You seem to forget..The Dev's of ESF are making a game for people to enjoy, and for people to play. If the vast majority of people want higher transformations -before-, "Advanced Melee," who is to say one should or should not be added before another?
It's pointless to argue which mod will have them first, because even if any of those other crappy mod's CLAIMS to have them, how will you know? They don't even let you play. How in the HELL can you be enthusiastic over a project you haven't played, probobly won't play for years, if EVER, and by the time they DO come out, ESF will have had so much development, and be almost perfectly devoid of bugs to begin with..
The trouble with designing a mod like this, especially on an inferior engine like Half Life, is that if they expect ESF (or any mod) to 'compete' with modern games, they must use a modern engine, which unfortunately means recreating the game entirely, on another engine, which would just restart the process.
Not sure what this post was about, but I hope it helps..somebody.