I'm not currently actively working on SM3, no.
I don't think the game mechanics are the issue, I think there's spirit lacking. But I don't know where or what the problem is.
There's too many new players who are looking for direction because it's a brand new concept for them. They seem to be looking for parameters and a how-to for going about the whole thing. A lot of the things mentioned (like Councils and the like) are fairly integral parts of the game but unless you were a part of the original SM, you don't really know how that worked.
On the flipside, the old guard got excited and then stalled out. Whether they, too, were waiting for direction from you (possible) or just got sucked into the world of real life (most likely), it got too unsustainable to run a single test thread predicated on GM interaction. And yes, waiting to reset the skills and such may have had some people waiting indefinitely.
