A November release is still possible. If DPC winds up adding relatively few animations to those already in the queue (or these animations themselves are smaller) and ups his rate even slightly he could finish in time for a release on the 25th of November. It's longshot at this point, but as long as DPC is finally in a trimming mood (as opposed to constantly looking for things to add) we've got a chance.
I have plenty of opportunities for pessimism, I figure I might as well celebrate all these numbers with some rose-colored glasses.
Yeah, the fabled uber-animation seems to have been washed out in the final tally. Of course we didn't really get any numbers between August 5 and September 4, then another drought until last week. It's possible the slowdown would have been clearer if we had weekly reports. But in the end it's just one animation and DPC has 8 supercharged rendering stations. The real question is whether all the
other animations are also increasingly long and complex. Given DPC's general outlook and the slower render rates this cycle, I'd say we have our answer.
Seasons 1 and 2 are a single, standalone program; there's a link in the OP. Season 3 is a separate program, but you'll need to import a special save created at the end of Season 2 to play Season 3. As of right now it's just the Interlude (a short cutaway to a side character that doesn't advance the main story). Once Episode 9 is finally released (which will be part of Season 3) the MC's story will continue.