Some kind person made a comment over the weekend, which spookily, seems to have disappeared. In answer to the observations:
1. Yes, the proof of concept (POC) multiplayer early Alpha release, v0.2.0, is a simple playground rather than detailed maps that will appear in the published game. The next version, v0.2.1, will be more representative of the forthcoming game.
2. And again yes, schoolboy error, the diagonal movement did (we have just fixed it) use the wrong distance calculation.
So whoever made the comment - useful, much appreciated.