That's right. Nope, it's not clickbait. Last night (sorry its actually been 2 days now but I was too tired to finish writing it at midnight) during trivia I saw this message from David (he is part of the team):

I can't express my excitement and happiness at hearing this news. As one of the most important and unique aspects of the game, Alienworlds was quite evidently dying during the 3+ months NFT mining was 'paused' for. Along with the UI changes that came recently (I talk about them a bit here), it's great to see the developers taking steps in the right direction towards reviving the game and claiming its place as #1 (but by earning it this time rather than being carried by bots). Anyone who played when NFT mining existed knows how much more enjoyable it makes it, knowing that each time you mine there is the chance to get a special extra surprise, something obviously stripped from the game for the last few months. I'm hoping the changes and adjustments made don't hinder this joy and I am very hopeful.

I also asked David about any updates on Thunderdome, with this being the response:

To be honest, I have no complaints about not releasing it anytime soon considering all of the changes already being made (the UI changes and now NFT mining returning). Considering how much was done prior to this in the last few months I'm just glad to see progress being made.

Unfortunately, I don't have any other news for you all regarding NFT mining, specifically what the adjustments made are or what the 'surprises' are but as soon as I find out I'll do my best to post something about it to keep you all informed.

Other than that I hope you are all as excited about this as I am and happy mining!