Thank you very much for your feedback.
The game's flow balancing is still far from finalized and will continue to evolve in the future. My goal is for a casual gamer to complete the game in about a week, with a noticeable sense of progression throughout.
I'm still actively testing myself and share your impression that the pace needs to be sped up a bit.
Currently, the main progression mechanism works like this:
The multiplier after a MindUpdate increases password generation. This allows you to buy more email addresses, which in turn halves the blackmail costs. As a result, you can afford significantly more server farms.
Progression through server farms is not linear but occurs in bursts. After (currently 60) server farms, the countdown jumps from seconds to minutes, creating a massive boost with each additional farm.
I will add more upgrade options in the future.
As a quick fix, however, the number of server farms required for a time unit jump will be halved. Starting with version 0.5 (which i will hopefully release today), you’ll only need 30 server farms (instead of 60) to feel a significant boost.
It still needs to be tested whether this will require further adjustment.