The end of update pidgeon says as much.
"Of course, last month's comments also made me reflect on the production and gave me some new directions." = I tried to please some people by making Inoda a nicer character and people didn't like it. Or it could refer to the endless dialogue of that update.
"As a creator, I may not be able to meet everyone's needs, so I may need to stay firm in my own vision." = I tried to please others and it didn't work so I should just make the game I want to make.
Maybe you interpret his words differently.
Objectively, this update is a huge return to form. Part 1 was ALL like this. Go to school, do a thing, catch some peeping scene, go to FOG and see some battle harassment, with the consequences getting worse each time. The other characters?
Side content. Inconsequential and used to pad out the perv forum, or show little snippets of lewd action between other scenes.
Then Part 2 happened. Massive snapback away from the Stormy Night in which Asu/Ino first fucked. Huge regression to the story, and the known start of the Administrator fuckery. We've spent 4 updates working back up to that point, wasting time expanding the side character stories while Inoda fucks around with Kyoko, tries to regain Asuna's trust and plays his part in Liz' scheme.
Everything about Sugu? Inconsequential, so far. Not one thing she's done or said has had any impact. Its all 'she's fucking Hebishima' or 'she's not fucking him right now'. She's not Kirito's girlfriend; there was never any chance they'd hook up, have kids or get married. It's not even netorare; Sugu's story is just a corruption story of a single girl, but it already peaked back in Part 1. She's not Kirito's girlfriend, so spending time with her that doesn't result in any progress with the Asu/Ino plot is just time wasted. And Sinon too; what impact has she had on the story? There is not enough space in an RPGM game to focus on the side characters as much as Asu/Ino. Sugu/Alice/Sinon can't have an equally deep story without, as the updates up until now have been, shifting the focus away from Asuna and Inoda. So (in my opinion) they should be kept to cameo's and snippets to not dilute the focus of the game. At least Alice is building up to a (probably) NTR story, if she's been slutting even before Klein met her. I'm hoping her whole plot that lead you to a house next to the brothel leads to
some kind of peeping scenario down the line, otherwise what was the point?
Notice I exempt Liz from that list? It's precisely
because she's made herself important to the main plot, by being Inodas accomplice. Even though I don't like her scenes or the implications, at least she's relevant.
I think a lot of people who like the Sugu plot and want to see a lot more of the other girls see this as a game where all the girls and their stories are equally important. They seem to believe it's a game about
all the SAO girls getting corrupted and stolen in some way. And while it is to a degree, Part 1 set the tone that this was a story about Kirito's
actual girlfriend, Asuna, falling to a fat ugly nerd, Inoda. Part 1 set up that this is a netorare story about Kirito, Asuna and Inoda. The other SAO characters were just filler.
I think even some of the Kyoko plot has been unecessary. As a character she serves to be a wedge between Kirito and Asuna and would have served perfectly in that role even if Inoda hadn't made her his bitch. Inoda could have found other ways to get to Asuna at her house, I'm sure. But I've seen the perk leaks, I know where that is all leading.
A good writing rule goes something like this;
"If you can cut a character out of a scene/story and nothing about the plot would change, then they should be cut".
I'm not really arguing that they should be cut, moreso that their inclusion needs relevance to the main plot, without being a complete side track. The side girls should be made important to
Kirito's story somehow, or left as minimally seen cameo's, like when you'd visit Sugu at the cafe or just see her new bf's photo's of her posted on the perv forum.
