I don't rule out a very good programmer making intelligent rules of abstraction for getting the branching problem under control, to quickly run simulations. But I don't think it's ever been done yet (for crpgs).
Not necessary. eRe4s3r and me (and others) have independent from each other already identified some of the glaring combat imbalances to begin with.
And even branching out on future combat is not that difficult if you limit choices. By observation of how your average Joe proceeds you can most likely find some patterns. Unusual clever people will still beat the game, because to beat or circumvene given processes is their real game, but you could end up with a fairly challenging combat system for the upper 20% of the gamers.
Regards,
Thorsten
