OK UPDATE TIME....
I'm still working on the terrain, which being interrelated is rather exhaustive work, but in the meantime I have a happy set of additions I have started using so far. I've gone back and updated a number maps with new tiles and terrain objects (trees, lights, decorations), as well as new animations courtesy of PPM contributors.
As for willy's note about the AI, I forgot I had dialed back the frequency of attacks for testing. I modified the AI to play exactly the same on medium and brutal, with brutal being more aggressive with timings/teams and such only, they are equally "smart" if you can call it that...
As such, I'm releasing BETA 2, as I feel it's a nice stable plateau to work from, please feel free to critique the maps, the game, the units, balance or anything that occurs to you...
http://aproposer.net/athse-mod-beta2.rar