Taking Sentry's advice, I'm posting this here in hopes that it will not detract from other valiant efforts taking place around these fine forums.
I'm preparing the groundwork for an attack on the Citadel of Input Processing and humbly ask for opinions from my fellow code-tamers.
Should You have a spare 10m I'd be grateful for any input you can provide, on our forums
It strikes me that it might be a prudent investment of resources for the Plan Zs to lend a coder or three to this project for a little while. Y'know, as a way to regroup a larger chunk of the playerbase's former size into one place again. It would give us a place to gather with much-renewed spirits, reform the bonds that made us so great, and wait as one for the new games that are being developed. In other words, get back the old game as something to do in the meantime.
It's going to be a long stretch until alphas are released, let alone playable games, and ultimately we'll need more than a forum to ride out that kind of time frame. Titan makes a fantastic headquarters, but most people are only occasionally checking in here. I don't think anybody would disagree that what we all
really want is a game to share and enjoy. That's what will carry us the whole distance without further erosion.
Sparing a couple coders for a month or two at this early stage, to help this project succeed, could make a huge difference down the road. Two to three years from now you'd be promoting your games to "tight-knit and enthusiastic" us instead of "sad and wandered away" us.
If nothing else, consider it research for when you get to that stage yourselves. Knowing the quirks and pitfalls of a working system could help you streamline things, or prevent a lot of wasted time on repairs by adapting your approach from the start.