My activity on here has died down a little, but I still check in every day to feed and spend time with my pets. I still can't wait to see what else the site has to offer, I just wish it could go a little faster. Not that I'm trying to rush anybody, I understand making new functions/features for a site like this isn't easy and takes time to work properly.
Yeah, that's usually the biggest concern.
A problem with a huge boost of content, and then a severe drop with no real timeline for progress, while it may keep folks around waiting, there's only so long we can wait before we just have nothing to wait on.
Dappervolk suffered a similar issue. When it launched, the features did not function or work as well as they imagined despite heavy alpha and beta testing, and led to a huge exodus of users that use to be Kickstarter backers. The staff promised to remedy it over the next few months, but no timeline was ever established, and after that point, staff had gone silent, working in the background, but no longer being transparent or seemingly willing to take feedback. I think that's the biggest worry here.
When I did the survey, a lot of folks were willing to wait for new content, but they also expressed that a good way to drive them off the site was a sudden drop in communication, updates and transparent plans. The Garden and Pet Requests were a huge boost to the site's daily gameplay, but since we've already discovered a good majority, if not all, of the seeds, and pet requests can run on their own for a few hours, I think they may have ran their course for the most part (at least for users who've been around longer). If @Dakraus plans on doing the guide (Have you chatted with @Shard about this by the way, cuz they got a ton of info on the seeds), then that'll be one of the only other guides needed on the site.
It's an alpha, but a common misconception people have about that is that alphas are barebones. In reality, alphas are equipped with almost 100% complete features intended upon official release. It's main purpose is to iron out bugs and functionality in the gameplay (this does apply to browser games as well, such as Neopets. Neopets is actually a good example given they released with a surprising amount of content. Many assets were unfinished, like the pets, who were largely placeholders, but it was a fully functional site being run by two peeps). The beta is mostly a tight focus on bug squashing, and then there's obviously the final release. When we discuss Early Access games, this generally refers to an alpha, where enough of the game is complete that it is playable roughly from start to finish while bugs and functionality are taken care of behind the scenes.
This is why Kickstarter is usually a really great way to start a game, not just for funding purposes, but because it gives a large buffer to adding the content intended and prepping a fully loaded alpha for release. You'll notice Dappervolk and Flight Rising displayed a rather overachieving amount of content to display in the Kickstarters when they started, and it largely contributed to their successes. There was plenty of disappointment with each of their releases, but it provided them an advantage that proved fruitful in the following months.
I feel if updates and content are slowing down significantly on Sensipets for whatever reason, it may be time to consider that Kickstarter they mentioned back in... April, I think? I'd have to check the news. It would allow them to take the time to push for funding, as well as get that content into gear instead of a trickle of content here and there that players have to guess on.
~ Come hang out 'cause you're out of your mind ~
~ You're working so damn hard, you forgot what you like ~
🏳️⚧️🐕🦺
