1. I would like it to appear only during combat of course. I do remember enjoying temple of elemental evil and it had no grids. The spells however are detailed and their ranges and scopes are readily apparent before you cast them.

3. Depends on the player

4. Specialized enemies but the the encounter should consist of a well rounded group of enemies consisting of melee, ranged and magic (each is specialized). Only preferrably of course. The storyline can override these.

12. I would definitely like to see these.

I'm relatively inexperienced with turn based RPGs. Only had Temple of Elemental Evil to look back to and just recently finished HOMM VI. If there are any turn based game I can be considered a veteran of it would be 4x strategy games or wargames.