No disrespect intended, but I believe you are looking at this the wrong way.
When I first saw this game a week ago on youtube, it looked horrible. And I almost didn't bother. Why ? Because the graphics are horrible. Only reason I played is because a friend helped me understand the potential of the game.
To bring in new players, they need eye candy NOW. So the "trees" is a step in the direction for this. To bring in more players, keeps the funds rolling in, and if the funds are rolling in, then NQ can thus keep working on the game. If people would stop being negative and try to get more players into the game, instead of pushing them out, then maybe NQ would have the funds to get this game into a direction we all want.
The old players will come back, once more substantial meat is put into the game. Like Astroid mining for example. But that won't happen if NQ can't afford to keep the server alive.
Bottom line, we need more paying players. And to do that, they must appeal to their graphical senses.