As a person who's seen as technologically savvy and has dabbled in scripting with 0 formal training, let me say that any of the scripting more complicated than the scripting in RMXP is probably going to be IMPOSSIBLE for the average user to use and let alone learn. Or I'm dumb. Take your pick. The documentation for most languages except the ones targetted at beginners is like trying to decipher an ancient language, though it does get easier with practice and it's quite easy to digest if you're doing something like CodeAcademy. Pokemon Essentials is, comparatively, covered pretty well in the Wiki, but nothing can help you at all if you're struggling with things like what || means and you have no idea how to describe aspects of scripting without sounding like an untalented n00b.
(Though RMXP/essentials is always going to be easier to use and more flexible than Rom hacking, which makes even the most basic graphics replacement look like a pain in the neck.)
Other things you need to consider is that while 3d graphics sounds absolutely awesome, making them is going to be crappy. I've seen and played lots of fangames made with Essentials which is pretty much awesome. Except for the fact that
all the graphics are the default graphics. Making a single tile for a game can take upwards of an hour. Not all of us have that time to make even basic 2D assets fom scratch!
How long is a 3d graphic going to take? Firstly, you'd have to learn an entirely new program in order to
make those awesome 3d graphics. Don't forget, if Smealum (the 3ds hacker) doesn't end up dumping the models we'd have to make everything (tiles, Pokemon)
ourselves in order to unlock the full potential. Don't even get me started on textures and stuff. :/ I've played with Daz3d (which uses pre-existing 3d models) and it's way confusing even without building anything by yourself. Photoshop - which I taught myself - is at least sublimely easy to use.
I think the Pokemon fangame fandom can be split up into several groups.
People who play fangames and people who make fangames.
Of the people who make fangames, we'd mostly fit into Game development (pretty much RMXP (with Essentials) small group) - and Rom Hacking - (larger group).
If another engine came out, the Game development section would be fragmented even further into RMXP vs the new engine.
Then there will be all this fun stuff like fragmentation into the different softwares (Blender, 3DS Max, Maya and ZBrush). That software is going to require some specialist skill which only very few people will have. It's going to be unlikely that a person can both code well and art decently. Sure, it would be great if fangame making was totally co-operative, but let me tell you now fangames seem to have either decent script or decent artwork and it seem they are mutually exclusive concepts.
My point is, if quite a lot of people can't even handle/don't have the time for drawing 2D sprites (heck, even recolouring them seems to pose a massive challenge - which can be done in MS Paint) - which ought to be the BASIC MINIMUM REQUIREMENT of artistic ability - how does that even hint at the fact that people are capable of working in 3D.
I mean, I'm sure lots of people are capable of the things I've mentioned, but I've yet to see many released games with original 2D assets that are not copied from mass produced tilesets from sprite artists (and even this is in the minority). I'm just saying that I can't see many people being able to use 3D assets if people are already having trouble with 2D assets. If it's animation we're looking for, perhaps better support for gifs and if Smealum dumps the existing 3D models there would probably be a possibility for 3D.
But heck, if we're in it for animated things it's always going to be easier to manipulate existing 2D assets a la After Effects puppetwarp than 3D assets. If 3D software is so widely used, why have I only seen
a single artist in my
entire life use 3D software to produce an animated 'mon? The person is
http://nyobakugan.deviantart.com/gallery/ I discovered them a few days ago. I'm not talking about paid professionals, obviously. I hang around often in places like Deviantart looking for art like that, surely if there was potential for 3d and the willingness to spend time on it, surely I'd have seen it by now.
But no, I haven't seen the potential in any released fangames. And even if some very few talented people are able to create mon like that, you'd have to remember that the quality of art is REALLY not representative of the average quality of art in fan Pokemon games. Not to sound whingy, but the artist in me sometimes cringes.
(It doesn't really help that the some of the seemingly best graphic fangames appear to be abandoned/unreleased projects insofar)
Obviously, I've got no complaints for what happens with the engine. It's not my place to dictate the future of where we're going/where we're going to end up. In fact, I'm happy and appreciate all the work that's gone into Pokemon Essentials. Simply put, it surpasses Rom Hacking both in usability and customisability by an incredibly large amount. If it is as simple as PE, I could ask for nothing better.
However, I'd prefer to see all the proposed features used to the fullest extent possible and maybe RMXP is more accessible. I dislike some aspects of RMXP - for example, tileset limitations and positioning tiles on a grid is the worst - but I also recognise that while it is not perfect and while there are things that I'd love to see - for example, all gen VI abilities - it is quite simple to use for something that versatile without going into the code and attempting to (and failing to) create it myself.
