Just picked it back up a couple weeks ago.  They just released their 4th free DLC update on Monday. Tons of updates, new factions, ability to disable timers for single player battles, pre-pick combat cards.

They are now working on their first paid DLC to be out in a few months.

The developer is really supporting the game.  I believe it's 50% off this week on Steam in celebration of selling over 300K copies of the game.  Not bad for a really small indie.

Yep, their final free content patch came out a few days ago. They have really improved on the "immersion" aspect of the game. The universe feels less static with all the new planet features. More UI refinement, more races, more balance, wonders, and tech.

Combat is still very much the same, however. They will be addressing that in their first expansion (adding fighters, bombers, targeting options, etc.). If you really were turned off by the battle mechanics, I'd wait for the expansion to be released. If you were too bored during the explore and expand phases, though... that's been really improved upon.