The Development Council texture request perk is being discontinued (long post)

One of the perks of the Development Council tier (formerly Emerald) has been the ability to request one block or item to be textured - which would be featured in a video alongside a shout-out to the member who requested it.

This perk was designed for a much earlier phase of development, where there were many textures that needed to be done, videos were lower budget, and patrons were few and far between.

Production has changed quite a bit since then; with the pack's following, social media content, texture quality, and general development growing well beyond what it once was. Textures take longer, videos take longer, expectations are higher, and offering control over development direction for a small cost is no longer feasible at this scale; slowly growing to become an obstacle for development; rather than an enhancement.

The latest updates (the ore remakes, and bedrock port) have been some of the most well received updates to the pack - but the development time, naturally, had to come at the cost of once again delaying texture requests. This is a common position where the updates that are best for the pack are at odds with the currently requested textures; leaving one camp of users always neglected. It also almost completely prevents the ability to put together large themed updates; as requests are always effectively random.

Another benefit offered to the Development Council tier that has been somewhat cannibalized by the texture requests is the ability to vote on what to work on next (currently in the #texture-voting channel). I believe this is a much better approach to development control for the current phase of the pack; which doesn't pull development in multiple directions like the current request system does. Unfortunately, up until this point I haven't been able to take full advantage of the voting system given that, once again, using it comes at the cost of neglecting texture requests.

If you are a Development Council member who has made a texture request, you probably don't need me to tell you any of this, as some of you have been waiting a very long time for your requests to be filled. This is something I want to sincerely apologize for.

For these reasons, as of today the texture request has been removed from the Develoment Council benefits. This includes all previously pending requests - which will no longer be completed. The remaining Development Council benefits; splash text submission, texture voting, roles, etc. will continue as usual.

It is unfortunate that this benefit needed to be discontinued, although I believe in the end it is the right direction for both the Development Council role and pack development at large. With the restraints of the requests list removed, development freedom will be able to be poured into the texture voting benefit of the Development Council role; offering a much more engaging and regularly occurring benefit to Development Council members - rather than a simple one-time-use one.

I appreciate everyone who has donated at any tier over the years. This project and community would be nowhere near what it currently is without you guys, and I wish all of the requests could have been delivered on.

If you are (or previously were) a Development Council tier Patron that did not have your texture request fulfilled and wish to receive a refund, send an email to contact@primemods.net and you will be refunded the full $10 of the tier:

• Use the same email connected to your Patreon account so purchase history can be verified

• If you had previously submitted a request that wasn't completed, include your Discord username and what the request was. If you had yet to make your request, no worries.

• Include PayPal information, as that is how refunds will be distributed.