You have the same freedom of choice as I do, as in I'm still on v6. No one put a gun to your head to be an early adopter of v8.2. And as Lucas has written and demonstrated many times, you can have as many versions of S1/FSP available as you want simultaneously if you install the various versions the way he clearly shows in his videos. I've also been around virtually forever, starting with V2. There are some directional choices Fender makes I'm not at all fond of. That said, as I'm not a full time engineer constantly tackling new projects for clients who request latest and greatest features, there's not a single feature that's been added in 7 or 8 that's a difference maker in how my songs are going to turn out, because the writing and performances are always going to be where it's at in the end. Sure someone on 7 or 8 might get there marginally faster than I will, or be able to set up shortcuts that will expedite workflow for future projects, but there is an infinitesmal amount of listeners who care or could possibly tell if a song was created in 6, 7, or 8.
I know the choice you were talking about concerns the way developers implement new ways of working, that you want them to not only implement these changes, but give someone like yourself the chance to choose between the old way or working and the new way—which would make their task exponentially more difficult. That must be a realistic ask for you. You might be on an island with that viewpoint, though. But other choices are available for long term users as well...
