It's ok. It will get updated, don't worry. And glad you loved the game! :D
Development is slow, but going. We're getting somewhere ^^
I won't adandon this, don't worry! It's not my way. I'm not like most devs >XD
I have found an artist long long time ago already! Didn't you see the sprites on twitter, or here?
As for animations, it's quite experimental right now, but one of my teammates is actually willing to flesh this skill out ^^