At the moment development is a bit slow. Some parts of the game and site are really old and out of date, some are huge, others have several other systems depending on them. So when we add anything new, we usually have to tidy up or update the other systems it needs to use. There's no way we can replace things all in one go, so we're look at ways we can break things down and just do it in small steps.
With adding new gamerules and gameplay, we don't want a new client which isn't compatible with the older clients. So the idea for it is, have a server list which tells you what rooms you can and can't join depending on the version of your client, as well as maintaining some level of backward compatibility with earlier versions and mods. That should give us a bit more freedom to experiment with new gameplay and modding features. I can't say that this is exactly how it will work, because we're not in a position to start this yet. By the time we are ready for this, we'll probably have a better plan.
As for presentation and client interfaces, they are a bit lacking. I'm guessing they'll be updated over time. The priority is to get the commands working properly.
For the bracketed tourneys, I'm hoping we'll be able to incorporate the
competitions section with day to day events. Getting everything to work together will take a long time. For now it's just an idea.
The main thing that's being worked on right now is a buddy/friend list. We are still looking at ways to bring the site and the game closer together. So for now we can get it working on the site easily enough, but I can't say how long it will be before it's available ingame.
Whatever you do, keep that list handy in the first post.