Just wanted to say that I haven't really popped in to play for quite awhile (babies do that..), and that the most striking thing to me, regarding the overall attractiveness of the game, is the updates to the UI and icons.
Previously, I didn't really realize this, but my feeling now is that getting the UI & Icons to a state of being equal to or better than in the original will go a *long* way towards helping this game be attractive to more gamers.
I know this has crossed many of your minds, but as someone that jumped from Alpha something-or-other to today's version, it's very striking.