I just wanted to say, nice work on the early game experience. The pacing feels much nicer, and the addition of consumable 1/day spawns to help beginners along their way is quite excellent. The new textures and couple extra features are a pleasant surprise as well. Overall the earlygame experience actually fells like a game now (progress indeed).
Furthermore, it's very nice for us as players/testers to have forums that you're visiting and replying to. It gives us insight into what your opinions are, and takes away a bit of the "aloof and mysterious" dev mantra that develops when there's no direct communication.