My bad, I was absolutely sure it will end at 1.0. Although I would still prefer the focus of the game shifted more towards the development of the plot, but don't think there are many people like me.
I mean, depends on how you view it since there are basically 2 major plotlines running parallel to one another: the gem hunt and uncovering the truth about Eternum. For Orion though, lest we forget his personal objective at the very beginning has always been to score with the ladies, so there's your character motivation for sleeping around. However, we don't see that happen much at the beginning since Cari focused more on Orion building his camaraderie and relationship with the girls, but now we're basically seeing that bear fruit. Despite this, it's not as if the major plotlines got abandoned this update as the Ekabar trip focused on the mysteries and the glimpses of Nan and Dalia on Ion and the trip to the New World focused on the gem hunt. And while that got cut short, word on Discord is that Cari's going to continue and finish the New World event in the next update, so there's that.
Also, I'm pretty sure the ending in this update is meant to serve as a wake up call for Orion to be a bit more serious with things once he gets out of his predicament. We're basically entering Phase 2 of the main story by now, and if OIAL was any indication then much of the main plot is likely going to start hitting everyone like a hail of artillery, so we should at the very least enjoy the SOL moments that're happening before then.