The Last Rulent Tower Update (Here!) (Patreon)

TL;DR: Find it at Itch from now on.

Hey, this is primarily for the people still interested in my GB Studio project, Rulent Tower. I shifted the Patreon to be focused on Cuddle Kobold some time ago, but I just wanted to give a general heads-up. Cuddle Kobold's new "update" is just around the corner, I just need a good day or two (which isn't the same as having a day or two, unfortunately) and it'll be ready.

I drafted a version of this post a little bit ago, but with GB Studio v3 freshly launching, this is as good of a time as I can think of to make it official, that I'm going to shift Rulent Tower completely away from the Patreon. I have tinkered with GB Studio v3 and I like some of the new features like the built-in music tracker, large sprite editor, and so on. I still think there's a few gaps in the transition from v1 -> v2 that would, at best, require me to rewrite some major parts of Rulent Tower's scripting. And that would necessitate reimplementing all of the descriptions. ...Maybe I put too many joke books in the library...

Besides the issues with the transition to v2, it's obvious I struggle with focus, and a lack of visual progress or novelty in the project can also be a problem. I've had people helpfully try to suggest the proper route, to work in a white box and build systems from the ground up methodically. That approach is a project killer for me. I'm not saying it's a good or desirable thing, but that is the struggle right now. Between the project engine hiccups and spinning my wheels on a few aspects going nowhere, it was a recipe for me to drift off. It was also just taking too long, and my fun filler project I knew I couldn't really monetize had gotten a little too big. It wasn't the bite-sized distraction I first intended.

There's also another issue at play here: Cuddle Kobold is already on slightly shaky ground for Patreon (keep an eye on the Discord or Itch if I ever have to announce a move). But even though I've gone to great pains to make the parody aspects of Rulent Tower clear, with silly names and unique graphics, I keep hearing stories about how restrictive things are getting. Even when they don't legitimately own the content, if it suggests a thing that is similar enough to a thing they own, they are wiping it out. They don't care about the details, or the actual legality. This has always been the case to some extent, but I feel like it's never been this heavy-handed, and I've seen a lot. It's enough to make me nervous, and while Itch still seems like a safe place to host parody content like Rulent Tower, I've seen too much to trust Patreon at this point. I feel bad for those who find my Patreon via Rulent Tower promos or old SFM renders and sign up expecting to see more (even though the account hasn't mentioned them for some time now). But you'll just be able to find that existing content, and any new content, at the usual haunts. (But please do not expect me to seriously touch SFM ever again.)

The old posts about it will be removed, and I'll be replacing the former Patron tenant that appeared as a bonus in Rulent Tower with another character, I'm still deciding on who. There's a couple of reasons for that, and I hope being one of the most content-complete aspects of Rulent Tower for the majority of the time it's been available publicly will be enough. But that is something I want to clarify: I do still want to finish Rulent Tower, at least "Move-In Day" (Day 1). I have plans beyond that, with hauntings and laundromats, but let's get that out first. There's no hard timeline, as I'll be tinkering with it as a spare time project when I feel up to it. My focus is on Cuddle Kobold right now, and I have a limited number of "good days" I'm able to work on that. But follow the Itch page if you want to keep up with future Rulent Tower updates, as well as watching my Dev Twitter.

Sorry this isn't the happiest news, but I hope a little clarity is appreciated. More Cuddle Kobold very soon, and as always, thank you for your support and understanding!