Some opinions about how i feel about the game as of now.
What scares me now is that most episodes are gonna be filler/side games filled as of now on, or else i cannot see this game get to 16 chapters. I can foresee logically 4 more real character development chapters before the game ends, mostly being 1 chapter focusing on finalizing 1 girl RP story with a side of the others. I also think the house minigame will last the next 2 chapters, and somehow will be recycled to something else (like continuing jobs for money, sending people to do diverse pranks/classes/events/stuff for stripers to fill bars for renders or rewards) to stretch chapter content.
Based on his other game, AL, and the pacing about how both game's stories unfold, i can see we are setting up the phases of locking LI's and getting the bad endings triggers. Everything you will do will either lock in your main LI, or screw everything up if you do anything with anyone else. You cannot have a fun game with 10 more chapters of monogamous drama stories, pursuing only 1 girl and ignoring every other, that would be very boring, as well as robbing you of a majority of content per chapter. The game was sold as a happy fun partying college setup. The more we go, the more it seems to fall in the everyone has issues that the only MC can fix even though the girls barely knows him (it has been what, 3 weeks since the start) and that we will only be able to fix one issue, the one of our main LI.
Another sign is the DIK/CHICK meter. That affinity bar is growing pretty short. There's no way to have any block left on one side even with 1 major choice per chapter if the goal is 16 chapters. That means either we get very little major choices going on or we will end up being forced into picking the opposing paths for choices. I also agree that too many choices are locked behind that system. Regardless of where you are, it should not be overriding girl triggers. It should only affect which girls you can end the game with and dialogue choices and options. For example, Sage would require you at DIK, Jill and Maya as a beta and the other 2 any side you want could make it happen.
I would have also liked minigames to have updates with every seasons. The brawler minigame is basically just dead on progression now. DPC could have for example added 1 box to each stats and changed opponents per seasons. There is not really any point, as a fighter with max stats, to fight a nerd with 2's everywhere. I enjoy most minigames. They add an extra feature compared to the majority of VN's that are just basically spamming the space bar until a choice (which is most often that not a useless pick between 2 replies with no story consequences) for hours until end game. I'd say the same for free roams. They break from the basics and provide interludes to interact with characters. The only complaint though would be to always have the arrows to change rooms visible. Having them hidden add nothing to the game. I spent a LOT of time figuring out WHERE that dam arrow was in the library to get to Sage.
I enjoyed a lot the DnG game, which i reloaded multiple times to get different results when i got the ice king ending on my second playthrough and figured out there was multiple paths, but i hope not to get another one. What i didn't like is that i feel it robbed the chapter of progress with the girls stories. It should have been in addition to the content, not BE the content of this chapter. I was disappointed that 75% of the scenes with the girl of all the chapters were basically dream scenes. The date with Jill should have been longer, same with helping Sage. I am very happy that both scenes led to the MC opening up and confiding his birthday emotions, which i have a feeling will end up being a major trigger to set you up as the main LI path for both those characters. My feelings also tell me that MC telling Maya's dad that they are engaged or a couple or whatever will setup that LI also, while breaking up the 3 ways.
Nothing make or break, but i wish DPC would scale down some models a bit. I can't help but wonder now how people like Jill, she's way too thicc and deformed. I never thought she was THAT big. When i saw her in the library next to Josy, i was like, holy F, she was like 5 inches taller and 80 pounds heftier, doesn't she do yoga like 3 times a week? xD Same with Isabella's butt-shot on the bicycle, that was way too much haha. Also for the Quinn's speculation of relationships, i wouldn't delve too much into that. DPC listed her as a side character on his official walkthrough, so she probably will have nothing much than random scenes. I would like a possibility ending, even if it's only the same small lesser ending, which would insert the side girl of your choice, based on you not getting on with any of the main LI's but going after that side chick repeatedly. Now i feel like i have to restart a save game for each girl and a man-slut save to be ready for the next update hahaha.