Quite an impressive project you got going here Si. I haven't taken it for the test spin yet, but I will try to find someone with Maya 8.5 in my surroundings and see how it does.
I'm glad they incorporated Python too now. It really seems like power at your finger tips and it seems quick to learn. Have you read any really great Python books? I'd love to dig a little deeper than say "Hello world" and basic loops.

Can't wait until velocity and separation is keyable. Perhaps in v0.2? =)

Thanks for sharing. It's going to be interesting to see the UI python code, as well as the flocking of course