So much has been said already that I can hardly add to the discussion.
After just a few hours of playing the new release(s) I consider it absolutely outstanding. Well worth the wait. What impresses me the most is that besides the major additions, like boats and fishing, the amount of attention that was given to bug fixes and "minor" improvements are seriously making this a very high quality game. That strategy is clearly going to increase its popularity and attract crowds of serious and casual gamers world-wide.
I totally appreciate the amount of work that goes into every aspect of the code, and the fact that you (Red51) are responding so well to your player base while getting this all done is nothing short of overwhelming.