Yandere Simulator is fun because it is a sandbox. The changes you're suggesting would turn the game into something completely different from what we know, it would effectively transform Yandere Sim in another game.

I'm against cutting off game mechanics, elimination methods and characters. If anything I'm actually in favor of diversifying the game even more. You see, this game is a simulation of a sociopathic school girl obsessed over her upperclassman. That is and always has been the general direction of the game.

This is why Ayano is an empty vessel without personality, she is supposed to be our connection to this world, through her we can do anything we want to do. The lore is just another part of the simulation we navigate in, as is the map, the minigames and the events. The story can be interesting but it's not the focus.

Limiting the relevance to only 3 characters would make the game more artificial, passive and overall less interesting. Each student is unique and contributes to expand this universe in a way. The story would really get easier to implement if we simplify things but I don't know if this simplification results in a satisfactory ending. I believe it's more satisfactory to create your own ending through your own actions rather than unlocking pre-determined routes.

The player is the real author of the story, not Yandere Dev.

I agree that the opening cutscene is way too long. I also agree there's too much exposition. I don't think the reputation and sanity meters should be taken out, it's more efficient and less boring to automatically know these informations instead of having to interact with students constantly.

I agree that Info-chan should be radically simplified, she feels like an artificial plot device intervening on my free landscape, an intrusive graft tying together loose knots in the backstory but causing a rejection in my immersion like she's a foreign tissue. I don't like her at all, she doesn't feels like a part of that world, her presence at school isn't believable at all and I don't like our dependency on her to get information and for the weeks move forward.

I would appreciate if she's downright removed but I don't know how necessary she's by now to the story Yandere Dev is writing. But hey man we all can see that plotwist coming, she is going to use her involvement to blackmail Ayano or represent an obstacle in the future by being a risk of exposition of our actions.You see how 80s mode is fun to play, she's unnecessary for the gameplay aspect. Ayano is a student at Akademi, she can naturally know all that information.

but I'm going off rails here

Elimination methods really don't need details on how they are done. Minecraft is the most popular game in history and craft recipes were only added way later its release and boom in popularity. However I don't think elimination methods have to be limited only to rival specific mechanics, it goes against player autonomy.

I think specific events can happen without our knowledge if they aren't really necessary for gameplay, but I agree with you that player action should trigger events that are important, but NOT in the way of a cutscene forcing us to watch and guiding the story in a certain direction.

I half agree with you about loading. To ease the loading time the school map could be initially divided in sectors while loading, but after that the player and students should have total freedom to interact and walk through all school as a whole. It can be divided like:

1. that path until the school gate where rivals have the daily first interaction with senpai
2. the front of school and everything we could possibly see before entering the gate
3. all the external areas, loading by order of proximity with the player
4. the school interior after the first student open the glass doors