Having watched this rework saga unfold since 2021:
1. Ocean began reworking the original game. By original game, I am referring to Chs 1 to 3.5.
Ch 4 was the first full chapter to feature visuals of the quality they are now. The quality of the visuals (and some of the writing) in those early chapters was very poor compared to now.
This rework was a long and drawn out process. He said that process is finished with the release of Season 1 (personally, I'd have no problem if Ocean reworked renders in Chs 3 and 3.5 to bring everything up to that Ch 4 quality. Instead, he drew a line under everything and put a disclaimer with the Steam release explaining why the Ch 3 and 3.5 renders look different to the rest).
2. A Music licensing agency pulled the plug on AVN developers with little warning. Some musicians also barred their work being used with adult content. This was a wake-up call for all AVN developers (many games seen on F95 were affected by the music licensing fiasco) and now we have Patreon doing a similar thing with little warning (witness WIAB getting pulled from Patreon). In terms of SG, loosing music licenses absolutely screwed several existing cinematics in SG, which were designed and synced around specific music tracks. This required reworks of existing material because it was forced via a third-party service provider, NOT because Ocean wanted to do it.
3. Ocean decided to keep his existing music in the game. This caused a rethink of the content in what is now Season 1 because Ocean did not want to risk loosing those existing music licenses (see the first two sentences of 2. above). Again, This required modification or removal of existing material because it was forced via a third-party service provider, NOT because Ocean wanted to do it.
Any argument that Ocean should have just ditched the music is meaningless. SG is designed to be an audio-visual experience and Ocean is sticking to that.
4. Then we get the Steam restrictions. Yes, Ocean made the choice to market the game on Steam and to market it specifically in his home country. This meant Ocean had to make further changes to comply with a third-party service provider. This was made easier because of changes already required to compile with music licensing. Several knowledgeable people in this thread have previously explained the importance of a German Steam release for SG (including Ocean having a major fan base in that country).
Point 1. above is about the rework Ocean wanted to make. Points 2. to 4. above are about the reworks Ocean needed to make because of third-party restrictions.
You ARE making predictions for what may or may not happen going forward into Season 2 by prescribing all the reasons for the reworks solely to Ocean's alleged OCD. No Developer can easily plan for what happened with 2, 3, and to a lesser extent 4. above.
You prescribe future actions on reworks, despite Ocean declaring that the major three-year game rework is over with the completion of Season 1.
Without all the facts surrounding decisions made by the Developer and without seeing the consequences of these decisions one or two years from now, who the f^^k are we to rush to judgement on the quality of those decisions. I am trying to reserve any judgement or conclusions for the future.
Like I said, let's see where everything is at by this time next year.
