Interesting thing happening on their Reddit. I think the Adrullan comparison is good for the outcome of both games and the attitudes of both communities.
Post 1, comparing UI/UX elements of AoA to MnM. The most upvoted post on the subreddit in several weeks:
Post 2, bemoaning the existence of post 1. Downvoted into the shadowrealm:
Post 2 uses the same tired playbook we've heard for years: "Often it comes with arguments that if they don't change this M&M will only have a very small following. Which is a very strange argument considering that the developers have explicitly said on multiple occasions that they are not interested in making a mass appeal game but rather a very niche game that they want to play."
That's always been an absurd position, but recently their real goals have been hinted at. In the post-Nick VOD Shaun revealed the current team size, and the desired number of full timers they hope to move forward with. That number was 17 priority full timers, with another 13 who have indicated they'd like to stay on if the resources are there. Even if they were to severely underpay the core 17, you're talking $1.5m-$2m per year just in compensation before other costs. That's in the neighbourhood of 10,000 monthly subscriptions just to reach their minimum staffing goal, satisfying zero other costs, and realizing zero profits.
The notion that this game can have such niche appeal that 'success' is a few hundred die-hards running around an empty world for a few months is utter dishonesty.
