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[Die Nacht]

Today I get paid and I plan on putting down 100 dollars when I get home. Now, I believe that this game might define how games will be in the future (we already started seeing it with Minecraft, Terraria and King Arthur's Gold) not to mention that I would love to see this game come to fruition (it will be the biggest, most realistic game ever created. I can even see sociologists using it as a tool to experiment on society).

But this is my problem, according to this post http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=100506.0 given Toady's current rate and the vision he currently have, the game will be completed in 2030. Now, that is kind of far away and we don't even know whether Toady will finish (he works alone and all. And a lot of stuff can happen between now and 2030). I want to put a recurring donation but the whole "2030", work alone, using PayPal (hate PayPal so much!) and all is making me flinch.

Can someone, maybe someone who has recurring donation on, (try to) convince me to finally hit the button? I'm new to the forums so I'm not familiar with any common knowledge about what Toady is thinking or what do the general public think of his work and business plan.

Thank you.

[NW_Kohaku]

Well, in general, I wouldn't hold my breath about "completeness".  In fact, Toady is probably never going to really complete this game, as he will always find something new to add to it. 

Here's the thing, though - that's not a bad thing.

Don't ask yourself what the "finished" game is going to be worth to you, ask yourself what the current game is worth to you.  How much money have you paid for games that were shallower, less fun, and less fulfilling than DF?  $100 buys two or three of those games, depending on if you got them used.  Are you going to or have you already spent more time with DF than three of those games?  If so, then, if nothing else, it's a better place to put your money than those other games, isn't it?

[BigD145]

All I can say is, "Play the game." If the game, as it is now, doesn't convince you to make any kind of donation, then don't. If you just want to donate when progress is made, do that. It's your money.

Assuming you are in the US:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

You can send a check to Tarn and Zach. You don't have to use paypal. Some banks offer monthly bill pay for free, which amounts to the bank cutting a check and mailing it. I don't know that it would work in this case, but I don't see a problem with it.

[Die Nacht]

I do know the game will never finish (I mean, his vision is to make a fantasy simulation that is as realistic, physically, as possible). Well as PCs get stronger, he will keep adding more details (eventually, pimples will be added). However, it is current state, DF is no where near what it is supposed to be, and that's fine. However, it is the whole idea that it is only one man and that it is technically more of a hobby than an actual full project (at least that's what I got from reading that FAQ post). I do want to give money since the game is awesome and without DF, there would have been no Minecraft, no Terraria and no KAG (calling the group MTK from now on), but I also want to see the game be done-ish in a soon-ish kind of way since MTK do not do enough justice to DF (they kind of each just took one part of DF and made a game from it).


I think the game that I've spent more money on is League of Legends.

........

Fine I'll do it. Please don't let me down, Toady.

[mnjiman]

It is up to you to put money towards the project, not us.

You will have your own reasons that differ from others.

The game will not be completed for a long time. The money wont go towards hiring people. The money will go to supporting Toady so he can live off the project.

[nenjin]

I think you should donate for what he's given you now....and not making it contingent on the future.

Recurring donations are certainly nice, but if you're not comfortable with the 20 year plan, don't commit to 20 years of payment.

[EmperorJon]

Dwarf Fortress is, and will be, his life. He obviously needs to get money to get through life. I have yet to donate, but when my financial position is more stable he will get what he so rightly deserves...

[smirk]

However, it is the whole idea that it is only one man and that it is technically more of a hobby than an actual full project (at least that's what I got from reading that FAQ post).

Well, his "hobby" is really pretty much a full-time job at this point. Past that, actually; he spends all of his time on it. And to be honest, your sentence there is one of the main reasons I actually donate to him: he actually had the stones to drop his burgeoning career and devote his life to this thing. It's an admirable endeavor in many ways, that not many people would risk doing, and we're all better for it.

[C0NNULL]

For me, it is an easy enough thing to do to have a recurring payment.

I had played SW:G and EVE many years ago, so the idea of a monthly fee is old-hat. When I downloaded DF, I liked it the first hour - so I sent $60 for the game and $13 a month for a monthly gift. (I had read some of the wiki and stories, so it wasn't an impulse thing, I knew I liked the game)

Furthering the analogy, EVE isn't really finished and that doesn't stop people from playing. (Really, most MMORPGs aren't finished if you consider adding new content and fixing bugs introduced with said content/old bugs, new battle systems, or whatever.)

I definitely wouldn't worry about it ever getting finished. (What would we do if it were finished? Wait for version 2, of course. So it won't really be finished when it is finished, anyway. *grin*)

[Die Nacht]

Thanks everyone. I feel much better about doing now. I just needed to know how people, who have done it, felt about it.

[Tryble]

Donate however much money that you feel the enjoyment you've got from the game is worth.

That's really all there is to it.

[klingon13524]

Donate based on current development progress, not predicted development. Then just keep adding on as you enjoy the game more.

[gimli]

But this is my problem, according to this post http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=100506.0 given Toady's current rate and the vision he currently have, the game will be completed in 2030. Now, that is kind of far away and we don't even know whether Toady will finish (he works alone and all. And a lot of stuff can happen between now and 2030). I want to put a recurring donation but the whole "2030", work alone, using PayPal (hate PayPal so much!) and all is making me flinch.

Yep,  I am following the development of DF since years, but it's extremely slow. This is my biggest problem as well. Waiting 1+ year(s) for a new major version is...annoying. Also this latest version is pretty cool, but I don't really care about adventure mode to be honest. I want armies, diplomacy, controllable kingdoms in dwarf mode. [All on the dev list btw.] Oh well, maybe in a couple of years....maybe. It's a shame that Toady accepts no help, but I understand it of course. He is making enough money to live, even with this slow development speed.

[thvaz]

Some people complain about how development is slow but I think half the fun I got from DF comes from reading devlogs . I even donated when Toady started doing daily devlogs again!

[Tharwen]

I do know the game will never finish (I mean, his vision is to make a fantasy simulation that is as realistic, physically, as possible). Well as PCs get stronger, he will keep adding more details (eventually, pimples will be added). However, it is current state, DF is no where near what it is supposed to be, and that's fine. However, it is the whole idea that it is only one man and that it is technically more of a hobby than an actual full project (at least that's what I got from reading that FAQ post). I do want to give money since the game is awesome and without DF, there would have been no Minecraft, no Terraria and no KAG (calling the group MTK from now on), but I also want to see the game be done-ish in a soon-ish kind of way since MTK do not do enough justice to DF (they kind of each just took one part of DF and made a game from it).


I think the game that I've spent more money on is League of Legends.

........

Fine I'll do it. Please don't let me down, Toady.

Have you ever looked at the original list of development goals?

Yeah. The game will never be finished.