here's my idea
I think a lot of RPG devs could borrow a page or two from the game
Frozen Synapse. Those guys are doing some really cool stuff with their turn-based strategy concept and it seems to be working out for them financially and it's a hit w/ the game press.
I honestly think incorporating a Frozen Synapse-style WEGO simultaneous TB combat systmem in an RPG would be a great bridge to get more people to enjoy TB games again. Also, true turn based combat can drag on for a while (Wizardry 8 came to mind here). WEGO battles like in Frozen Synapse would be over in five-ten rounds or less.
Just think: five decisive, really intense rounds, where you plot your characters' every move, hope you've out-thunk your opponent and sit back and watch the sparks fly. The game would be balanced so that enough damage is done, moves are made, and everything resolves relatively quickly. If you lose the battle, no worries, hit reload. If you win, on to the next challenge / battle / story element. As an added bonus, you can replay the whole thing back in real time to see what happened continuously, and savor this as a more cinematic experience.
My idea is kind of like a real-time with pause system, but emphasizing a very detailed queuing of actions during each pause, and having each pause happen during set time intervals, like five or ten seconds.
Aside: From what I've gleaned, Dragon Age 2 does NOT have queueing multiple actions in their combat, even though they are still utilizing a Real-time w Pause system.
Anyway, if this sort of thing doesn't happen, I'm gonna teach myself the programming language du jour and get to it! This game I have in my head… yall don't know what you're missing!