Hmm... Since I joined the forum in July, I have had back and forth on the forums with both devs and community managers several times. So there is some communication. We have relatively recent roadmaps for both SP and MP as well, which hasn't always been the case. Also, I have seen the communication slowly improve over time, though it does often come in small bursts after the release of new updates. I've thought it would be cool if they'd talk more about what is coming, but it seems to be their intention to steer away from this, as the devblogs are often centered on recently released or to come in very next patch type content.
As for the state of the game, sadly, I agree with you. Some of the decisions I don't think have made any improvement to the game (notables, tournaments being all blunt, ranged weapon changes, herd penalty, making a good quest like deserters extremely rare, etc.). Each patch seems to bring another one of these head scratchers. Did they necessarily kill the game, no. But why spend time adding stuff that doesn't improve the player experience at all? The economy of the game is probably in the worst place it has been since release, with trade centered chars being largely off the table at this point. It seems each new version I have a harder and harder time with trade. Nerfs, nerfs, and more nerfs to stuff that doesn't need nerfing while smithing is still broken? And don't get me started on this lag every time i move my guy on the main map after doing something. I just don't understand what they are thinking sometimes... hence why so many look to mods to fix these things. Still, I yet have faith the game will be good in the time of Soon. We just have to wait a bit longer...................