Let me start by thanking everyone who has contributed to discussion regarding the new subscription tiers. Some of it was supportive, some of it made for more difficult reading in its criticism, all of it was helpful, so thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
With hindsight, it is now obvious that I should have included my plans for the game alongside the announcement of subscriptions. My apologies for not doing so. As has been pointed out, I'm a pretty decent programmer, not such a great publisher. Allowing more time for discussion before rolling out subscriptions should have been an automatic decision on my part, but it somehow slipped me by. I was excited to have a route forward with the game, so dived in before fully thinking through how it might be received. The pricing structure will remain as it is, but I want to make sure that each level adds the right value to players. Anticipate that the benefits for each tier of subscription will either remain as they are or improve in the future, but now is not the time to make grandiose promises of game features that are not yet conceived, let alone complete.
What subscriptions allow me to do is dedicate time to the game that I'd otherwise have to sink into paying bills with a day job. The old credits and advertising model barely kept the servers running. The consequence of this was that the game has not progressed in several years, but I am now in a position to get us back on course for the game we all want to be able to enjoy.
The first project that will complete is the long-awaited new interface. This will improve the way you interact with the game, particularly on mobile devices, which has been a complaint for a long time. Work is ongoing with this project, but I'm intending to release an optional alpha version for you to test and feedback on within the next 2 to 3 months. This alpha release won't be feature complete, but will ensure that the best final result for players is achieved.
While this project nears completion I will poll active subscribers on their opinion for the next area of focus. While it is easy to say "fix long passing" is the most pressing, it may not be the area that will help the game the most. You'll have the opportunity to have your say when the time comes. I estimate that we'll reach this stage by September or October this year. Please keep in mind this is only an estimate, but I'll update you if that date changes.
After this I will look at marketing the game more widely. At the moment, the game relies on word of mouth, Google search, and legacy marketing we'd done. As such, the introduction of new players is barely a trickle. This isn't the worst position to be in, as I really want the mood to be positive before starting to acquire more players, and I'm confident we'll get there.
Finally, I'll provide a progress report in the first week of each month to let you know how it's going and to open debate where appropriate. Being visible about what is going on behind the scenes should help ensure that any future rumors of the game's demise are short-lived.
I know that the handling of the switch to subscriptions was not brilliant, and that some of you may require proof of progress before signing up. That's entirely understandable, and my first goal is to do exactly that.
Thanks to those who have already subscribed, I hope I'll be able to deliver you a game you truly enjoy.