YARPS is in Trouble
Table of Contents
- What is that Trouble About?
- What does This Mean for YARPS’ development?
- Does This Mean the End of YARPS?
- About Prototype Instances & Your Data
- About Your Contributions on Kickstarter
Dear friends and followers of YARPS,
A lot has happened over the past few weeks and now it is time to give you an update on the current situation in our development of YARPS. Some of you may have guessed something because of our prolonged silence and we don’t want to beat around the bush with the fact that YARPS is currently in trouble. In this update we would like to explain what this means for the project’s development and in which ways the situation will affect you as our supporters.
What Kind of Trouble?
Unfortunately, the past weeks and months have not turned out well for us in several aspects. The coronavirus crisis has affected the project in the midterm, including our work on a coronavirus app among other things. There have been unfortunate events in the personal lives of some team members, and unexpected changes have occurred for our core business (which we need to finance the operation of YARPS in addition to your contributions). Recently, these factors have drastically affected our personal and financial capacities which presents an enormous challenge for a small and young company like us.
What does This Mean for the Development of YARPS?
Let’s be clear: We have not given up on YARPS and don’t intend to do so! We still believe that YARPS is full of potential and that our goals for the project are realistic. YARPS is, or can become, a great toolset and important asset for roleplayers everywhere.
It has always been clear, however, that this would require a lot of work, and unfortunately, in our current situation we can’t afford this kind of work. We are also convinced that dragging the development out in micro steps wouldn’t be reasonable, neither for you nor for us. With heavy hearts we have therefore decided to put work on YARPS on hold completely, at least until early in 2021, or possibly longer.
Does This Mean the End for YARPS?
No, definitely not! We deeply hope that we will be able to continue our development of YARPS soon and realize our vision of what we want it to be, and we’re working hard on creating new opportunities. Among other things we have applied for a start-up funding program by the Federal German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and have already reached the second step in the application process. This fills our hearts with hope, as the program could be a great opportunity for YARPS. We don’t want to raise any false hopes, though: In our current situation it is impossible to say when and in which way we can return to developing YARPS.
What does That Mean for Your Prototype Instances and Your Data?
At the moment we do not intend to shut down the YARPS Prototype in its current state. All your instances will be accessible for you until further notice, which is at the very least until the end of 2020, but most likely also after that date. Even if we should have to shut down the YARPS Prototype at some point in the future, your data will be safe! We will never delete your data unless you explicitly tell us to, and if we ever absolutely have to restrict access to your instances, we will definitely provide you with an opportunity to export all your data first.
So, you don’t need to worry about losing the progress of your games—as a matter of fact you’ll even be able to use the YARPS Prototype normally for the time being. However, please consider that we won’t be able to provide any services like troubleshooting, support, or further developing at the moment.
What About Your Contributions on Kickstarter?
In the face of these recent developments and an uncertain future perspective we’ve decided to offer our backers on Kickstarter a chance for a full refund of their pledges. If you decide to back out of the project you can get your money back without further ado.
Should you request a refund of your Kickstarter pledge?
Above all, it’s your personal decision if you want to get out of the adventure we’ve been on together for the last months. We understand if our delay and especially today’s message have given you a reason to stop accompanying us on our way. We would like to point out, though, that the more of you decide to back out of the project, the more difficult it will be for us to find ways to continue the development of YARPS in the future. If you still believe in YARPS—like we ourselves do—and want to pull through these dark times with us, you can support us by not requesting a refund. We’re unable to make any promises as to when these dark times will be over and there are valid reasons for wanting a refund, so you’ll need to think carefully about your decision. If you decide to stay with us nonetheless, you’d have our gratitude—and the gratitude of all future YARPS users—for believing in our project.
You want to continue your support of YARPS by not requesting a refund for your Kickstarter pledge?
That’s wonderful and we’re incredibly grateful! In this case you don’t need to do anything. We will launch a survey on Kickstarter in November 2020 where only those among you need to reply who would like a refund of their money.
You want to end your financial support of the project and would like to receive your money back?
That’s a pity but we understand completely. To get your money back you just need to reply in our upcoming Kickstarter survey that you would like to request a refund. This survey will be available from inside your Kickstarter account in November 2020. We will inform you about the survey’s launch separately as soon as it goes live. Refunds will be processed starting in early December 2020. However, it may take a few weeks until your pledge is refunded depending on the number and total amount of requested refunds.
You have chosen one of our Preorder offers on Indiegogo?
Of course, our supporters on Indiegogo will be able to request a refund as well. Processes merely work a little different there. If you would like a refund, please get in touch with our support team via email at support@yarps.net.
Today’s message has been a difficult one for us, as you can imagine. We know that you have great hopes for YARPS, and the project is very dear to our hearts as well. This is the reason why we didn’t want to quietly delay the project further and further. Instead, we wanted to explain the situation and provide you with the opportunity to get your money back if you wish. And regardless of whether you want to get out of this shared adventure or still stand with us: We are thankful for your trust up to this point and for your feedback. We will keep you updated on any new developments and how things are with YARPS.
Best regards
The YARPS-Team