The lower-priced Alpha Tier, added to the
buy page for Cogmind Alpha's
1-Year Anniversary, is now permanently available as a purchase option.
We did pass the 100 sales threshold to which it was initially limited, but examining the rate of sales, and taking into consideration other factors described below, it doesn't seem necessary to remove it.
When first opening it up I was worried that the lower price might have the medium-term impact of bringing in
too many new players, so I felt the need to announce up front that it would be capped, just in case
. Yes, for a game still in development that already gets sufficient feedback, too many new players is actually not a good thing xD (it slows development because I like to be active in the community, so the size of that community is important! Too many disruptions and nothing gets done
).
It turns out that with an Alpha Tier, the influx is just about right! Sales did not increase dramatically, merely recovered the steady pre-anniversary pace that had begun to falter around that point. This is good for the community overall (attracting a small amount of fresh players to account for those who drop out for a while) and also healthy development of Cogmind in the long run, because if revenue were to fall below the monthly minimum where it normally sits I'll be forced to move more quickly to 1.0 (that can mean feature cuts). Also, I'm anticipating the need for a little extra momentum over the next couple months given tomorrow's pending news.
In any case, the same reasons mentioned when first introducing the tier also still stand--it's been a year since Alpha began, so it's about time to have a slightly lower-priced tier, and it also makes sense in the existing hierarchy, with some still supporting at the Prime Tier anyway
Thanks everyone!
