The project is active, but there isn't much new development - it's a service that works by itself. 8 characters can take a few days or more, depending on how much money you put down as a reward. I can cancel the work and refund you if you change your mind, but it's not an automated process. In most cases miners should work on highest lavishness work, but some prefer smaller lavishness but also smaller complexity work for more predictable return.