Hey everyone, I hope you're doing alright today :) 

I wanted to make an announcement about how the development cycle of Conway will look going forward since we are trying a slightly different approach to how we do it currently.
Currently we've got the monthly releases, with the first of the month always bringing in a new version of the game.

Going forward, we will extend that to a 2-month cycle. Why?

I actually don't mind the one-month cycle much. It keeps me on my toes. But it does come with its downsides as well. One is that updates tend to be frequent, but small. I usually aim for 10k words in length, anything above being a bonus. But given the nature of the game as being rather free-form that means some updates just will change nothing for some people, as their situation won't be touched.
Additionally, it means that we cut down on some administrative work on the periphery of the game. Things like making release graphics, preparing posts, and so on, plus prepping month by month, which can just be combined for a two-month period.

And lastly, it might be somewhat less stressful, maybe? I mean, I still need to get an update out that feels like it justifies the timeframe of two months. But if something goes wrong, maybe a painting doesn't work out and needs extra time, or now the upcoming December update with Christmas around the corner, or me visiting a con. It's a lot of little things that can have quite a large impact on an update. Because the planning and the update prep time are inflexible, those need to be done, meaning it cuts into the time actually making the stuff included in it.
And let's say an update is short 5k words for some reason. On a one-month schedule, that might mean an update with 5k words, whereas on a two-month schedule? An update that is still 15-20k in length is probably still fun to check out.


That's why, after the upcoming Update #9: Lizards & Lanterns on the 1st of December, we will have a 2-month release schedule going forward to see how it works out for us. So Update #10 will be released publically on February 1st.

For Patrons that change will be less visible, because starting at the tier that gets early access currently, they'll get a WIP update filling out the off-month.
That one will be less polished, without as much fanfare and all that stuff. It'll just be a case of dropping what's in it for those who are eager to see it and don't mind the potentially unpolished nature of it.
It also means that it gives us a month to hear the feedback of our patrons and be in a better position to implement it before the actual update goes live a month later. Which was a bit tougher to do now because again, month over, you gotta get to the next one and prepare it. Doesn't leave a lot of time to go back and adjust things or the directions it's taking.
So that is one aspect I'm actually quite excited for and I hope our supporters will make generous use of that. :D

But yes, that's all! Thank you for reading, and of course, thank you very much for playing the game! Hopefully, this change works out as hoped and will have the positive impact that we assume it might have. But only time will tell.