Malfador is/was just one guy; Aaron Hall.
Frankly, he is better at the game engine than the default datafiles. All serious mods are improvements in the mind of at least one person, and usually a majority of the forum-goers.
Aaron is a great guy with a great game, but his default settings are fairly weak... Which serves to encourage the community to build bigger and better things, and we have done so for over half a decade now. Please don't ignore our six years of development because of a preconcieved notion that Aaron made the best stock files possible.
Certainly, play the basic game first, but still, download some mods and the game will be fresh and new again. Find what works best for you.
PS:
Literally,
Rock Paper Scissors 