I really want to thank you for making that post. Really, It got the ol'brain going and I've started on making the landscape more appealing and wild. I've also begun work on the dark BG tiles, and making them less noisy and more appealing as well. Its crazy how a post can bring an onslaught of needed ideas and corrections.
Consider this an official "Thank you" to pixelation: with out you all, my game wouldn't be what it is today.