Ill apologize for replying to everyone but theres a lot ot unpack here.
Kanisatha: Sure it is buddy, and you obviously know what tactical means and dont just use that word to discribe "thing i like". Nobody discribes Kingmaker as a tactical game. While OS2 is getting a spinoff thats a spiritual successor to THE tactical combat game series (xcom). Summoning 3D6 Dire ponies truly is the pinnacle of squad tactics.
Try2Handing: there was a comma missing. Its a flaw with RTWP to amplify the problem. Caster supremacy is a fundamental flaw in DnD since ADnD. Only 4E didnt have it and grognards didnt like it as a result. On kiting: kiting is a stupid mechanic, its been stupid in MMOs and its stupid in RPGs. You cannot do it in any tabletop RPG and you cannot do it in real life, its a flaw of the RTWP system. Baldurs gate doesnt have attack of opportuniy because attack of opportunity wasnt an official rule in 2E, it was an optional rule IIRC and was introduced in the third edition. But from how i see it, it doesnt work well in NWN2 either, RTWP doesnt work well with AoO detection. ToEE does it better. And AoO generaly is pretty weak in DnD because you tend to get only 1 unless you pay feat tax.
So its a balance AND an RTWP problem. What i meant with movement beeing to safe is basically the reason why kiting works: you move at the same time as the enemy, so the enemy cannot catch you, in a turn based game this wouldnt be possible. Simmilarly, you can change directions any time, so you dont have to commit to positioning. Making it inhernetly less tactical.
On trash mobs: No such thing in a well designed turn based game. There isnt a single trash fight in OS2 or in Xcom, or in Final Fantasy tactics. There were trash fights in ToEE because the game was made with a specific DnD module in mind.
On What you consider tactical: And all of those things you mention that you can do in RTWP; you can also do in turn based. Meanwhile in RTWP you cannot manipulate the turn order, you cannot effectiveley block movement, you cannot do things as throw items form your inventory, you cannot do off-turn actions and laying traps for your enemies in such a way. Basiclaly Turn based can do everything RTWP can do, but also more.
On your last paragraph: you discribe artificial difficulty, thats not tactical. And other than what you discribe as the "pace" of RTWP, those things can be done by turn based. Immediate reaction is not a good thing, you can have it as your opinion that it is, but as far as im concerned, what makes chess tactical is the part that where you make a mistake, your opponent takes your pawn. What would not be tactical is if you make a mistake, your opponent moves your pawn and you go "oh nono, i didnt mean to do that" and just redo your turn.
Ioudent Your entire point seems to be that Turn based doesnt do multiplayer well which has been disproven by OS 1 , OS2 and of course countless other games that do this combination and do it well. Im pretty sure multiplayer with turn based combat is FAR more popular than RTWP. Peresistant servers dont do RTWP so the only kinds of RTWP MP i see is Baldurs gate and Icewind dale aswell as the NWN campaigns. Meanwhile the entire 4X genre lives off turn based multiplayer, OS1 and 2 not even to speak of the insane ammount of turn based japanese games that feature multiplayer. If anyhting, RTWP is considered a hassle for multiplayer and is turned off in almost all cases where more than 2 people are involved. And you admit it yourself. You turn it off in multiplayer. So realy you are advocating for Real time, which is a different beast alltogether.
On AI: you dont know what you are talking about, simple as that. RTWP AI can constantly react, the only thing "Complicated" about this is that the AI constantly has to check states. This is more taxing on your CPU but it doesnt make the AI "smarter". A turn based AI needs to take potentail turn of the enemy into consideration rather than only react to current states. Which is not something AI usually does. Other than that, there is no difference.
kasapnecmi RTWP is 1.) not realistic and 2.) if it were, realism is not what makes a good combat system. Immediate perfect reaction of every combatant is not realistic. Pausing in RTWP doesnt simulate a real life combat situation, it simulates a perfect coordination and perfect reaction of all combatants. Removing any risk taking at all. Meanwhile, turn based simulates a real time combat by having initiative, by having actors commit to an action and by having plans go wrong. Both of these things are mechanical abstractions, neither is realistic. If you want realistic, play Mount and Blade or some other HEMA simulator.
Trash mobs: you are flipfloping. On one hand RTWP is good because it makes dealing with trash mobs easier... but then you dont need trah mobs. Yeah exactly, you dont need trash mobs, and thats why you dont need RTWP. you are making my point for me.
Artagel dont know what to tell you mate. No. The infinity engine beeing RTWP was just something that happened more on accident than anyhting else. I get that you like it more, but dont make it sound like some grand revelation, it was a thing that happened because of circumstance and nothing more.
