Of course, if presently absent features are essential to your work, the cost/benefit ratio is going to be low until those features are developed. However, your crystal ball concerning the future of Dorico is quite different from mine. I’m not a dabbler: I make tens of thousands of dollars every year writing for orchestra, and I now use this software. There was a large number of Finale and Sibelius users who were getting frustrated with the limitations of legacy code, and this new product is exactly what is needed: a notation program which is built from the ground up, with a new approach which takes advantage of new technology and built by a team that had the benefit of looking closely at the present limits of the two leading applications. There are many of us doing serious work with Dorico - as is now being featured in Dorico’s blog - and I am quite surprised myself that I am presently using Dorico pretty much exclusively despite the lack of a few features. The thought of going back is quite abhorrent to me atm. Don’t get me wrong: of course I’ll be over the moon when I have figured bass and ossias available to me in Dorico. But now that I have gained fluency, I am working as fast or faster than in Sibelius, and that’s without filters and voice manipulation tools. I can’t even begin to imagine the speed and quality I will output once these features are in place, and they will be. The idea that it is a Gold Standard is indeed a marketing tool; what are they supposed to say? Buy Dorico: it’s pretty good? But in fact, in terms of engraving power and overall approach, it has indeed reached that goal and many users of Finale and Sibelius have written on competing forums that they believe this is the program to go to and that it will blow the competition rather sooner than later. I do believe this also.
Steinberg is in this for the long run. This is a very fine product they know will take time to develop and market. I don’t run the company, but it would be absurd to put the brakes on this and let it go the way of the dodo. There is no “perfect time” to release such a beast; it will either be too early or too late. However, by doing it on the early side, this team has now the advantage of being engaged with the users as it develops new features; something they have done with sincerity, celerity and professionalism during the Sibelius years. I see the same commitment now. So go ahead in expressing what you need. Rant, squirm, be exasperated and critical. I assure you they can take it and will listen to you as they do to all of us. I realise not everyone will have paid for the program and made the money back and more in just a few weeks. I represent a certain user and I know that many others have to budget these things differently since we all have different needs. But don’t dismiss the present users: like Steinberg, we’re here for the long run, and it’s already paid off for many of us. Right now, I am recommending Dorico to everyone I know.