This is absolutely hysterical, coming from a guy who is making a game which is basically a knock-off of Crusaders of the Dark Savant. You would have to be completely and utterly prejudiced (or blinded by hatred for Sir-Tech) to not see how much of a massive improvement Wizardry 8 was over it's predecessors:
+ True 3D environment
+ No more annoying random battles
+ No massive level grinding mandate to have any chance of surviving the next map
+ Missile weapons ARE actually useful
+ Vastly improved character development system
+ Wonderful (and at times hysterical) character voice sets
+ Good music
+ Superb interface
+ Oozes charm (subjective)
+ Classic "Old school" mechanics wrapped in all of the trappings of "New school", i.e. automapping, quest journal, right-click help text, etc.
- No built-in way to insanely speed up attack animations and monster movement (WizFast does help with this, though) [I find Wizardry 7 combat to be far more ponderous and sluggish, though]
- A lot of the best treasures are random
- No "monster surrender" option to bypass filler combat
- No real puzzles, per se
- Some grinding required for magic skills
I can't see myself ever playing a game like Grimoire (my contempt towards the author aside), because it represents such a massive regression in gameplay. There is something fundamentally wrong with most of those Codexians. They seem to believe that if a game isn't a massive inconvenience to play, then it isn't a real game.
I've mapped out my fair share of dungeons and filled out many reams of notebook paper over the years. Quite frankly, at 40 years old, I'm through with that shit. When a game starts to become like a job, then it's just not fun for me. I would rather spend my time enjoying a game's story and character progression than waste hours on forced tedium. I'm quite happy with the automapping, fast travel, quest markers and other conveniences that make a game a game. I play games to get away from work. Wizardry 8 was a huge step in the right direction for me. Your mileage may vary…