Yes - the links to the posts point to the same location right now. This limits the number of locations that need to be updated when we have new releases. It also encourages users to get the latest version of the app, that includes the latest features, stability and security updates.
There was a discrepancy between the versions from older post, as a artifact of us changing the host system. That is now resolved, and all the versions in the posts point to the latest link.
Since Veras is mainly a web app, the local client install (SketchUp, Revit, Rhino) is there to connect to the main app that is hosted online.
Regarding render quality and styling, please see this post on how to reproduce the results from 0.9.5.0 in the 1.0.0.0 versions. The only change in the new version is the slider locations, as the backend is the same. With the v1.4 release, you have to select the Version 4 Render Engine to access the settings in the post.
As you’ve mentioned this is subjective, and therefore we want to provide everyone access to a plethora of rendering styles, which is why we have not deprecated any of the render engines to date.