Yeah, genuine. I haven't followed it much, but was curious about picking it up. I was just hoping to find out I guess.
I mean, that's a pretty vague question. I never thought it was that bad, but the constitent updates really got it to a better place. This one seems to knock it far along, but whether you think it's good now depends on what you disliked about it beforehand.
The core gameplay of crafting, exploring, with a dash of combat is still there. It's way nicer than it was in all three aspects, and much deeper in some respects, but that gameplay loop is still, relatively the same. That said, the multiplayer aspect and growth of missions could change that up a lot more now.
Edge - that bird screenshot is fantastic. Should post that in the OT.