Highlight suppression can also be a sign of impending exhaustion. "Ripening" itself, as I understand it, involves exhaustion products building up in the developer, acting as restrainers. With some developing agents (hydroquinone, for instance) this effect is opposite; the exhaustion product acts as an accelerator (hence the "infectious development" in hydroquinone lith developers).
Whether the result is desirable probably depends on many factors, not least the "eye" of the user. If you like what your "ripened" Atomal does, then continue using it, but do at least do a leader test before developing each roll -- just to be sure the "ripening" hasn't gone too far, like bananas turning black...