Wasting time on Internet forums was a thing past, but D:OS brought a blast from days of yore, so let's do this!

Many people here discuss settings, atmosphere and the like which I think are best left to the developers/artist, although the imps sure make some fine machines and a lot of time has passed since Arcanum:Of Steamworks and Magick obscura. This would btw. be an awesome IP if it could be acquired, and the style of that game would lend itself really, really well to Larians strengths - freedom, tongue-in-cheek, meaningful character development, actually difficult puzzles and the like.

Ack, five minutes in and I start rambling again. Back to D:OS. Here are a couple of points regarding gameplay mechanics:

Dialogue system: Dialogue in all CRPGS is in a sad state. D:OS as so many other games limits us to clicking on predefined answers, irrespective of our stats, talents and skills or those of our companions.
I would very much like to see a system where a perceptive character notes that the other guy is fidgeting nervously once certain topics come up. Where a charismatic person may discuss more controversial subjects before the other clams up. Where companion with the appropriate stats may interject with helpful (or not that helpful) comments. Where a more intelligent person has more topics to discuss. And so on.

This has great potential for the co-op partner (we will still have co-op, right?) to actually partake in dialogue. For companions to show they are more than just pack mules and cannon fodder. And to drive the writers insane ;-)

I would also like to see this *not* presented as more / different answers to click on. There should be some way to include chance, strategy, etc. Make dialogue its own little game, a combat with words - with different ways of attacking, different resistances, maneuvering, etc. Could be really awesome, or really tedious. And has the possibility to thoroughly break immersion - but something needs to happen to CRPG dialogue besides adding voiceovers, which is all the big studios have done in the past 20 years. You can do better.
The last game I remember that tried something new regarding dialogue was Starship Titanic in 1998!

Items: The random loot system has been criticized rather heavily by others. Actually I think the random loot by itself is fine, but the game needs some other component with somewhat more predictable results which is also fun. The most potential to achieve that goal I think lies in the crafting system.
There, I would like to see the following changes:
- some (not complete) control over the properties of the crafted item. No craftsman hammers blindly away.
- a chance to recover used materials (essences, rubies, etc.). That should depend on the level of the item and the skill level of the crafter. This would reduce the main risk of the crafting process, using rare ingredients on sub-par items, and thus make progression more dependable. This will also make ingredients more valuable, and thus will retain the joy of the "lucky drop".
- a link to party mechanics. Why can a fresh hireling from the Hall of heroes produce items which fit my characters just as a well as Jahan who had half the game to study the fighting styles and special needs of my characters, and is emotionally deeply invested with the party? Both, opinion and time spent with the party are variables which could be easily incorporated into a crafting system, and would make player choices regarding party composition more meaningful by introducing more consequences - sure the player *can* swap henchmen, however he will lose tangible benefits in the process (while he should gain something else, naturally).

Enemies: Single enemy design is alright. Most boss encounters are creative and entertaining, sometimes even surprising (lava and teleport).
The more standard encounters need a bit of work. The worst offender is the phantom forest, where small groups of enemies guard a central structure within easy shouting distance of mostly each other. However, the party just picks them off one by one. This has an extremely unrealistic feel, and due to the number of enemy groups devolves into grind.
Enemy placement should at least create an impression of a responsive environment, where opponents try to organize. A good example that comes to mind is the assault on the Drow outpost back in BG2: Throne of Bhaal, where you first kill the guards, then meet a strike force inside and finally have to beat the core of the enemy troops before progressing to a challenging boss fight.
I would also like to see more variety in setup and troop composition. Examples like archers behind a barricade, a group of mages supporting each other e.g. in a circle, a bum-rush by a "Forlorn Hope", etc. D:OS presented me far too often a group of two or three of each melee, ranged and magic.

Congratulations, you hace scaled the wall of text!