SilverWook said:

instead of a just a ramp leading up into a bunch of scaffolding

Don't you mean to a green screen?

That was (and still is) my major concern: How much will they build, regarding sets? Visually the prequels suffered IMMENSELY from all the blue/green screen work, which was even more apparant with the crappy keying, as compositing could only be done at the 2K resolution they shot at. With Ep VII being shot on film, at least that's not an issue anymore.

Now let's hope all that talk about ramping up model work and physical sets is actually more than just PR babble.