Thanks, Grim!
… I’m telling you today the ‘silence on automated tracks’ and ‘flickering when using slice/pencil/line tools’ issues are fixed in 8.5.10 …
From a moderator in that post.
Additionally, someone else posted that they heard (read?) from Steinberg that 8.5.10 is expected to come out within the next two weeks or so. That is of course 2nd/3rd-hand info to me.
But all in all, very hopeful and encouraging, in terms of functionality and communication.