I'm cautiously optimistic. While I am disappointed that they've excluded the Type IX's (Don't cry for me, Freetown!
) I really do hope that they execute their vision of the Type VII very well.
One of the common themes I'm seeing is that they're keeping it as open as they can for modders....if they give us a powerful platform to tweak and massage into the subsim we all want, that's a great thing.
Don't worry too much about what the stock game will have or won't have. How many of you play stock SH3/SH4? The modders are who truly finish the game. Now, "should that be the case?" is another debate for another thread. So long as Dan and company provide us the platform, the very very talented folks we have here will do amazing things with it.
Just remember what Dan said at the 08 Subsim meetup: "Even the development team has no idea how the modders have done some of things they've done"