Yeah I agree. He never really said anything about them so thanks for putting this topic up so I can agree with you. Lol. I think there are new smilies too, or at least they're arranged differently or something, or maybe my memories are skewed.
There is definitely a major forum update in progress and has been for the last month and a half, everything will be announced soon. It won't be much longer, and I'd prefer that it gets discussed once it's done.