They are absolutely behind, this is why they changed the road map and called it "staggered development" which I just call road map failure lol. Lets get honest here I know people love this game, I love this game to but I cant help but feel its in bad situation right now, my gut tells me their struggling to meet the SQ42 deadline and l get the sense that cost wise they are barely breaking even with ship sales, I think this is why they delayed the Carrack, they will have another Carrack sale now and make more money and they know it the Carrack is hands down one of the most popular ships in the game period and it sells like hotcakes. I think what used to be all about the game and productivity has essentially become more about ways to scrape as much backer dough out of the player base as possible. I think the ships being delayed and the road map changes are a result of SQ42 deadlines being put as essential priorities because they really cant afford for SQ42 to get delayed for say 1 year.
Again I know I have been criticized before for my views and comments but it has nothing to do with me hating the game, I absolutely love this game and I play it more now than I ever have but facts are facts, you cant deny the start of 2020 looks rough to say the least, this game is years out still and with SQ42 set to hit Alpha Q2? I have my doubts, then Beta in Q4? Beta is a finished product given to people to test before release, I have serious doubts this game will be Beta ready before the end of the year considering NONE of the chapters are completed and if for some reason they manage the miracle of getting it Beta ready by Q4 at what costs to the core game did it come? How far is it set back and how much did it cost the company to manage this feat. I hope I am wrong and maybe I am looking at this the wrong way but the signs say otherwise.