Hello, everyone! I think now is as good a time as any to present myself and send a message that I've been meaning to send for a while.
I've know this game for almost a decade, from about the time I learned about Dwarf Fortress and roguelikes as a genre. Unfortunately, at the time the game was not free (was it 3.14? Almost sure it was) and I was limited to the demo. Since I didn't really have a way to pay for it and it was kinda expensive, I couldn't really explore the game's depth.
I have a vague recollection of being on IRC, probably on a roguelike or even the URW channel and essentially bitching about the fact that this business model prevented me from actually exploring the game outside the narrow scope of the demo, which would probably make me less likely to actually shell out the money.
In the midst of this I made some silly arguments, including saying that the game was barely updated and there were quite a few features missing. Which there were, but the game was still being updated. I suggested that making it free would make it open to much more people and might even generate more revenue for the devs. It does seem that the game has become more well known and got some more activity in the community, but I can't speak for the revenue.
That being said, and considering the game went free on version 3.15, I owe Sami and Erkka a formal apology and a thanks. I was a jerk, if only because of the way I expressed my discontent at that time. You clearly deserve recognition for all the work you have put into this simulation, and it keeps getting better.
Unfortunately life keeps kicking me in the balls and I'm not in a position to even donate €10 right now, but you have been added to my permanent mental note (alongside Dwarf Fortress) reminding me to properly reward you for all the fun and wasted hours on something you created and developed over so long.
Thank you for all the work you put into this, and keep at it. You're great!
Edit: I've gotten the itch to play again after a while (and a lot changed since 3.23!) after I suggested URW to a co-worker who's into roguelikes/survival games. They were impressed, of course
it's quite the gaming gem you have here!