So I haven't played this for a while, and started playing through it again to see what's new, and there is a glaring issue that was mentioned near the end of 2021 that should have been changed by now, considering it completely softlocks progression.
It has to do with the ball. The fact that you can miss the ball when you need to be in town at exactly 6:30 is a bit bullshit, and there's no leeway in that regard. Not to mention I have played through the game twice and had to restart twice because I forgot the time required, and there's no sort of "journal" to help you keep track of what you have to do. Why can't I 'attend' the ball at say 5:30 and the game just skips the time forward to 6:30, simulating you waiting for the event to start?
Fixing anything that softlocks progression should be priority #1