The story seems to be improvised. I don't think the storyteller started with a full outline. That can be ok, depending on the storyteller. Some great writers, such as Anthony Trollope, wrote his novels with only a vague understanding of how they would end. But long long ago, there was an elf . . . who has long vanished. And there was a guard named Lirah, who has long vanished. And there was something important that our main character had to do for the queen . . . something more than "menial tasks" that are merely an excuse to repeat the palace scene. And why are we visiting that solitary woman in the cabin? And there are so many factions . . . all with wonderful settings . . . but why does the story have so many? What, in fact, IS the story? It seems more to be a world, where this thing happens, and then that . . . all improvised without any clear story arc.
On the other hand, it might be that the time between updates is so long, and the story so complex, that it can't be followed very easily . . . the reader has forgotten most of the details.
But I still suspect the story is being improvised. We'll never see the elf, nor Lirah, again, nor that man who was beating his slave . . . and new characters are still being added, such as the new chief guard, an older servant who serves the queen. Why is she in there? Only because something needed to be improvised, it seems.
Well, yes and no.
The story is not improvised as in, we know where we are, we know where we want to go and we know the major stepping stones of getting there. But there are also smaller steps in between that are evolving naturally or crafted along the way to serve a purpose (even if the purpose is simply "moar sex").
Same goes for the characters I would say. There are mainstay characters, there are secondary characters and there are fillers. One such filler character for instance would be the priestess.
She only serves as a carriage for the Temple bit and maybe look kinda hot in the process, but there aren't any big plans for her. Maybe she has an encounter with your penis at some point in the future, maybe not. Maybe we find out that she can actually be used for some part in the story and she makes a comeback, but quite unlikely.
There is also the notion of characters somewhat writing themselves, whereas you start with a character canvas in mind but as you develop them more and more they also steer bits in a certain direction.
Is something fitting with their past actions? Or the way they expressed in the past? Is it consistent enough?
I believe that those things are all part and parcel of the creative process of telling a story over the span of years. Some things are nailed down, others crop up "as we go".
That said, I do understand that some updates can feel disjointed due to the structure of the game, but hopefully it flows better as a whole.
Well, I don't really need a story. Is a story needed?
The game provides a world, and many small stories that happen in that world. That's how it seems, and that can be fine.
But again, maybe there is a detailed outline that the writers are following, and the story is so involved that it can't be easily remembered for months and months. Maybe all will be clear when the game is done.
But if not, I still think the world is successful, and the characters strong.
I would argue that the world
is the story in a sense, and the MC can influence how it unfolds. But it's not a "coming of age" story where the MC's growth is the focal point. He's just a medium to observe -or impact where you can- what happens around you (and score some booty in the process).
The world would change with or without the MC, maybe not in the same way or degree, but it would change.