Upcoming Changes to Tiers
Added 2019-09-17 21:01:23 +0000 UTCHi everyone! I wanted to let you all know about a few upcoming changes that will affect a large amount of you. Neutral Party has sustained the same structure since I started it 1 ½ years ago, but starting on October 1st, the patron tiers will change. The intent is to turn the $5 Expert tier into a more advanced version of the current $2 Adept tier by offering even more versions of each map going forward. Beyond this change, the Adept tier will no longer receive access to the Photoshop files, which will now be an Expert tier reward.
I’ve been agonizing over this decision since I didn’t want these changes to mean less content for any of my patrons. But, after considering the time and effort that goes into making the Photoshop files clean and usable, and acknowledging that many patrons do not use the Photoshop files, I believe incorporating them as a higher-tier reward is appropriate. Please note that the Photoshop files from all previous posts will remain available to all Adept tier patrons as they have already paid for that access.
The $1 Apprentice tier will remain the same – it is important to me that my maps are useful and affordable; I believe that $1 for 72 maps (and counting) is an excellent deal that won’t prevent anyone from using cool maps in their personal campaigns.
With that said, here is the breakdown of each tier starting on October 1st:
Apprentice, $1: Access to the regular day/night versions of every map with and without grids.
Adept, $2: Includes all Apprentice rewards in addition to an alternate version and line art version of each map. Also includes Behind the Scenes posts and Revisited posts.
Expert, $5: Includes all Apprentice and Adept rewards in addition to two more alternate versions of each map and Photoshop files of each map.
Master, $10: Includes all Apprentice, Adept, and Expert rewards. This tier is for generous patrons who wish to support Neutral Party even further and grants patrons access to additional polls where they can suggest and choose which maps I make during gaps in my schedule.
Thank you all for making Neutral Party possible, I truly do appreciate all of your support!
-Alex
Comments
I'm in the 2$ tier range, and I can understand the effort behind what your're doing. Making a photoshop layer and not naming a file asdhafh is much effort and i don't mean that as sarcasm. I appreciate what you do!
DarkStarChan
2019-10-10 16:52:47 +0000 UTCGood luck with your tier changes Alex! Even squeezing the PSD into the upload size required is a mountain of effort sometimes.
Cze and Peku
2019-09-26 12:24:10 +0000 UTCI think this is quite fair as well! Good job as always!
2019-09-20 20:13:15 +0000 UTCBummed as I just started this ride and it's going to more than double for the PSD which is what I'm using almost exclusively. I personally can't justify the cost of an WOTC Adventure book every month for a few maps, but I understand your need to make a living with your craft. Good luck on your venture!
2019-09-19 19:27:16 +0000 UTCJust wanting to confirm, but are you sticking with the "per creation" method? Additionally, are you looking to continue with the 2-4 creations per month? If so, the introduced $5 tier is expected to be about $20 per month (on average), correct? Thanks.
sutusa
2019-09-19 03:24:57 +0000 UTCAbsolutely! At the very least I wanted to be transparent about the changes to the Adept tier, and I figured it ought to be as visible as possible
Alex VanDerAa
2019-09-18 01:19:31 +0000 UTCThose will be separate polls entirely, the current polls will stay available to everyone!
Alex VanDerAa
2019-09-18 01:17:29 +0000 UTCThanks for making this post directly on Patreon. Maybe it's obvious why this is important, but I've seen other artists basically make announcements like this on Discord, Reddit, or buried within map post.
chase_dagger
2019-09-18 01:07:03 +0000 UTCOut of curiosity, are polls changing to Master Tier only? Or will those be a separate set of polls?
2019-09-17 23:40:14 +0000 UTCI've always found your prodcts to be worth far more than I pay. I think this is perfectly reasonable...Though as an Apprentice patron, perhaps I should put my money where my mouth is and upgrade. Tempting. Very tempting. Let me check my budget.
Vimes Carrot
2019-09-17 22:20:19 +0000 UTCI totally understand the change, cleaning up PSDs is a pain, and the amazing work you do needs to be rewarded. I personally always change some parts of the maps to adapt them to my scenarios. Any way you can sell individual PSDs so we can buy only the ones that interest us?
2019-09-17 21:45:41 +0000 UTCThank you very much! I had my technical writer wife give this one a once-over to make sure it was clear and logical, I didn't want any misunderstandings
Alex VanDerAa
2019-09-17 21:26:51 +0000 UTCI always appreciate your support, Oceanic :)
Alex VanDerAa
2019-09-17 21:25:04 +0000 UTCYes! The current $5 level is limited to 3 patrons (it used to list that, I don't know why it changed..), but once the changes are made in October it won't be limited any longer.
Alex VanDerAa
2019-09-17 21:23:48 +0000 UTCI'm all for upgrading my pledge as well, but it says that the 5$ Expert tier is sold out? Will this change in the future?
Travis Kehrli
2019-09-17 21:21:22 +0000 UTCYup, same. In fact they bloat up the zip files and make them kind of awkward to store, so I'm actually gladder to not be getting them at the $2 tier.
Sleepnir
2019-09-17 21:20:44 +0000 UTCIm gonna try and up my pledge then :) hope this helps you grow! You deserve your success!
oceanicsurvivor
2019-09-17 21:19:56 +0000 UTCA fair and rational decision by a great artist, dedicated to their community.. looking to apply logic to their worthflow! We all love what you do here, no more agonizing, whatever works for you is best for us!
Rob Gill
2019-09-17 21:17:15 +0000 UTCWorks well for me. As you say, I never use the PSD files and if I did I would be willing to pay more.
Vicky Radcliffe
2019-09-17 21:13:04 +0000 UTCThank you very much, and I'm glad to hear you think it's fair! If I wasn't moving the PSD to another level it would be entirely upside, but that change has got me second-guessing myself.
Alex VanDerAa
2019-09-17 21:10:54 +0000 UTCFair! Love your work.
Samuel Trostle
2019-09-17 21:03:32 +0000 UTC
