarter for you.

Or even both, if it got me a nice graphic novel eventually to go next to my corebook set. 🙂

Scottydosntknow
Scottydosntknow
5 years ago

Just do starcaster and get rid of analog and dpad

Urazz
Urazz
5 years ago

Well, I’m fine with patreon and just have the voting held to Patreon members only. Those that aren’t patreon members just see the issue after it is finished and have no input with voting at all.

I myself read the Starcaster comics because I like them, the voting aspect of it every few issues is fun and all but really isn’t the main draw for me so wouldn’t bother me at all if it’s limited to Patreon members.

Shawn
Shawn
5 years ago

As one of the poor slobs who have not given the money you deserve for the literal decade+ of enjoyment you have provided me, I have a question: Since the discussion about how to fund your projects and space them out is discussed I was curious to know some idea of how financially difficult running this sight and the comic has been? I recall way back(during original Ethan and Lucas) you mentioned it was something of a side project. Is this your full time work now or are we still a farcry from this content putting food on the table?… Read more »

Shawn
Shawn
5 years ago

Follow up: I just watched your vlog. Starcaster while being VERY different in many ways from your previous work. I don’t think its ‘lesser.’ Nostalgia will always have me pulling for Ethan,Lucas, and Leila in addition to the unique hilarity of your various one-shots. However Starcaster has largely grown on me. In my opinion though its thematically different enough that I think a legitimate arguement could be made for trying to sequester it elsewhere. i think those who come here to see a one-shot and instead see starcaster would be thrown for a loop. I think it makes sense to… Read more »

Josh
Josh
5 years ago

I have been a reader for over a decade and never commented before. I think the Patreon option you describe sounds the most sustainable with the exception that new readers would be hard to attract. I would be happy to support it for a few dollars a month and then have it released for free afterwards. A poll specifically geared toward that option might provide better data if you decide to try that route. I have greatly enjoyed your work over the years, running a business with a family is very difficult so thanks for keeping it going.

Delarock
Delarock
5 years ago

I did initially vote kickstarter, but after reading the input from others i think Patreon is the way to go. I’ve read this comic almost since the beginning, and although I am not a patreon now, I wouldn’t mind throwing some cash your way (I’ve only bought merch in the past). I also wouldn’t mind any content funded via Patreon to be free for other readers, even if there were no delay.

Christian
Christian
5 years ago

I’ve been enjoying CAD for probably around a decade as well and selected “stay the way it is”. I like Starcaster as a series and I love to be engaged in the story via votes. I don’t think voting + regular release schedule (the Patreon model) would together as well. If I can expect only a 1-2 pages per month, there’s much less incentive to check back every day and vote for the latest turn of events. Also, it would take ages to have the story proceed. You’d basically have to be subbed for at least half a year get… Read more »

Christian
Christian
5 years ago
Reply to  Christian

Oh, and forgot to add: I’m a low-tier Patreon supporter, mainly to compensate the fact that I want to keep using adblock. I’ve also got the digital DVD version of the “big collection” you released through Kickstarter a while back.

Christian
Christian
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Well, even 4 pages per month is quite a difference from the current run which is 21 pages in 7 weeks -> 3 pages per week. But I can understand that producing 3 pages per week with little buffer is probably not sustainable over longer periods, even if some pages are “shared” pages that apply to all story branches and could be prepared in advance. Still, I feel that weekly or bi-weekly (2x per week) updates would be necessary to keep voters/readers engaged in the story enough to pay a premium for early access/voting. Updates only every two weeks also… Read more »

Beth
Beth
5 years ago

Being a Patreon supporter already, I like the Patreon idea best. An extra dollar or two a month is totally worth it to get more Starcaster produced on a regular basis. I like the one-shots, but I prefer the serial comics like A&D, SC, and The Campaign. I’d love to see SC updates more than just once a year. And I’d rather toss a buck in the SC pot every two weeks (or so) than have to pony up for a Kickstarter each issue. Basically I really like SC and would like you to get paid so you can keep… Read more »

Nuitari
Nuitari
5 years ago

One thing I would love to have is a way to see it as an actual choose your own adventure where we can see the possibilities. I’d definitely pay to get the various what ifs? covered…

You could experiment the model with the Space Archeologist series too (am I the only one wanting a conclusion of it??)

Lela
Lela
5 years ago

Just going to chime in and agree that the Patreon option plus delayed release seems the most feasible. I have never felt like the Patreon preview was bad before. In fact, still being able to see your work here for free kept me happy until I could kick in some money on Patreon myself (something I couldn’t afford until recently). I honestly appreciated that everything wasn’t hidden forever behind a paywall as I’d seen happen a lot with other previously free content in the past on other artists’ sites. I couldn’t afford to contribute, so I was unable to keep… Read more »