Has anything really changed?

[Onomatopoeia]

This is a long post and deals with many topics, and I apologise in advance, the real question is right at the end, so feel free to skip there if you wish.

I'd just like to start by saying that the main reason why I play Space Empires as opposed to all the flashier 4X games out there is the sheer modability of the game, but also because it is so simple to mod, you don't need a degree in programming to mod SE, unlike most other 'moddable' games.
Despite being far more moddable than most games, there were times in Space Empires IV when I found something I wanted to add was impossible within the coding of the game, so when Space Empires V was announced I was very excited by the possibilities of new modding possibilities.
When Starfury came out it looked like there was the possibility of weapon facing for SE5, unfortunately, there isn�t, only damage facing, which seems rather pointless to me without weapon facing and thus very disappointing. Furthermore, I was hoping for some sort of area-of-effect weapons or even arcing weapons that go from ship to ship etc.
From what I've seen of the demo and the forums, none of these things are possible, in fact, I wonder if anything is possible at in SE5 that isn't in SE4.
Indeed, the new features of SE5 have actually made it more difficult for someone like me to mod the game. For example, while moving from 2D to 3D was a necessary step forward and real-time tactical combat presents many new opportunities, it has reduced the scope for customisation. Shipsets are much harder and more complex to make in 3D, so I wonder if we will have the same large resource of high-quality shipsets available for SE5 as we did for SE4.
Further, and more worryingly, the new formula system seems to add an unnecessary level of difficulty to modding, personally I don�t see what was wrong with the old find and replace method of multiple components. Further, I prefer the old, more flexible, method of choosing weapon damage (i.e. 15 15 20 20 10 10 etc.) and am very disappointed to see it go (unless one can still use the old method to determine weapon damage, in which case I would be obliged if someone could tell me how).

The real question is: What options are available for modders in SE5 that weren't in SE4?