Technical Report
As requested, the next episode was released as is. There were a few weeks taken to get everything migrated to a patch and fully tested. Some things were not as stable as originally thought, and certain features had to be postponed.
Chapter Selection
The main feature that didn't pass testing in the eleventh hour was a basic chapter select option. Many anticipated problems for players occurred as a result of its absence, and it remains one of the next priorities. It will likely see a few more iterations before release, and will be a hard requirement before next episode.
Now that release support is winding down, work on this can begin again.
Improved Save Data
Adjacent to this, there are a lot of issues with the way save data works. The underlying issues here also need to be solved as part of chapter selection.
The improved layout is expected to make save games less prone to certain types of corruption. Not everything, but it will likely avoid a fair number of common issues.
The added metadata will also open up what can be provided in the UI, and include more information about the save itself.
Puzzles
A strong discussion consensus, and numerous issue reports, express that many of the puzzles in specific areas were more of a drag on the story, rather than an intermission. More hints were added, and removal of red herrings were done to alleviate some friction, as this wasn't the intended experience.
Author's Remarks
There is not enough spoiler free content yet that is fully rendered, and can be presented as teaser material this month.
Words of Gratitude
Big thank you to everyone who reported issues. Your efforts have contributed a lot to the stability of the newest episode.
There were also requests for quality of life improvements which are being taken into consideration.
Hope you enjoyed Decay part 1/2!