Sorry to have left you all so long without updates. My health as been... poor.
I managed to get a little farther in Torque with AvaraRedux, but it became apparent after awhile that the engine was not capable of doing what I envisioned for my Avara clone with out serious rewriting of parts that would require more basic 3D engine knowledge than I posses. I bought the C4 engine when it was on sale to Torque users and I think if I ever write AvaraRedux it will be in C4, the voxel terrain system was a big sell for me. I can imagine creative level designers doing amazing things with it.
However the sad truth is my spare time is currently spent designing a Warhammer Online total conversion interface. Now that I'm on disability I have very little money and desire to play something that I can pour massive hours into, thus the MMO. Still, I have my eyes on a $2,500 iMac, and if I can ever afford it I will obviously be required to write AvaraRedux. I can't see myself going back to macs and not being able to play Avara.
Sorry for the disappointment, I'll still probably spend a few hours a week on Redux, so maybe you'll see a new post in 6 months to show you what I've got.
-MacAran
P.S. I would consider being hired to do it (god knows I need the money), but only if I had at least one team member that is a talented 3D artist that is capable of rigging their models for me to animate, and the employer left most of the creative design choices to me (though any REQUEST made would be honored if it didn't break my vision for being as true to original Avara as possible).