people have always felt this way. i remember when the engine went from a5 to a6, adding the new collision system, using a z- instead of a w-buffer, changing the lighting system to dx, and so on, few people were really excited about it.

however i agree with you that a6 has never reached its true potential. i'm going to skip a7 for sure, let's see what a8 brings, meanwhile, let's open our minds and search for alternatives. i found mine in ShiVa/the ston3d engine by Stonetrip.