Thank you! Yes, pacing I know is a core issue. I've experimented with multiple pacing options. Usually increasing how fast the day/night cycle is. The current iteration is well less than half the original design (the goal of which was to get the player to encounter at least part of a night out in the open between safe spots). But, I can see it needs to be sped up even more. It is a tricky system because the player can advance the clock with the campfires, and different players will play different sections faster or slower than others. I was worried that the game would be too difficult, so I kept the current system so that the day would be long enough for a player to do a little crafting and puzzling how to get past some obstacles before encountering the night with its waves of attackers. I wanted the player to be seeing the sinking sun and to be preparing themselves (torches ready, weapons prepared, trying to decide if they are going to hunker down where they are, maybe build a bonfire or two, or if they will make a desperate charge for the next refuge). The original design of the pass was non-linear with branching paths, so the player would have the opportunity to do more rewarding exploring (a tree to chop down here, a hot spring here, a hidden weapon or two there), but I ran out of time and kept it linear, and so yeah, it is unfortunate since you spend a few minutes walking through the day just walking to the right with the occasional obstacle and the game needs more. The best solution for now is probably just shortening the day/night cycle a bit again.
Thanks for playing, yes, I plan to continue this project to hopefully get it to where I originally envisioned: an open world story mode where you explore, gather, craft, and challenge foes. Plus, Smash Bros style local/online multiplayer with "weapon crafting" between rounds.