Disclaimer: I haven't played this update yet. I'm tragically short on time and I plan to play the public release as soon as I'll be able to. So I can't comment on the update itself - but I'd like to throw my two cents in about the rest.
Also, disclaimer: wall of text incoming.
Honestly, judging the pacing of a serialized release against the big picture is something I don't feel very adept at. I feel like I'm just hoping for the best most of the time. I mean, I try to base each update around some central theme or scenario (this one was Victoria, and there's the through line about "truth" that filters down from that to the other characters), but it's hard to say what moments should be dwelled on or sped past from the perspective of someone sequentially playing through the scenes without hitting a thanks for playing brick wall. There's probably a lot of unneeded repetition in Edwin's thoughts and narration because of that. If it happens to all bleed together in satisfying manner, I consider myself lucky as the focus is usually on making a single update have a rise and fall that is satisfying.
Still, episodic releases both keep things fresh as a developer, but it also kinda skews your perspective. So, yeah, I'm happy that you think everything's fitting.
Here's some food for thoughts: the writing of an AVN with a long development cycle has lots in common with that of long-form literature and cinema (you know, three-act-structure and all that jazz). To continue with the similitude, such an AVN could be compared to a single tome, or a series / cycle of books; to a single movie (albeit a long one), or to an episodic serial. So, the delicate balancing act between a single release and the whole game could lean towards an extreme or the other: thematic episodes vs "the big picture". Personally, I prefer a skew towards the latter, but I completely understand if the monumental effort of releasing a game as complex as Pale Carnation makes you sway towards the former. In the worst case, you can also thighten up some parts of the script in a single revision at the end of the development, when the overall picture is clearer. Just, please, ignore the occasional chorus of "no content for my favorite character, worst update ever" - it doesn't contribute much to the discussion.
I do think ename brings up some good points. Mainly because some of the stuff he highlights (like the contrivance of the rock show) also crossed my mind. The tricky thing is a lot of doubt crosses your mind as an author. How I manage that is taking note when (enough) people pick up on those sore spots. There's actually a ton of things I'm unhappy with that never get mentioned, so I usually file those away as "being my own biggest critic."
(And when people pick on something I'm happy with, I usually just ignore it.)
Here's another tightrope with a delicate balance: the author's view, and the outside view. In my opinion the author's vision should always prevail, because trying to please everyone is (generally speaking) a sure-fire way to produce the lowest common denominator, blandes experiences possible - and the uniqueness of Pale Carnations is one of the reasons of its greatness. At the same time, while the author has the privilege of a bird's eye view on its work, working on a single scene for a long period of time may induce tunnel vision, and some of the player's observation may hold merit even in the author's eye. So, here's a suggestion, for what it's worth. Remember the "Van Doren fix"? If you think that implementing some observations suggested by the players may improve the overall picture, and it's feasible in a reasonable amount of time, it may be worth to apply some touch-ups to past content - it doesn't necessary need to be a branch, maybe just specific revisions are enough (a couple dialog lines, quick internal monologue to change perspective and color a scene etc). However, this should only be done if
you, the authors, think the game would benefit from it, not only for the outside opinion's sake. Hell, the game's development is already an arduous process, and I'm willing to bet it's also becoming more difficult as time goes by, due to branching path shenanigans and overall complexity: stalling the development to correct "past mistakes" is bound to pave the way to madness. I'll also repeat myself: if the worst comes to the worst, and you really feel some sections of the game need to be rewritten, that's something that can be left for a future update, maybe even a final revision at the end of the development cycle, when you have the benefit of hindsight.
(No disrespect meant to ename, of course. Maybe I'll completely agree with him after my playthrough - but the above still stands, in my opinion)
Splitting a single day into two updates... ugh, that sounds like a nightmare. We already stress out about spending 3 years on a single week and what's gonna go into the last remaining one. Honestly, it might not be a bad idea. They'll be some lead up into the event of course, what with the aftermath of Ch4Up5's ending and the pre-exhibition stuff. I could see how you could build a cliffhanger on the event starting, but we'll see.
It'd feel kinda backwards finally getting back to a multi day update to doing our first "half day" update, but... I dunno. More frequent releases have always been our goal and we just get worse at it.
And here's the last balancing act. In my opinion, it's not a problem if the development time of single updates tend to grow as time passes by, but I also understand the frustration of an author seeing the finish line getting further and further away, and the feeling of "I have nothing to show for my efforts". So both choices (splitting a release or not) are perfectly acceptable, as long as you're confortable with them and they make sense to you.
For this point, and all the previous ones, I think you (the game's authors) should be a little "egotistical", and make choices that benefit you first. Not to be lazy, or complacent: but as we know yours is already a huge undertaking, perfection is the enemy of good, and you deserve to be satisfied by the process of creation as much as by the "product" itself. Pale Carnation is first of all a story: it is not your duty, your responsibility, or your job. This is a passion project, and it should never become a burden to you. We're only humans, and if cutting some slack ends up making the game slip from a 10/10 to a 9, or even an 8, so be it: I don't want to become exceedingly sappy, but you've already done more that most of us here can, and you deserve not burning out because of it.
This x1000000.
GIL's the fucking backbone of the project. He sells and elevates my inanity as fell as I'm concerned.
Let me wax poetic a little. In my opinion, you're two columns supporting the roof of a temple. Each one of you help and complement the other, and the building needs both to stand.
(Oh, and congrats for the release, of course!)
