To change it to a rule would probably mean adding in duplicate of a ton of code in multiple files. I don't really think it is a good option or it probably would have been done already.
If you need to do some major changes like that, you can easily use the import and export scripts to export the spell file from the spells_new table, change it and them import it back into the table. That is what the scripts were made for
Another reason that the table is a really good way to go is because if people export it to create their server's spell file, the exported file will work perfectly with both Titanium and SoF, since it has the correct number of fields to function with both clients.
I think the binaries have been set to use the table loading for a while now. So, if you use those, you would have been stuck with the table loading anyway. If you don't want to use the table loading way, it is very simple to change the source to use the file loading way instead and then compile your own binaries. All you have to do is go to zone/spdat.h and change the following:
Code:
//#define NEW_LoadSPDat
#define DB_LoadSPDat //load from DB vs spells_us.txt. for now, we're piggybacking NEW_LoadSPDat, so it will take precedence
to this
Code:
#define NEW_LoadSPDat
//#define DB_LoadSPDat //load from DB vs spells_us.txt. for now, we're piggybacking NEW_LoadSPDat, so it will take precedence