Community Post - AC-SCT v1.4.0 Patreon Release / v1.3.0-hotfix1 Public Release

Hello there! 🙋‍♂️

How have you guys been? Hope all is well on your end and if its not, I hope it gets better soon. Let's just get straight into it. :)

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AC-SCT 1.4.0 Update

Changelog [v1.4.0]:

• New Entrants Standings: Entrants Standings based on configured Teams cars, with three modes - Standings, Summary and Chart, with Export to .PDF / .PNG function

  

  

  

• Extended More Points Systems for 2025: FRECA 2019-2025, Italian F4 2017-2025

• Newly Added Points Systems: Formula Nippon 1996-2025, Superformula 2013-2025, FIA GT 1997-2013, Blancpain GT 2013-2019, GTWC Europe 2020-2025

Very, very simple update. Not as stressful as the Teams one for sure. 😂 You can get 1.4.0 here and 1.3.0-hotfix1 for free members here.

1.3.0-hotfix1 comes with a fix from 1.3.1 that ensures the AppData folder is created, which was causing the app to break. I hope it doesn't break again. Please don't break the app. 😂

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Okay, what's next?

Here's the updated progress map! 🏎️

With the addition of more points systems, I feel it is vital for me to provide a simple display screen on how the points are allocated in each system. So that will be the next QoL feature I'll work on for v1.4.1. 👍

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So... this is the update...? Why'd it take you so long brother?? Not trying to be insensitive but where's your energy bro? You good? 🤔

Yap alert - you've been warned!

You know what - that's a fair question. As explained recently, I migrated from my old laptop to a more powerful desktop, so that took some time to acclimate and install all the necessary mods. Transferring the development environment was relatively straightforward.

The bigger factor is that I've also been experiencing general burnout from programming and AC. Perhaps its because we hit April so I'm running out of steam, but I think that's just how it goes. 😅 Just gotta take the time to recharge.

But an even bigger factor that I've not talked about is... well, anxiety. Recently my AI line works have been under scrutiny; from myself and others. AI lines take weeks to be adjusted and refined. So when a couple things happened, like when my AI lines started randomly breaking, receiving criticism on the speed / safety of the lines, or just interactions that could have gone better; it was all contributing to dread. Now the benchmark has shifted from this is improved from the original to as-close-to-perfection-please, for something that's free and born from passion / fun.

And that's fine, cause it shows people care and want a good experience, but it did take a toll on my mentality. A lot of my works, even earlier in the year, are not the most optimized, cleanest, fastest AI lines out there when judged. So some lines need to re-recorded, more reworks are required and any new lines I'm working on must also be as-close-to-perfect from the get-go. So that's on the quality. The other thing is receiving criticism on something you've spent awhile working on. Man, not gonna lie, that sucks when not conveyed in a nurturing way.

This is why I'm so thankful for any kind comments that head my way, cause that lets me know there's people out there who appreciate the work, who take the moment to consider there's a human on the other side who could use a pat on the back. I've had my fair share of blunders when I've been part of this community, not always been the nicest, sometimes prideful. I'm constantly reminding myself to keep it in check, though I will continue advocating for myself when necessary. Just sometimes I snap too quickly or don't communicate well enough.

So yeah... But what in life is not daunting when its open to the public, right? Just gotta put my best foot forward, reflect and focus on the bigger picture. :)

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Uh... cool story bud. Got another one?

Well yeah, actually lmao.

More yap ahead!

The Stardew Valley vs The Sims approach

I had a rather animated discourse with a friend on how I should be selling products. Here's some of their proposals, that I've also considered in the lifetime of this Patreon:

• Sell a pro version and keep the free version as a lite version (meaning omit certain features from the lite but keep updating both versions)

• Sell feature packs so users can buy what they need as necessary

• Have a default tip value when a user purchases (which isn't possible in Patreon atm.)

And there were probably more suggestions that night. It got a bit heated. Maybe you can understand why when I compare two very successful games - Stardew Valley and The Sims.

Stardew: cheaply priced, free lifetime updates.

Sims: now with a free base game, but large number of paid expansion packs, stuff packs, kits, etc. that players can buy whichever they want, but gets very costly if you intend to get all additional content. Prior to this, base game was paid.

Yes, both games are very different in scale - the Sims has a much bigger dev team and scope. I do not fault them at all. But the question I pose is - do I wanna be remembered as Stardew or Sims?

Though my app is not at the same scale as those games, and there's merit to my friend's suggestions, I just feel gross when it comes to the monetization aspect. Yeah, I'm terrible at placing value on my work. 😂

Maybe this will change in the future if I do offer more apps and the USD1 starts being outright nonsensical. 😂 But thank you for the ongoing and past support; please know that I highly appreciate every dollar that goes my way, it does help. Hopefully that value will gain more worth with future offerings.

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Well, that's it from me. Hopefully less yap and more output in the coming month. Take care and have fun! 🙋‍♂️ (AI lines | AC Car Listing)