that they have let perfection be the enemy of something good. Instead of adding to what they had, they change direction...then change it again
It's just an impression and could be completely off the mark, but I've said myself TFP
seems to have allowed perfectionism to get the better of them at some point and that the creative tug of war between a minority of players and TFP over base building, especially -- that actually resulted in some improvements to the game --
seems to have turned toxic at some point, i.e. ceased to be a creative tug of war and became a war of control over. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. So, I don't take my impressions for absolute truth and consider any and all speculation just that. And speculation on the part of the vast majority of community members has been anything but generous or compassionate toward TFP, imo.
As playtesters, all we have are appearances and impressions to go on, none of which will be confirmed or denied by TFP, and the roadmap TFP have published is in keeping with the description of the game in the Kickstarter campaign whether that's the game some wanted/expected to come out eventually or not. Despite the setback with 2.0, which was arguably rushed for whatever reason, they appear to be back on track even if it's not the track many in the community want the game to be on.
Criticism -- of the game -- is quite a different thing than the "trashing the developers" phenomenon I'm seeing everywhere. I think the "change direction, then change it again" comes down to one as yet to be implemented aspect of the game: story mode. Some survival games, e.g. Subnautica, intertwine their (usually forgettable, imo) stories into a static game world/map. Others, e.g. Green Hell, developed a story mode completely separate from a static map. 7 Days has RWG to contend with. My feeling, which again could be wrong, is that TFP initially set out to incorporate the story mode into the map(s). Ergo, static traders, even in RWG, presented according to which traders/biomes are affiliated with which factions, Duke's or Noah's; biome progression (at least, in part); etc.
Again, I could be completely off the mark, but I further get the impression TFP have realized it's not necessary to so interwine the story with the map(s). It could be a separate mode altogether, e.g. Green Hell's, or could be confined to Navezgane or could be approached any number of other ways than un-randomizing RWG and un-sandboxing the game. Are they in the process of separating what they've developed of the story mode from the maps so we can have our cake and eat it, too?
Certainly, none of us know. Only TFP knows and they're not talking about that. So, speculation is going to be all over the place and most of it is going to be dead wrong just as speculation about yours or my or anyone else's character and intentions are usually dead wrong.