Just bring your save games over to new game files or can we installed new ep on top older game folder?
Under most circumstances, you should be able to just extract over a previous version of your game, but I recommend just removing the whole folder and then doing a fresh extraction for each new version (I've been known to change file names and I'm not sure how the game would handle multiple versions of the same code in different files). As myu mentioned above, the game saves your progress both in the actual directory and in a separate location deeper in your computer, so you shouldn't lose any progress even if you remove the game folder entirely and replace it.
Save compatibility is still good for any previous version. Older saves may have limited access to new game features (day five events that unlock areas, for example), but everything will calibrate again upon death.
Unknown. I'm finding between an hour to two hours every day to work, but I think I need another fifty. The problem is that this next update is huge as far as game features go... A lot of non-sexy game bits are finally going in there and that means a LOT of coding, and I'm not a great coder. For perspective, the actual code in the most recent version is about 1500 lines (not counting dialogue, image calls, labels and things like that, but actual 'do this, do that' code mumbo-jumbo). So far, the additions I have in the dev version have 4500 lines of absolutely no story content (inventory, character classes, skill classes, functions out the butt, and the battle loop with all of the complexities that goes into that monstrosity). I mean, good news is that I have the inventory and equipment systems finished and integrated into the game. The battle system has an AI that is smart enough but also randomly stupid in ways that makes me smile (some enemies are randomly designated as stupid and target the party member least likely to be hurt by them and heal people who don't need it), and I've gotten skill animations to work in-game. Tomorrow, I'm going to see about getting damage numbers to pop up and stuff, then it's back into Maya to finish the battle sprites. Then the only thing left to do is to polish up the rewards calculations and plan drop lists and exp values.
Anyway, once the battle system works, it's just a matter of doing what I do for a normal update: I'm expanding there guild to incorporate the new systems, and adding some more renders and story elements.
Sometimes, a part of this that I thought would take FOREVER was finished in a day (equipping and unequipping armor, for example), and then some things that shouldn't take any time at all are killing multiple days (like...the battle sprites were animating just fine, but they never went off the screen. The characters would just keep on going as if totally unaware that a chicken was slamming it's dick up and down behind them. I has so many headaches on that and it was such a simple solution).
Tl
r: Next update will probably be ten days, give or take a few... I'm really not sure, but that seems plausible.