I think the long support of compatability is slowing the engine down unnecessarily.

Just look at the Fileformats, wich are stuffed with struct elements to support old formats.
(The palette -12 years outdated tech- indicating this nicely)

I think Gamestudio should really have a structural overhaul.

Make a well finished final A8, and start A9 without looking backward and restrict itself by legacy elements.

This does not mean everything needs to be canned, but
features should be implementable without fear to break the old system.