Thanks for the info on Neverwinter Nights 2. I will check it out.
I agree about having a human in the loop. My idea though was that maybe you could have the best of both worlds with a computer to help the DM. The trick would be making the sandbox rich and responsive enough that the DM and characters would really have freedom in the moment. Maybe the DM could have tools that easily allow him to rez and customize appropriate objects and NPCs in the visualization.
As far as I remember, in NWN1 multiplayer sessions you could have a player play as the DM. He had access to stuff like spawning items, could spawn monsters on top of the party etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3pclUiro-4
if you have a scrungy flatscreen, lay it on its back on the table and use it as the terrain surface.
plug it into you laptop or box and open a GIMP or some other image editor. drop bitmaps for terrain on the players window, and pick markers and image snippets to drop into the terrain.
use physical miniatures, [coins 4th ed tokens etc.] for the players, its great for players that like eyecandy
I agree about having a human in the loop. My idea though was that maybe you could have the best of both worlds with a computer to help the DM. The trick would be making the sandbox rich and responsive enough that the DM and characters would really have freedom in the moment. Maybe the DM could have tools that easily allow him to rez and customize appropriate objects and NPCs in the visualization.