A new Q&A was put out on Facebook recently. Here's a quick summary:

No. 1: the challenge - they wanted to get rid of micromanaging and focus on the "fun" bits: battles, exploring, building your empire, levelling up heroes etc. The +200 hero abilities are there to ensure the variety and depth of the gameplay.

No. 2: the new skill system - it is made to enhance the longevity of the game and to ensure variety. That's why it's so complex. The skills are also tuned to be more or less effective on different difficulty levels. Ability combos and strategies developed by the players are bound to take the game to new hights - at least that's what the designers are hoping for.

No. 3: testing the game - has proven the need for adjusting and fine-tuning. Particularly evident in healing and resurrection abilities, gating and necromancy, flaws and weaknesses have been ironed out in the beta. More fine-tuning will be done in the patches.

No. 4: the town screens - "must be revised". Their words, not mine. Not only is this one of the features the fans have cried loudest about, it seems that the devs themselves have now come to see that the current interface ... needs improving. Will not be done for the release (too late), but will be a top priority in the patching.