I received the new version Tuesday morning and started a new game as the Mimot.  Here are a few observations:

1. I really like the use of the new red dagger icon to delay the appearance of messages and windows that require user input.  I think that has helped with the lockups involving getting stuck in the Research Center screen.
2. It looks like you have made some technology changes related to invading planets with a "MasterTech" prefix, but those changes are not "ready for prime time". I like the idea of creating new options for invading planets, but this kind of half-baked change does not look good. (see the first screen snapshot below)
3. At first, I thought the Artifact that is supposed to add 2 new usable tiles to a planet had been fixed because when I used it on my homeworld the first time it worked.  However, after using it 3 times on my homeworld I found that it worked correctly 2 times and did not work at all the third time.  If you look at the second screen snapshot below, you will see that the Class of my homeworld (Fen) is 34, but if you count the usable tiles there are only 32.

Overall, the game is getting better with each release and has great potential, but it still needs a lot of work to be ready for final release.