So, this week has been interesting.

I started off by keeping my ill-advised word to look back in on dark mode for Dream Maker, and holy crap is that worse than I thought. I mean you have no idea. The UI is built around a lot of Windows common controls and modified versions thereof, and you can't theme those suckers for crap. It's been a nightmare. But it's a nightmare I'm making progress on, because I know it's important to a lot of you.

But the bigger news is that, with the need for a new computer looming and 515 nearing completion of the beta cycle, I decided to pull the trigger on crowdfunding a new system. I chose to crowdfund on an outside site for two reasons: First, because Memberships are still the lifeblood of BYOND and the spice must flow to keep the lights on, but second because having a properly defined goal set up for this would probably improve the chances of getting anywhere.

Honestly, I'm completely overwhelmed with how many people stepped up and chipped in for the campaign. Thanks especially to the SS13 community—and there are parts that haven't even gotten the word out yet—you guys smashed the goal in 12 hours. This means I not only can build a great system and don't have to worry about compromising on some things, but I can go the extra mile and get a proper chair. I haven't had a good chair in years, and this year back and sciatica pain have taken an enormous toll on development. Some people were joking how I could finally get a second monitor, when the main limiting factor all along has been space, but if this goes far enough I'm gonna find a way to make that work. (But I won't do the vertical setup I had in mind, one monitor over the other. My neck can't take it.)

I know of course a big motivation for this is that WebView2 is on the horizon and that's hugely important to SS13. I intend to put in hard work on that project to justify your faith in me. And perhaps some of this outpouring of support is gratitude for the work already done on SendMaps threading, which I was happy to finally bring back.

Another reason for the crowdfund was because I know the upcoming months historically tend to be leaner ones. December in particular has often been downright bad for the fundometer. We'll see how all that goes this fall and winter, but in the meantime I have work to do. And that work begins by making sure I pick the right system.

I still couldn't do any of this without the Members, Patrons, and supporters on SubscribeStar whose ongoing contributions directly make all of this work possible. So I'm deeply thankful for all of you.

The Indiegogo campaign is still running, and I plan to let it run the original 30-day course while I work out what's right for the new system. How far it goes from here is anyone's guess. I've also been taking a lot of helpful suggestions as to what should change when it comes to my originally planned computer specs, and what I should look for in that chair.

Now we come to the most wonderful time of the year: the Great New York State Fair! No, I don't plan to go in every day (as previously discussed at length, I'm not made of money), but still this is one of the highlights of my year. This is also leading up to my BYONDiversary in two weeks. And now I know I can go into September without dreading what I was gonna plunk down on a new machine, and knowing the community has my back. Now if only my neighbors will stop having tree services come by in the mornings...