I can see your point, especially about the Axel confrontation point which won't happen without the Ian Lena dating check.
What I'm arguing is from Ivy's pov though. Lena and Ivy talks often about Lena's guys. So if Ian is not with Lena, Lena doesn't talk a lot and not favorably about Ian. From that lens, it makes sense that Ivy's interest in Ian is significantly less than if Lena talk about him a lot.
You're right that that doesn't excuse the Ivy Ian gym scene to not exist because the catalyst of that is Jeremy inviting her, which should happen regardless.
But I think from Eva's pov, at least from my read of it, there is 2 different "version" of Ivy, the one that goes to the gym (and thus meet Ian), and the one that doesn't go to the gym.
Just like there is 2 different "version" of Jessica in the game.
Yes it doesn't make the perfect sense and you aren't wrong when you say it's stingy, but Eva's previous game is also like this where some scenes are just unattainable based on previous early decisions.
I seriously would not realized there is a Dad depression path on GGGB if not for JDMOD, and this is long after I finished that game.
One thing we know of Eva though, she's malleable to criticism. So there is still a chance that future updates will be less stingy and more generous for the paths.
I didn't play the version before the remaster but some character has a different skin color and some other character has different appearance too or something like that? I feel like those changes, viewed from outside perspective, makes it "seem like" Eva is malleable to critics. Though we can never say that for sure of course.
