I joined in 2023, after the opening of Squadron 42 "feature-complete". Though I had been following this project since 2016 "Answer the Call", I never made a solid commitment until 2023 because I truly thought the game would be ready by 2024. Even when I joined in 2023, on patch 3.21, the game was unlike any other: a high-risk, high-reward, simulated universe with solid visual, fidelity and unmatched, uncompromising unlike nay other. Back then, there was logistics gameplay, there was emergent gameplay, there was medical gameplay, there was weapon balancing gameplay, there was flight-model gameplay. Even though we had 30K, and I still remember as clear as day, whenever we had 30K everyone was yelling, "I DON'T KNOW YOU BUT I LOVE YOU", IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. Nowadays, we have had no 30K, and I am incredibly proud of the tech CiG has delivered, the gameplay is incredibly in bad shapes to me: Everything has been dumbed down to the highest level of common denominator. We still have tons of bugs, but it's not the bugs or late delivery of features that concern me: IT IS THE GAMEPLAY. Without going into further details: UI/UX is terrible, flight model broken, weapon balancing broken, emergent gameplay broken, medical gameplay broken. The new features seem to be poorly thought out and are the works of junior developers. What little features we had in 3.21 are completely broken by the standards of 4.8. I cannot believe it! How can this be happening? And if I am not mistaken, it seems that everything starts going down hill since 3.23. Without discussing transparency and competency, all I said is that I have elevated to Rear Admiral rank within months of backing in 2023 because I wanted to give CiG and Chris Roberts the benefits of doubts. I have seen dreamers in my life that want to do something big, and I truly want to support them. But it seems that CR is taking things for granted. And let me tell you that CiG is very famous in the software development community. I work for very big companies, and my boss warned me that you should not support CiG because this company was extremely unethical (his words). I didn't believe him. I gave CiG a chance. And if I have to say how I am feeling right now, I think that CiG is more and more confirming what my boss said was true, with the CR interview, "... we don't have to rely on the old backers anymore..." the tongue of that article is so out-of-touch. CiG does not get here by themselves in 2023 or 2024 or 2025 or 2026. CR always thanked his backers in his letters of the chairman, yet immediately saying "we don't need you anymore", feeling like a dishonest feeling and complete 2-faced treatment of the backers. IF I were in your position, I would do everything I could to earn goodwill in the people who have invested in me. Even if I could not do it, I would communicate. That's basic decency. Now, for me, I think that I will only sit aside and see how this will turn out eventually.