Ok since you are new here, I'll explain it in a simple way. Not that anything of what you said means this is a crowdfunded game, exposure is not the same as crowdfunded.
1. The "tanking" you see on Arvus is because of how RS was handled, things happened and RS2 being initially a 3d game out of the scope of the size of the team didn't help the case.
2. Starmaker + The change of RS2 to an isometric "2.5D" with art and animated scenes are "TOGETHER" what rose Arvus again.
3. Of course, the FULLY FREE game with constant updates that DOES NOT become available for patreons first is going to have more engagement than a game that after some time was decided to be reworked, has no that many posts about it outside of patreon, and is has not been released. RS Adorevia still is the highest point of Arvus Games, but as said, things happened and it wasn't handled the best, and this is a game that was never free and only available in Patreon and Steam later on.
Then again, just wanted to clarify what the "tanking" you see is. But again, exposure with a FREE game is not the same as a crowdfunded game, this is not an "early access $10 game"