+1
I think the issue is how the money is spent.
Ask yourself, do you spend $xxx to add cloud? Do you spend $xxx and add a VST?
Or do you spend that amount to fix a bug? Or maybe spend that amount to develop a common feature request such as mix undo?
For myself, adding value is fixing the broken functions, fixing bugs, improving workflow (which 8.5 is doing) and releasing new features that are core to Cubase such as mix undo. I can do without features often found with 3rd parties, or the new Wizz-Bang-Ooh-Baby" feature that appeals to newbies, including DAW experimenters. Professionals have deadlines and time is money.
I don’t need any “new features” to get excited about. Cubase is the most feature-rich DAW available, and a lot of those features needs improving. Fixing what is available would excite me. Streamlining and making it faster excites me.
But, as said many times before, this industry is dominated by prosumers who love new Wizz-Bangs. It seems no one including PT can break out of that cycle and take the DAW a step higher ignoring prosumers and focusing on core functions. Hopefully someday that will change!
+1
Your don’t want new features to get excited about, fair enough.
But I do.
I make my living from music it’s my full time job, Steinberg are constantly adding features that make my working day easier, more fun and yes more exciting from a creative point of view.
Some of the new features in 8.5 will really enhance my working day and my creativity.
As I said Steinberg have financial deadlines to meet like any businesses and that requires compromises and from my perspective I think they have the balance right.
Yes in the perfect world every bug would be resolved but the professional side of the industry is rapidly shrinking and therefore developers including Tools are having to adapt to that reality.
Given the fact Cubase has grown it’s user base by so much in recent years and is the most migrated to DAW I’m obviously not alone 
It’s a great upgrade for the price of a takeaway pizza and a couple of pints!
Same here… enough said! 
I saw the email announcing 8.5 and thought that it was fixes for all who have been asking… then I saw it was $49. Paying for fixes? Oh, the fixes aren’t addressed? Will they be?
Hmmm…
Glad I didn’t buy a space shuttle.
Since Cubase 6.5 every .5 upgrade is paid. As far I can remember, Steinberg always releases at least one final update for the previous version. But every bug will be fixed? Certainly not!
+1
LOL.
Yes, if I had a time machine and managed SB I’d want back all the hours wasted on ‘collaboration’ tools since way back with VSTLink and all these other blue sky ‘initiatives’. Probably more than enough to fix my main grouses many times over.
But… unfortunately you are incorrect. New users DO purchase a DAW based on the feature list. So, yeah, a new Synth is a serious DAW ATM. New users do -not- purchase based on the very user workflow stuff that you and I value. It takes a couple of -years- to learn what -really- matters.
+1000
I am skipping 8.5 too, and I am not holding my breath regarding 9 either.
Unless Steinberg/Yamaha changes gears, that’s it for me.
Gratified that ‘VST Transit: Requirements and Log-in Issues’ is at the top of the knowledgebase list. Dear god.
+1000000
I wholeheartedly agree. When I first got Cubase 7, back in 2013, the program crashed on me right out of the box. Only after the bug fixes was it reasonably stable. I’d expect a program to have a few bugs scattered throughout, but I wouldn’t expect them to necessarily affect core stability in such a noticeable way. Anyway, it would be nice if Steinberg would focus on bug fixes rather than new features.
+1
Features (which I like - actually, I think everybody likes - eg., track versions are amazing) and bug resolution do not have to be mutually exclusive…but I think the planners have to be crystal clear in their strategy to tackle both, and perhaps invest a little more time explaining this to the customer base - if anything, to forestall the kind of vitriol which increasingly seems to infect DAW forums everywhere, and gets no-one anywhere.
{An idea - how about a way to indicate how bugs are prioritized ? Like, say for example, 4 levels - now, soon, later, laterlater?}
Definitely a +10000000000000
+1
New features should be left for the full number releases like 9. All point releases should primarily be bug fixes like any other program out there. Once the bugs are squashed then add in new stuff. When programs crash while loading or media bay issues and core stability are the problems. How does adding new features (cloud functions, etc) create a better program?
Cubase is not very stable DAW. It has a lot of features, it is best DAW in MIDI area, but it crashes too easily with plugins. Audio routing is outdated. Generic Remote needs updating with all new features. And what troubles me the most is freezing on exit. With 8.0.30 freezing was gone if project was closed before quitting. Now with 8.5 freezing is back again for me, I cannot even kill Cubase anymore in Win10 via task manager, and must restart every time I restart Cubase. Why, oh why is Steinberg unable to make a software that quits properly when you click close???
I just wish it would work as it should.
No Bugs!
Interestingly in this months Computer Music mag in the welcome section it mentions how the main DAW developers are trying to outdo each other with the generosity of their free point updates.
Bitwig, Logic, Cakewalk, Sonar, Fl, Ableton etc.
Not a mention of Steinberg.
mmmmmmm wonder why. 
Mike001
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