I completely agree with the essence of this thread. Throw into the mix the fact that apparently render pipelines are going to fork fundamental Unity functionality per pipeline. Specifically, the LWRP is overhauling cameras so there’s no camera stacking in the traditional sense for that pipeline:
Feedback Wanted: Lightweight Render Pipeline page-11#post-4440742
Once Unity starts going down this road of having render pipelines on their own development paths with their own unique toolsets, it’s going to be a nightmare. Definitely say goodbye to develop once deploy everywhere. Moreover, it could evolve into a system where each pipeline feels like it’s own separate game engine as far as development goes.
I’m in a similar position with the poster above who is having migraines trying to navigate a long term project. Which pipeline I choose seems critical since they are so incompatible and yet it’s hard to gauge which features will land where two years from now when I hope to launch. This amorphous pipeline landscape is truly frustrating and debilitating for developers since it no longer seems I’m developing with Unity - but instead forced to choose which Unity basket to put all my eggs in.