Can you please clarify- is this 'DLC' a paid DLC? If not, the why is it not just called a core part of the experience?
Yes, the 21 extra stories are paid DLC.
Unlike a lot of AVN devs, We decided not to go the typical route and lock the main game behind a paywall once the main story is finished. The base game has 21 Core characters and 7 Secret characters. We decided to keep the base game free forever, and the supporters kept asking for more characters (mainly goblins), so we decided to offer those as paid extra romance routes to add to your playthrough.
That being said, we're pretty fond of giveaways, 'cause we don't wanna just lock out people who can't or won't support an AVN financially. We've done quite a few giveaways. In fact, there's one active right now. The Fantasies Collection Add-on, which is the H-gallery addition to the game, is normally $10. But if you go to the link below, you'll see we're giving it away for free until the 24th:
https://itch.io/s/153331/wca-4th-anniversary-giveaway
So yeah. DLC means paid extra romance routes, typically not very closely tied to the main game's story like the Core characters and some of the Secret characters are. But that doesn't automatically mean nobody can ever get them for free, 'cause we like our giveaways.
Hope that helped clarify things :)
Backend systems, yes, but the main story isn't fully complete yet. Neither are the Core and Secret side stories. One sec, lemme pull up my roadmap and character select screens...
Here's our roadmap. The game is currently at 1.4.5.0, which means the side story patch after Season 2 Episode 4. Next patch will be 1.5.0.0, or Main Story Season 2 Episode 5. We alternate Main Story episodes and Side Story patches. In Main Story patches, we drop an entire episode of the main story. The Side Stories are where you actually hang out with the girls and advance their romance stories. That's where all the H-content is. We intend for each girl to have at least 20 scenes in her Side Story. For a Side Story patch, we choose 4 girls and try to add 5 scenes to each of them.
Once we hit 1.8.0.0 (which we will probably call 2.0), the Main Story will be complete. From there on out, we'll be working to complete all the Core and Secret girls' side stories, while working in a few of the DLC ones we'll offer for purchase and do giveaways for here and there.
We have something we call the Free Time screen where, at certain points in the story, you get to choose either to go straight back to the main story or to take a break and hang out with some of the girls.
Hope that helps clarify things. I started working on WCA over 4 years ago, and recently put together a team to help me. We're nearing the completion of the Main Story but we're not quite there yet, so I'd definitely still consider WCA "in development."
Lemme know if I can answer anymore questions. I'm a lot more active in Discord, so feel free to pop in there and ask stuff if you like!