A lot of folk bring up (correctly, imo) indie creators and end up mentioning Stardew Valley as an example - especially within the first couple years of its release. SV as an example has fell off, as it’s had it’s years to rake in cash.

But I absolutely pirated SV for YEARS, multiple times. I was in a place where I was utterly broke, could not always afford food, and only had internet because of assistance programs. My laptop couldn’t run much, not even minecraft at that point. It could, however, run Stardew Valley. So I re-downloaded it multiple times over the handful of hand-me-down hard drives that I used in a laptop that kept frying hard drives. (eyeroll)

I did eventually get to a place financially where I could afford to buy SV, so I did. Then it went on sale on console so I bought it again, knowing I’d never play it (console without the aiming mod is awful), but it helped pay it back how much play time I’d enjoyed back when I couldn’t afford the game.

That, to me, is ethical.

I do pretty much the same - I tried to use the a.gup.ee on masto for more of a group feel but it was much too overwhelming. Glad kbin and lemmy are being adopted more. I need my lil video game and craft communities haha.

Calus Minitool, hands down. I’ve got smallbore/accurized, unrelenting/incandescent on my crafted mini. I know it’s not like, unknown, everyone went wild for it in the Nightmare Season, but it’s just… so pretty. Pop a non-killing grenade, use 1/2 to a full mag, and everything is exploding.

Gorgeous colors, too!

My original save, original planet, ended up being a fizzy biome, like, two years into playing. I think it happened the same time I logged on to find they’d introduced power systems and my entire base was useless for quite a while. I was so heartbroken lmao but now every time I see a bubble planet it makes me think of the home base I had for years. <3

drivethrurpg.com and dmsguild.com have a lot of great free / PWYW content.

Was it? Is it, even? Still stuck on how you can make a game with the name “punk” and have one of the mechanics in free roam be… hearing police chatter, you jump in and kill a bunch of folk while knowing only the bare minimum of the situation, and getting paid. :thonk: