I tested again with the latest image which is 20231031 and saw the folowing:
[ OK ] Reached target poweroff.target - System Power Off.
[ 1066.071229] evict_inodes inode 18c03077, i_count = 1, was skipped!
[ 1066.072466] evict_inodes inode f9eec572, i_count = 1, was skipped!
[ 1066.271793] reboot: Power down
Moving image into final destination ./autopkgtest-noble-armhf.img
So I was definitely seeing console output during the build process now!
I tested again with the latest image which is 20231031 and saw the folowing:
[ OK ] Reached target poweroff.target - System Power Off. noble-armhf. img
[ 1066.071229] evict_inodes inode 18c03077, i_count = 1, was skipped!
[ 1066.072466] evict_inodes inode f9eec572, i_count = 1, was skipped!
[ 1066.271793] reboot: Power down
Moving image into final destination ./autopkgtest-
So I was definitely seeing console output during the build process now!