Interesting and insightful commentary. I know first hand that andy is torn. He understands the true and inherent value of the abstract realm, but enjoys the organic aspect of the figures growing in number. Further, some people speak very highly of the additions in the last year, but some are like you and speak of the days when it was less visually "busy". The real answer is to allow the user an easy way to have presents, but that's a tough problem when you're talking about one guy and N players and platforms he has to support. I know he's searhing for a way out of this problem.

Well, the good news is that I've heard the new project (project x?) is a return to the realm of the abstract in full force and is a complete departure from the sillyness of any of the 3D plugins. He also shared that some of the technical milestones for that will allow some big speed-ups of g-force. I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that the midnight oil will continue to flow.