I think "psionics feeling like spells" was, and maybe still is, a limitation of turn-based combat and the capabilities at the time of the game. I am sure if Dark Sun was made with today's standards it would be closer to Jedi-like abilities. After all, how would you portray the use of psionics in a turn-based combat game?

Which probably brings us to the next point in the question "what would you want in a sci-fi RPG?"

Now that I think about it, either make it real-time like an action adventure RPG, or make it like that round-based combat system like in KotOR (what exactly is the correct term for that combat system in KotOR anyway?).

Mass Effect is an arcade with RPG elements.

Less action, more choices, some adventure elements [dialogue, object puzzles], optional combat. Star Trek 25th meets Star Control 2 would be awesome.

Something like X, but a better story and some RPG elements. Basically, you have the option to ignore the main plot and build up an unstoppable armada, and galaxy-spanning industrial empire to fund it, with a similar amount of time and effort needed to pull it off (makes the end result all the more rewarding). On top of that though, side quests that are more involved than either "fly to x station", "fly to x station while not getting shot", "fly to x station in y time limit" and "destroy x enemy" and a main plot that's more centred on politics between the factions rather than simply a Big Bad that needs defeating by the glorious and righteous hero. I wouldn't really be interested in many RPG elements, as combat would take place between space ships rather than individual or groups of people, meaning player skill driven combat would make much more sense, but diplomatic and mercantile skills would certainly be a welcome addition that wouldn't seem too out of place (as long as mercantile only applies to large purchases, in the way of multiple ships and/or stations, seeing as bartering for anything smaller would just be silly considering the setting).

Something like Eve Online except with a perpetual universe using a rogue-like mechanic for unexplored space, based on all the known laws of astro-physics. Randomly created alien life-forms would have to conform to the physics and ecosystem of the home planet. Unlike Eve Online, one would be able to land on planets and leave one's ship. That's not too much to ask, is it?

One thing I don't mind, is to be able to get all this, to have a great deal less than photorealism, highly system heavy and time consuming to make graphics. If they did stylized animation, like the new Spider-man animated series (fantastic, by the way), or like the Director's Cut of Broken Sword, I think people would still buy it up. If it was good, I know I would.

I don't know what you mean by arcade, if you mean the arcade I grew up with that would mean Double Dragon and Street Fighter II. ME is nothing like those. No it's not like Baldur's Gate either, but I don't think BG reskinned with a space theme would make a good sci-fi rpg either.

Shadowrun. That's all that would make me happy. An open-world environment set in Seattle and outlying areas between 2050-2070, loads of various characters of different classes and races, a huge arsenal of weapons and equipment, good cybercombat that is fun and challenging, fending off random gang or corp security attacks....the list goes on and on.

Basically the Sega Genesis game with modern graphics and a shitload more variety.

I never got to play this game, I hear it's one of the best games ever. I do love Shadowrun and am ashamed to admit I own many of those novels.

WTF are you talking about? I see words assembled into sentences ... but the sentences have no relevance to what I said.

Something like the death head universe will be great.

Outside of things like "I want this kind of character and this kind of ship and lasers that go pew pew" the main thing I think is missing from every space-faring sci-fi RPG I've played is a genuine feeling of scale and scope. In the Fallout series, the sense of scale and proportion is palpable. You feel like your travels really are covering this enormous radioactive wasteland with its little settlements and seedy towns eking out some sort of existence. With The Witcher, you really do feel like you're working in and around the capital city of one of the northern countries. Both these games operate on different scales (TW1 being more like a large town plus outskirts whereas Fallout typically tries to represent a state-sized area of land) but the sense of scale is maintained properly in each.

Now let's look at Mass Effect. The variety of locations, the size of those locations and the implied complexity of those locations (in terms of history, culture, what lies beyond what you're immediately seeing in front of you) make the game world feel very small, yet it's trying to represent a galaxy-sized area. Now obviously it can't actually have a galaxy-sized area, but then Fallout doesn't actually have a state-sized area. The world in Oblivion is in no way as big as an actual country, the worlds in Final Fantasy are in no way the size of actual planets. However, the depth, variety and artistically created sense of scale work towards convincing the player that that is the sort of area they're operating in.

Sci-fi space games tend to fail on this count to an enormous degree. They skimp over locations which has the effect of shrinking the world. The Citadel in either Mass Effect game feels smaller and less convincing than the capital city in Oblivion or Morrowind, it feels less convincing as a bustling metropolis than Midgar in FFVII or Baldur's Gate in... Baldur's Gate. Then outside the Citadel you have near-identical featureless planets, some caves, and two other planets that feel like towns in terms of population, culture and - that word again - scope. It's not an RPG (well it could be, arguably), but X3 has a similar problem where there's no real personality or meaning to anywhere you go. Yes you could let your ship fly for hours through a black void but that's not the same as an actual sense of scale. In reality, going from London to Paris isn't that much of a distance but it really feels like you've travelled because of the differing traits of the locations, the different customs and personalities you encounter.

Yeah, that would be cool. It's a shame what they did to Shadowrun on the 360.

Sure they do, I just wasn't clear enough. New York is overpopulated, all hustle & bustle. It seems any space-faring civilization would have a major city like that where its inhabitants want to be near the larger concentrations of commerce.

And as far as people in space, the greater distance a civilization can travel in a short period, the more densely populated it appears...everything is relative. A village with horse & buggies that needs to travel 5 miles before seeing another village would seem sparsely populated, while a village with cars would see traveling 5 miles to reach another village as no big thing.