have you tried LightFrog?
look at it:
block based: local lights + sunlights + shadows - [no great shaders for blocks] + pp effects
model based: model shaders + sunlights + dynamic shadows[thank god for that] - no local lights and shadows from local lights + pp effects
lightfrog: local lights + sunlights + shadows + model shaders - [no pp effects YET]
models plus baked lights - sunlight + model shaders + dynamic shadowns + pp effects - [problems with models being affected by baked lighting]
personal need: sunlight + local lights + shadows[static or dynamic] + pp effects + model shaders
ofcourse you can still accomplish greatness with these for MOST games but note i'm only writing this based on what i need for our game [scion] and ofcourse i know there are workarounds for alot of these but what may seem like a simple solution may increase devtime by months.
sometimes maybe as independent devs we tend to focus too much on insignificant details hence our projects take forever to finish
Looks to me like all you need is to learn how to write shaders. Add good shaders for blocks and "block-based" will fit your personal need perfectly. It's easy. Believe me. Just try it.
Countless times 3DGS's shader programming has been cited as one of its biggest strengths. I've written deferred shader chains (100 dynamic lights on-screen at the same time? No problem) with god-rays, soft particles, fur shaders, multi-texture shaders, fast shadow mapping, fire and water, sub-surface scattering, atmospheric scattering... and what's my training? The 3DGS shader workshops. And I'm far from being the most prolific shader programmer in this community. In the end, I find shader programming the easiest part of game development. I've never used the built-in shaders.
Improved standard shaders are something A8 needs for newbies, not for experienced users/teams making the "next big thing", IMHO. Maybe I've just been raised on GS and know nothing else, but it generally meets my needs, and I've never needed plugins. A8 introduces a lot of features that I looked at and said to myself, "Wow. I've got to get this."
Jibb
