I'm currently working on a strategy/simulation game, and as development continues on it, I'm finding myself wondering if I'm at a crossroad. Originally, I was developing it in VB6 using basic VB6 forms because of its genre and nature. My thinking was to get some kind of prototype out to finalize my plans and thoughts before I start the "real" development, but as time goes on, I'm finding myself fighting with the various aspects of its development: Visual/Presentation and Multimedia. At this point, I was thinking that I should take a step back and start redoing the presentation layer in DirectX--No experience tho. Using DirectX, I would already have the tools in place to add the audio and network functionality as the project proceeded.

Then, I found myself thinking that if I'm going to re-implement the foundation of my program that I may want to also port it forward to VB.Net. Now, I'm looking into rewriting my game using VB.Net and DirectX--both of which I have little/no experience. Ultimately, I just want to Git 'R Dun, but as the complexity of the project grows, I'm wondering if I'm digging myself into a pit due to VB 6.0** and not something more modern or something specifically designed for game programming. Which leads me to the ultimate debating question:

Should I continue the path to complete my task and revisit the rewrite in the next version--assuming this project is seen to completion--or would I be doing myself a favor now by doing the ugly grunt work of changing architectures for the benefits of easier development/maintenance? I just want to work on my content and not so much on the underlying fundamentals.

( Heck, would I be better off just dumping $3,000+ USD on a gaming engine license and leave this bare-metal work to the real professionals and just focus on the content development? )

** - I've worked with VB 6.0 in complex business and commercial applications, and I'm not knocking it for performance or usability. I am knocking it since it is becoming a deprecated language.