I still have the BG series installed and I'm actively playing them, it took me over three years to run through the series the first time I played...I still get lost in the whole experience, the infinity engine is surprisingly interesting still to this day and Jeremy Soule's music stands the test of time.
What I like most about RPGs, beyond upgrading equipment (who doesn't like that?) is flexibility in NPC management. Give me scripts to help me focus on important things in combat rather than reloading or other unnecessary actions and rules regarding NPCs use of ammunition and spells and special abilities.
The Infinity engine had wonderful character scripts such as always having your thief either be stealthy or searching for traps (How that saved me countless times) which is pretty straightforward to the more complex multi-class scripts which combine ranged attacks/melee/spells in the choice of options. I found myself too often changing scripts, wishing the process was either eaiser or even more powerful, but still using them to their fullest.
Epic NPC side quests are also what I like - a game-long side story for each major NPC. That way each time you reply the game you get to enjoy a whole new game-long story. You can even choose a player character based on the character you are choosing to follow their story through, as an excuse to play characters you might not normally try. No matter how much I want to, I just can't find a reason to play as a Bard. A bard-based NPC side quest would be a fine reason.
About this copy protection crap, as a paying customer I'd like to say unless you screw this title up you've got my money and no scheme is going to prevent copying or force people to pay who can not..so. Try giving securom a rest and ask the warez community if they would please be so kind as to not distribute a crack until your sales taper off. How much does securom cost you guys by the way? You get to add that to the bottom line too.
Once the sales taper off, you then release the inevitable expansion pack and remove all copy protection from the original executable, however only verified copies will get further patches and downloads from that point on. For the people that did not play ball, the also inevitable *second* patch will only work on validated copies. The first patch? That's a freebie, every one gets that as penance for your rushed production.
Everybody wins: people who can afford and will buy do..they get a non intrusive product. Warez guys still get to try and crack your official download only scheme in the future and they get some measure of respect, people who can't afford your game get might a pirate copy eventually or they might buy, certainly knowing you aren't treating them like a criminal from the beginning of the business transaction helps and paying customers don't feel ripped off since they have exclusive content available they don't have to jump through warez hoops to get.
I still hate you EA. you are everything that is wrong with the 'PC games as mini-Hollywood' mindset.
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