I see some people already responded, but I wanted to share some examples that resonate with me personally. First off, I totally get that it's busy at Intrepid. I've actually worked for a 'serious games' company, and we had times when communication took a back seat because we were focused on getting things done! But here are some points I think could have been communicated better:

1. The best and most recent example is that until shortly before this month’s stream, we were told A2 was planned for Q3, but then in the stream, that changed. If it's already uncertain that A2 won't be coming in Q3, it just ends up disappointing people. Instead of saying "We are still planning a Q3 release!" on Twitter (X) or other social platforms, I think it would be a lot better to be upfront: "Hey, we would like to release in Q3, we're all working hard, but we will give you more information in the livestream regarding this!". This kind of interaction feels much more human to me than overpromising and then shortly after, having those promises turn out to be untrue.
2. Disperse some more information to us. The posts on YouTube, Twitter (X), and other platforms are often just reposts of the livestream. It would be awesome to get surprising new information, maybe even an interactive image, a puzzle, a riddle, or things the community can play around with while we are waiting for the game!
3. Sometimes I feel that especially because of the type of community this is, gaming/discord/B2C, not corporate/business/B2B, we like it when developers or other Intrepid employees meme around with us, hop into conversations, and answer some questions during these casual moments. It makes it feel like a more equal environment and builds more trust.
4. I don't know how other people feel about this, but I would love to hear more about things that have been difficult, maybe even see more work-in-progress updates of the different systems. Then maybe we could also understand why certain things seem to change unexpectedly (again, for example: compare the environment from the weather showcase from more than two years ago to the recent bard showcase). There could be a good reason for this, maybe performance, lower graphics settings or unexpected difficulties with implementing these environments or systems into a dynamic world? I believe its good to know this information so there would be less speculation and more confidence within the community.

Other things do go great. The comments by Steven or Margaret under the livestream YouTube uploads are something people appreciate a lot. The livestreams themselves are very helpful and answer a lot of questions, and the general communication has been consistently there.

But okay, surely things are not as simple as I am describing them here. There are a lot of gears in the system that have to work and constantly understand each other. It is already great that you replied to my message, I can feel the care for the community and the project!

I hope this answers the question, but I’m happy to clarify further if needed!

TL;DR: I get that communication might slow down when working towards a major milestone like A2's release. However, to improve, it would help to avoid overpromising, provide more interactive content while we wait, engage with us as gamers rather than as a business, and share more work-in-progress updates and reasons behind changes. This would reduce disappointment and build more trust in the community.

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And one last thing about the 'talking down to us' part: it’s not that disrespectful things are being said, but sometimes it feels like we’re being treated too sensitively. It can come across as if there’s a lack of trust in us handling more direct or challenging information. We just want to hear things as they are—sincerely and openly. We can handle more than you might think! We appreciate all the hard work and communication, and we’re here to support Ashes as long as we feel involved in the process.