A little late to the party (had an issue with the forums), but version 8 is alive and kickin'! I'd said prior to the wipe that matures and enlights would be temporarily sped up; they are not. Considering some of the other changes we've made, I decided against doing that. Maturities are still exceptionally fast compared to their default rate, but they will be incrementally slowed down over the next couple of weeks. Given the haste of wanting to get everything done for the start, I highly expect there to be bugs about. Please report 'em if you find 'em.
Although I'm the most visible member of the admin team, I am by no means a team of one. Both Zhu and Metztli were very active in this whole thing too. Version 8 would certainly not be what it is, or even ready, without their efforts.
Welcome to version 8, we hope you enjoy it.