My recent thoughts regarding the
state of things haven't changed.
I'm not planning on a v1.7c, but v1.7b (
changes download) was just made available a couple days ago. Duff hasn't be available to update the realm yet.
Last I heard, Cory wanted to work on v1.8, and was thinking of making it very similar to v1.3 (there were several folks who seemed interested in replaying an older patch with few changes). There haven't been recent updates on the progress of that plan, so perhaps he's just busy. If you've got the time and interest, consider asking him if he'd like a hand. If he's lost the time and interest, then perhaps you could design v1.8 around your older edits and new ideas.
What kinds of changes did you have in mind with your older edits? I always enjoy hearing creative ideas. You're welcome to use resources (monster skill damage automation, item ideas, etc) of v1.7.