Update // The Big One (Important info) (Patreon)

February is always a funny month, where I don’t know if I should be relieved that January is over or horrified that we’re already a WHOLE month into the new(ish) year. It’s the same sort of cognitive dissonance I get seeing discounted Xmas chocolates hanging out with V-day roses and Easter bunnies. Because what is time if not an agglomeration of seasonal diabetes in a shop near you?

Either way, I hope you’ve got some of them snacks for this update, because it’s a chunky one! (kinda like my waistline after I get through this load of creme eggs…)

StarStickers Update

After much prodding and poking at the core of the system, we are finally on track to launching the new version next week! While we haven’t set a specific date as we finish the last bits of testing, there will be a specific update post to announce the official launch on the day it happens - both here and on Discord.

This post will contain all the patch notes and instructions of how the new system works, but in anticipation of that here’s a brief overview of the main changes:

How the system currently works:

As explained at length in this post from 2021, the way StarStickers works is that a month is allocated a set amount of points that can be cashed in. For example: most months start with an allocation of 1000 points. This means that multiple people could cash in 2 lineart busts and 2 mystery boxes (1000 points in total) at which point the system would display there’s no more availability. At this stage, depending on my workload, I could choose to add more points to the system to allow people to book more rewards, or leave it as it is if I know I’m going to have a particularly busy month.

While effective on a smaller scale, as we grew several problems arose:

+By the nature of the system as detailed above, all availability had to be open at once which meant that the booking process was “first come, first serve” and restricted to a short window of time. This often acted against first timers or those with complex schedules/different timezones.

+Due to the bulk-point nature of the system, I couldn’t predict or manage my workload as well as I hoped, as 1000 points could either mean 5 lineart busts or 1 ultimate mystery box on any given month.

+In that regard, the addition of larger rewards (800+ points) made it really complicated to book through this process and thus had to be done manually.

As well as other minor recurrent nuisances. With all of those in mind, we set out to redesign the system in a way that would be fairer and more efficient.

How the system will work going forward:

In a nutshell, we are replacing the bulk-point, “FCFS” system with a slot-based application system. To clarify:

+ Every month I’ll be able to set a specific number of slots on each available reward- for instance, one month I may open 2 lineart busts, 1 color bust,  2 mystery boxes and 1 outfit mystery box, while another month I might choose to open 5 mystery boxes.

+ The rewards that have available slots will be open for applications from anyone with enough points to book and who don’t already have a booked illustrated reward in queue. The rewards that have no open slots will appear as unavailable that month.

+ The application window will be approximately 1 week (estimating from the 5th of each month) and patrons will be able to apply to one reward only.

+ Once the window closes, all bookings will become temporarily unavailable as I decide who I allocate those rewards to. The allocation of rewards will be done manually based on a hierarchy of priorities such as: no previous rewards > when the last reward was received > how many previous rewards have been received > prior unsuccessful applications > tier > length of patronage

+ All who applied will receive an email to confirm whether they were successful or not at the start of the following month. Those who were not successful will be considered with higher priority in subsequent applications.

+ Those who are successful will have their reward automatically added to the system, where they will be added to a global list ordered by booking entry. This will no longer be tied to a specific month for delivery, as rewards will simply be worked on in the order they were added to said list.

+ While not public at launch, we will be looking to integrate a future feature whereby everyone can see the current queue and their placement in it if they have a booked reward. In the meantime, this can still be viewed on my workflow board (though please note that this is edited manually, so it might not be up to date all the time).

More information and key points will be shared in the launch post, once the system has been fully tested and debugged. Please note that some of the points above might also change on the run up to and during the launch, based on any new data we collect in the process.

I do want to make a few things clear: this overhaul does NOT mean there will be more availability at this time. At the moment, I am sitting on a pile of 46 commissions and 35 rewards, as well as a couple of side projects. Although I have picked up the pace and I’m making big strides to catch up, until my workload has become more reasonable it should be expected that only 4-5 rewards will be available each month even in this new system.

What this new version truly aims to do is to be fairer, clearer and more accessible. We have spent a huge amount of time noting people’s concerns, mapping every possible problem and solution and coming up with a way to resolve some, if not all of the ongoing issues. That said, it’s important to note that the system is developed by just two of us (myself and my partner) and that it relies solely on me and my ability to produce. This means that there are always going to be limitations, as well as teething issues and so we ask for your patience and input as we continue to strive to make changes that will create a better balance for everyone.

I will wrap up this part of the update here, but please look out for the full patch notes post next week, when the system officially launches. In the meantime, feel free to let me know if you have any thoughts or questions in the comments, or in the #starstickers channel of the Discord.

February Reward availability

I will keep this one short and sweet: this month’s availability will appear under the new system, as detailed above, so please hold onto yer breeches (and points) until then. Thank you for your patience!

Merchandise rewards

For those of you who have recently ordered prints via StarStickers from outside the UK: unfortunately our national mail service has put a halt on ALL international shipping for the time being. This means that all parcels - sent and unsent - are currently stuck in limbo. Once there's more information on this I'll make sure to update you all, but in the meantime please have my apologies for the inconvenience.

Commissions update

Good - if very belated - news on this front too! I have finally completed Batch 1 and am onto Batch 2 of the commission list.

Those of you on that batch have been pinged in discord with further details of what to do at this point. If you’re in that batch and haven’t been pinged, please make sure you have your role notifications active and/or check the #commissions channel for information on next steps.

This also goes for anyone in the rest of the list; as I mentioned above, I am currently juggling over 80 pieces of art and some side work, so at this time it’s impossible for me to approach people on an individual basis until I commence their project. It’s important for those who are still interested to keep an eye out for my constant updates to make the process a lot easier for everyone.

Limited tiers

As per my update last month, a reminder that all Patreon tiers are capped at set limits - which means that there are only so many slots for people to join this community. These slots were decided based on existing number of patrons and are continuously re-evaluated to determine the best balance between growth, fairness and work capacity.

At the time of this post, the available slots on each tier are as follows:

• Easy tier: 2 slot
• Intermediate tier: 4 slots
• Advanced tier: 5 slots
• Mentor tier: 0 slots
• Extreme tier: 1 slot
• Ultimate tier: 0 slots

It’s important to note that if your pledge gets declined you will have until the 15th of the month to restore it in order to keep your slot. Patrons whose pledge gets declined will be notified with enough time and given extensions if required, but if no answer is received then they will be manually removed from the system to vacate the slot. The reason for this is due to the way Patreon is built, by which declined pledges will hold onto a limited slot even if they don’t pay into it for months.

A manual removal can sometimes appear as if you were “blocked” from Patreon. Please note that this is not something I send myself and that it is out of my control, but that nobody who is removed will be blocked from this page and will always be welcome to repledge should a slot be available.

For more information on why I made the decision to cap all tiers, please read last month’s update here.

General updates & links

And just to wrap this all up like that candy that turned out to be coconut flavour and you subtly spat back out, here’s some routine palate cleansers:

• Our art challenge is still ongoing in the Discord server! This is open to all arts, crafts and skills for the chance to get an extra 10 StarSticker points. Deadline is Feb 28.
• If you haven’t joined our Discord server, you absolutely should! A reminder that you can do this via patreon.com/settings/apps and connect your account to your discord handle, which should automatically add you in. If you can’t do this for any reason, feel free to DM me for a manual link instead.

(Please note that for those of you interested in the mentorship portion of this Patreon, it’s essential that you join the Discord, as that’s how I communicate with students and facilitate lessons and resources)

QUICK LINKS:

• Masterpost guide to this Patreon
• Workflow board (all booked rewards and current batch commissions)
• Commission list
• Mentorship calendar

As always, my DMs are always open - as are all the dedicated channels in the Discord for general questions that my mods might be able to help you with.

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And that’s all from me folks. If you managed to get this far without slipping into a coma, congratulations! You did better than me. Here, have some leftover Halloween chocolate - on the house.

With love and sugar-induced delirium,

Ony