Many of these things are small improvements on existing features, albeit them being very well put.
The thing that totally is missing in Dorico now though is a solution for contemporary music practices, which leads to a lot of composers not using it (yet), or only for part of their projects.
This is a blind spot for Dorico currently, and I think this should be fixed with higher priority just to provide a broad and complete Notation Software.
Things would be:
- Cut out scores (this is the most important one!)
- Aleatoric boxes (as mentioned)
- crossbeaming between multiple instruments of the same player
- conductor symbols (similar to rehearsal marks)
- more vertical notespacing flexibility (as @FredGUnn mentioned), also around playing techniques
- custom Notestems
- easier copying frames in engrave mode
- Better page template management. I have talked about having a page template “list” already before. We require to make several pages of pre-text before the music starts, for dozens of parts.
- real “headless noteheads”
- real polytempo support
- real irrational meter support
- fixes in condensing. In my current project, I don’t know on which page I could even use condensing, as there are always some lines, glisses or trills which currently are buggy.
- EDIT: of course easily changing the amount of staff lines for an instrument should be added.
Honestly, I would be totally ok with Dorico creating leading conventions and aesthetics in this area. Contemporary music has tons of varieties on notating the same principles (aleatoric boxes for example), but what’s needed the most is just a clear way of communicating the intention with the musicians. If Dorico can provide that, I wouldn’t mind about the details of the styles, and I am sure many practicing colleagues wouldn’t either.
Although contemporary composers want to be precise in notation, a lot of them aren’t dogmatic, in contrary to folks from historical music performances.