Hail and well met,
I am one of the silent ones who have been monitoring the progress of this game for many years, since .731 was just released.
Let me tell you an interesting story about your collective efforts.
I am a gameaholic. Many years ago I use to be a designer, and have published several titles. I exited the game industry and have been playing games ever since as a very hard to please consumer. About four years ago a business associate told me about Mount&Blade. At first I was not interested, but he persisted in sharing his enthusiasm and convinced me to download it.
I did and I purchased the beta. As a testament to how pleased I am over the work, dedication and community support of this product, I have to tell you that since that time I have purchased and played over 60 other games, and yet, when they have run their course, bored me to death, or just plainly disappointed me with their design. The game I keep, over and over returning to and enjoy playing is Mount&Blade.
I usually have a couple of games that I am constantly involved in playing, and Mount&Blade is always one of them
Kudos gentlemen. This really is a job well done.
Kindest regards,
Jim Landes
Personal blog: http://www.gamecrafter.blog.com