Hey Knacki, of course I'm still around!
To get tighter spacing right now, you have to use HIGH SPEED mode, but eventually I will make a whole new brush engine with a partially different system. This should then allow to have not only tighter spacing, but additional means to interpret strokes and what images do along them. The image brush is a bit of a stepchild in Verve, because it initially (like many things) it was just a way to test a concept. My main idea in all of Verve is to have a far more organic behavior throughout, avoiding the stale, digital behavior of paint apps. But I'm not riding on principles blindly. There's a use for everything and also an appeal. I really can't wait to be on top of things in life again, so I can resume with Verve properly. It's a tough time, but it all happens for a reason and by choice. Anyway, I still love Verve, still love working on it and still have properly big plans for it!
Thanks for everything you're doing, Knacki!