IMPORTANT NEWS: WE ARE CHANGING OUR BILLING METHOD! (Patreon)

For a few months, I have been thinking about and talking to Patreon directly about changing Beneos Battlemaps from "Pay per Pack" to "Pay per Month". That means, instead of getting both releases billed separately per month, it will be billed together once a month. Besides that, nothing will change for you. I just explain why this is important to me in this wall of text. Oh, and you can get 24 Beneos Tokens releases for free as well....

tl;dr (Too long, didn't read for the lazy...)

• We will change from "Pay Per Pack Billing" to "Pay per Month Billing" as of 07.02.2023
• Nothing changes for you (you will NOT be charged more than before)
• Nothing changes in the quality and quantity of the released content.

... DOES THIS MAKE MORE SENSE?

1. PAY PER PACK IS OUTDATED AND CONFUSES PATRONS.

The "Pay per Pack" model was one of the first ways to support creators who could not publish content regularly. It offered the possibility to support a beloved creator when they published something. The problem with this is that many new features of Patreon (see below) are not developed for this old billing method. Also, it regularly confuses people because they assume, based on popularity, that this Patreon is "Pay per Month" as well. Then sometimes they (rightly) get confused when all of a sudden they are charged twice. The fact that the "Per Pack" text is tiny doesn't make it any better.

2. I WILL NO LONGER BE FORCED TO PUBLISH EXACTLY TWO RELEASES BY THE END OF THE MONTH.

For me, there have always been two very important deadlines. The fifteenth and the last day of the month, because that’s when releases had to be ready. But this also means that I have to pack very big releases into two releases, which makes it more difficult to get them together. I would have preferred to release the "City of Widowhall" pack as one huge release, for example, but it would have been way too big for one release and I would never have managed another one by the end of the month. The last of the month has always been a very stressful deadline for me as well. Especially when, and this happens quite often because we are really pioneering with our maps, there are bugs that prevent rendering from Unreal Engine. I regularly panic and sometimes even have to cut content because I can't get it in the second release. With an extra day or two, I would have more time for a better release and, more importantly, peace of mind and one less burnout factor.

3. PAY PER MONTH OFFERS MORE FEATURES

As it currently stands, I literally have NO access to the innovations that Patreon offers. I can't offer yearly support for a discount, I don’t have access to marketing promotions, and much more. Even Patreon's merchandise offerings are only available to "Pay per Month" Patrons, which is also a mystery to me.

4. IT'S HARD TO SEE WITH "PAY PER PACK" HOW THE PATREON DEVELOPS

Every content creator on Patreon (especially Pay per Pack creators) know the problem of seeing a huge collapse in backers at the beginning of the month. This is due to incorrect debits or problems at the bank. This is because everyone is charged EXACTLY on the first of the month. With the "Pay per Month" feature, you are not charged on the first, but always exactly one month after joining. This spreads out these problems, and you have a much more homogeneous outlook. Additionally, there will no longer be patrons who join at the end of the month and are charged again for a month one day later. By the way, that was the main reason why I didn't ask Patreon about this earlier.

5. PAY PER MONTH LIMITS PIRACY AND CONTENT ABUSE

Patreon is a platform of trust. It is not, as some think, a webshop. As the name suggests, it is a crowdfunding platform where enthusiasts can support their favorite artists, so they can pursue their art. Unfortunately, like everywhere, there are people who take advantage of this trust. Since the pay per pack model really only charges for releases, there are some who manage to join and unfollow before a release. As a result, there is a not insignificant amount of people who have been patrons for 26 months (2020), but have supported $0 worth of packs in that time. Not only is that unfair to everyone else, but of course these people don't stop there. They distribute other people's content as it suits them.

As you can see... 

I have thought about this a lot and I hope you find, like me, that these arguments speak for themselves. As with the Moulinette change half a year ago, which worked really well and kept all promises, now again this will be a gift for your loyalty and awesome support. Every active Beneos Battlemaps Patron will get a huge pack of animated Beneos Tokens creatures from me in March. This pack will contain 24 complete releases, so all releases from 6 months (!) Beneos Tokens. Free of charge. 

And finally, so you understand what this means for you, I've put up a FAQ that explains everything.

1. WILL I BE CHARGED MORE IN THE FUTURE ?

• NO ! You will support the same amount as before. Nothing changes for you, no matter in which variant or configuration!
  

2. I HAVE A SET-UP LIMIT, WILL IT REMAIN?

• YES ! All limits remain in place. As I said, nobody pays more than before. It's not about taking more.
  

3. DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING?

• NO! Patreon migrates on its own without needing anything of you. You will get an email from Patreon where you will be informed about the change. That's it.
  

4. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET THE 24 BENEOS TOKENS RELEASES FOR FREE?

• Basically nothing. Every active Patreon who is an active Beneos Battlemaps Patron as of 03/01/2023 (or newly added) will be sent a download link.

5. WHEN WILL THE MIGRATION TAKE PLACE?

• According to Patreon, the migration should take place on 07.02.2023.

6. WILL YOU RELEASE LESS CONTENT IN THE FUTURE?

• NO! The migration will not affect my releases. I still aim to release on the 15th and last day of the month.

I AM SUPER EXCITED.....

 and am sure this change will make this Patreon more stable and enjoyable for everyone. Do you have any other questions, or comments?- then post them in the comments, as always, or on our Discord, as we will respond very quickly to you as always.

Oh, and those cool pictures are actual sneak peeks of our upcoming map pack of "The Molten Court".

Thank you very much and stay healthy

Ben