Well okay, after going through the .27 content, I got some thoughts about pacing. Obviously, spoilers ahead.
First up, body shots - at this point in progression, Catherine works mostly topless and gets groped routinely. Yet the body shot is just her placing a shot in her cleavage - with her breasts covered. She doesn't even seem to get groped. What I'm saying that at this point it's really tame. Also there is real incentive for it, it just happens. Previously the loop was that Catherine got corrupted during training and then figured a skill on her own - usually through some sort of intro. Now, it's obvious that intro can't happen during bartending mini-game, but there were events for it, before or after. But that's not really a big deal - like I said, it's a tame skill, it's just a bit abrupt and comes in way too late.
Now for tips and special service - whoo boy. First up, tip jar - this is a big thing to do. Yes, she did it in private once, but she did a shitton of things in private. Going public was always a critical step, a turning point of Catherine struggling to contain her own desires - that is such a powerful tool for an erotic scene. Feel free to disagree, but IMO the best scenes in the game are when Catherine caves in to her urges - like the perfectly crafted shot glass scene. And now we just have her taking shots in public like it's nothing. Feels like a step is missing for sure. There is a potential there for a scene where the tip jar is in play and after the shift ends, there is a little scene where Catherine eyes it, can't take it anymore and downs it while the chuds are watching. Another point of no-return, then it goes straight into the routine, of course.
This goes doubly so for special service - that one really comes out of nowhere. Yeah, at this point training is getting kinda insane, but physical contact on chads performed by Catherine was not a thing at all in the story. Throwing it away like that feels like a massive waste. Again, some buildup feels missing, via a post bar-session event or otherwise. I feel like whatever gloryhole setup is going on at the building behind Alexa needs to come before going all out in public like that. That would bridge the private and public parts of it with the "everybody knows who's doing it, but pretends not to" kinda narrative.
Now, don't get me wrong, I know this is all in development, subject to change and all that good jazz. Plus, comissioning art is an obvious expense. All that being said, as it is right now, the patch feels like a drop in narrative quality and build-up, while it was fucking amazing in previous patches. Still an amazing game and I wish the dev all the best.
