Doubt about Default Material

[micheus]

alternatively, every time you create a new object you have to manually set the texture for each of those objects individually. Truly inefficient.

It doesn't need be that way.
In the Outline window you can use the context menu of default material and use [LMB] option in the .Select. command. Then, with the elements selected, you can select the other material and in the context menu use the Assign to Selection options. It's easy and you can use that as a workaround.

I can consider add new settings for the default material and submit it to the main devs. By now, maybe you would create a "start" .wings file with that material and use it for every new project.

I have seen old posts in the old forum from a long time ago where people mentioned that they were able to hot key individual materials.

I don't know about that. As I know, only menu options can be "hotkeyed".