I don’t really know. I haven’t followed the entire MOD story, but I did notice some PRs—like yours—sitting untouched for a long time. I always assumed it was simply a matter of limited developer time rather than a deliberate decision.
But things are different now. We have an open hardware and software platform to experiment with, along with the ability to customize it, and for that I have to thank MOD Audio.
In my opinion, Starless is here to stay. It provides a way to innovate without many of the constraints that come with maintaining a commercial product.
At the same time, I believe MOD should have someone with the skills and authority to support its software products. If not to actively develop new features, then at least to review and integrate community contributions and produce hotfix releases when necessary.
@AndyCap, there are already some features in Starless that could greatly benefit the official platform if they were incorporated into an official release.
For example, the very first feature I implemented—the one that started this whole journey about a year ago—was support for port groups.
After a year, nothing has moved forward, and the reason is understandable: how can I ask plugin developers to update all their .ttl files to support a feature that exists only in an unofficial software version?