1) My post was just my own experience from playing the game, specifically novel mode. Devs being criticized on this website is nothing new. If I wasn't supportive, it's not because of a vendetta against your game specifically.
2) I understand how difficult it is to create a good game, let alone one as ambitious as yours. My problems were with the execution. I never said what you're doing is easy, but none of this is.
3) You said that "It seems obvious that you can't have everything in either mode or else there wouldn't be two modes". Again, when you premiere two modes, the people who play the game are expecting different experiences. Firstly, the novel mode is not separate at all from the sandbox mode. Second, since we're playing the game without having to worry about sequence, you'd expect there to be complete scenes in all the scenes we're exposed to. Instead, there are placeholders that tell you that the scene is exclusive to sandbox mode. I have no problem with different scenes for novel Vs sandbox, but again, the novel mode isn't a different experience because it's just a sped up version of sandbox mode.
4) Yeah it's true that your game isn't something we've seen before but we've seen great sandbox games (ala Summertime Saga and Milfy city), and equally great novels (i.e. Babysitter and Melody) so if you're truly trying to deliver something memorable by offering 2 different game modes, then they both have to be at least decent. I'm not saying you can't get there. I just said that there's a long way to do.
5) You also said that I didn't offer any actual suggestions to improve the game in my original post. They were implicit, but I will relist them
I- UI improvements. Navigating sandbox mode feels tedious and isn't easy on the eyes. For example, for "Left and Right" movements in front of the store early in the game, the font color and highlights don't mesh with your background. In my opinion, icons would be better suited for stuff like that
II- There's zero flow within and between scenes for novel mode. Adjust the pacing, the transitions, anything really to make it feel like you're in the moment instead of fast forwarding through scenes which would've taken a lot longer in sandbox mode.
III- Bug fixes. Like after having sex with Lana, the mc still talks about being a virgin when the cop is almost riding him. Although, that particular example could just be a dialogue issue.
IV- Novel mode needs some of its own content and arcs. There's no point in offering 2 different modes if they're the same minus the minigames and the grind [Literally, someone can make a mod of your game and do that]. And I'd probably tell you to focus on one game mode at a time.
