I think that DC and his staff are just getting bored with this project and should move on, or don't want to admit it. Same with many people on this forum who put the negative comments in the same bucket(milkers,whiners and so on).
Update after update it gets less interesting. Only a strong competitor(we all know who), that's money flowing in other pockets, could change DC's plans.
If you completely disagree, then I'll ask you just one single question. How was this update for you, objectively? I read always quality requires time. This update was poor for me, no matter how many times I play it through. Would you support the game on the base of the latest 2-3 updates? I'd not personally speaking.
We're pirates, many of us don't pay, but on discord and here it seems saying anything negative on the game results in a war or in considering the other person a subhuman. I don't like pointless debates and in the end everyone does what he wants, but for a single time please consider the actual quality of this latest release.