Like most of you here, I was disappointed with the update, mainly because it felt like a step backwards in terms of lewdness. Most of the scenes lacked eroticism (with the exception of the park scene), and there was nothing that made them special. At least in the earlier scenes, there was an undercurrent of sexual tension running throughout.
When Sophia met Alyssa and the maid, there was immediate attraction. When Sophia worked out with Vicky, there was some light groping involved. Ellie's sunbathing scene early on felt like some lines were being crossed. But this update provides no forward momentum - just more "accidental" groping/touching involving Sam and Dylan, which is not sexy.
I am a huge defender of this game, and I would like to see the developer succeed, but the time for set up is over - the argument could be made that it was over a long time ago. I'm glad to see that the developer is going to further streamline the story, and focus on the more important characters, but at this point, the game's incredible potential is being wasted.
Part of the problem is that the developer is opening up way too many threads that he won't be able to fully flesh out and resolve. There are a lot of possible romances already, and adding more characters would destroy the immersion. The whole game's simply full odd choices and missed opportunities, which ultimately detracts from Sophia's gradual progression.
What was the point of having Sophia take a side job if the developer doesn't plan to include any sexual content with the old men? Anna Exciting Affection did it in a way that works, so why not copy some of what DeepSleep is doing? It just seems odd to include this whole separate branch if it won't be related to Sophia's sexual "awakening", and will be cut out.
Also, why not have a scene with Patricia showering in Sophia's home, after coming back from the park? That would allow them to have more awkward flirtatious moments, and slowly make Sophia more comfortable with her sister's carefree attitude regarding nudity and sex. There doesn't even need to be nudity for it to be sexy - close proximity is enough.
Why not have Ellie and Julia caressing each other's faces and shoulders, and maybe hinting at a possible kiss between them in the future? They don't need to kiss, or go full lesbian (yet), but there needs to be a lot more sexual tension and conflicting feelings - at least from Ellie's point of view - in order for the eavesdropping scene to work, and for Sophia to find it hot.
I guess the main issue is that the developer sees "casual" scenes as necessary (like Alyssa and Sophia at the cafe - no sexual tension at all). That may work for film and television, in order to establish character and deepen relationships, but it's completely unnecessary when it comes to an adult game. If it's not moving the story forward, it should be cut out.
Ultimately, no matter what any of us say (good criticism or negative attacks), Lust & Passion will stick to his vision. However, I thought the whole story was written already, but it's clear from his own comments that's not the case. He may have a rough idea of where it's all going, but he's still writing it as we speak, which explains the long delays in development.
Overall, I think I'll just unsub from this thread for a while. The next update will be insignificant (only 100 renders, really?), which means that it won't have any scenes of substance - just more casual dialogue and silly accidental flashing/touching scenes. I know that the good stuff is supposed to start soon, but this whole thing is just getting exhausting.
