LFS was awesome 8 years ago (you read that right, i've been around this sim for that long)... and hit its peak of content\features around 2006-07.
Ever since then, not only did the lack of good quality noticeably better patches slow down drastically, but also the sim started growing bigger then the original LFS crowd could handle ie: more and more kids started playing, which leads to more wreckers (insert drifters here too) and the whole core of what made the LFS community fun started diluting with the raw sewage that is the common folk which is driven by the main stream mindless media\fads.
Since then, Scawen has been fighting an uphill battle, and loosing. Theres some admiration there for him, he's stuck it out this far, but i believe that this has become the nail that will seal the coffin. (has sealed the coffin in my situation, as much as i loved LFS i doubt i'll ever come back). He really should have expanded his team, at least have added one programmer/artist to the mix, it would be cutting development time right now by almost 1\2, which would have kept a lot of people a lot happier and involved.
Anyways, its not all his wrong doing... LFS just ended up attracting a different crowd then what us the original core community where. So some of us migrated, moved on, left LFS to those who dont know where its come from and all its accomplished.