I used Wordstar or NewWord (never Wordstar 2000 or later versions unrelated to orignal, though I had and still have it) for over 10 years.
It was great for its time, computers that only had floppies, or Z80 or 8088, CP/M or DOS. Any kind of screen and no need for graphics.
I had to even teach Wordperfect for a while (5.1 on DOS) but by then it was obsolete so I took the class to my own place before their work experience. I'd refused to concentrate on every WP feature, but instead had taught them the structuring of different kinds of documents, computer filing, wordprocessing related to different tasks and how to use manuals and help. I had CP/M, DOS, Windows etc and loads of different wordprocessors and text editor. Online help and manuals.
They enjoyed the day but many were still sceptical of my teaching and the "day out".
it was a hugely differnet story when they came back from work experience and had encountered: Wang, IBM Display Write, MS Word on DOS. MS Word on Windows 3.1 and others. Not one was Wordperfect or Wordstar (long eclipsed by WP and MS Word), though I was still using NewWord on CP/M and DOS (very like Wordstar on CP/M).
I'd originally produced finished formatted documents on Wordstar, variously printed on daisywheel (friend's) or our own MX80 DMP. Later on inkjet.
But by 1993 was only using it for unformatted text, so switched to my own editor (DOS, but worked in Windows Console) written in Modula-2 with menus and mouse as well as Wordstar Keys.
I also had MS Word and was selling MS Windows + Office etc, but I was by then using DTP for formatting the imported text.
Eventually I switched to a tabbed Windows text Editor (maybe textpad?) and then to NotePad++ up till about 2018 (about a year on WINE on Linux) when I changed to KATE as a tabbed Text Editor.
From mid 1990s we'd supplied Star Office for those not wanting to pay for MS Office. By 2005 I'd abandoned the DTP and was using Open Office on Windows and only using plain text on Notepad++ or TextPad for notes or fragments of writing.
Switched to Libre Office on XP at about 5.x (can't remember) and adopted Jota on Android for notes from about 2016.
I've used Joe, but more often Nano for configurations on Routers and other embedded Linux, because it's already there.
Used various UNIX since 1986 (inc Cromix and MS Xenix and Unix like Minix) and vi and emacs.
Wordstar was great for basic computers, DP/M or DOS, and great for me for nearly 15 years if I include NewWord and my own editor that used WS keys, but had no formatting other than being able to pick any word as a file to open if it existed (back worked) and create it if not. It also supported three button footpedal on Joystick port of a Creative Soundcard (SB16 on DOS!) to play/pause, fwd, rev a sound file copied at x2 speed from a dictatation micro cassette.
I see no point in re-creating Wordstar. Notepad++ (Windows) or KATE (Linux) is fine to edit plain text and even Libra Office Writer 5.x is fine on ancient computers that can't run latest LO. You can change key assignments.
A glass typewriter with edit and formatting was fine for 1970s to early 1990s, but Notepad++ or KATE are better for plain text now and to show author's intent after a 1st Draft the LO Writer 7.x or latest with Outlining and Styles windows open and NO direct formatting is now better. We stopped printing drafts & edits & proofs 10 years ago and instead import a small page size with no headers, footers, page numbers as docx into calibre and proof on ereader. Over 5,000 pages of paper saved. Even though we have a high speed full colour duplex laser printer / scanner / copier on the LAN.
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writing software in 100 percent assembly language still pays off in performance and reduced code size
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That was nonsense by late 1980s.
Poor maintainability.
I've seen a 8088 code platform engine run in 1992 on a 286, loaded from DOS, written in Modula-2 (could have been C++ or C) that had level changing on the fly, streaming audio from HDD and multitasking. Device drivers all in Modula-2.
In 2006, 4G modem device driver for Windows and Linux in C++
Games on Android are essentially same as if written in Java. Running on a VM.
Good software is about design, not the implementation language. There hasn't even been the need to write assembler for microcontrollers for over 25 years.
In 1983 we were using a Forth-like language on Z80 and primative NEC 7800 CMOS microcontroller using a customised macro assembler.
By 1986 programming a Z80 using a data-flow diagram.
Wordstar (or NewWord) is still great if all you have is a PCW8256 running CP/M. Better than the default "Locoscript" system.