*facepalms* You missed the point completely. Game, not folder management. Folder management, not game. Mmmmkay? I can live with folders and such because I have to, and in any case, Windows' interface is far less clunky than BD's.
BD's skill systems is not about managing folders - it's manging skills. Arguably, there's dozen of ways to clear up the implementation (is there really a need to all the various skill trees in one dialog, for example?), but just because the interface sucks doesn't mean the skill systems sucks. A top-down tree may be better, for people are more familiar. Some lines linking the various boxes to each other could make for more clearer presentation. But so far I am okay with the presentation, and actually quite thrill with the actual system.
Of course, everyone percieve differently. Making the folder-system may makes it feel like 'work'. But it basically quite decent, IMHO. Worse damage could be done.
No. However, the first level spells in DD don't have the same ridiculous mana costs. My magic-using character can hurl about two-three spells before her mana's down.
Everything in BD is way scaled up, including the damage. A first level elemental fire missile attack does damage in the range of 20-50. Considering that you have another character to 'tank' for you, it sounds reasonable that the magic system to be tweaked slightly. BD is not designed to be played solo - so mages are not designed to be played solo too, unlike DD and the original concept of D2.
Mages are one of the difficult classes to balance, in any RPG game, especially in solo games. Make them too weak, well, you can't even get pass the beginning sequences. Make them too strong (either the spells or the mana-cost), and they are unbalanced. Remember how useful level 1 meteorstrike could be in DD?
So considering that now you have another character on your side, magic must be balanced, and one way (not the only way, but one way) is the higher mana cost.
The mana regeneration is not designed to be used in combat. BD is not D2 - you are not fighting every frame, or in every room. In the demo, combats are sparse. You don't engage in combat every rooms. As you wander from room to room, exploring, solving puzzles, talking to NPCs, your mana regenerates, and by the time you reach another battle area, you have some mana for blasting. For battle-intensive areas, well, there's always mana potions, and if we judge by DD, those shalln't be too hard to come by if you have Alchemy, an essential skill in DD.
(IMHO, NWN and Baldur Gates' 'spell per days' ranked far worse than BD's system in my esteem).
This also means one does not just blindly dump trunkload of spells. For example, Fengrus. If you blast him with all the spells at the beginning of the fight most likely you will lose, for he possess magical healing which will recover most of the damage you have caused. However, gang up on him and wait for the moment that one or two blast of spells can bring him down - you don't even give him a chance to heal.
