I meant to respond to this a long time ago:
- Drop the side jobs- They're too much. They occur too infrequently, are too isolated from the rest of the story, and (mostly side job 2) are too controversial. With updates being so infrequent, it's a waste of time to dedicate resources to storylines that don't advance Sophia's relationships with major characters. In the case of side job 1 especially, the gaps between events are so great that there's no connection with the characters or their related kinks.
- Bring back Coach Sophia- Coach Sophia was a great idea, and it is suspicious to me that L&P dropped it almost immediately. Coach Sophia would replace the two side jobs. It would give Sophia an added opportunity to interact with a wide variety of characters (both major and supporting) in a different and unique environment. Between games and practices, the Coach Sophia storyline would have regular events and could be a great launching point for different relationships and kinks.
- Drop Morello- Sophia's involvement with him should end with her using Morello to end things with Aiden. Going forward he doesn't strike me as necessary for the game to be enjoyable, so don't waste time with him.
- More time jumps- I'd let the game's timeline jump around more because I think it would help flow. At the current pacing, the event-based release schedule is too inefficient. Because everyone expects each release to have some sexual content, that now means that each event needs to have something sexy happen. When L&P was releasing full day or 1/3 day updates, you would get events and scenes without sexual content, and that made the story flow better. But now we're getting sexual content in every event because who the hell wants to wait 4 months for an event without something to jill/jack-off to?
So, if we're going to stick with event-base releases, let the timeline jump around. We don't need to follow Sophia every minute of the day. It's ponderous and unrealistic. Not every minute of every day is going to be interesting or sexy, but the event-based release schedule is forcing that to be the case. You could still keep the 30-playable days, but spread them out over 90-days (or whatever you want). A sexy scene with Dylan on the morning of PD 14, then jump to a sexy scene with Ellie at Lunch on PD 17, and then have a dinner party with Andy and Whatshername on PD 19. This would make more sense narratively than trying to cram all three events into a single day.
- Reuse a lot more assets- I'd start to find ways to place events in fewer locations. I don't want to totally eliminate new environments, and L&P has reused some environments, but it's a waste of time to build a new environment for a one-off event. For example, L&P spent a lot of time building the bar for Sam's concert, and I think there's no chance that we ever see it again. That's a bad use of resources. Instead, have Sam play a show at a location that Sophia regularly visits. Treat the game like a regular TV-show with standard sets. When you do need a new environment, either keep it simple or really make sure it's an event worth the resources.
- Develop Liam's character more- I know it's popular to hate Liam, but failing to develop his character is a real missed opportunity. The game is asking us to corrupt Sophia, and part of corrupting her is acknowledging the disruption to her life. But Liam is such a empty vessel that it dampens the sense of Sophia's corruption because who cares if she's cheating on Liam, he barely exists in the game.
I think 6 is enough for now.
I actually did consider adding in that Sophia is a Gym teacher instead of what she is now, but that would mean there is no logical reason for side job 2 and tutoring. I do think her being a Gym teacher from the get-go is probably the best idea but side job 2 would alienate some people who are a fan of AWAM, so why I decided not to add it but I see the logic to Sophia being a gym teacher.
I also considered that the Aiden tasks not actually having a specific number or that number being lower, 12 is too specific and too long. I actually think it would be better if Sophia just says no and stands up for herself instead of using Morella to end them. I decided against it as honestly, these tasks are popular with a lot and myself included, so I think I could meet the 12 number. However, I would've been very tempted to remove the model scene as that just seemed so random. Also, I agree with reusing locations, so removing the model scene would fit in with what you saying.
The classroom, gym area and Aiden hangout area, and maybe Sophia's home would be the only places where tasks occurred.
Yeah, I agree with Liam, he seems pointless but I'm biased, I would love to remove him altogether and have him killed in a car accident and Sophia is a widow looking after Liam's children. She moves near her sister to get help with raising them. However, some people do like the good wife route and I got nothing against swinging storylines, it does add more to AWAM.
Sometimes you have to decide between what is logical and what is best for the project.
The side jobs are not logical, Liam barely ever around is not logical and the Aiden tasks are not really logical. However, they are reasons to add popular content to AWAM, so a lot of people are fine with it.