freem/gist:acf4af36475bff7209db726cb36ce4e7

## gistfile1.txt
The Future of VPW2 freem Edition
================================
VPW2 freem Edition has reached the "sunset" phase. What that means is the
next release will be the last one for an indefinite period of time.

There are a few reasons that make this course of action the "right" one
in my mind.

1) I am not particularly enjoying the process anymore.
Back in 2018, when I started the project, it was exciting to work on, as it
was breaking new ground in the AKI hacking community. As the years passed,
the remaining work is the "hard" stuff, such as the Road Warriors entrance
gear, Ric Flair's robe, theme music and sound changes, and so on.

After every release, I end up feeling burned out and have to take a break.
The amount of work remaining is too big for me to handle alone, but at the
same time, I feel like I have to be the one to do it. Call it stubbornness,
call it perfectionism... I'm just not enjoying working on the hack anymore.

2) Most of the recent changes have been for the sake of others, instead of myself.
The hack is called VPW2 *freem* Edition, not VPW2 Community Edition.
I feel bad that I even have to say this, since it makes me look like a
selfish jerk. The counterpoint to this is that I am responsible for most of
the work on the hack, and it also goes back to point 1.

This is not to say that the feedback is not appreciated. There have been some
good ideas proposed by fans of the hack. At the end of the day, though, this
is my project, and if I end up making most of the changes for the sake of
others, it ceases to become "freem" Edition.

3) People's expectations vs. the reality of hacking.
This was touched on in the "it requires a decomp" article[1], but it bears
repeating here. I can't just add costume items, moves, etc. The game has a
lot of hardcoded file IDs that need to be modified if I want to add things
instead of replacing them. To make this process reasonable, a full
decompilation of the game is required.

4) I want to move on to bigger and better things.
There are a lot of projects I need to work on, and a few things I'd like to
actually get started with. VPW Studio has been neglected, despite being
created for the purpose of this hack. I've also been slowly working on a
replacement for the Music Tool that will work with Project64 v2.4.x's
JavaScript system. I also have ideas for the future that are a bit secret,
but should be of interest to the overall AKI wrestling game community.

If I keep focusing on VPW2 freem Edition, these things won't really happen
in a reasonable time frame.

[1] https://vpw.ajworld.net/vpw2freem/requires_decomp.html
	The Future of VPW2 freem Edition
	================================
	VPW2 freem Edition has reached the "sunset" phase. What that means is the
	next release will be the last one for an indefinite period of time.

	There are a few reasons that make this course of action the "right" one
	in my mind.

	1) I am not particularly enjoying the process anymore.
	Back in 2018, when I started the project, it was exciting to work on, as it
	was breaking new ground in the AKI hacking community. As the years passed,
	the remaining work is the "hard" stuff, such as the Road Warriors entrance
	gear, Ric Flair's robe, theme music and sound changes, and so on.

	After every release, I end up feeling burned out and have to take a break.
	The amount of work remaining is too big for me to handle alone, but at the
	same time, I feel like I have to be the one to do it. Call it stubbornness,
	call it perfectionism... I'm just not enjoying working on the hack anymore.

	2) Most of the recent changes have been for the sake of others, instead of myself.
	The hack is called VPW2 freem Edition, not VPW2 Community Edition.
	I feel bad that I even have to say this, since it makes me look like a
	selfish jerk. The counterpoint to this is that I am responsible for most of
	the work on the hack, and it also goes back to point 1.

	This is not to say that the feedback is not appreciated. There have been some
	good ideas proposed by fans of the hack. At the end of the day, though, this
	is my project, and if I end up making most of the changes for the sake of
	others, it ceases to become "freem" Edition.

	3) People's expectations vs. the reality of hacking.
	This was touched on in the "it requires a decomp" article[1], but it bears
	repeating here. I can't just add costume items, moves, etc. The game has a
	lot of hardcoded file IDs that need to be modified if I want to add things
	instead of replacing them. To make this process reasonable, a full
	decompilation of the game is required.

	4) I want to move on to bigger and better things.
	There are a lot of projects I need to work on, and a few things I'd like to
	actually get started with. VPW Studio has been neglected, despite being
	created for the purpose of this hack. I've also been slowly working on a
	replacement for the Music Tool that will work with Project64 v2.4.x's
	JavaScript system. I also have ideas for the future that are a bit secret,
	but should be of interest to the overall AKI wrestling game community.

	If I keep focusing on VPW2 freem Edition, these things won't really happen
	in a reasonable time frame.

	[1] https://vpw.ajworld.net/vpw2freem/requires_decomp.html