^ I don't think it's a particularly good analogy, for a variety of reasons. I hate to keep engaging in negative discussions, but I do enjoy this game immensely, so I'd like to make sure that if devs are reading this conversation, they're not seeing predominant negativity for their work.
So since we decided to go for a restaurant analogy, here's one that would work better with the situation. You can't call it taking someone out to lunch, because we paid for the program. I think a better story would be that we all (the consumers) decided to go out to a nice restaurant together. Everyone ordered the meal they saw on the menu. Some people ordered a moderate meal (the $50 version), some people ordered a slightly fancier meal (the $100 version). We all get our food, and almost everyone is blown away with the food and the service. However, a few people at the table feel like they didn't get enough. They got everything they ordered as stated on the menu, but they believe they are entitled to more. They continue to harass the server and get a manager involved, and finally, the manager decides that he'll buy them a dessert on the house. Instead of being grateful for the free dessert, they complain that they didn't get enough dessert, the dessert took too long, and that THEY paid for an entree (which very clearly did not include anything which they did not receive), and think that for whatever reason, they are now entitled to a steady stream of free food now that they've paid for an entree. In addition to the free dessert, the manager decides to give them a discount coupon for more free food next year, and instead of realizing how special this is, and that most other restaurants in the industry do not do this, they complain for having to wait an entire year for another freebie, all of which they feel entitled to after paying for one entree. No where did it state that paying for an entree meant a steady stream of food, they just have that expectation in their own head.
When you move this discussion to restaurant terms, you start to realize how ludicrous the demands sound.
All of that said, I think we should all keep a few things in mind:
1) We DO NOT know the full content of the patch. It could just be wing-riders, there could be more content. We do not know for sure. Getting worked up over a "lack of content" is silly until we know what all of that content is.
2) They will release the content when it is ready. It is free. They do not gain anything from "holding out on us." They do not get bonus sales from the holidays if they wait for them. Pretty much anyone who wants this game has it. There may be a few people in the world waiting on wing-riders before purchasing, but I do not believe it would be an absurd assumption that I could count the world-wide number of individuals in that category on one hand. If we do not have a patch yet, it is because it is not ready. Pure and simple. I don't think getting worked up over a teaser is appropriate. It is not a "haha, look what you don't have," it is a "hey, we heard you wanted this, so we're making it for you and it's almost ready!" That's pretty awesome.
3) The differences between the "normal" version and the "pro" version are made very clear on the website. They are explicit that the "pro" version is quite literally about upgraded export and video options specifically intended for people in the industry. If this is not you, and you bought this version, that was your choice. I don't recall anywhere on the site claiming that the pro version would come with more coaster styles, now, or ever. I don't think that's a conversation even worth having. If you bought the pro version with that expectation in mind, you made a mistake.
4) No dev on any game is contractually obligated to make or not make anything they're discussing as a possibility. This is why most devs don't even talk about potential future upgrades. I like that this dev team does so on occasion, and I believe they do so because they expect a more mature community for this program than elsewhere in the gaming world. It would be nice if we upheld our end of that bargain. Sometimes the devs REALLY WANT to do something, but then learn the resources are beyond what they were expecting. This is an industry standard of all games. Yes, players can make mods, but usually those mods are of noticeably inferior quality. They are FANTASTIC for what they are, but I don't think they should be used to put down the devs who "took too long" on the real deal.
5) The gaming industry at large does NOT release free content these days. We live in the era of expansions, DLC, and micro-transactions. If you think your purchase of the main game automatically entitles you to free content updates, you're in for a real shock if you ever decide to play any mainstream game. The fact that NL2 is doing it puts them in the extreme minority. Don't put them down for providing a service basically no one else does.
6) The content released for this game is of a mind-boggling good quality. What few issues there are get patched often at regularly, and usually due to direct feedback from the community. I've never previously played a game where it is so easy to get in touch with the devs, and get a quick response. It's a small team. I don't have an expectation of a "better" timetable.
7) There is no way this game is providing a living wage for the devs. In order to provide one dev with a salary of $50,000 a year, they need to sell between 500-1000 copies a year, more because it's currently on sale. That does not include any non-wage expenses included in running a business, and game development has a TON of overhead. I don't know the actual sales numbers, but if this game is selling well enough to pay all overhead AND provide a living wage for the entire dev team, I would be very impressed. Do not forget what a niche market this game calls to.
Sorry to be so negative, but I think we should all be thankful and grateful for this product. Anything you want to be in this game beyond what currently is there is exactly that; a want. You bought the product. Live with it. If you want content in the game that isn't there, go put it in yourself. They left the option for you to do that. The game is complete, released, and paid for. They did not advertise anything that is not in the game. There is nothing on the site suggesting otherwise. You did not get ripped off, you got exactly what was advertised. Discussions of "future maybes" is NOT a promise or guarantee.
I for one have had my expectations exceeded with this game, and am blown away that they are providing free content upgrades periodically. If the upgrade quality of NL1's patches is any indication, we're in for a real treat down the line. I also don't appreciate being told that having a firm, realistic grasp on things, and enjoying the game as-is makes me "a sucker" or "someone who was willing to accept inferior quality content." If that's how you feel about yourself, then that's something you need to work out with yourself, and yourself alone.