To be frank, I think the new Database Explorer/SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) in Visual Studio 2012 is terrible, at least for my needs.
In general, I create several small sites and need them up and running quickly. The tools in VS2010 mirrored what was available in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and worked well to quickly get things up and going.
Now I have to jump around between a Data Designer and TSQL to get things done. Come on, should I really have to name my table in the TSQL script as opposed to setting it in properties? It is nowhere near as intuitive.
I understand there are better educated, super-smart software engineers that think this is the way things should be because the database is a separate concern and doesn't belong in the web project. But why force it on everybody? Give them a SQL Server Data Tools project where they can generate SQL scripts to their hearts content, and give us back the old tools so we can rapid prototype and get things done. (sorry for the rant)
I thought, oh well, I'll just pop up SSMS, attach the database and work on it in there. But no, I'll have to uninstall SQL Server 2008 and install SQL Server 2012 due to a version mismatch on the .mdf files created by VS2012. Sigh...
I haven't found that much in VS2012 that is better than the VS2010 way of doing things and am thinking about just scrapping it and going back. Do other developers share some of the same frustrations? Are there important things in VS2012 that I am taking for granted and will miss by going back to VS2010?