By Eric Bright
The DEV version

UPDATE 2018-07-07: Updated the URL to the portable version.
UPDATE 2018-02-20: Listed the latest test version.
You need to give Scribus 1.5.4-test, i.e. the development version, a try. It is a totally different beast now.
I always used to test the 1.4.x branch now and then, and it was a GUI disaster. Today, I stumbled upon the 1.5.4-test version and got the portable copy of it from here:
https://portableapps.com/apps/office/scribus-portable-test
Holy smoke! It is usable! It is usable! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Almost all of my complaints about the 1.4.x branch was totally addressed and some. I might actually switch from InDesign to Scribus after all.